Johnny Strange facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johnny Strange
|
|
|---|---|
Johnny Strange, performance artist
|
|
| Born | 6 December 1988 Lancashire, England
|
| Occupation | Performer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Johnny Strange (born December 6, 1988) is a famous English performer, producer, and author. He lives in London, England. People often call him "the man with ears of steel" because of his amazing stunts. Johnny Strange is known for doing brave and dangerous acts, but he always adds a funny twist to his shows. He has even broken many world records!
Contents
Amazing Stunts and Skills
Johnny Strange started his career by learning to be an escapologist. This means he learned how to escape from things like handcuffs, straitjackets, and chains. He was inspired by the famous escape artist Harry Houdini.
His interest grew, and he began to study old-fashioned sideshow acts. These were shows where performers did unusual or daring feats. Johnny Strange learned many different skills, including:
- Juggling running chainsaws
- Cracking whips with great aim
- Lifting heavy weights using his ear piercings
- Shooting targets with precision
- Swallowing swords
- The "human blockhead" trick (where he hammers a nail into his nose)
- Walking on broken glass
- Eating and breathing fire
- Eating broken glass
- Lying on a bed of nails
He also performs unique stunts like swallowing a magnet and then using a sword to get it back. Another one of his cool tricks is swallowing a glass neon tube that glows with 2000 volts of electricity!
Johnny Strange's incredible acts have been shown in famous books like Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Guinness World Records. He has also appeared on many TV shows and radio programs.
Live Shows and Theatre of Wonder
Johnny Strange is famous for his exciting and funny live shows. In these shows, he often demonstrates how the mind can control the body. He also performs amazing escape acts, shows off his precise aiming skills, and performs feats of strength.
In 2012, Johnny Strange created his own variety show called "Johnny Strange's Theatre of Wonder." He hosts this show and performs in it himself. He also invites other talented circus and sideshow artists from all over the world. These performers include:
- People who can bend their bodies into amazing shapes (contortionists)
- Knife throwers
- People who charm snakes
- Very strong people (strongmen)
- Performers who hang from silks high in the air
- People who can walk on their hands
- Fire breathers
His show aims to bring back the excitement of old-time sideshows for people today.
Guinness World Records
Johnny Strange holds many Guinness World Records for his incredible stunts.
The Man with Ears of Steel
In 2013, he earned his nickname "the man with ears of steel." This happened after he set a Guinness World Record for lifting the heaviest weight with his pierced ears. Guinness then challenged him to pull the heaviest vehicle with his ears! Johnny Strange accepted. At North Weald Airfield, he managed to pull a Cessna 172-P airplane for over 67 feet (20 meters).
After setting this new record, Johnny Strange became the first person ever to hold both the record for 'heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears' and 'heaviest vehicle pulled by pierced ears' at the same time.
Other Amazing Records
Here are some of his other Guinness World Records:
- Heaviest vehicle pulled by pierced ears: On May 12, 2014, Johnny Strange pulled a vehicle weighing 1,494.5 pounds (677.8 kg) for 20.4 meters using his ear piercings.
- Heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears: On August 21, 2016, he lifted 47 pounds, 10 ounces (21.63 kg) with his ear piercings. He broke his own previous record!
- Most swords swallowed in three minutes: On December 13, 2016, Johnny Strange swallowed 16 swords in just three minutes.
- Most newspapers split with a bullwhip in one minute: On December 13, 2016, he split 16 newspapers with a bullwhip in one minute.
- Most eggs broken with a whip in one minute: On August 10, 2015, Johnny Strange broke 14 eggs using a bullwhip.
- Most apples chainsawed out of the mouth in one minute: On October 12, 2013, Johnny Strange cut 18 apples out of his own mouth with a petrol chainsaw in one minute.
- Most apples chainsawed out of someone else's mouth in one minute: On October 12, 2013, he cut 12 apples out of his assistant's mouth with a petrol chainsaw in one minute.
- Fastest time to break 16 concrete blocks on the body: On October 12, 2013, Johnny Strange broke 16 concrete blocks on his assistant's stomach with a sledgehammer in just 30.4 seconds.
- Most animal traps released on the body in one minute: On October 12, 2013, he released 6 animal traps onto his hands and arms in one minute.
- Most melons chopped in half on somebody's stomach (with a samurai sword while they lay on a bed of nails): On October 12, 2013, Johnny Strange chopped 10 watermelons in half on his assistant's stomach in 30 seconds.
His record for chopping melons on a bed of nails was called one of the "best ever Guinness World records" by the Daily Express. The International Business Times said his apple chainsaw stunt was one of "The most weird and wonderful records ever broken."
Media Appearances
In 2014, Johnny Strange was in many newspapers around the world. He teamed up with stunt rider Vesko Lesev to do a very special sword swallowing stunt in Brussels, Belgium. He became the first person to swallow a sword inside the Globe of death. This is a large steel ball where motorbikes ride around at high speeds. Johnny Strange swallowed a 17-inch sword while standing in the middle of the ball as a motorbike zoomed around him at over 40 mph (70 km/h).
Johnny Strange has said that it took him three years of daily practice to learn how to swallow swords safely. He explained that this stunt was very dangerous and required a lot of trust between him and the motorbike rider.
Because sword swallowing is so risky and takes so much practice, there are very few sword swallowers left in the world. The Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) lists Johnny Strange as one of the last professional sword swallowers actively performing in Europe.
Television Shows
Johnny Strange has appeared on many TV shows around the world, including:
- Galileo
- Do Not Try This
- The BBC's live coverage of Glastonbury Festival
- ITV Studios' '8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'
- TV2 (Hungary)
- CBBC's 'Officially Amazing'
- наука 2.0 (Science 2.0)
- Wedden Dat Ik Het Kan
- A League Of Their Own
- Game of Talents
- Remarkable TV
- Stunt Science
- Che! TV
- Comedy Central's Outrageous Stunts
- Bombay Bicycle Club's music video for 'My Big Day'
He has also appeared on popular YouTube channels like Good Mythical Morning, LastWeekTonight, F2Freestylers, and Sidemen.
In 2021, Johnny Strange was on an episode of The Sidemen's show called 'Sidemens Got Talent'. He lifted a beer keg with his ear piercings and swallowed swords. He even let KSI pull a swallowed sword out of his throat! Miniminter made him an honorary member of the Sidemen. This was his second time with The Sidemen; his first was on 'Sidemen React' in an episode called 'Most Unbelievable Body Mods'.
Author of Books
In 2023, Johnny Strange wrote a book called 'Unusual As Usual: Bizarre stories of historical circus, sideshow and freak show performers'. This book was based on his YouTube project with the same name. It was released on March 10, 2023, and quickly became a number-one bestseller on Amazon within 24 hours! He then released a second book in the series, 'Unusual As Usual: Abnormal Animals', in the same year.
On his YouTube channel, Johnny Strange hosted several series, including 'Abnormal Animals', 'Anatomical Oddities', 'Modified Marvels', and 'Peculiar People'.
In 2024, Strange released his third book. It is the official story of Elaine Davidson, who holds the Guinness World Record for the 'Most Pierced Woman In The World'. The book is called 'Elaine Davidson: Holier Than Thou' and shares all about Davidson's life and career as a performer.
Groups Johnny Strange Belongs To
Johnny Strange is an active member of several important groups:
- Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI)
- The International Jugglers' Association (IJA)
- United Kingdom Escape Artists (UKEA)
