Where in the world am I today?: Grand Turk aboard the EMERALD Princess
Prologue: Around the mid-1990s I started to hear about this guy… This Yo-Yo Guy who had started making the rounds at various street performers festivals, but it wasn’t until I ran into John at the Edmonton Street Performer’s Festival in 2000 that I actually got to get to know him. I have vivid memories of enjoying a team show that he did with Mike Battie and his tutelage of a young yo-yo player named Jensen Kimmitt who was a pretty accomplished player at a very young age. John’s good natured ways seemed to encourage collaboration and creativity. I also learned that he was a pretty gifted cartoonist and a couple of years later he produced a series of cartoons for me that I still use to promote my show. Great guy and now glowing from having recently become a father.
STATS
Name: John Higby.
Birthday: May 26, 1975.
Place of Birth: Bellevue, Washington.
Started Peforming/Working in the Industry: December 1992
Discipline: Practice any open moment, the yo-yo is in my pocket!
Website: http://www.yoyoshow.com
Video Link: http://vimeo.com/2942037
Venues Worked: Disney World, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Disney Cruise Lines, festivals in 18 countries.
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream and why? • Ice cream is okay but my wife Rebecca got me a culinary torch so I can now make my favorite, Creme Brulee!
- Name one movie that would make it to your Top 10 all-time great films. • Just saw Gus Van Sandt’s Paranoid Park and it is genius my favorite movie of the year. My dad was a film student so I am hardcore film buff.
- What was your favorite toy from childhood? • Grandpa gave me a Duncan Tournament Yo-Yo when I was 11 so that would have to be it!
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • Performing? Zip Code Man was the first street show I saw and I was blown away. Reid Belstock, The Jim Show, Hilby, Lee Zimmerman, Glenn Singer, Big Nazo there are so many that I am in awe of.
- From the world of animation what one character do you most identify with or see yourself in? • Bugs Bunny is a wizard and is still funnier than anything ever especially Chuck Jones episodes.
- Name something that scares you. • Religion.
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • I got a really sweet job right out of high school as a sign maker for a natural food store and I did that for a few years while I did street shows in the summer time. When I’m not performing I do a lot of painting and my canvas have been a success for me… www.johnhigby.com
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Hot air ballooning!
- What’s your least favourite thing about being a performer? • Checking in at the Airport with all my gear.
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? • I don’t believe in god, I believe in Art.
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“My grandpa said something to me that really stuck. He told me to pick something I really love and stay with it and after a period of time you will be rewarded. He tuned and installed pipe organs for 65 years and was so passionate about music and sound. Also, the bigger the company you work for the harder it is to get paid on time even though they have the most money.”
–John Higby
