Renegade Rip

Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Features

As we walked down the street, I could feel stares from every direction burning into my soul. Could it have been the burrito stain that covered my left pant leg? Or maybe the reason was because I was walking next to a 7-foot 2-inch, 220-pound behemoth of a man, aptly titled George "The Giant" McArthur, and my height is a mere 5 feet 5 inches.

The Giant's height is not the only interesting aspect about him. He has been performing as a sideshow entertainer for over 16 years, as well as running his own sideshow company titled Bean Stalk Entertainment. He performs with a troop of other entertainers named Karny Trash. The Bakersfield College communication graduate's stunts include fire-eating/blowing, sword-swallowing, light-bulb eating, glass walking and facing, the human crazy straw as well as other various stunts. He also holds the record for total weight of concrete bricks broken on a human chest.

McArthur showed me the video of his feat. On July 26, 2006, during the halftime show at a Bakersfield Blitz game. Forty concrete bricks totaling a weight of 1,387 pounds were broken on his chest. Flames were licking the bricks as well. "Everything is better with fire," said The Giant.

It was not always easy for The Giant to play around with fire. Overcoming his fear of fire was the reason he began performing. When he was 21, somebody broke into his brother's home, tied up his brother, lit him on fire and left him for dead. His brother survived but was scarred from the flames both physically and mentally. McArthur developed the same fear, but wanted to overcome it by facing the fire with an open mouth.

"To overcome my fear," explained McArthur, "I started to look up (how to eat fire) and while looking it up I found information on sword-swallowing and glass eating and I began reading up old manuscripts." The Giant also sought out the guidance of experienced performers, such as veteran sideshow performer Bobby Reynolds. The Giant explained his first encounter with Reynolds as he reclined in a huge leather chair accompanied by three small lap dogs resting upon his enormous bones.

"Me and my one partner from another troop were trying to do Universal Studios for the first Halloween Nights. We were told we had the job, but then they told us that they had given it to someone else!" exclaimed McArthur. "We were then told that the person who took the job from us wanted to have a meeting and so we went to this house."

Expecting to meet the man who stole their job, McArthur witnessed a Spidora character on the entrance of the home, the sign of a veteran performer. "Once I saw the Spidora, I looked at my partner at told him that this guy was old school." McArthur continued, "Once I heard that voice, I knew I recognized it from somewhere."

Continued...

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