Bio
DAN MEYER is a unique performance artist
who specializes in the extremely dangerous
and very narrow field of cutting edge
entertainment - sword swallowing.
After
working for several years in the music
industry in Nashville, Tennessee, Stockholm
Sweden, and London England, Dan shifted
his focus from the field of musical entertainment
to variety entertainment as circus clown,
juggler, stilt-walker, fire-eater, and
eventually sword swallower.
After
being amazed while watching fire-eaters
and sword swallowers with circus sideshows,
first while growing up as a child in Indiana,
and later while watching Indian fakirs
performing fire-eating and sword swallowing
while serving as a missionary in India,
Dan became determined to learn the incredible
feats himself.
Hearing
from a sword swallower in 1998 that there
were "less than a dozen sword swallowers
left around the world" led Dan on
his quest to locate as many of the surviving
sword swallowers as possible while mastering
the 4,000-year-old art. After three years
of research, study, and daily practice,
Dan taught himself how to swallow solid
steel swords up to 30 inches long while
networking the remaining sword swallowers
into the Sword Swallowers Association
International.
Described
as a "Christian David Copperfield"
who combines real feats with a powerful
message instead of just tricks and illusions,
Dan eats fire and swallows solid steel
swords, blades, sabers, bayonets, rapiers,
cutlasses, and other objects from 15 to
30 inches in length, and up to 8 swords
at once.
A
2-time Guinness World Record holder for
sword swallowing, Dan has been seen on
national tour with Brooks and Dunn's Neon
Circus (Rascal Flatts, Trick Pony, Dwight
Yoakum, Cletus T. Judd, and others), performed
with the funk band The Jones' in Jones
World, and toured internationally with
the Celtic Christian pop/rock band Ceili
Rain. Dan has also been featured nationally
on programs such as CNN, WGN, Discovery
Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery
Times Channel, Documentary Channel, Travel
Channel, Food Network, The Learning Channel,
CNN Health, Amusement Business, Women
and Horses magazine, Road King magazine,
Meeting Planner magazine, and in dozens
of radio, TV, and newspaper interviews
around the world.
As
Executive Director of the Sword Swallowers
Association International and an avid
historical researcher and collector, Dan
is widely recognized as one of the foremost
authorities on the art and history of
sword swallowing.
Dan
and his wife Lisa live in Nashville, TN
and Hartselle, AL where they raise Arabian
horses. The Sword Swallowers Association
International is based in Nashville, TN
and includes sword swallower members from
around the world. (www.swordswallow.org)
