Sword Swallower Dan Meyer

2012 End of Year News and Updates

Posted by dan | Filed under Have Sword Will Travel, TV Appearances, Uncategorized

Hey everybody! Lots of great news to share!

Discovery Channel 3Net

I’ve been informed that the new Discovery Channel 3D episode of “Human Body in 3D” that we filmed last January in New York is now entitled “I, Human” and is set to air around Christmastime, first on 3Net (apparently you can watch it in 3D with 3D glasses!), and then possibly on regular Discovery Channel (2D) and IMAX.

We filmed this episode on a cold, drizzly Friday the 13th under the Queens Bridge in New York City. For the composition of the shot, the Director said he wanted a long distance shot with lots of “keystoning” and depth of perspective looking down the street, then he wanted to film it while two trains were dissecting the shot horizontally from both the left and the right, and then at the right moment, he wanted me to swallow a long sword that dissected that view vertically from top to bottom, then bow and lean into the camera diagonally so the sword was protruding right into the viewer’s screen! It was such a cold day that I couldn’t stop shivering, but the looks on the faces of New Yorkers passing by was well worth it! This was all filmed on the most expensive state-of-the-art stereo 3D IMAX cameras. I’m curious to see how it looks all in 3D!

Then after I thawed out, they had me swallow a new 3D endoscope camera so they could see down my throat in 3D. This is an innovative new invention and the inventor himself was there from Israel to make sure things went well. This was all filmed on the most expensive cutting edge state-of-the-art stereo 3D IMAX cameras by the world’s top 3D cinematographer! Let me know if you happen to see it on 3Net!

Reality TV - Pawn Shop Chicago on TruTV

In January, watch for me in an episode of Pawn Shop Chicago on TruTV Network. The past 4 seasons were filmed at a pawn shop in Detroit, but the location for this next season is just off State Street in Chicago. I can’t tell you much more about the episode, but it was all unscripted and nobody knew what was going to happen. If you’re a pawn shop reality fan, let me know if you happen to see it on TruTV Network!

AMC TV - Venice Beach Freakshow

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of filming a fun episode of “Freakshow” for AMC TV. They’re filming the entire series at the Venice Beach Freakshow in Venice Beach, CA with a very interesting cast! Our episode included me getting to meet and swallow swords on a very windy day with 3 other sword swallowers I’d never met before in person, and a couple of really unexpected surprises! Our episode will be the 2nd in the series and is tentatively scheduled to air on Thursday, February 21, 2013, just two days before our annual “World Sword Swallower’s Day” on Saturday, February 23rd!

Legendarios Brazil

A few weeks ago, I had the great opportunity to perform on Legendarios, which is like the equivalent of “Saturday Night Live” on Brazilian national Rede Record TV, the #2 TV network in Brazil that airs on prime time on Saturday nights to over 150 million viewers on 150 stations! I got to swallow a number of swords, hedge clippers, straight razor, and even 7 swords at once. But the fun finale was when the host Marcos Mion whipped a sword from my throat from 10 feet away! The next day, people on the street in Sao Paulo were coming up to me and asking to have their picture taken with me, so I guess a LOT of people watch the show! What a great time I had in Sao Paulo, Brazil! Can’t wait to go back and practice my Portuguese!

More exciting news!

New Website!

I’m really excited about my new website!

www.cuttingedgeinnertainment.com

It’s a work in progress, but please check it out and let me know what you think!

New Promo Video

I’m also really excited about my new promo video!

Take a look and let me know what you think!

And if you know of anyone looking for a unique speaker/entertainer, please send them to my new site and/or video!

Thanks for keeping in touch!

I hope you’ll have a very warm and blessed Christmas and New Year’s!

Stay tuned for more news in 2013!

Tags: 3D, 3Net, AMC, appearances, Channel, Chicago, Dan, Dan Meyer, Discovery, Discovery Channel, Meyer, Pawn, Pawn Shop, Reality Show, shop, swallower, sword, Sword Swallower, swordswallower, TruTV, TV

Read more | Comments (0) | December 9th, 2012

Arianna Huffington pulls sword from Dan at AOL Huffington Post

Posted by dan | Filed under Ripley's Believe It or Not, SSAI, TV Appearances, Uncategorized

Here’s the story in the Huffington Post about Arianna Huffington removing a sword from my throat at the offices of Huffington Post/AOL:

Dan Meyer on Huff Post

And here’s a video from the national program “Right This Minute” featuring Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of Huffington Post removing a sword from my throat at the offices of Huff Post AOL in New York for World Sword Swallower’s Day 2012:

Tags: 2012, America Online, AOL, Arianna, Arianna Huffington, Dan Meyer, huff, Huff Post, Huffington, Huffington Post, New York, NY, Post, Right This Minute, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Sword Swallower, Sword Swallowing, swordswallower, World Sword Swallower's Day

Read more | Comments (0) | March 15th, 2012

Pride

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

I have been learning more and more about pride and humility lately.
Here is a short, but very revealing bit on Pride by Pastor Mick Antonaitis.

“Pride means that our interests get served first,
That our desires are more important than the desires of others,
That our opinions and point of view count more than those of others,
That what happens to us is more important than what happens to others,
That somehow we are better or more deserving than others.”

“Pride separates us from each other,
Pride says that you cannot say that you have been wrong,
That you cannot say that you are sorry.
Pride keeps you from repentance and confession,
Pride keeps you from asking for forgiveness,
Pride means that you must always win the argument,
that you must always prove your point,
that you always have to be right,
that it always has to be done your way,
that you always have to be in charge and in control.”

“Pride means that you can never make a mistake,
Pride means avoiding embarrassment and vulnerability at all costs,
Pride means never letting others see your weaknesses,
Pride easily takes offense… even if none was intended.
And pride usually doesn’t worry about giving offense to others
Pride seems to be the affliction common to us all.”
– Mick Ananaitis, “Clothed With Humility”

Read more | Comments (0) | September 14th, 2011

Compassion Trip to Ecuador

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

Wow! What an awesome experience Ecuador was!

Where to start? There were so many awesome life-changing experiences…

I will try to post pictures later. In the meantime, please check out some of the pictures on my Facebook page at

http://www.facebook.com/halfdan

Read more | Comments (0) | September 14th, 2011

Pride and Humility

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading and listening to the book “Humility: True Greatness” by CJ Mahaney. The more I read, and the more humility I strive for, the more I realize how far I have to go!

Today I stumbled across a great blog by Mike King entitled “How to be Humble”.

Mike lists 50 things you can to when you strive for humility. I wish I could memorize this list and put each of these suggestions into practice every day. What a great list!

You can also download this free PDF download in Mike’s resources area, called, Being Humble.

50 Ways to Be More Humble and to Act Humbly

By Mike King

Lists I’ve found are a great way to explore a topic, generate some interest in a subject and provide enough variety that it is not only quick to read, but quick to relate to many aspects. All this while hopefully adding some value to what is read in new ideas, unheard suggestions or simply by giving reminders of what might be known dead inside you already. I certainly find that in reading lists from other people.

This was my most difficult list I’ve made and while I was hoping to make a list of 100 ways to be more humble, I really struggled coming up with unique ideas that didn’t have too much overlap and were not just a large list of different words or minor actions to be more humble. I hope you will find some value in this list, it has certainly given me a lot to think about, a lot to still learn in being humble and an eye opener to realize how far from this I actually am. While I hope many of these are true in my life I know they are a continuous struggle and I’m sure others can relate or add even more ideas to the list, which I would love to see in your comments!

50 Ways to be Humble

1. Use the response “It’s My Pleasure” when someone thanks you for doing something.
2. Use the response “I’d be honored” when someone asks you to help them or do something with them.
3. Listen more than you talk
4. Count to 3 before adding to a conversation to ensure the other person is done
5. Be willing to follow another person in conversation even if you don’t get to talk about your idea
6. Always offer to improve someone else’s idea and give them credit
7. Give credit for other’s ideas that you are carrying through on
8. Ask others for the opinion of others
9. Ask others to join conversations and contribute
10. It’s OK to be wrong and so admit it
11. Admit when you don’t understand or know something
12. Appreciate others who learn something quickly and say so
13. Be quick to apologize when you do something wrong
14. Study moral principles
15. Use moral principles to guide you
16. You are God’s creation, not your own
17. Recognize your talents as gifts, not your own ability
18. Know how your skills have only be developed by the help of others
19. Share your own knowledge to pass on what you have learned
20. Pass on thanks when you receive it to those who helped you achieve what was thanked
21. Value other people’s time as much as your own
22. Never equate time spent with people to a dollar value
23. Don’t boast about your achievements, let others recognize them instead
24. Keep your goals to yourself
25. Help other people with their goals
26. Realize the potential in others
27. Know that timing is everything and everyone excels at different times in life
28. Being the 1st follower is often the best way to lead
29. Since winning isn’t everything, you don’t have to win
30. Recognize that you have faults
31. Remember you are a sinner, as we all are
32. Ignore first impressions of people
33. Give others the benefit of the doubt
34. Provide positive and encouraging feedback instead of criticism
35. Make a choice to act more humbly
36. Practice at least one humble act each day
37. Be grateful for successes without boasting about them
38. Know how to accept praise with a simple thank you, don’t elaborate on it or talk more about it
39. Recognize the individualism of others and yourself, there is no need to conform
40. Share your core values and live them accordingly regardless of the circumstances
41. Prioritize things in your life and rate your actions on whether to followed that priority or not
42. Rate other people as first, be less significant
43. Forgive those who wrong you and move on without revenge or lashing back
44. Serve others and not yourself first
45. Seek wisdom, which is knowledge of what is true coupled with just judgment of action
46. Recognize and know that you know little and there is always more to learn
47. Avoid explosive reactions, and subside any aggression
48. Accept new ideas and change, not being stuck on what you knew before
49. Teach all that you can for the benefit of others
50. Learn from and model the life of the most humble man known in history, Jesus!

Tags: character, humble, humbleness, humility, list, Mike King, pride, traits

Read more | Comments (1) | June 28th, 2011

Worst Show Nightmare EVER!

Posted by dan | Filed under Have Sword Will Travel, live appearances

Ever had one of those days when everything went wrong and it felt like somebody was out to get you?

Last Friday I got to experience the performer’s WORST nightmare ever…

All last week I’d been sick in bed with malaria fever (relapse from India) combined with some kind of bronchial/sinus infection crud. On Friday morning I medicated myself up with a bunch of Dayquil, TheraFlu and Mucinex, drove to the Indy airport, and boarded my flights to Atlanta and then on to Roanoke VA.

The flights all went fine, and when I landed in Roanoke, my host met me at the baggage claim.

“I am SO glad you made it!” he said. “The past several years something has ALWAYS gone wrong with this event so that speakers couldn’t make it, had vehicles break down, and equipment didn’t arrive! I am SO glad you made it! Do you ever have any problem flying with your swords?”

“No, no problem at all,” I said confidently as we waited for my luggage to arrive. “I’ve been really blessed that my swords and luggage have always made it on every flight! Knock on wood. Oops… maybe I shouldn’t say that too early until after my luggage arrives.”

At that moment the baggage claim belt came to a complete stop. And my bag was NOT on the belt.

We both looked at each other and blinked in disbelief.

At the Delta baggage counter, they told us that my bag missed the Atlanta flight and would be arriving on the 10:27pm flight… about 2 hours AFTER my 8:00 show was over.

Ut-oh…

We looked at each other and tried to come up with a Plan B.

After a few quick phone calls, we managed to find a little kiosk in the nearby mall that sold some sai swords and a small but wide and very sharp dagger. After a quick test to see if I could swallow the sai (”Wow, you just made my day!”, the shop keeper exclaimed), we grabbed those two swords and made a quick run to Home Depot to buy a hammer, nails, hedge clippers, grinder, sand paper, lightbulb, fly swatters, and a few other things to try to improvise an impromptu show in the next 2 hours.

For the next few hours, we sweated in my host’s garage desperately grinding, filing, sanding, and preparing props in hopes of throwing together a show. A friend brought over a very large and very sharp curved Japanese kitana sword that was I was not at all sure that I could swallow. We grinded, filed and sanded everything as we could. I managed to make a set of fire-eating torches from the fly swatters and some cotton cloth, but after we soaked them in the fuel and tried to light them… absolutely NOTHING happened! The fuel would NOT light at all. The flames licked around the torch like it was fire-proof and would NOT catch on fire, much less make a dramatic flame like I needed. It appeared that the fuel they bought had been contaminated with water and simply would NOT light. So we tried Charcoal lighter fluid… again, the flame just danced AROUND the torch heads and would NOT light at all.

Then we tried to import my background music tracks into his computer. Error. Disc cannot be read. We tried to load the files from my thumb drive. Only 6 of the 17 files loaded.

“What’s going on here!?” I said as we looked at each other and scratched our heads. “It’s like someone has put together a conspiracy against us and does not want tonight’s program to go on!” We just shook our heads and knew someone did not want this program to happen. Another barrage of prayers and rebuking the enemy.

Finally we were ready to go on. Glance at watch: 7:59. Just in time for 8:00 show. Quick prayer of submission - this was NOT about me, and I definitely needed to remove myself from the equation. We prayed that God would move in spite of me being sick, in spite of unique circumstances where it seemed like everything was going wrong, in spite of me, period. This is NOT about me. Never is. The swords and fire are just attention-getters and the entire show has to be focused on pointing the audience to HIM and for His glory. This is my normal prayer before each show, but this show, it really had even much more impact.

And of course, tonight would be the time when the local TV stations would come to film when I had none of my own props, my costume was still in my suitcase, and the shirt I had been fevering in all day was soaked in sweat and I looked like death warmed over. Oh well. “It’s not about ME,” I reminded myself.

“When I am weak, then is HE strong… ” I prayed during the introduction. “Less of me and more of You… This is for YOUR glory, not mine…” I prayed as the introduction ended.

The show itself went relatively well. The torches lit and the fire-eating went well. Human blockhead went well too even though the nail was about twice as big as what I normally use. And all the swords and hedge clippers went down without cutting up my throat too badly. But what was really incredible was that the kids in the audience sat with their mouths wide-open through the entire message.

I ended my message with my normal statement that had even more impact tonight. “How many of you would like to see a real miracle here tonight? The incredible thing is not that I can swallow steel swords… That’s just a crazy stunt that anyone can do with enough practice. The incredible thing, the real miracle is that God can take a scared, shy, skinny, wimpy kid from Indiana who was filled with fears and work a miracle to do the impossible in his life to transform him… And if he can do it for a scared, shy, skinny kid from Indiana, then he can do it in YOU too. When you submit it all to Him, he can take your mess and make it into His message. When you give him your talents, he can turn them into his tools. When you give him your pride, He can give you humility and work real miracles in your life. When you crucify your dreams, he can turn them into his vision for your life. When you give him your submission, He can turn your life around and turn it into your mission. He That’s the real miracle tonight!”

You could hear a pin drop, and the entire room was filled with the awesome sound of children’s and adult’s voices as they prayed the “Sword Swallower’s Prayer” with me. What an awesome impact on so many lives. The worst show of my life was also the most impactful moment of my life.

What a blessing to talk to the kids and hear their stories and testimonies after the event. Many of the kids said it was a show they would NEVER forget.

I know it was one show I will NEVER forget!

“When I am weak, then is He strong.”

Read more | Comments (1) | June 28th, 2011

Upcoming Shows!

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

Wow, what a busy time this has been! May has flown by, and June, July and August are even busier!

Next week: 8 cities, 7 states, 3 countries, 8 flights, 4 trains, and over 14,000 miles in 8 days alone!

Since so many of you have complained that I don’t let you know about upcoming shows in your areas, here’s a quick synopsis of upcoming dates and appearances:

* June 5 - Fly to Atlanta, GA
* June 6 - Upward, Atlanta, GA
* June 7 - Upward, Atlanta, GA
* June 7 - Fly to London, England
* June 8 - Fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, Netherlands, train to Utrecht, then Maastricht
* June 9 - Divosa, Maastricht, Netherlands,
* June 9 - Dutch magazine interview on train back Maastricht to Utrecht to Schipol Amsterdam
* June 10 - Fly back to Atlanta, Fly on to Sacramento, CA
* June 11-12 - Illuminated Festival, Red Bluff, CA
* June 13 - Fly from Sacramento, California to Salt Lake City to Indianapolis
* June 14 - Unpack, laundry, repack
* June 15 - Drive 7 hours to Nashville
* June 16 - Perform at Opryland Hotel, Nashville
* June 17 - Drive home from Nashvlle
* June 18 - Relay for Life, Anderson IN
* June 24 - Mega Sports, Roanoke, VA
* June 25 - Flights from VA to MI
* June 26 - Biker Outreach, River Church with H.O.G.S. In Ministry, Holly, MI
* July 3 - Drive to Nashville > Birmingham AL
* July 4 - American Village, Montevallo, AL
* July 5 - Fly Huntsville to Baltimore, MD
* July 6 - Compassion Commission, Baltimore, MD
* July 7 - Fly Baltimore to Huntsville
* July 8 - Drive Huntsville to Nashville to Indianapolis
* July 11-14 - Fellowship of Christian Magician’s Convention, Marion IN
* July 15 - Callahan, FL
* July 16 - CJA Christian Juggler’s Festival, Goshen, IN
* July 21 - Denver, CO
* July 23-24 - EXtreme Tour, Springfield, OH, Wilmington, OH
* July 25-27 - EXtreme Tour, Muncie IN, Indianapolis, IN area TBD
* July 28-29 - EXtreme Tour, Muncie IN, Indianapolis, IN area TBD
* July 30-31 - EXtreme Tour, Indianapolis, IN
* Aug 1-2 - EXtreme Tour, Kendallville, IN
* Aug 3 Baraboo Circus Museum, Baraboo, WI
* Aug 4-5 - Critical Mass, Portage, WI
* Aug 6 - Extreme Tour, Portage, IN
* Aug 6-7 - EXtreme Tour, Canton, MI
* Aug 8-10 - EXtreme Tour, Grand Ledge, MI
* Aug 11-12 - EXtreme Tour, Portage, IN
* Aug 13-14 - EXtreme Tour, Illinois
* Aug 15-17 - EXtreme Tour, Carbondale, IL
* Aug 18-19 - Ig Nobel Tour, Science Festival, Aarhus, Denmark (?)
* Aug 20-21 - EXtreme Tour, Nashville, TN
* Aug 22-24 - EXtreme Tour, Birmingham AL
* Aug 25-26 - EXtreme Tour, Jackson, MS

To keep updated on dates and appearances, please join my newsletter mailing list and follow me live on Twitter!

Read more | Comments (0) | June 3rd, 2011

Join me on a Trip to AFRICA!

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

How would YOU like to join me on a trip to AFRICA?

When? June 16 - July 12, 2012

Where? South Africa

How? Global Expeditions

That’s right! We’re taking a bunch of teens to Africa with Global Expeditions’ Teen Mania!

I’m waiting to hear more details, but for now, you can find more information here:

www.GlobalExpeditions.com

Stay Tuned for more details!

Have Sword, Will Travel!

Read more | Comments (0) | June 2nd, 2011

The Objective

Posted by dan | Filed under Uncategorized

The Objective Nashville was AWESOME! I met SO many awesome people, artists, performers, but most of all, humble loving people whose number one focus is to serve God and others. What an awesome inspiration it was. Objective and ExTreme Tour Director Ted Bruun consistently drove this message home, as did Allan Aguire, Pastor Scott, and many others, and those who stayed and heeded it were touched and moved all week long in profound ways. I know I was!

On Tuesday night after my show, I was amazed by how many people came up to talk to me. God worked in a very powerful way on Tuesday night, and I was honored to witness it and see and feel it firsthand in a very profound way. I hope to see many of you again on various legs of the eXtreme Tour and at festivals and events around the world. If you would like to keep in touch and be notified of upcoming appearances, please join my newsletter mailing list and follow me live on Twitter.

Read more | Comments (0) | June 1st, 2011

Ignite 6 Cincinnati

Posted by dan | Filed under Ig Nobels, live appearances

I had a blast at Ignite Cincinnati!

Ignite’s slogan: “Enlighten us, but do it quick!”

So for Ignite talks, you have only 5 minutes and 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds, which is about enough time to get in one sentence, before the slide advances to the next slide…

So I had about 3:56 to get in 4000 years of sword swallowing and 30 years of my life, and about a minute to swallow 3 swords. I was pretty nervous about trying to get everything in…

Here’s the video: