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They nail items into their heads, swallow swords and juggle chainsaws, but who are the real people behind these freak show acts at the Adelaide Fringe?
The Lizardman
The most recognisable of the Deja Voodoo freak show troupe, The Lizardman is known worldwide for his scaled tattoos, subdermal implants and surgically split tongue.
What isn't as well known is that The Lizardman is a teacher who holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours in philosophy.
He had almost finished a PhD in philosophy when he began full-time performing in 1999.
"I would probably be trying to be a professional philosopher, probably teaching and technical writing [if I wasn't performing]."
When asked for his favourite verse, The Lizardman translated German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and adapted it to his own life.
"Why would you want to amass followers? You don't want to multiply yourself by numbers, you want to multiply yourself by zero.
"It's a reminder to me to have audiences, not followers — my audience members are my partners in my show. I'm having an exchange with them and they are not my possessions."
Zoe L'Amore
The "pain-proof pinup" Zoe L'Amore lights cigars with sparks from an angle grinder, climbs ladders made of swords and uses electrical arcs to wow crowds at the troupe's shows.
But L'Amore is also the business mind behind the group — she designs their performance tent, manages the day-to-day running of the group and plans their tours.
"I've got my fingers in a lot of pies — it's not just performing anymore."
Her career on stage has spanned more than two decades.
She said she believed the ancient art of live performance was yet to be challenged by technology.
"I'd like to hope that everyone will want to continue to see live theatre — and technology just makes things more exciting."
Mr Donny V
Mr Donny V, or Mr Donny Vomit, loves to shock.
In between spruiking and hosting the show, he hammers nails into his head, swallows swords and eats fire.
"For sideshow you need someone's desire for attention to be greater than their own self-preservation and common sense."
Mr V has managed to adapt and manipulate his skills to work in many different industries, but if it all came crashing down, what would he do?
"I originally went to school for film and video production to make commercials, so I might be doing something like that.
"But I hope I never have to consider that option."
Evilyn Frantic
The viscosity of fire plays heavily in Frantic's show — she eats fire, sets herself on fire and uses her body to relight fires.
"It is an amazing feeling [working with fire] as you are controlling an element that is lethal, and if it goes wrong, it goes really, really wrong."
But when she's not playing with fire, Frantic designs and manufactures her costumes.
"I've made everything that I am wearing today, including my head dress and bra."
The Space Cowboy
Sideshow performing began for The Space Cowboy when he was eight years old; he is now one of the most prolific world record holders of his time.
He holds records in sword-swallowing, acrobatics, body piercing, weight lifting, juggling and catching shot arrows.
"I was always inspired by the Ripley's Believe It Or Not books and Guinness Book Of Records and all of the strange people who were in there."
He holds 44 Guinness world records and has just begun hosting the Guinness Book Of World Records Facebook live shows.
And the dedication to his craft seems to know no bounds.
The Space Cowboy has had a line of magnets surgically placed under the skin on his chest to help direct swords past his organs when making record attempts.
"To swallow 24 swords I had to stretch my throat with rubber hoses for three days.
"I'm not planning to stop in the near future — this is my love, my life — I love the rush of performing."
The Lizard Man, Zoe L'Amore, Mr Donny V, Evilyn Frantic and The Space Cowboy are performing at Deja Voodoo in the Garden Of Unearthly Delights during the 2017 Adelaide Fringe.
Topics: performance-art, offbeat, carnivals-and-festivals, community-and-multicultural-festivals, human-interest, adelaide-5000