Peter Gold, Director of the Trapeze-Experience

Tell us about a recent experience that qualifies as an adventure. Recently, after completing the summer tour with the flying trapeze, I was driving to Florida with my truck and cargo trailer. With my flying trapeze inside the trailer, it’s was at maximum capacity. I’ve made the trip many times, and everything usually goes well. So I was traveling along a New Jersey highway, when another car pulled alongside and frantically pointed toward my trailer. I recognized the driver’s ‘freak-out hysterics’, having received similar ‘good samaritan assistance’ before. I pulled over, thinking it was a flat tire, only to find that the entire tire was missing. The lug bolts had sheared off and the entire tire and rim were gone. I had been driving with a maximum load without a tire. My trailer could have flipped, spewing the trapeze, equipment and perhaps me onto the highway. Years of traveling with the circus taught me to take deep breaths and relax. I knew that this situation would be resolved, and stress never helps. Within minutes road assistance arrived. He turned on his flashing lights and my truck limped along the shoulder of the road and exited two miles later. I spotted a a Starbucks and ordered a grande ‘black-eye.’ (That’s two extra shots of espresso in your coffee.) My smart phone found a mobile repair company, and three hours and $400 later, I was on my way. Carefully, I’d like to say, “Been there, done that.” But, it’s more like, “Been there done that, been there done that.”

How do adventurous experiences affect your perspective on everyday life? Perspective is almost everything. Trapeze is an adventure, life is an adventure. As Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” Personally, since I took my first swing on the trapeze 26 years ago, and joined Club Med unexpectedly, which led to one adventure after another, my life has been a continuous amazing experience. The extraordinary has become ordinary. Adventure has been a regular part of my life. While many people seek security in the predictable so they don’t experience the feelings of fear that come with uncertainty, I now have the courage to embrace the adventure that life really is.

Name one way that people can make their normal lives more interesting? Take a flying trapeze class! Beyond the fun and adventure that the class offers, it provides a very personal and quick reflection on how we create our realities. If taking a flying trapeze class is not an option, do something that is foreign to your experience, so you will enjoy the learning that comes with being a novice. Making mistakes and screwing up is a part of the learning journey. Embrace and enjoy ‘mistake-making’, instead of being resistant and afraid of failure. This will accelerate your evolution and enlightenment, improving your happiness.

Can you tell us about an adventure that sounded great on paper but somehow went wrong? Once I created a flying trapeze program at a very beautiful resort hotel on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Only to find out that the guests were not interested in sports, but preferred drinking the all-inclusive alcohol and passing out by the pool. Big mistake. It’s not always, ‘build it and they will come.’

When you’re 80 years old (or if you’re already there, add few years) what adventure memory will you tell repeatedly? I think when I’m 80 I will replay opening night in Madison Square Garden, in my home town of Manhattan. In front of a sold-out crowd, we performed  our most difficult routine. (I had one finger sewed up with nine stitches and was unavailable to participate in the action.) The act went flawlessly, and I’ll never forget the satisfaction that I felt during the bowing moment to all the cheers and applause. I had a sense of complete fulfillment. I knew that if this was my last day to swing on the trapeze, that I had reached the pinnacle of what participating in a great flying trapeze troupe is all about. That all the adventures, mishaps, bruises, smiles and hard work –including a great athletic feeling of accomplishment, had paid off. I was complete. Everything after  that day would be sprinkles on top of the ice cream.

Check out my own trapeze experience here.

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About the author

Autumn Carpenter
While navigating the carpool lane and translating toddler conversations might not rank high on some adventure life lists, I happily include those accomplishments alongside skydiving, dodging Pamplonian bulls and surviving three-hour Vinyasa yoga classes. I look for the story in everyday situations, and convey them easily in both print and online mediums. I’m also SEO-friendly ghostblogger, web content writer and copywriter. Let’s collaborate on a project today!

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