Coffee and a caca ☕

Hello, it's Art Simone. I'll let you in a little secret.

I live a double life, and I'm not the only one. So I've taken it upon myself to find other people just like me who do something in their personal life that is very different from their professional life. Well, they seem very regular in person, but have a scandalous career.

Sounds fun, right.

I know it gets even better because I actually don't know who I'll be speaking with or what they're concealing. This is concealed with me, Art Simone, let's meet our guests.

Roll that type.

My name is eighty. I am from Tasmania. I'm thirty six years old and I am a consent educator. I work in high schools talking to young people about respectful relationships and how to have great intimacy if and when they want to do that. In my spare time to do anything that doesn't involve sitting still, I don't think Art will guess what I'm concealing because it's so left of center and at first glance, completely different from my day to day.

Hello, Adi, how are you?

Hello?

You look nice and cozy. You wearing glasses and you've got a nice little silver necklace. Singing, what's on the end of it? What's that?

That's a Tasmanian devil?

Poor print, not life size.

No, no, it's a little medallion. I just wear that because I've traveled a fair bit. So, ok, I like to have a little reminder of home.

Are they actually like in the wild and Tasmania Tasmanian devils?

Yeah?

Oh my god, yuck.

No, they're wonderful. They're so cute.

Don't they make those horrible noises?

You're like, yes, yeah, yeah, I don't know about that.

They're a bit scary. Have you ever been attacked by a Tasmanian? I don't know. This is not the interview.

I haven't, but I know someone that has.

Oh my god, it's a new podcast. You're doing totally Wild instead.

All right, forget Ranger Stacy, she's out, it's me instead.

Okay.

So a consent educator, How did you get into that? What pathway led you to that? Is this also a new thing that's being added into high schools. I didn't have that when I was in high school.

I came to it in twenty seventeen, and I was at a point where I was looking for something else in my life and It just really aligned with my values. I guess I wanted to be making a difference in the world, and I wanted to be helping people, and this seemed like a really positive way to do that. I also really enjoy working with young people. I think they're far more interesting than adults.

You're doing God's work, Dowling, You're doing God's work because I can't stand those little shits, but I have no patience. I just find them really stinky and annoying. But I think it's very important that you're doing what you do. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to ask you three questions, and from the answers to those three questions, plus combined with the background info I have now and the visuals in front of me, I'm going to try and guess what you're concealing from me.

Okay, so here we go. Fire away Question number one, what is your star sign?

I am an aquarian?

Oh what's that one?

It's the water carrier and a lot of people think that it's a water sign, but it's actually an air sign.

I'm a virgo and I just know that's the pretty lady and I resonate with I resonate with that.

I think she's quite nice looking. Okay.

Question number two, what is one crazy thing that you've got on your bucket list?

I really want to do wing walking? What do you know those those biplanes, the YOLDI biplanes with the two sets of wings and how sometimes people used to walk on top of them.

As they're flying while it's in the air.

Yeah, I really want to do that.

Jesus Christ, why would you what? What?

What are you sitting down one day and he said, Oh, I'd love to do that. That'd be fun.

It just really appeals to me. I like wing walking, being up high, and it's just I really like the kudos that would go with that as well, and it would just be so fun. And it's something that not many people do.

And yeah, but if you want to get up high, I love just go at an elevator. Same thing, maybe one that as a window. Question number three, what is your go to karaoke song?

Ah?

Well, Wicked is my favorite musical?

Oh?

Yes, a bit of define gravity or yeah, more of a yeah.

Not that I would want to step on a Dina Menzol's toes. I could ever hold a torch, but that song is epic.

Yeah, I only for the first time saw Wicked this year. I know it's been around for like twenty years hashtag bad gay. I finally saw it and I was like, oh my god, it's pretty good because I've heard define gravity million times drag queens love to perform that, of course, but like, it was actually pretty good.

It's a good story.

The twist at the end, I was, It's like, how has this not been spoil for me after twenty years? How did I exist in pop culture in the world and not have this room for me?

So it was a great moment.

I was like, wow, what a great experience.

I was like, it's all just linked together.

Oh wow, yeah, it's quite Norris actually, Okay, so what have I got? Let's recap. Okay, you work with teenagers young adults. You have a Tasmanian devil miniature poor print around your nick. You're in aquarius. You want to walk on wings and be up high and define gravity. Okay, I know where we're leaning towards, flying in the sky, in the sky high, define gravity. Oh that's air. It's all up in the air, okay, air.

Okay, there's a lot of clues there.

Yeah, So it's all pointing to this air and the sky. Do you fly a blimp? Are you a blimp pilot? A blimp pilot?

Hot air finalance? Yes, I'm sorry, I do not fly a bar.

Oh.

I am a trapeze artist, and I've worked all around the globe across twenty four countries, performing with a few different circuses, and I now run a circus school.

Ah, you're you're a circus the former.

You're a trapeze artist. You're an aerialist.

That's me.

No wonder you want to be on a bloody winden walker. Ah, you mustn't be afraid of anything scary.

So we have just found out that eighty is not in fact a limp pilot. Oh, she's actually a trapeze artist. She's doing with the circus.

Can I join? Where is it? Can I help?

I could be a clown or I could just do popcorn? I want to hello. Okay, we are here with and we found out that no, she's not a blimp pilot. She's in fact a trapeze artist. So she likes to be up high and swing from things. So how did you become a trapeze artist?

I guess the short story is that My mother is a physiotherapist and when I was four, she noticed that I couldn't touch my toes. I was very tight and inflexible. So she enrolled me in gymnastics and I loved it. And then when I was sixteen, I was having a really tough time at school and mum discovered NIKER at the National Institute of Circus Arts, and so she told me about that and she took me up there for a summer course and that was it pretty much. I

Yeah.

So during circus school, because I know, you can pick like a specialty, so was that trapeze? Did you have a secondary circus type thing that you were like almost going to go with but you said, nah, trapez is it for me?

Pretty much back when I did it, and it was three years. The first year was everything basic, so we learned handstands and tumbling and acrobatics and clowning.

I know they do clowning. Did they do clouding then yep?

Yeah, bit of clouding yes, ah, I love it. Ballet every morning, history of circus, business management, anatoman, physiology, all of the things that you could possibly need. And then we had specialized so I really wanted to do flying trapeze, so I had to rally a group to do that with me, and then I needed a secondary one and I wanted to do swinging trippees. So all of the trapez is it wasn't encouraged because they try to encourage you to be a more rounded performer so that you

And are they the ones where you need like a full net underneath you, like.

It's that kind of thing. The flying typiez that I trained in is actually a smaller version, so it's exactly what you're imagining with the net, just a little bit smaller and has mats instead of a net.

Oh okay, my goodness.

And then swinging trapez is the one where it's one person standing on a bar pushing it backwards and forwards, and then you sort of jump and do flips and stuff and recatch the same bar.

So I was speechless to that. I just I can't. Where have you tued? Where have you traveled? Well?

You know, because I know that circus artists can do anything from like being a cabaret show with a I'm going to say something controversial yet brave, not another bloody light lira hoop, not another one, because any any any bitch thing. So you can strap one to roof and sit in it and be like, look I do circus.

No you don't, No, you don't.

If I see another set of silks again, go away not interested.

Well that's because they're the most easy to rig.

Yeah, yeah they are.

They just take one point, yeah, one thing to hang from the roof.

You've just got your caribbean or you're strapped up off your guard.

That's it. Yeah, it's very cheap. It's very easy to get it.

Yeah, in there, so I know that circus can be in places like that, But then I'm more interested in, you know, the bigger shows and things. So you know, what's the most exciting thing you've done?

Tell me?

Tell me, Well, yes, I have done my fair share of cabarets, yes, but for most of my career I was working on large scale touring, tended shows, like.

An actual circus.

Yeah, I lived in a caravan.

Oh my goodness, that's so exciting.

Like I've been on tour before, but I haven't actually gone with a bloody tent.

That's like, what? How long on the How long do you do that?

For about eight months of the year and then the off season that's when you sort of pick up the extra sort of cabarets or festival work or other stuff, usually for a month at a time, and then you pack the tent down, you put it in trucks, and then you drive somewhere else and then you put it all back up again and then you do another month of shows six days a week.

Yeah, do you have to be involved in that?

Yeah?

Oh really, I always wanted to join the circus, but I don't know if I want you.

Now, it's a really nice way that I think really contributes to that sense of community and sense of family. Like, as this swinging chrapeze artist, there's a fair amount of star power or like you know, like you're in the spotlight for that one moment in the show. Yeah, but then there's a real leveling when you all have to put your gum boots on and hit sledgehammers into the mud.

What's the circus you to it with?

The one that I spend the most amount of time on is a UK based contemporary circus called No Fit State. Okay, but I worked for a French flying trapeze company for a few years. I also did some traditional circus in India which was an experience. Rode some elephants there for all.

While, Wow, how does your body cope with that? Because how you do six shows a week, unpacked, the tent down and stay in good physical form?

Yeah, And I've definitely noticed just as I've aged and as I've grown as a person, that relationship with my body has certainly changed. Like, I definitely had some unhealthy attitudes from growing up in a sporting environment, and then Nika was pretty similar, and I had some attitudes towards training and things that weren't particularly helpful. But I was young enough that my body was very resilient take a

You get your bang for your buck, You're right, all right, Yeah, time slows down in the sauna. It's all right, guys, and get my two days worth in this one day, and.

Then like sleeping and eating and making sure my routine was it's good. My pre show routine would definitely be like half my dinner early and then do costume makeup, all that coffee and a kaka oh yes, pre show poo yes, yeah, very important, and then two squares of dark chocolate and interval and then post show cool down, second dinner. Oh my goodness, that was pretty much how I rolled.

Yeah.

Well, you've got to find what works for yourself too, you know. But all gigs paid the same, Like you know, you obviously get some danger money from hanging from the ceiling, But do you get gigs that are paying more than just your regular circus work.

Oh yeah, I've done the really well paid. I was a stunt double for a flying trapeze artist once. It was ridiculous.

Stunt double for another trapeze artist.

Yes, that's just like having two of the same thing.

What Yeah, Well, do you remember at the start I told you that the flying chipiez that you were thinking of is bigger it has the net, yes, and the flying tupiece that I do is slightly smaller and has matts.

Yes.

So this big fancy bank was making an advertisement and they wanted to show trust, so trapeze catch ah, And they hired these trapeze artists, and then they got to the venue and they realized that it was the little rig not the big one. So the trapeze artist was like, I don't know how to fly on this what?

So then what they call you in? You do the trick? But then do they do a close up of the other artists.

Yeah? Yeah, they dressed me up like the flying trapeze artists.

Oh my goodness.

She could do everything except the trick. Yeah, so I just did the trick.

Sorry, she could do everything except for the hard bit. All right, Okay, I'll see how it is.

But yeah I got to I got to go somewhere in eastern Europe. It was really beautiful. I got paid really well. That was pretty great.

I interviewed a Hollywood stunt double recently and I was asking him. I was like, is it really annoying seeing other people get like applauded for your work essentially because you do all the hard bit?

Was that hard for you? Were you like, hey, I did that trick? Actually, oh no, I got paid exactly.

There are some things that if you get paid enough whatever.

Yeah, So I want to know what the best and the worst thing has been in your circus career, Like what's the most exciting amazing thing that you think back and you go, damn, I did that. That was great, versus being like the moment where you're like, this is horrendous.

Okay, I can do the horrendous one off the top of my head. I shut myself.

While you performing everyone.

So that's a that's a secret. The PSP, yes, the coffee and a kaka. So that that happened in India where I had a bit of Delli belly going on. Thankfully I was wearing three pairs of tides. So my first trick was actually pulling up an over onto my hips, which just pressed things that couldn't take it at that time. And so I very quickly just cut straight to the final trick, did that and then took myself.

Oh my god.

So we didn't have any actual like overspray, you know, any explosions, but it's that moment you go, something's got gone wrong.

That's the benefit of being an erlis. You're constantly wearing so many layers because it bruises and grazes.

And yeah, yeah, oh my goodness.

But it was not comfortable and I was mortified.

That Nappy would not have been fun to unwrap at the end. Oh my goodness.

I don't I'm not going into details. I did my five presents as is wanted in a traditional circuits.

That's scary. That's scary. But what about the best, right?

Yeah?

From shooting yourself too?

The best was I mentioned I had a number of caravans that broke down. Yes, that had happened. I had sourced a friend's caravan that I was going to move into, but it was all very short notice and I didn't have time, and so I was trying to move house essentially as the show was going on. So I would like do my act quickly, change for the next one,

That's really interesting.

Out of everything you've done, it's nothing to do with actually you've done, or a trick you've done, or an audience you perform for. It comes back to community again. That's so fascinating. Moving into you know what you do now? Is there any like intersection with what you learned in being the circus as to you know your role now as a consent educator.

There is so much crossover. Yeah, so much crossover. So I think when we're talking about consenting, we talk a lot about listening to our intuition and getting to know ourselves, and a lot of that is our early warning system, where we have our brain stem that gives us those really fun feelings of butterflies and our tummy and sweaty palms and goose pumps and increase heart rate and all

Would you say as a circus artist, half of it is ignoring that because you like, because your body's like probably should be jumping off there, not doing it anyway.

Freaking out.

Yeah. Yeah, it's like learning how to turn that voice off, being like shut up.

Well, I don't think it's something to be suppressed. And I think that's where the intersection lies is a lot of people think that we have to ignore those things and push through those things, but actually it's really valuable information and that's our animal brain and it's existed like that for as long as humans have because we need it and it's a good thing, and it's also a

Yeah, I didn't even think that. It's just part of it.

Like in circus when you're working with other partners, you need to be asking all these questions. It's almost just like it's standard practice.

I love it.

To wrap it all up, I want to know what are some of your tricks? You know, do you have fancy names for them or do you rename them yourself? Because I want to name a trick. Okay, you know normally that name you know, name something after you if you do it. But I'm just going to live vicariously through you.

Okay, so great.

Yeah, I'll tell you this one and what I've named it, and then i'll tell you what I don't have a name for, and maybe you can name it.

Oh, perfect, perfect.

So the trick that I do is called a sovrie, which means jump twist, and then a retu debut, which is like a return up to standing, So it's a back summersault from under the bar to land on.

Of course it is what else?

And I call that one a scary scary because the first part is scary and the second part is also scary.

So I'm going to give you a new one, all right, so what what do you need renamed?

There's one called a gallipet where you kneel on the bar and flip off the front.

Kneel on bar, flip up front. Yes, just write notes I want to get this right, yeah.

Yeah, followed by a hock salt. So your knees are on the bar and then you let go of the ropes and whip all the way around by your knees back to sit.

Oh okay, well, the only logical thing to call that is absolutely not, absolutely not not happening. So you're going to go scary scary, absolutely not a big finish.

I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

So eighty isn't a blimp pilot.

No, she is a trapeze artist who has literally run away and join the circus and has taught us today that you can never trust a fart. You've been listening to an iHeart Australia and Kiss production concealed with artsimone. Listen for free on the iHeart app and listen to your art's content and to see the gorgeous ring leader of this circus, check us out on the socials