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Gibsonton man stuns audiences as fire performer
Ken Suarez reports
GIBSONTON, Fla. - A Gibsonton man, known as the "Human Volcano," leaves his audience wide-eyed and in wonder.
In his finale, fire performer Lamount will take a gulp of lighter fluid into his mouth. With a burning torch in front of him, he sprays the liquid out, and a massive flame shoots twenty feet into the air.
"It is really heart stopping," said Lee Stevens, a former Ringling Performer. "He takes your breath away. It’s fabulous."
Lamount travels the country performing with circuses, at fairs and festivals, in nightclubs and at special events.
"I wanted to do something that no one else wanted to do, but something everyone else wanted to see," he said.
Eating and playing with fire seemed to fit the bill, so he learned and polished his craft with the help of other performers. Then, back in 2000, he got his first gig at a club in Ybor City was advertising for acts for a New Year’s Eve show.
Lamount strutted in and announced that they couldn’t do the show without him. His moxie and self-confidence had to be pretty convincing, because they hired him on the spot.
Since then, he has done more than 10,000 shows in the US and overseas. Every time he performs his act, no matter how much experience he has, there is a real element of danger.
Over the course of his career, things have gone wrong, like the wind changing direction. While he's been able to recover without getting hurt most of the time, Lamount said he's been burned seven times.
While each time he's been burned has served as a reality check, he said it could have been worse.
"If I were to inhale that flame, it would just scar up the inside of my lungs, and it would be a slow death," he said. "Not very pretty."
Gloria Wilkinson, a former Ringling employee, who made dozens of his costumes over the years, said Lamount has an energy that audiences immediately relate to.
"He’s got it," she commented. "Some people have it, and some don’t, and Lamount has it."
Lamount recently performed in a thrill show in Lakeland at Up, Up and Away Florida Balloon festival. After a short rest, he will be back on the road as the hottest act in center ring.