Behind the Scenes of the Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow

The Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow is a death defying stunt show performed by the married duo of Thrill Kill Jill and Tyler Fyre. The attractive couple risks life and limb onstage with an act that features swords, snakes and fire. Offstage they break any preconceived notions you may have about life in a traveling thrillshow.

Tyler Fire answered several questions about sideshow training, life with his bride and the second generation performers they plan to hatch.

How much of your skills come from training versus natural ability?
There is a certain amount of natural ability that helps with any trade you take on - but more than anything - it is really training, dedication and, of course, desire. You really have to want to take on a craft like sword swallowing. Many people think it is a cool idea, and it is, but after a few weeks of sore throats and spending hours each day throwing up in your sink while you try to shove something down your throat it feels like you are not making any progress. But in fact that is exactly what it takes, so that is progress.

What was it like on your first attempt to perform a trick? For example, how you you know you could hammer a nail into your nose?
We do not do any magic or illusions in our show. It is something we talked about early on. While we both like magic, it is a different skill that neither of us do. Magic is illusion and making something appear to be real. Everything we do is real. We made the decision not to include any magic or trickery in our show, no matter how simple or showy. Instead we perform stunts that are all real. We never have anything to hide. It is simple training of the human body. And more than anything - it is supposed to be fun!

As for the nail in the nose, well most kids will laugh and squirt milk out of their nose. It turns out I could shoot spaghetti and meatballs out my nose, then I figured out I could do it on command. I had no idea this could be a profitable career asset later in life.

Does your esophagus need to develop a callous to be able to swallow a sword?
Your body is made to prevent you from shoving steel or any other solid objects into your stomach. It takes some training to overcome your body's natural reflexes. It is more about developing a callous on your mind than in your throat.

Is there any type of sword metal that has a better taste?
Each type of metal has a distinctive taste. Stainless steel swords have the best by having the least "taste." But we are not swallowing swords for our own pleasure, so we do not get to pick the best swords by taste. My biggest sword is non-stainless steel and has a distinct taste - and the ability to rust - so it has to be carefully cleaned daily. The first swords I swallowed were zinc plated brass - a terribly dangerous mix - and not so delicious a taste either. Some old-timers coat the swords in olive oil which led to the misconception that it helps the sword go down easier, but really it is just to keep the rust off. Which I suppose does make it go down easier - without rust.

Have you had any close calls, or scary experiences on stage? Any interesting scars?
After 12 years in sideshow we are very lucky to only have a couple of accidents. It is like working in a factory. You work around dangerous equipment all day, every day and when you know what you are doing and stay focused, you don't really run any risk. But have one off day and it can go bad very quickly.

I had a neon glass sword break inside me and Jill got bit in the face by a large snake while onstage in Las Vegas.

What is your general income? Maybe related to what an accountant would make.
We are happy to get to work in show business and make people happy while making a living. We do not drive fancy cars or live in a big house, but we are happy with our life. As long as we can make enough money to "live medium" as Jill says then we will keep the show on the road. We have a house up in the mountains of West Virginia and our Airstream trailer that we live in out on the road. We have a truck and a van that we own outright.

I guess that makes us middle class. The only really fancy things we buy are for the show. It is not like we are walking around the grocery store in our custom made costumes. We have some debt left to pay off then we are planning to have kids and they can spend all our money. Then hopefully start making their own!

What is the most popular, or most commented on, part of the show?
People ask us all kinds of questions after the show. People ask if the swords are real. (Yes they are.) Some people ask if the snake is real. Let me tell you this, if we could make a realistic robot snake, we would not be shoving swords down our throats for a living, we would be living in a mansion and having robots make us martinis!

But the most shocking fact of all to lots of people is that we are married. People ask us all the time, "So are you guys REALLY married?" As if that is the most unbelievable part of the show. Believe it or not, we are really married.

Are you insured?
We are insured in every possible way. We have insurance that covers our show and any possible damage to us, the stage, audience, etcetera. We have life insurance, health insurance and car insurance. We have it all. The health insurance took a little doing, but after we incorporated the business we were able to get small business health insurance and insure ourselves as the President and the C.E.O. of an entertainment company. Which are our actual job titles in the corporation.

What question would you never want to hear again?
The questions I don't like are the ones people ask when they already have their own answer in mind. For example:

"How'd you get into this?" - This is a simple and fair question that can be asked in different ways. It is our job and we both trained and worked very hard to break into and stay in show business. If the person is actually interested in years of training and what a day in the gym and at the office is like, that is one thing. But many people add a follow up question like, "So did you just get drunk one night and go for it?" No, as it happens that is not how it went down at all. I want to ask them the same question like "How did you get to be a doctor? Did you just get drunk one night and start cutting people up?"

My other least favorite is, "What do your parents think about what you do?" Also a fair question. Both our parents have been wonderful and supportive. They have come to see the show, and like other parents, they give us advice when we call home to talk in good times and bad. They get a kick out of what we do. Keep in mind they are our parents, they have known us our whole lives. They are not as surprised by us as strangers would be.

How did you and Jill meet?
Jill and I met on Valentines Day in 2006 while I was on tour and she was talent scouting for The Palace of Wonders - an oddities museum and live stage she designed and opened in Washington, DC. I was the MC on a dancing girl show called Burlesque-A-Pades. The first night of the tour was Valentines Day and Jill was there wearing a red dress. I spotted her after the show - she was beautiful - and went over to talk to her. As I walked up she said "Tyler!" I was shocked. Turns out we met a few years before at our industry convention, The Sideshow Gathering. Oh, and I was the MC of the show so I had just told everyone my name.

Talking to a beautiful woman like that can make you lose your mental capacity for a moment sometimes. I spent most of that year on tour, but kept flying back to DC every time I had a day or two off to see Jill. The next year on Valentines Day we were married by Elvis in Vegas.

What was your wedding like?
Our wedding was a lot of fun. We had planned to elope and tell everyone afterwards. Working in show business, we produce and work at special events all the time. We did not want our wedding to feel like work. We wanted it to be fun, and it was.

We booked a chapel in Las Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator. Jill and I each leaked the info to a close friend. It is hard to do something you are so excited about and NOT tell people close to you. After we left for Vegas the Washington Post printed an interview with us that talks about us getting married, and our picture was the entire cover of the Weekend section. As the cover the picture is also on the front page cover of the Post.

We called our families right away so they would find out from us and not read about it in the newspaper. With just a few days notice they all decided to fly out to Vegas and be there for our wedding. So we got the best of both worlds. We eloped and had our whole family there with us.

What is a simple night at home like?
People are often disappointed in our real lives. We are not swingers, we do not do drugs and we are not that wild and crazy. Running the show is our job, so it takes a lot of our time, and in our off time we like to relax. We get up and go jogging with the dog in the morning, then do our office work for the show (you'd be amazed at the amount of office work there is in running a traveling show!), rehearse new acts, then make dinner and watch TV.

Do you want to have kids? Would you want them to follow in the family business?
We are planning the kids in the next couple of years, and until they are 18 they will be living with us which means they will be in the business until then. After that, it is up to them. We are giving them the gift of being second generation performers. It is a big deal, especially in the circus. First generation performers do not get the same respect and have to work very hard to break in and stay in the business.

For the first few years we will stick them on stage in a stroller with a tip bucket and a T-shirt that says "Diapers are Expensive" or "Milk Money." As they grow up we can teach them all kinds of things. Kids are much quicker learners of acrobatics, juggling, balancing and really everything. Most wire walkers, trapeze artists and professional circus performers start at age 4 or 5. Of course we know our kids might rebel against us and grow up to be doctors and lawyers, and that would be great too. We will need someone to take care of us when we are old!

Visit www.luckydaredevil.com for more information and a calendar of events.