Interview with Ravi "The Scorpion Mystic"
Ravi balances,
standing with one
foot behind his
head in Times Square
as onlookers gawk
GlitchNYC: Okay, lets start at the beginning. How did you get into the business? Your bio on both your personal site and the Coney Island site has a story about being stung by a scorpion when you were young. A lot of the sideshow is about misdirection and theatrics. How much, if any, of your story is true, and how much is, well...
Ravi the Scorpion Mystic: Bullshit? (laughs) Well, a lot of it is true actually. The scorpion didn't give me my abilities, but I was stung at the age of 2, lying in a hammock in Trinidad. I was really sick growing up because of it, and I was on lots of antibiotics. I had vision and hearing problems, and really couldn't be physically active until I was around 10 years old.
While I was sick, I experimented with my fingers, and between the ages of 6 and 10, I started to get a reaction with what I could do with them. I loved the attention.
When I entered secondary school at 10, I took it upon myself to learn about physical anatomy, and I started experimenting with the flexibility of the rest of my body.
Generally, if you've seen one contortionist, you've seen them all, but I try to stay original by learning as much as I can about what you can really do with the human body.
gNYC: Are you double jointed, or is your flexibility all from training?
Demonstrating his
range of motion
I can push my joints to and past normal extent of their motion (which he demonstrates by folding his hand first down in the normal direction, with his palm facing his wrist 90 degrees, and then pushes his hand down until his palm is flat against the inside of his arm) and then back other way, (which he again illustrates by folding his hand back the other direction until the back of his hand rests against his arm.)
gNYC: Before you were part of the Coney Island troupe, you were picked up by Disgraceland Family Freakshow (which performs at Korova Milk Bar in NYC at 10:30 every other Tuesday) How did you get started there?
Folded in half
EL-e was impressed and got me in touch with Spliff.
Now, Spliff and Evil [Elvis] must both agree to make a decision for Disgraceland, and when I went to meet with Spliff, he called Evil right up. He said right there on the phone "You know that other kid we were looking at, the contortionist? Forget him. I've got the real thing standing right in front of me."And that was that.
gNYC: So now you're in both shows, Disgraceland and Coney Island. How did you make that jump?Ravi: I was working Disgraceland and taking a break from my college schooling, and actually went down and auditioned for Coney Island.
Look closer at his legs in this
picture
Ravi: Well, Mr Ziggin was the only one there. It wasn't an organized audition or an open call really, it was more going to show them what you could do and sell yourself. I ran quickly through everything I could do [as Ravi had done for me during our photo shoot, walking through his tricks with complete ease, without the theatrics of the show] and, Mr. Ziggin advised me to put together a full act with music.
gNYC: So is that when you really honed your act into the show it is now?
Ravi: Well, Disgraceland had to teach me a different way of being on stage before that. My first gig was as a wrestling contortionist, which is obviously a bit different than the show I have now.
I'm a huge fan of WWE.
gNYC: Wrestling is kind of a modern sideshow, theatrical performance to add drama to the physical action, and they do have actual skills
Ravi draws them in
with drama, feigning
being stuck in the
tennis racket.
As far as the drama, well, the truth is everyone loves drama. For my act, I have to show reactions. It's the drama that gets them, before the actual skill catches them off guard.
gNYC: So what's next for you?Ravi: Once I finish school, I'll definitely maintain what I'm doing. What I'm doing in school (auto mechanics) will just be another road.
gNYC: Staying flexible.
Ravi: Right. I like to be diverse. Being diverse, skill-wise, makes you more flexible in life. It gives you more choices.
gNYC: I know for many professional performers such as dancers, being flexible and maintaining high level of performance can take a toll on their bodies. Does it ever hurt you?
Ravi: Only when I'm sick or incredibly cold. Most of the time I block it out, I do a lot of Shaolin kung fu training.
Try this one at home to get a
real sense of Ravi's flexibility;
fingers just don't bend like this.
Ravi: (Laughs) I just wanted to make sure you were spelling it right. Yes, I'm a member of the USA Shaolin temple, under Siefu Shi Yan Ming. As his disciple, I am Shi Heng P'an. Shaolin is the birthplace of all kung fu and the birthplace of all martial arts.
gNYC: I don't know that much about it, but if I'm right, Shaolin is focused more on mind and spirituality rather than defense or fighting.
Ravi: Yes, that's how I've been able to block out how I'm physically feeling. It's taught me how to call upon my chi, or my spiritual energy and allowed me to apply that meditative state whenever I need to, whether training or not.
gNYC: Lets talk about Coney Island for a second. It's the oldest continuously running sideshow in the US. Is there still much of a draw?
Ravi: It's still commercially successful. Like everything, it has its ups and downs, but it will always be there. It's like the statue of liberty.
gNYC: Anything you'd like to plug before we finish up?
Ravi: Certainly, Disgraceland Family Freakshow, which runs just about every other Tuesday at Korova Milk Bar, which has been a wonderful host to Disgraceland.
Also, of course, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow.
gNYC: All-right, I think that wraps things up. Well, thank you so much for spending this time with me this afternoon.Ravi: No problem, and Thank you!
- See all of the pictures
- Want to run away with the circus? Sideshow school starts November 1st at Coney Island.
