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Just in time to let you know that you need to set your TiVo this evening, I have amazing news for all Criss Angel fans out there. After over 90 episodes of Criss Angel Mindfreak, Criss will take on his most challenging and dangerous feat ever, LIVE tonight on A&E.
He’ll be extracating himself from handcuffs and other restraints and making his way out of a building before it is set to implode. It sounds scary and spectacular!
To help promote the event, I got to take part in a conference call interview with Criss Angel where he told us about what he’ll attempt to do this evening.
Get ready! Here’s what we discussed:
Q: Could you describe in detail the handcuffs, shackles & chains that you’ll be in. Will they be on your feet, your hands, are they police-issue, are they made of steel & how heavy is this chain? And then once you get through this, obviously you have obstacles. You have to get out of the building. Can you fill us in?
Criss Angel: Yes, let me give you all of the particulars, because I just got back from rehearsing this escape.
First off, the lieutenant and commander of the SWAT Team and the lieutenant of the police department in Clearwater, Florida will be providing whatever handcuffs they want to provide. I think they are going be Smith and Wesson, and they are police-issue handcuffs. As are all of the locks, there is a pair of handcuffs basically with which I will be manacled, my wrist will be manacled through the sixth story balcony completely visible to the public and to the camera at all times.
I will have to get out of the handcuffs, I’ll pick my way through them. And I will have the picks hanging around my neck, I will also have a stop watch on because it’s critical for me to know moment by moment where I am, and how much time I have allocated for each thing just in my head and the way I’ve been rehearsing.
Once I give the go, the overall running time of this escape is four minutes, but I will have to do it in less – not a second more than three minutes and thirty seconds and I’ll explain why. Once I escape and pick my way out of the handcuffs, I will then have to pick my way or get through four sets of doors. One will be directly behind me on the balcony, and once I make my way through that, I will have to tend to another door which is the only entrance and exit into that room to that balcony that will have a chain and a lock that will also be provided by the police.
I will pick my way through that, I will then have to run down the hall. I will have to run up three flights of stairs, they’ll be no stairs going down in that building, and that is because it cannot mess with the integrity of the implosion. And that is what is coded in the design of the implosion to allow it to implode within a parimeter of 20 feet, obviously for safety for the public. So, the stairwells have to be removed.
I will have to run up three flights of stairs, once I get through the door to the staircase, and then when I hit the roof, which is nine stories, they’ll be a roof hatch that will have two locks. I will have to make it through both of those locks, open up the hatch, climb up to the roof, go to about the center of the roof where it will be an area that would allow me to grab the 30 foot ladder that would be hovering from the helicopter, which I’ve been rehearsing while I was in Clearwater just now at the airport.
I will grab a hold of that ladder, and then be whisked up a 1,000 feet above, we will ascend in 30 seconds, that’s why I have to make it to the helicopter to the roof by no later than three minutes and thirty seconds. Because if I get there at 3:31, that helicopter won’t have enough time to ascend a 1,000 feet. Once it ascends a 1,000 feet, at four minutes, that building will blow up.
Now my goal is to be at that roof top in no more than two minutes and thirty seconds, that’s what I’ve been practicing in that time zone 2:30 to 2:40 tops. And then I’ll have a little time to kill in the event that the helicopter for some reason has some wind conditions or whatever that needs to stabilize and adjust itself, but that’s essentially my goal.
I’m going to be in the helicopter and then they are going to have to go to the airport that’s within five minutes, that I will have to land. Because I don’t think they can get a permit to land anywhere near that area, because we don’t have the exact numbers of the public and how many people will be attending because it’s a free event.
So there will be a clip from the helicopter that I’ll clip onto, and hang from. I’ll be holding on but once I’m on there, if I lose my grip – which I won’t, but if I did, I will be clipped on for safety.
Q: Okay, so you’ll be actually be kind of swinging off.
Criss Angel: Yes, I will, yes I’ll be swinging but he’s not going to be flying you know at a rapid speed.
[photo: newscom.com]
(click on “Read More” for the rest of the interview!)
Criss Angel: I’ll be swinging around like Tarzan back there. We’ve been practicing that quite a bit over at the airport.
And the other concern is weather because you guys know better than anybody about Florida’s unpredictable weather. You could have a beautiful day and the next thing you know, instantaneously that weather just shifts. And it goes from a beautiful day to a lighting storm. Which lightning and 450 sticks of dynamite which is what we’re using to do this implosion and take down that building, which will be on three levels below me, is not a good combination.
So there are a lot of factors in orchestrating this escape, and its one of the most exciting, the most challenging the biggest, the baddest escape of my career. And I vowed to my mother that if I am successful in doing this, that I will retire from doing these things.
Q: So you’re done after this?
Criss Angel: This is my goal yes, because I have 4,600 performances to do at the Luxor, and they’re freaking out.
Q: So there is no more Season Four after this?
Criss Angel: Well I won’t be doing things of this nature. I’ll definitely be doing illusions you know, like walking on water, that doesn’t have as much risk factor. I can swim.
Q: So you’re saying that there is no Season Five?
Criss Angel: No, I didn’t say that, I’m just saying that I won’t be doing things with this level of danger.
I will be still be doing what I do, it’s in my heart it’s in my blood, it’s in me and who I am. But I’m just not just going to be dangling you know, a 1,000 feet from the helicopters and escaping 450 sticks of dynamite before they blow up a nine story building. That’s 4,500 tons of cement that will be coming barreling to the earth. And my mission is not to be in its path, and it will come barreling down whether I’m in it or I’m not.
Q: What’s the hardest part of this escape?
Criss Angel: Well this is the best way to give you an idea of what this escape is like. Picking locks or handcuffs for me is not really a big deal, I can do it pretty much in seconds, I’ve been doing it since I was 14 years old. I used to sit on my bed as a kid with a pick set just picking locks and stuff, so I’m used to it.
But what happens is you can look at a police officer who goes to the gun range and who shoots a target, and they can be a marksman they can be awesome. The minute he’s in a real combat situation, a real life or death situation when somebody is actually firing back at him, the pressure and distress increases the heart rate, and the performance suffers.
Somebody who is a great marksman and is in a combat situation doesn’t typically perform anything near what they do when they are shooting at their leisure, because your body goes into a mode. And it’s very hard to control the detail of your movement and the concentration and the focus and to be relaxed, and your breathing and your heart rate. For me it’s being able to remain calm, cool and collected and do what I always do, and be able to get through the manacles the handcuffs and then obviously the four or five locks that I’ll have to pick my way through.
But not only me, what concerns me is that I might do beautifully, and for some reason, by some freak of nature, 450 sticks of dynamite go off prematurely. Don’t know how that could happen, but you know lightning can set it off, crazier things have happened you know, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, that’s a law. Or the helicopter for whatever reason can’t hover. Maybe the engine fails, maybe the wind factor changes maybe, God forbid, the pilot gets sick or, who knows. I mean those are all calculated risks that we take in life. And so for me it’s the orchestration between myself and what I have to accomplish and then all of the other people who have to be on time, and who have to do their due diligence and their job to make everything as a plan work together and work 100%.
Q: When you said you were practicing, what kind of things were you practicing? You were practicing mostly with the helicopter is that right?
Criss Angel: No, I was in that building ’till four in the morning practicing. They would throw locks, and they would throw just random handcuffs at me and I would practice, I’m not crazy man. I’m an artist that uses what I hope to be is my talent to do this. This is not some just dare devil thing that I’m going to be doing still.
And that’s why people connect to me. Because I’m no different than anybody else that watches the show. We all have dreams. I’m living mine. And everybody can live their own. I just work really hard at doing my stuff and I’m very, very methodical. I have an incredible team who is helping me train and putting this together taking care of safety even though it seems so unsafe. Safety is of the utmost importance in attempting an approach this. I don’t want to die, but I’m putting it on the line.
Q: So you’ve been talking a lot about rehearsing and different things you’ve been doing to get ready for this. What other kind of preparations have you taken, like physical preparations, are you working out, are you getting extra sleep?
Criss Angel: Well first off, I’m not getting any more sleep. Because I’m concentrating obviously on this Live episode and getting ready for it. But I’m also in rehearsals for my live show which will open up in with some previews in September, and then officially the gala event, October 10th. And as I said Cirque and MGM you know, are not happy about my decision to do this, and I understand why. But physically I’m in the best shape of my life, I had to be to really face this challenge, because I don’t know what is in store for me you know, I’m expecting the unexpected.
And, at the end of the day not only for that challenge, but for my live show doing 4,600 of them, I have to be physically in the best shape. I’m doing a lot of cardio, I’m running really fast, so I can get from Point A to Point Z in as fast as possible.
And I’m also doing a lot of, believe it or not, talking. Whether it’s to myself, or to somebody standing next to me, while I’m doing a lot of cardio stuff to really deal with trying to keep my heart rate and trying to keep me really relaxed during this because I am going to be exerting a lot of energy and spurts of it.
Q: How fearful are you of this not going the way that you’re planning on it going? Are you having nightmares at all about you know what could happen?
Criss Angel: I take it very seriously and yes, if I wasn’t concerned about it I would be a very stupid person.
Q: Yes, and as far as Mindfreak stands, obviously they are going to be super excited because it’s the first ever live episode. What do you think that they’ll be feeling like on an emotional level while we’re watching you do this. Are they going to be freaked out?
Criss Angel: Well I’ve been so blessed with such amazing loyal fans all over the world. And here is a show that will not only be broadcast in the states, but it’s also going to be live in Latin America and Australia and abroad. So it’s very exciting to me to let them see that and how it unfolds moment by moment. But people at home don’t get to be there, they’ll be watching other people react.
I don’t know ultimately what’s going to happen. The host doesn’t know what’s going to happen, no one does. So, I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting episodes that I’ve ever done on Mindfreak. I’m very excited about this season, because as a whole it’s really so diverse there are some of the best demonstrations of my career and I’m hoping that this specific escape adds to this wonderful season of Mindfreak which has just begun last night.
Q: I’d like to know how do you handle working under this pressure. Do you have some kind of psychological advice or someone that is taking care of you to help you stay focused?
Criss Angel: Yes I do, and the only person that really takes care of me that way is myself. I don’t like talk to a psychologists or anything, I never have, not saying there is anything wrong with it. But for me I think my mind my body and my spirit you know, really are in tune and confront every challenge head on. And I take one thing at a time. I don’t allow myself to think about all of the things at one time, or else I would lose my mind. I just take each thing. And when I get a little overwhelmed, I take a piece of paper and a pen, and I write every single thing down so I can look at it. I break it down into small challenges, and as I go through each one I check it off and then I address the next one.
I’ve been very fortunate. I might not be the greatest magician that ever lived, or whatever. But what I am blessed with is being able to work in very high stressful situations and really keep my cool. And when things go wrong, I don’t panic. I really try to stay focused, because panicking will just make my situation worse.
Q: I want to know what freaks Criss Angel’s mind? If someone wanted to freak your freak what would they have to do?
Criss Angel: They have to give me a normal day, a day where I have nothing to do, a day where I probably go out of my mind. I’m so used to going 100 miles an hour in every direction and sleeping only two, three hours a night, and that’s the way I live.
Q: There has to be something out there that you want to perform, but are afraid to do, so what is that?
Criss Angel: Nothing. If you don’t fear death then what is there to fear? I mean it’s really the truth, I don’t fear anything, because ultimately what’s the worse that’s going to happen, I would die. And I’ve accepted that. At the end of the day you can die from crossing the street.
Q: Well what’s the reason then that you’re not going forth after this?
Criss Angel: My mother.
My mom is you know, my mom is in her 70s. I adore her to death, and my mother and father are the reason why I had the opportunity to really pursue my dream.
I will absolutely do television to the day I die as long as I have something to say creatively but I’m just going to kind of hang up the things that are just such a high level.
This is the most probably one of the most dangerous demonstrations of my career, and I sincerely mean that. There are so many things that could wrong. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I will finally get that opportunity artistically.
Q: Many of your performances, Criss – a lot of your stunts take real extreme concentration on your end. Is it difficult performing with the show’s cameras around you, or have you gotten use to it now that you’ve done a few seasons and you have a lot of shows under your belt?
Criss Angel: Yes, it’s funny because I’m really, really proud and it’s a really a testament not to be but to the incredible crew that I have on Mindfreak. You know we’ve done more hours of this show with magic than any magician in the history of television.
And like walking on water was watched by more I think than 25 million or 24 million people on just the internet, which is the most watched magic clip in the history of the internet.
And you know during my experiences with that you know in the beginning you’re very conscious of it, especially when you hit the camera, or the camera is in your way. But after a while it just becomes second nature as if it were another person that you just are kind of interacting with. And so for me it’s really not something I think about.
And in this season of Mindfreak I think, to go into your other question as well a little bit. What I think is so special about this season is yes, I have the biggest, the baddest thing I’ve ever done with the building implosion escape. But I also have some of the most challenging things as well when it comes to close up magic.
Q: Why did you choose Clearwater as your next location over anywhere in the world, anything you could have done, why did you chose this stunt and in Clearwater?
Criss Angel: Two reasons, the first one is I spent some time many years ago in Clearwater. And two, it is incredibly difficult to find an imploding building with all of the different particular disciplines allowing you to put your life in an imploding building with 4,500 tons of concrete that will be coming down to the earth. And say okay, we’ll sign off on that, and then you just have to sign a hold harmless contract, for the imploders, for the city, for this for that. So, when I found out that they were willing to let me do it and that this building was coming down, and it was the time factor, it just worked out beautifully.
And I really did think after being in Clearwater in that area that it would be a wonderful backdrop. Now Clearwater is known for some of the most amazing beaches. And it’s really just a wonderful quaint, cool place that’s in the middle of its own transformation.
They are spending millions and millions of dollars renovating and reinvigorating Clearwater, and it’s a very exciting place to be and I thought it was a great landscape to be on the beach for the public to be invited free of charge and witness this. I just thought it was a really great landscape for what is going to be my most challenging escape of all time.
Q: How did you develop the nature for a rock star and magician at the same time?
Criss Angel: Well I think I’m a product of my childhood and what I’ve been exposed to. And since I was a boy going back to Long Island, New York I was so influenced by music because I started playing music when I was 6 years old. I played the drums for like 10, 11 years. And I was so fascinated with rock stars and musicians and that culture. And I knew that I wanted to do something different. I had a love for the art of magic, but didn’t want to present it like magicians did, because I felt that it was kind of hokey.
So I kind of just allowed myself to present it the way I would want to see it, and I think it kind of connected to people because it was very different as an experience. So, I never said to myself, I’m going to go out and do this because this is what’s cool, or this is what I think people want to see. It was just because that’s who I was, and that’s how I evolved since I was a boy listening to bands like Aerosmith and Kansas and Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. All of that stuff probably had a profound effect on me as a kid.
Q: What can you tell us about your music career right now?
Criss Angel: Well I have several CDs out. One of my best friends is Sully Erna from Godsmack and we’re going to be working on an album together. My next album I just have to get some time because I’m working on my live show, Mindfreak and a variety of other things that are going on as well. But music is what I’ve been doing longest, and it’s in my blood and I love music it inspires for me so much creatively.
Q: Have you ever thought about your retirement?
Criss Angel: Retirement for me won’t be at least until I do 4,600 performances over the next ten years at the Luxor because that’s my contract. So I have to do this for at least 10 years before I can think about retiring.
Q: Do you have any superstitions, rituals that you have to go through or lucky underwear or something that you like to wear?
Criss Angel: I am not a superstitious guy, I don’t believe in any of that stuff, so I pretty much walk under ladders and I break mirrors sometimes by accident, and I don’t have any bad luck. I just say my little prayer and I just always kiss and hug my mom and my family and only go when I’m ready to go.
Be sure to watch tonight as Criss puts his life on the line on Mindfreak on A & E.
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IS HE READLY DIE OR WHat? aw he was to hot and sexy to die i LOVE YOU!!!!!! CRISS ANGEL……….MUAH!!! LOTS OF THEM………YOU ROCK DUDE