Some would call this crazy
Call centre rep? Yeah your crazy to, just not as much. Kristen Johnson is an escape artist.
When asked if she was crazy after allowing her husband to lock her in a water tank, eight locks and chains restraining her, without air, 560 times, she calmly answers, “Depends on who you talk to.”
Johnson, the 30-something wife
and player of death-defying feats,
was on tap for the Western Fair
earlier in September.
“There is always a level of controlled
anxiety. Mentally you have
to be really focused,” Johnson
replied on how she prepares herself
for a standard escape.
Standing over six feet tall, the
cylinder of glass filled with water,
shines in the lights of the stage as
Johnson is on top of the tank
ready to wow the crowd. That
evening she was under water for
over two-and-a-half minutes and
easily undid the locks and raised
herself out of the tank to the
cheers of Londoners and fairgoers.
You'd expect there to be some
kind of smoke and mirrors on
stage, but none are found. The
stage stands bare, as one of only
two women in the world that perform
this amazing stunt Johnson
credits her training before her
strength.
“I worked with a lot of amazing
instructors, drive trainers and
locksmiths,” she explained.
Turkey, Vegas, Reno and all cross
North America are just some of
her shows venues. Johnson also
hopes for the show to hit Europe
in the next couple of years.
Johnson feels the death defying-
business is a tough way to
make a living, but according to
her, so are call centres.
“Its one thing to see [my show]
on television, but to see it in person,
it really effects you,” she
said.
Fans friendly mobbed Johnson
after she freed herself from the
tank and many stayed to get autographs
and handshakes. High
school student Kristy said she'd never seen anything like it.
“I couldn't believe it [on TV] it
looks so fake, but here you could
see everything, she was under that
water for a couple of minutes.”
The act really empresses how a
day job can be taken for granted.
How many can say, ‘I'm going to
put my life in harms way for the
entertainment of others?' Not to
save life, not to feed the hungry,
just to entertain.