Chayne Hultgren (born 13 April 1978), known professionally as the Space Cowboy, is a world-record-holding sideshow, street, and

freak show A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "Freak, freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual Human#Anatomy and physiology, humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, t ...

performer.

Act

Hultgren performs a number of acts, including juggling a

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...

machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...

and fire torch, or a

battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one ha ...

, jungle machete and a

butcher knife A butcher knife or butcher's knife is a knife designed and used primarily for the butchering or dressing of animal carcasses. Use Today, the butcher knife is used throughout the world in the meat processing trade. The heftier blade works well ...

, whilst blindfolded on a 10-foot

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is prac ...

, catching flaming arrows blindfolded shot from a crossbow, suspension (the art of dangling from hooks in the flesh), seven-ball

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

hat manipulation Hat manipulation is a form of juggling in which the manipulator performs feats of skill and dexterity using a brimmed hat such as a bowler hat or a top hat as a prop. Tricks can range from rolling a hat up and down the various parts of the body t ...

, spoon bending,

levitation Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to: Concepts *Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object *Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...

of himself and other objects,

sword swallowing Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, bu ...

psychic surgery An alleged psychic surgeon at work Psychic surgery is a medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince the patient that di ...

, the

human blockhead A human blockhead is a carnival or sideshow performer who hammers a nail or other implement (such as an ice pick, awl or screwdriver) into their nasal cavity via the nostril. Method The stunt is often shocking to audiences, who believe tha ...

trick, and

knife throwing Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target. In some stage performances, the knife thrower ties an assistant ...

(with his girlfriend and performing partner Zoe Ellis). His theater act has included swallowing a 2000-volt neon glass tube with a microphone on the end, with his heartbeat audible as the light shines through his skin from the inside. He has also toured his "Mutant Barnyard". His traveling tent show displays his collection of historical

items including some of the world's most rare and unusual oddities. These include his earliest item, Ditto, the double-bodied duckling, a two-headed cow named Daisy and Maisy, an albino kangaroo, extreme body modification skulls from Peru, shrunken heads from Ecuador and 18th-century paintings of bearded women and a young child with lobster hands. He regards this as a traveling "Museum of Mutations and Oddities". One of his latest acquisitions is what is claimed to be the genuine preserved head of

Horace Ridler Horace Leonard Ridler (26 March 1882 – 1965) was a professional freak show and sideshow performer, exhibited for his heavy tattoos under the stage names The Great Omi and The Zebra Man. Early life Ridler was born in 1882, son of bookseller ...

(a professional tattooed freak and sideshow performer better known as The Great Omi or The Zebra Man, who died in 1969). His collection is said to be insured by

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

for 7 million dollars. Hultgren has performed his shows in a variety of locations, including streets, theaters, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, the

Sydney Royal Easter Show The Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. First held in 1823, it comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...

, the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

, the

Gentse Feesten The Gentse Feesten (; in Ghent dialect ''Gense Fieste''; "Ghent Festival") is an annual music and theatre festival in Ghent, Belgium. Besides stage events, there are street acts such as mimes and buskers. It has been held for more than 50 years ...

(Ghent Festival in Belgium), the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Straatfestival, the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

BuskerFest, the

Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, Queensland, Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural e ...

and the

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

International Street Performers Festival, Movie World.

Achievements

Hultgren is 'Australia's most prolific record breaker' and he held 44 official

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

for his unusual skills. His records include 'Most chainsaw juggling catches on a unicycle', 'Most weight dragged with hooks in the eye sockets', 'Most targets hit with throwing knives in one minute', 'Most swords swallowed underwater', and 'Most blowtorches extinguished with the tongue in one minute (temperature of flames reached 1995 °C / 3623 °F)'. His achievement of swallowing 17 swords in 2009 was voted by Guinness World Records as one of the top 100 records of all time. Since then he has broken this record many times, and his current record is 27 swords swallowed at the same time. He is featured in many 'Guinness World Record' and 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' books and TV shows. Bronze life cast statues of Hultgren swallowing swords are exhibited in the Ripley's Museums. His first record broken was most swords swallowed (17 at once), then broke that record again, this time scoring 27 swords at the Irish Street Performance Festival (although this 27 swords record is unofficial) and on 8 February 2010 the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

recorded that he broke this official world record by swallowing 18 swords. He also broke the longest distance pulling 411 kg by fishhooks in his eye sockets. He also holds the record for heaviest weight lifted while swallowing a sword. Other records include 'Fastest arrow caught blindfolded', 'Most chainsaw juggling catches on a unicycle', 'Most motorbikes driven over the body while laying on a bed of nails', and 'Most flowers whip-cracked from the mouth in a minute.' Hultgren holds many "world firsts" such as first double sword swallow, first sword swallow underwater, and his signature trick "The Black and Decker Digestion Wrecker", a power drill with sword attachment which he swallows. He is the first person to publicly swallow a sword underwater in a tank of live sharks. He was also reported to be the youngest working sword-swallower in Australia, when he was 22 years old. Hultgren is a three-time winner of the Street Performance World Championship. He is a member of the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 l ...

and the

Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and ...

Physical appearance

Hultgren is well known for his tattoos, which include large angel wings on his back. People also remember him for his 11 piercings, which include nipple piercings, cartilage piercings, a

flesh tunnel A plug (sometimes earplug or earspool), in the context of body modification, is a short, cylindrical piece of jewelry commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings. Modern western plugs are also called flesh tunnels. Because of their size—which ...

in his left ear and navel piercing. He also has a

subdermal implant A subdermal implant is a body modification placed under the skin, allowing the body to heal over the implant and creating a raised design. Such implants fall under the broad category of body modification. Many subdermal implants are made out of si ...

in his chest which he acquired at Tusk tattoo shop in London. It was implanted by "Samppa Von Cyborg", a body-modification aficionado. Due to an internal deformation medically known as congenital division of the stomach, the lower half of his stomach has been replicated and sits lower than the average human stomach, allowing him to swallow longer swords. He can swallow the entire length of a 72 cm sword blade.

Media coverage

In June 2008 Hultgren was featured on the cover of national newspapers in the UK and Ireland, and on the

website when he broke a world record in Dublin by swallowing 27 swords decorated with the flags of all the countries in the European Union, on the day of the EU referendum on the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

. In 2008, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' newspaper stated that the "Two-time world champion, quadruple Guinness World Record-holder, built out of muscle, tattoo ink and piercings, the Space Cowboy gathers crowds that nobody else in Edinburgh can muster without a seat on

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

." In 2009 Hultgren appeared on the Australian television show ''

Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the '' Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...

''. His other TV appearances include ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

'' (USA), '' Don't Try This at Home'' (UK), '' The Sideshow'' (Australia), "Guinness O Mundo dos Recordes" (Spain) and "Lo show dei record" (Italian version of the Guinness World Records show). He later appeared in the US TV show ''

The World's Best ''The World's Best'' is an American reality talent competition television series that aired on CBS. Created by Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell, and hosted by comedian James Corden, the series featured performers being evaluated by three judges ...

'', but was eliminated in the first round. However, due to a shortage, he was brought back as a wild card, and once again was eliminated in the battle round. In February 2010, his successful world record sword-swallowing attempt was covered by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' and many other news media around the world. In August 2011, he was arrested while performing on the streets in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for "brandishing a sword in public". He was later released without charge after having his props confiscated.

Personal life

Hultgren lives in Byron Bay, Australia with his partner, Zoe Ellis (A.K.A: Zoe L'amore). They have one daughter, Scarlett Showbiz Wild, born on 4 June 2013.

References

External links

Space Cowboy @ Guinness World Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Space Cowboy (Performer) 1978 births Living people Sword swallowers Sideshow performers Jugglers Edinburgh Festival performers Australian buskers People from the Northern Rivers Australia's Got Talent contestants