Ever imagine what it would be like to run away and join the circus? Daniel Browning Smith did just that on May 3, 1998, when he saw the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus perform near his residence in Florida. He did the only reasonable thing. He sold his possessions and got in the van to join for the remainder of the Bindlestiff Shillabur Tour.

Daniel demonstrates a variety of amazing and unique skills including: front bending, back bending, arm contortions,180-degree torso twisting, escape artistry, enterology (getting into confined spaces such as: an 18 gallon box, tennis racquet,toilet seats, and anything else humans are not supposed get into), and in a self invented act which he terms the “De-Escape”, in which he gets into a locked straitjacket, chains himself up, and then crams himself into an 18 inch by 16 inch box.Daniel actually holds a Guinness World record for his De-Escape!

Contorting his body into unthinkable positions, Daniel Browning Smith has worked with many well-known sideshows since his start. During a break from the Bindlestiff tour he joined Ward Hall’s World of Wonders at the New Jersey State Fair in Meadowlands, New Jersey. Then, moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he performed for Kennywood’s Centennial Celebration. During the same time, Daniel developed his escape artist routine performing for Paul Osborne’s Turn of the Century Midway. He then rejoined the Bindlestiff Tour for the second wave. Upon completion of the tour he ventured to Knott’s Berry Farm’s “Halloween Haunt” to work in the world’s largest Halloween event.  When Halloween came to an end Daniel chose to go on the road again with Zamora the Torture King’s Touring Stunt Show.Touring North America with Sufi-Mystic Tim Cridland (better know as Zamora) five times, Daniel honed his “mind over matter” and body control skills.With Halloween coming around again, Knott’s Berry Farm asked Daniel rejoin their special event. Yet this time around Daniel was doing his own twenty-minute show.His show was such a success it brought him to Asia to perform his show in Singapore.His show was seen in Singapore at Great World City, Tanglin Mall, and on Singaporean National Television. After his trip to Asia, Daniel moved to San Francisco and trained under Master Lu Yi at the San Francisco School of Circus Arts.

He has traveled the world and toured the midways, but for those towns he missed, Daniel brought his skills to broadcast. On October 19, 1998, Daniel performed for “Penn and Teller’s Sin City Spectacular” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Then in June of 1999 Daniel flew to London to perform for “Don’t Try This at Home”. After his trip to the UK, Daniel went to LA, CA and gained a Guinness World Record for his De-Escape on “Guinness World Record Primetime”. More recently he has appeared on other shows such as “The Roseanne Show” and“Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”.