It was supposed to be an historical night. There were supposed to be rounds of congratulations offered from the dozens of spectators gathered in the beer garden of Mike ‘N Mollys. There was supposed to be a giant pillar of fire shooting into the sky, hopefully reaching heights of nearly 30 feet, thus catapulting Jace Hoppes into the record books.
But that’s not what happened. Hoppes’ attempt was ruined all because of dangerous wind speeds that could have turned a joyous event into a disaster. “I’ve had a couple of times where I’ve done really big flames, and with a little bit of wind, there’s blowback in my face,” said Hoppes, fire breather and co-owner of The Psychic Joker. “I’ve seen what happens when someone’s face catches fire, and I don’t want that to happen.”
Even though the wind speed on the evening of September 30 averaged to be only about 13 mph, it was still enough to make fire breathing treacherous. Even a small amount of wind can make large pillars of fire unpredictable. Conditions were poor enough that, even at the very start of the event, Hoppes and his team were uncertain of making the attempt.
“Jace is nervous,” said Lisa Cerezo, co-owner of Psychic Joker. “I’m nervous. So if he doesn’t feel safe, we’re not going to do it. We’ll still do a fire show, but probably won’t attempt the record.”
The original plan was to drop a cord down the brick wall of Mike ‘N Mollys, which is about 30 feet tall. The cord had marks indicating individual feet in length, making it easy to gauge how tall the flame would be once it was blown against the brick wall. The attempt would have been recorded on video and shipped to the Guinness World Records headquarters in London since it would have cost between $6,000–$8,000 to fly a judge out to the event.
Instead, the audience was treated to a brief, spectacular show that blinded spectators in its brilliant light, as well as warmed many due to the generated heat, a welcome relief to the frigid night.
A fire breather for five years, Hoppes intended to go for the world record not only for himself, but also in memory of Eric Schneider, the man who mentored his talent. He explained that it originally took him a couple of days to learn how to breathe properly, but he now practices often to learn technique and to become better.
But even so, he still gets anxious when performing. “Do you remember being a kid with an aerosol can and a lighter? They get nervous,” said Hoppes. “I get that feeling with every breath. I love it.”
Even though this attempt failed, Hoppes is far from throwing in the towel. Plans are in the works for another attempt in November or December, but this time at an indoor venue so as to avoid the snow, and of course, the wind.
Hoppes’ performance was captured on video. Go here to watch it.