Cirque du Soleil star battles shoulder injuries, addiction - CNN.com: High-flying acrobats. Death-defying leaps. Bright lights and performance tents filled with adoring fans. It's the stuff of which dreams are made. After all, who doesn't want to run away with the circus?
But for Joe Putignano, it wasn't as simple as running away -- it took a lifetime of dedication and a battle against addiction to get where he is today: dangling from the 40-foot-high catwalk above the Cirque du Soleil big top.
The house lights are off, and one lone spotlight shines upon Joe's reflective mirror-ball suit.
via Fascination! Newsletter
2 comments:
I recently saw this show back in Miami over Winter break and have to say that crystal man was by far one of my favorite parts of the show. He is definitely the most memorable part of the show. It's sad to think things like this happen to people like him. I'm glad he pulled his life back together enough to make a happy living for himself. Being a former gymnast myself, I can relate to having injuries that act as a road block to what you love to do. And when looking at why he quit gymnastics in the first place, I can also relate. It's stressful to realize that you can't be perfect or to not have someone help you as much as you'd like (like in my case) and it's frustrating and makes you feel like you can't do it and you sort of give up. However I was younger at that time and have learned to move away from those feelings but seeing this article kind of gives me hope that one day I will be able to pick up gymnastics again and use it to my benefit in the future while still doing the things I love most.
I find it weird that the information about his injury comes before his story about his drug addiction; the latter is far more interesting and unique than an athlete's bodily injury (not to belittle is talent or work or what he does) which is a bit more expected in his line of work. I also saw Totem in Miami, so this adds another layer of now, not only do I think of this man as a fantastic performer who I saw live, I also see him as a rather remarkable human being. I'm glad that he is staying far away from situations that would potentially cause him to relapse, especially in the death-defying world of his line of work.
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