Me, why I'm here, and why you may want to follow. An introduction...

Hello good people of steemit,
While I have made a few, more trite, introduction entries; I really don't feel I've done a good job of conveying who I am.

(photo cred... me, I set a timer... I'm also the guy with the sword)

This is a picture of one of my old sideshow crews. As a sideshow performer I swallow swords, eat fire, walk on glass, climb a ladder of swords, perform a straightjacket escape, lay on beds of nails and perform many other classic sideshow routines. I got into that line of work because I already had a strong interest in Poi and a local show was searching for a fire performer. Currently I have been performing for over 10 years, delighting audiences young and old and to this day nothing gives me more pleasure than the aftermath of a successful show... it's an experience I can't really equate to anything else.

(rooftop fire spin in Brooklyn... photo cred: Daniel Burke)

(sword swallowing, photo cred Sarah Auferio)

I've appeared in Wale's video for "The Show" featuring Rick Ross and Aaron Wes as well as Radio Exile's video for "soulfire"
Links:

These experiences got me thinking about taking video making more seriously. Although I had a youtube channel (mostly to promote the show) I hadn't been using it much and aside from my "Mad Pie Man" videos (link on my blog page) I hadn't really taken the craft seriously. Well, that changed... I caught the bug and was filming everything I could using just my phone and an old point and shoot. I liked the process and the balance of being extroverted while shooting yet introverted while editing it all together later. To me it was the best of both worlds and even still I enjoy the process immensely. Unfortunately, getting people to see the final product became increasingly frustrating. I had been using the traditional social media... facebook and youtube... and neither seemed particularly friendly to my endeavors. Algorithm changes made it so that any post that linked to my youtube channel got very limited exposure while my more benign posts were getting traction. To this day I have friends on facebook who are completely unaware I started making videos. I know this because I see them in real life and they always ask the same thing "why don't you post your videos?". I've concluded that facebook wants it to SEEM like you have a voice but also wants to keep that voice quiet enough that their "chosen celebs" don't end up in your shadow... I could go deeper into the psychology of completely removing a performer's mystique (which was maintained by anonymity on the myspace platform)... or how angry I was when I realized I was going to have to PAY facebook in order to reach the people who ALREADY liked my sideshow page when there were going to be events... the limitations on invites. The failure of social media to keep it's promise of connection was clear. I don't think I would have noticed any of this had I not been performing and making videos. Youtube was likewise frustrating and for having a channel for almost 8 years my subscriber list is still pitiful to this day, and although most if not all of my videos are mostly imagery set to music more than half of my videos now live in "restricted mode" with no ability to appeal and no explanation (See the Beer Fest video also in my blog for an example.. a family friendly street festival set to a friend's band's music was placed in "restricted").

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(me on stilts photo cred @mememememe) ()

(myself in the half man illusion I built.. photo cred @mememememe)

I'm no quitter. I know that there is an audience for the sort of content I provide and this is my quest to find that audience... and if I can divert some attention from facebook and youtube at the same time, than all the better... I can, and will, adapt.

(an old photo of my days as a DJ prior to the market flood... I still DJ from time to time... photo cred: @mememememe)


(images sent to me by fans)

So, that's it in a nutshell. I've invested in better cameras and audio equipment for my video projects and teamed up with some really great and talented people to bring fun and enjoyable content. My goal is, and has always been, to entertain and create memorable experiences. I'm glad I got to share a bit about me and how I got here. There are some exciting projects in the works as I am catching up on some video editing and will also soon be featured in a comic book (more on those things later). For now, won't you join me? I'll be keeping this page updated frequently with projects and content and if you're interested in these things than why not come along for the ride? In other words...

P.S. If that wasn't enough for one post, here's a link to another video that I appear in with some of my burlesque friends