My life's motto is to make people laugh

Dubai - > Mike John > Age: 28 > Canadian > street performer

A bunch of people crowds a section of the Dubai Marina boardwalk on a pleasant evening with overcast skies. A street performer dressed in a comical red and white stripped ganjee and red shorts starts juggling volleyballs in the air. Next, he picks up three sledgehammers and throws them in the air.
It is not just the toddlers in his audience but also adults who have come after a long day at work. The performer then makes a speech. This is how it goes:
"I am mightier than most, but some are stronger still,
What's more important to me is a different kind of skill,
For lifting pounds of metal isn't a greater feat,
Than lifting the spirits of people right here on the streets,
So, while judging my performance please know that it depends,
Not on the size of my muscles but on the size of my friends."
After loud applause from the audience, he is back to his weird antics, cracking jokes at himself and finally ripping his pants off for a card magic trick!
Mike John is a street performer from Toronto and is in Dubai for a week to perform at the Dubai Marina Street Festival. The festival ends on March 25 with 40 acts.
Surprisingly, Mike left his day job as an insurance broker in downtown Toronto to be a street performer. So, what triggered him to shift gears?
"I have been juggling for 16 years and started performing professionally 2.5 years back. I have a university degree, and I had a fine salary but I left everything to do this."
Sure, financial backing was a concern for him but he made the plunge anyway. "I started performing over the weekends initially and realised that I was making more money on the weekends than all week. After my fourth week off with unpaid salary, my boss asked me to make a pick - to be the Mighty Mike or an insurance broker. I guess I just went with my heart."
In the past one and half years, Mike has travelled to Australia, New Zealand and has his calendar packed for this year. From Dubai, he goes to Korea, then Slovakia and then all over Canada.
So, how does he find Dubai? "It's funny how many people in Canada have a different expectation or preconceived notion about Dubai and the Middle East. Clearly, they have a wrong impression!"
Before his show on Wednesday, Mike visited the Old Souq and got himself a relaxing massage and a haircut that he flaunts.
Not many people can take a good laugh at themselves, so what's his mantra in life? "I don't take myself too seriously. I think a big part of being 'mighty' is the ability to make people happy. And that's the point of me being alive - to make somebody's day by making them laugh!"
And he hops in the buggy car and zooms away.
Street talk is a weekly column to get a glimpse of people's lives in UAE
Interviewed by Anita Iyer
 anita@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai