One of the great things about growing up in Sarasota was the presence of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Because Sarasota was Barnum and Bailey’s winter location, the circus is still very prominent, including a youth circus, Sailor Circus, that I was fortunate to be a part of. It’s a real circus. We do acts like trapeze and tight rope for dozens of performances each year, for audiences of 3,000.

I performed in teeterboard, acrobatic roller skating and many other acts for five years and loved every flip, jump and catch.