IamA 7th Generation Australian Circus performer, now world class flying trapeze artist AMA!

Have you got any advice for a young British guy about to join the circus? I've been offered a job as a clown and have been told the last one was very good. I've got some very big shoes to fill.

I would say if you want to do it, go for it! However clowing is hard man, i have never done it, ive always been an acrobat, but making people laugh is hard! Haha, i would say watch some youtube videos of clowns, Big Apple Circus always have good clown gags and clowns, Also Ringling Brothers. Unfortunately i don't know that much about clowning so i cant be of much help :( Good LUck!! (just scrolled through again and saw the pun, i lolled pretty hard) Hahha

Have you ever threatened your parents by saying you'll run away and get an office job?

Haha no i haven't, i don't think they will believe me, due to my inability to get up early. Lol

I saw you guys Performing in Morley with my wife and kids a little while ago. I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw. Obviously you guys are pretty athletic, muscular, strong core, etc, etc. How many hours of training do you guys perform a day? Do you have rest days at all? Is it constant work on trapeze, flips, etc, or is a mixture ofeverything plus gymnastics, weight lifting and so forth? How much food do you all consume on a daily basis?

Ps. I was on the edge of my seat during the wheel of death and I've fought the taliban in Afghanistan so that says something

Thats nice to hear :) Wow man i respect what you do so much just to let you know! I train flying trapeze after most show days where we only have 1 show, during the day i should train handstands for a couple of hours, i have been a bit lazy lately though :( My brother and i try to gym 4 times a week, just weights, i just try to eat as much protein as possible, i don't really have a set diet, i just cant eat for a couple of hours before each show because you feel like crap when you are flying through the air :/ hahah

Wait, did you just say you train handstands for a couple hours?

I will get into handstand go onto each arm for about 5 seconds each, then come down, rest. Pretty much do that for a couple of hours, been lazy lately though, havent been practicing much at all, need some hand balancing motivation!

I'm trying to get into body weight fitness myself and handstand practice is part of that. I'm doing this workout right now to begin with because I haven't developed a lot of the muscles necessary for the "intermediate beginner" routine they suggest. heh

Obviously you've been doing this for so long that beginner routines are probably so far in your past you may not remember what works well, but do you have some suggestions for increasing variety and strength that can be done at home without fancy equipment besides a cushy workout mat over a wood floor? I'm female if that makes a difference.

I have friends that have taken aerial silks classes, pole dancing classes and every time I see the acrobats doing crazy things on the hanging rings in any circus I've ever seen... I've been AMAZED beyond belief by all of them and I'd LOVE to be able to do those things myself. I just feel like my body strength is not cooperating fast enough to get to the fun stuff but I also currently lack the funds to be able to take actual classes on these subjects. The idea of being able to walk up and down stairs on my hands gives me giggles like a little girl, though. Or even performing an aerial act like they do at the Renaissance Festival (which, while interesting enough could be FAR MORE interesting and technically difficult if you ask me) would be SO much fun. :D Not as a career, but I would adore doing things like this on the occasional evening or weekend.

Sorry for not having a clear question but any suggestions or ideas you might have would be spectacular. I love what you do and what a fascinating AMA. Thank you for doing this! :D

The best way to start off handstand is go up against a wall and while your upside down lean your ankles against it. So you can stay up without having to balance yourself. Then slowly bring your ankles off and try to balance yourself. Keep doing that, keep your toes pointed, butt quenched and back straight. If you are just doing a handstand on the floor, spread your fingers out. Thats where you make tiny balance changes, with your fingers. Hope this helps :)

Is there as much crazy circus sex as the stereotypes say?

Edit: Ok guys I didn't read the article where it says everyone in the company is related before I asked the question. Now I am fully aware, thanks to all of you. Also, I was actually asking about sex with audience members. I heard that circus folk get mad ass.

Hahahaah

Did you ever feel like it was possible to take a different path with your life? Or was performing always your goal from youth?

I think about it all the time to be honest, not because i dislike circus life, i love it, but because i am curious what a "normal" life would be like. My parents always said to my brother and if we didn't want to do this we don't have to and they would support our decision fully, my father always wanted us to have a good education so we could do something else easily if we wanted too. At the moment i am happy performing so if and until that changes il keep flying :)

A normal life overall consists of: - Get a Degree - Wake up early, go to work/school/university - Work all day - Come back at 5-6 PM, eat a dinner - Instead of doing a great banquet, spend little of the money you've saved and watch TV all night - Repeat - From time to time you go to vacation for 2 weeks in an arranged hotel which barely is representative of the country you're visiting (there is so much to discover by backpacking alone).

Most people won't admit this, but it is a very good resume of how society currently works.

Unless you really have a job you desire and love it so much it wouldn't be worth it.

Not that I have a gruge against society, but it's a big hoax overall and people live in it.

Do what you desire not for money but for yourself and live your life fully! ;D

Im not someone that cares about making tons of money, i just want to enjoy what i do, and as long as i can save enough to go on a trip and see different places around the world once a year im cool with that :)

thats all cool but dont forget retirement. cant fly forever.

I havent forgotten, ive got plans in place :)

As the general public moves away from circuses that feature animal performers and more towards human only circuses (like Circus Oz and Cirque du Soleil) have you noticed a drop in circus attendance?

I haven't noticed a drop, we are a family show and i know the kids love to see our horses and dogs perform with us. Our animals are extremely well looked after and loved, and i think the people can see that when they come to our show:)

Has there ever be a time you thought you might die while preforming? Or anyone else might?

Umm, There was a moment when i caught the catcher then we slipped, which is usually fine except i fell through the apron, which is the bit of netting to stop you hitting the ground when you are at the catchers end, anyways for a split second i was a bit worried but the elevated seating kind of broke my fall and i was ok, landed next to some audience members, haha. I was about 12 at the time.

My parents are traveling around Sydney at the moment with a different circus; mum teaches about 4 kids and my dad takes care of the miniature horses. It's the first time they've done anything like this and they seem to be enjoying the lifestyle.

So not really a question, just a hello from someone who has recently gotten to know the circus life pretty well :-)

Hey!, glad to see they are enjoying it :)

I went to Lennon Bros earlier this year and absolutely loved it. But then got some negative responses from friends for going to an animal circus. I know you said you have dogs and horses but how to you feel about circuses with lions and other animals?

Is there a lot of rivalry between circuses or are there friendships?

Thanks for doing this AMA. I want to see this circus when it visits my town next :)

I think if the animals are looked after very well, have big enclosures, and trained properly, then i don't mind the exotic animals performing, obviously times are changing and the exotic animal issue seems to be quite prevalent. In Australia all the circuses know eachother pretty well, there is a bit of rivalry of course, and often there is a bit of fighting for grounds to show on, thats just business though :)

On a scale from 1 to 10, how concerned are you that you'll fall from the trapeze directly, and comically into the mouth of a yawning lion?

20, considering we Dont have any lions, I would say the chances are extremely high. :)

how'd you get into your profession ? Like what steps (pun intended) did you take to get into this and be good at it ? or was it all hard training in the family business ?

I was born into it, Literally, I went from the hospital straight back to my parents caravan and started travelling, longest i have lived in a house is about 2 weeks. lol. Grew up with circus equipment and family who knew all different skills, so you are always learning something :) I always wanted to do Flying Trapeze, so when i was about 15 i started training that very hard! before that i was just doing many other acts, one of them a hand to hand balancing act with my father, which i became to heavy for at around 14 years of age. Lol

Whats it like being on the move all the time ? schooling etc, internet access all that stuff, friends ?

I find it a bit annoying, but when we do country runs it is nice to see the country side. The kids do Correspondence and have a professional teacher/ tutor to help them with that, so they have 1 teacher for just 4 of them. We all use mobile broadband, before that was invented we couldnt have internet, and now its fast enough for online gaming!! Hahah

Are there any tricks that are deemed "undoable" but artists as yourself strives to be able to do one day? If so, can you tell us about them?

Well on flying trapeze no one has ever caught a quintuple somersault, thats 5 somersaults. Very Very few have ever caught a Quadruple even. So i would say thats considered undoable. If i could catch a Quad, at my weight, (im quite heavy and tall for a flyer) i would be extremely happy!! I might start training that and try to catch it one day :)

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Hahaha, My father is my coach, he used to fly but he was very unlucky and at age 16 he injured his shoulder badly and had to start catching instead, he is my catcher now, hes very good. My mother also flies, she has been doing the same trick for about 20 years, its called a hox, i always tease her about it because i reckon she has caught more hoxes than anyone in the world. HAHAHA

How much action do you get being in the circus?

Hahahah. Well i have a girlfriend and shes beautiful:)

how does that work on the road? Like did you meet them in the circus (did you grow up together?) or does she come on the road with you? Or how do you meet people when you're part of such a busy organization?

She comes and visits me wherever we are when she isnt working and vice versa. Luckily we have been staying pretty close to the city so its never longer than an hours drive to see her. :) i met met her while standing in line at a club. She was by herself in the line and so was i :)

I actually have a lot of questions about traveling circuses. I used one as the setting for a book I was/am working on. The main character is a girl born and raised in a circus.

Would you have any time (doesn't have to be today) to do an actual interview with me? I usually do them via Skype and they take about 15-25 minutes depending on the person. Literally any day would be good for me and I stay up at all hours where I live so I can work around you. Obviously, I'm really interested in in this topic.

Yeh sure add me on facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/jordan.ashton.169

I learnt a bit of flying trapeze last summer, helping at a camp. I really enjoyed it but couldn't get my take-offs correct :(

But my question is...do you pee on your hand calluses? The guy teaching us told us its an old circus trick, was he lying?

I have heard that aswell actually. Haha. I dont do it though. Occasionally my hands rip. And i just deal with it. Kinda have to. My hands are always really tough and callousy, because i dont wear grips.

Do you ever look for world class stunts, let's say like Pierre Petit did with the WTC towers? Edit: name

Im not really sure what you are talking about, sorry :(

Is it possible for kids without a circus background to join a circus? And, if you wanted to be an acrobat at what age would you start? Are you always on the road? Where do you think of as home??

Ofcourse! there are a few circus schools in Australia, the biggest being NICA in Melbourne. My family mights start one up in WA soon :) If you are really interested in a certain act ie, juggling, or hand balancing, you can practice the basics at home, and then if you stil want to, find someone who teaches it in Australia. As i was saying NICA teach alot of different skills.

Hey! I saw you guys this year at the big top tease in perth! Such a funny show, you guys were amazing! What was your training like? do you ever get scared that somethings going to go wrong?

You never think about getting hurt. It just something that shouldnt be going through your head when you are about to do a trick. I trust myself, the safety equipment and the people i perform with so not scared :)

No question, just saw your tent go up last week, welcome to Rockingham! Saw the show a few years ago, awesome stuff!

Thanks :)

I see Ashton come through my town every year or so, haven't been yet myself. I think you've got lions etc in your circus, how do you feel about the non-animal circus' (such as cirque de solais) craze sweeping the globe?

We only have Horses and Dogs performing in our show. I like most Soleil Shows, Bare in mind they have about 30. Im not that into the theatre shows, and Soleil does have alot of that sort of stuff in alot of their shows, im a bit more old school and i find myself just wanting to see the actual circus acts that are in their show haha. but there is alot of people do love that aspect of soleil, so it just depends what you like. But as i said i have nothing against, i guess they call it "contemporary circus" The last Soleil show i saw, i thought was very good :)

What are some crazy stories you can tell us from behind the scenes in the circus?

Hmm crazy stories, there are alot, il just pick one. This one comes to mind because its probably the funniest, my cousins who are brothers, one of them was performing the wheel of death, however they can both do it, anyways he fell out in the middle of his act and hurt himself, the brother dragged him through the curtain and pulled his shoes off, (he couldnt use the ones he was wearing because if u are walking the wheel of death you need boots with alot of grip) and put them on himself, walked back out into the ring and continued his brothers act!! haha.

When did you transition from holding on with your hands to holding on with your feet/legs?

Flying trapeze you always hold on with your hands, until you need to let go and do your trick across to the catcher. You are thinking of solo trapeze where they do all those kind of tricks, but they do not do tricks actoss to a catcher, its a totally different act :)

Thanks for the reply. So is it typical to specialise in only one act for a whole life time? I.e. "I'm a flying trapeze artist and I will never be a solo trapeze artist".

Also - as a super-fit athlete who basically is a real life superhero, what do you think of obese people? (serious).

I currently do 3 acts in the show, a knockabout acrobatic act with my brother, a teeter board act, and the Flying trapeze, Usually if you grow up in a circus family you perform many acts, but you specialize in 1, usually your favorite:) Umm my grandfather is obese and he was a very fit circus performer in his day, just stopped performing, kept eating alot of fatty food and got lazy, I dont really have an opinion, if they are happy with themselves then thats cool, if they are not they should try everything in their power to change that, ie exercise and dieting.

What would job/interests would you pursue if you weren't in the circus?

I have always been interested in computers, so maybe something in IT. If i was to leave now though i would probably teach flying trapeze and run classes :)

Hi Jordan, since I've never been to the circus, what would you say to inspire me to come and visit a performance? :)

I would say when you see someone, whether it be a hand balancer, juggler, trapeze artist perform right in front of you, live there is nothing like it, especially when the act they are performing has an element of danger!

Hey Jordan! I remember playing against you in cricket a few years back in the 17's club league, I was a member of the other south Perth cricket team, you were a bloody fantastic batsmen! Great to see you're still a part of the family business :)

Thanks man! I try to play as much cricket as i can, but its hard with our show times. :(

I just started learning with TSNY and can't wait to pick it back up this summer. Thanks for the inspiration :)

PS - Your youtubes look great -- please post some more!

Thanks:) yeh most of those videos are old, i just put one on today though, the Double Double :) GoodLuck with flying!

Hey Jordan! Just wanted to say thank you, as my family came to see your show for my sister's birthday and loved it!

I hope that the local councils around Perth ease up on you next time around though! :(

Thanks, yeah hopefully they stop putting the prices up aswell :( Glad you enjoyed the show!!

Did you feel pressured into being a performer at a young age, or was it something you'd always known you wanted to do?

We start so young that we are used to being infront of a crowd early. Its just something that is apart of who i am. I never felt pressured :) i always knew i wanted to be a flyer. So i guess yeh its something i always knew i would be if i trained hard.

I don't mean this is any kind of ignorant/rude way, but is your family gypsy/roma? (Not sure if either of these terms are pc.) I always thought circus performers were.

Im not sure what roma means, but no i don't think we are gypsy. Travelling comes with the job if you are going to be in a traditional travelling circus i guess.

How did your parents meet? Is it common to date and marry within the circus?

Alot of circus people often do end up marrying someone from another circus family, obviously because they have alot in common already.

Do you have children? If you do, do you want then to continue the family tradition or would you give them their own choice to decide?

I don't have children but i would want them to be happy, so whatever they decide would be fine by me :)

Absolutely no disrespect intended here, just genuine curiosity.

Are circus families generally as "weird" as the stereotype says? I mean it is a very very unusual line of work and i assume that this is reflected in the personalities and lifestyles of the people who choose to pursue it. Care to elaborate on the dynamics of circus "home life"?

One of the things our friends say is just how normal we are because they just assumed we would be weird haha. I think its like anything. Some circus people are a bit weird/eccentric and some arent. We are just normal people except we move every 4 weeks and we are used to living in vans, and ofcourse we perform as a job. :)

That's pretty cool. But it can't exactly be considered a 40h a week job, right? I mean it's more a lifestyle?

Yeah its a lifestyle for sure. There is alot of labor work sometimes. Because in a family show we put the tent up and down ourselves. This is my least favourite part and if you ask any of my family they will tell you how bad good i am at looking like i doing something but not doing anything when it comes to tent put up and pulldown. Hahah

I have been living half of my live in a circus(altough i didn't perform) The thing i most liked about it was to see people smile and be amazed...(and the popcorn) what's your favorite thing about it?

Weirdly enough i had to be watching a circus to realise what my favourite part about circus was. I was watching Big Apple circus in NYC in December. I was holidaying in USA with my gf. And there was a father and son who was about 5 behind me. And the. Kid laughed like crazy and was so vocal when he was amazed. "Like WOOAHHH daddy" and it was so nice to hear a young kid really have great time watching live entertainment. Thats what i love about it.

is there an 8th generation in the works?

I'd have to ask around...Hahah jjks, Not at the moment no. Lol

What's the income like for circus performers? I truly have no idea how much the circus itself takes and how much you make in salary.

Its probably about average, as a performer. But you dont have to pay rent water electricity etc. Definitely a lifestyle.

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Great Great Great Great grandfather was a convict, started Ashtons in 1851, in Tasmania, Ashtons closed in 2001 i think but my Father left just before that and started Circus Joseph Ashton which is the show i work at now, thats a very brief history, there is alot about it on the internet if you just google. :)

I know nothing about the circus and the circles and bloodlines and stuff, but I've been to a few shows in Vegas. What's the general consensus of Vegas performers throughout the "Circus people" world? Do like circus purists look down on them like sellouts or respect them? From my untrained eye they look pretty talented, just curious what a professional has to say about them.

No, its not like that at all, i would love to perform in vegas at some point. I think working in vegas for a year would be awesome :) Most of the vegas performers are very good, ive seen some variety shows there and some of the soleil shows, i enjoyed them :)

Members who do not choose the circus life, what do they do?

I have a cousin who left who is studying literature at Oxford University in England. They pretty much do whatever they can, usually if they leave its because they have something else they want to do in mind. If all else fails become a truck driver, we all have our truck drivers licence. Hahah

What's your opinion on the pressure of being in the business? Do you feel pressure of being a great performer?

I dont really feel pressure, however i do get mad at myself if i make a mistake and miss a trick. I feel like i let the audience down. But other than that, not really.

I used to train for the trapeze with TSNY until I blew out my shoulder, hoping to get back to it this year as I was really close to landing my double.

two questions: 1) Do you fly with grips? If so, what type? 2) How do you deal with blisters and protecting your hands, I've been told vitamin E works great and have tried it, but my hands always got trashed.

I actually dont fly with grips. However i definitely should, i just havent ever felt safe with them. I just need to try different ones until i find ones that feel nice. Might make my own out of leather.

I havent tried vitamin E tablets so im unsure about that. If you fly like 3 times a week eventually your hands will harden to the point where they are so tough they dont rip as often. Just start to sting like hell after a long training session.

Where do you currently live/live throughout the year?

We are currently showing in Rockingham Western Australia. I live in my own caravan and go wherever we show. At the end of the year we stop for bout 5weeks around December. We find somewhere where the animals can have heaps of space and camp there until we show again. This is when we have time to go on a holiday or something. :)

So they're always caravan parks that you stay? That must have been alot of a fun as a kid, always having a different backyard

Not usually caravan parks. Usually someones property that we know. The equestrian centre in WA has been really nice and let us stay there for the past few years. Its tons of fun as a kid:)

what other acts have been in your family?

Bareback horse riding is an act that my family is know for. Unfortunetly we havent had one in a while but we are practising one at the moment :)

What's your fav trick on the ft ???(bullet drop??)mine is half turn but I just can't seem to get it right any tips?

Hahahah, my favorite trick is the Double Double, double twisting double layout, its harder than the triple somersault in my opinion :) Just keep at it man!!

What's the worst injury you've gotten, if any?

Fractured my collar bone when i was young, so not that bad luckily.

what do you think of cirque du soleil?

I have pretty much answered this already if you scroll up. Thanks :)

Got any Youtube clips of your performances?

Yeah i have vids up of most of my flying tricks. I think there is also one of the knockabout act with my brother. My youtube channel is jordo73no

What is the worst injury you have had because of the trapeze. What is the worst injury you have seen?

Ive been very lucky with Flying injuries, pretty much just scratching my face up bad and biting my tongue, the occasional popped rib. Which isnt bad at all, when i was little i fractured my collar bone, but that was practising hand to hand balancing with my father.

I'm not familiar with your specific circus, but I'm curious about the animals! If there are any or if you have a (perhaps exotic) pet yourself?

I don't have any pets, on our show we only have horses and dogs, pretty much everyone except me has a pet dog, and my younger cousin Dante just adopted a kitten that was going to be put down.

Did you feel a ton of pressure to follow the family business? Did you ever think of doing something else, or has anybody in your family chosen not to join in?

I try not to think about far into the future too much, i see how much my Dad has to do in regards to paper work and keeping the business going and its not something i want to worry about now. I just want to focus on performing and being the best i can be. I think about what "normal" life would be like all the time but i am enjoying what i am doing now so thats all that matters.

Do you ever do any static trapeze? And as someone who's training to perform what are some pointers you can give a noob?

By static do you mean solo, or solo without swinging ? is that what you mean? My cousin and her mother do solo trapeze. But i don't know enough to give you tips, just point your toes and be neat!

I did not know Australia bred Circus performers. How exactly did they enforce such a scheme for 7 generations?

I dont think it was mandatory. Haha

What's the best thing about Circus in your opinion?

I havent seen them all, but i really enjoyed Big Apple Circus in NYC they always have a great show! Also Arlette Gruss in France, they have a beautiful show. There are some other shows i know of in EU that are supposed to be amazing like Circus Roncali and Krone, but i havent seen them.

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There is about 20 of us here. There are 7 non family members. Joseph is my father and he still performs, hes my catcher and also does the wheel of death, only person to do a forward somersault on the outside of the wheel in Australia. I love Perth, all of my friends are here and i pretty much grew up here from the age of 13. Best crowds, Butler in WA was crazy, we had sold out every show so we had to add extra and sold them out aswell!

It seems like every single trapeze act I have seen has a gag where the performer misses and falls to the net on an especially hard stunt then gets up and successfully completes the jump on the next try. I'm sure it creates danger and tension in most audiences but always seems fake to me. Does your act involve that gag?

If i ever miss, its not on purpose! haha. Although sometimes i will miss by accident and throw it again and catch, i can see how some people may think thats fake, i know of a flyer that used to miss a triple on purpose just he he would get a better reaction the second time!

Are you a net guy or a no net guy?

Im a net guy, no one isnt a net guy when it comes to flying trapeze, and i have used the net many, many times. Hahah

Now that technology has allowed you to have high speed internet, what games do you play in your free time? Shooters, Warcraft, League of Legends, etc.?

Starcraft 2 is my main multiplayer game i play, i'm a diamond Terran. I also have a ps3 and 4. Just finished "the last of us" awesome game. MGS4 is my fav game i think, Dishonored was awesome aswell! Im wating for another really good shooter to come out on pc, i havent been into a shooter since CodMod2!

Do carnys in Australia have as a big a meth problem as the ones here in the USA?

Circus people arent Carnys, well atleast the word carny here in AUS means a carnival person, someone that works rides and joints at royal shows and carnivals. I don't know anyone in circus that does Meth, i actually don't know anyone at all that does Meth. Haha

Scariest moment ever?

Hmm. Well i mentioned one earlier. But i saw our old tent get blown over by a 140km wind. No one was hurt but that was a crazy thing to see.

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I answered this one earlier :)

Have you ever met Ben Hawkins?

No i have not. I'm not sure who that is. :(

How is dating like for you. Do you mainly mess around with those traveling with you?

I have a girlfriend atm, we have been dating almost a year, its going great :)

If you are always traveling, how does that work with relationships? do you just fuck whatever happens to be in that city? Since you are a 7th generation performer, it means that somewhere along the line people in your family did mate. How does something like that come to be in a circus setting?

I currently have a girlfriend. Its pretty easy, she just drives and sees me when she can and vise versa. We have been staying pretty close to perth for a long time so il never longer than an hours drive to her house :) My mother met my dad and loved him so she joined the circus and took up the lifestyle.