David Blaine Revealed: Illusionist

David Blaine Revealed: Magician, Stunt-Man, Illusionist David Blaine is an iconic American street-performer who has wowed audiences all over the world by doing his terrifying stunts. Blaine has done everything from being buried alive, to having stood on a 90 foot pillar for days with no safety net, just to name a few. However, these outrageous attempts of doing the impossible do not just happen; they require months of training, practicing, and experimenting. Back in 2003, David Blaine attempted something no one has ever done before. He performed a stunt entitled “Above the Below”, where he lived in a transparent box that hung over the River Thames in London for an unbelievable 44 days. While suspended in this small Plexiglas box, David only had a blanket, a webcam that showed his progress, and a tube for water, which was his only source of nutrition. Thousands of fans and onlookers came to view this daring feat. Many of them were inspired by his bravery, but the majority taunted him by throwing food and objects at the box. When
Blaine finally emerged, he was then rushed to a nearby medical center where he underwent immediate treatment and began a period of rehabilitation. This test of endurance not only stirred the media into a frenzy, but it also caused David to have substantial after affects from not eating for such a long period of time. “During the re-feeding period after a much-publicized 44-day fast by David Blaine, a performance artist... he lost 24.5 kg (25 percent of his original body weight)” (Refeeding). This is not an act for the faint of heart, but it is just one of the many feats that David Blaine has accomplished. One of David Blaine’s next accomplishments was his “Frozen in Time” presentation where he froze himself inside a block of ice in the popular Times Square area of New York City for an upcoming movie premier. Here, Blaine stood shirtless and shivering for about 63 hours while fully encased in several massive blocks of ice that formed a rectangular enclosure around him. There was said to have been two tubes, one to supply him with oxygen and water, and the other for his urine. This massive feat was all over the tabloids and was covered by several television stations. It was said that the “escape was the culmination of a stunt that Mr. Blaine said he had undertaken to challenge every human fear” (Mckinley). What at first was exhilarating and exciting quickly became dreadfully tiring and dangerous. David was quickly becoming restless due to his lack of nutrition, the numbness he was experiencing in his feet, and of course the freezing temperature that surrounded him. When the stunt finally had to come to an end, chainsaws and cutting tools were used to rescue the almost motionless magician; however, nothing stops David Blaine. “Vertigo”, which is defined as the sensation of dizziness of the head while attempting to maintain an erect posture, is the next stunt that Blaine attempted to defeat.
He started off by planning to stand on a 22 inch wide circular pillar that towered over the streets of Manhattan at a height of around 90 feet. In order to prepare for this endeavor, he spent a whole year doing intense training and preparation. David later decided that he not only wanted to stand on the massive pillar for an insane amount of time, but that he would then descend by free-falling downwards. After many failed trials of practice jumps, Blaine decided that he was ready; it was now or never. So, on the morning of Tuesday, May 21, a crane lifted David Blaine to the top of the pillar, which was going to be his new home for the duration of the stunt. While atop the pillar, Blaine was surrounded by tall buildings. The vicious wind attacked him
constantly.
Later, when he was being interviewed about this feat, Blaine says that this was “the most dangerous challenge I’d ever undertaken…I had to will myself to remain calm and stand in one spot- without food, without sleep, and without much water” (Blaine 202). David Blaine ended up standing on the pole for an astonishing 35 hours. He then ended this chapter of the stunt by jumping off his circular platform and plummeting down to the ground, where he landed on some cardboard boxes and suffered a concussion. Therefore, David Blaine is not just a master magician. He is a professional stunt man who knows how to plan and choreograph very dangerous feats of endurance that shock and entertain the public, all over the world.