User Profile

DAN MEYER is a unique performance artist who specializes in the extremely dangerous and very narrow field of cutting edge innertainment - Sword Swallowing!

When a near-fatal sword swallowing injury nearly took his life, Dan Meyer knew he could either give up or follow his dreams...

Growing up shy, Dan found it extremely difficult to talk with others. Witnessing incredible feats such as fire-eating and sword swallowing first-hand while serving as a missionary to India challenged Dan to think outside the obvious and expand his boundaries. In India, Dan created a list of seemingly impossible goals and insurmountable challenges: to learn multiple languages, to experience major wonders around the world, to survive alone on an island in the Caribbean, to climb the highest mountain in Scandinavia above the Arctic Circle, and to master the ancient arts of juggling, fire-eating and sword swallowing.

After working several years in the music industry in Nashville, London, and Stockholm Sweden, Dan shifted his focus from the field of music to variety entertainment as circus clown, juggler, stilt-walker, fire-eater and ultimately the most dangerous of all performance arts - Sword Swallower!

Hearing from a sword swallower in 1998 that there were "less than a dozen sword swallowers left around the world" led Dan on his quest to locate as many of the surviving sword swallowers as possible while mastering the 4,000-year-old art. After three years of research, study, and daily practice, Dan taught himself to swallow solid steel swords up to 30 inches long while networking the remaining sword swallowers into the Sword Swallowers Association International.

Described as a "Christian David Copperfield” who combines real feats with a powerful message instead of just tricks and illusions, Dan eats fire and swallows solid steel swords, blades, sabers, bayonets, and other objects from 15 to 30 inches in length, and up to 8 swords at once.

A featured Ripley’s Believe It or Not performer and 3x Guinness World Record holder, Dan is recognized as one of the top performers of only a few dozen sword swallowers performing around the world today. Dan has performed on America’s Got Talent, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, CNN Health, Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, Discovery Times, Discovery Int’l, Learning Channel, Travel Channel, Spike TV, USA Network, Food Network, CMT, MTV, ESPN, WGN, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, PBS, BBC World, CBC, CTV, ITV, NTV Russia, Alan Titchmarsh Show, Mancow, Newsweek, USA Today, NY Post, NY Times, London Times, National Geographic, Forbes, Nature Magazine, Guardian Magazine, Telegraph, British Medical Journal, Scientific American, Science Daily, Christian Activities, and hundreds of other radio, TV, magazine and newspaper interviews around the world. Dan has performed on national tour with Brooks and Dunn's Neon Circus, on international tour with the Celtic Christian band Ceili Rain, at Ripley’s Believe It or Not attractions, Ringling Brothers Circus, and at corporate events, conventions, colleges, universities, science and medical centers, festivals, parks, churches, Upward youth events, and other events in 10 countries around the world.

In 2005, a near-fatal sword swallowing injury nearly cost Dan his life when his stomach retched while swallowing 5 swords at once, filling his chest with fluids around the heart and lungs.

Dan knew could either quit or go on.

He decided to quit his job selling cars and pursue his passion.

Dan set his sights on expanding his boundaries by attempting to create more dangerous and incredible feats with fire and swords, to challenge others to think beyond the obvious, to inspire them to overcome adversity, to follow their dreams and do the impossible in their lives, and to preserve the ancient dying art by creating an inspiring and mind-blowing program for everyone from family audiences to royalty around the world. “I enjoy performing REAL feats that people think are impossible in order to demonstrate how incredible the human body is,” Dan explains.

To prove his point, Dan swallowed a 30 inch sword while submerged 20 feet underwater in a tank of 80 sharks and stingrays for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, a feat witnessed by over 25 million viewers on more than 400 TV stations around the world.

In October 2007, Dan was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine at Harvard for his research on sword swallowing injuries published in the British Medical Journal.

On February 27, 2008, for the first time since his accident, Dan managed to publicly swallow 7 swords at once on "America's Got Talent" in Atlanta and survive.

With less than a few dozen sword swallowers left who can swallow a sword in a world population of over 6.6 billion, Dan is unique at being 1 out of 275 million.
But out of the few people on earth who can swallow a single plain sword, Dan is unique even among sword swallowers -
* Dan can swallow a CURVED sword,
* a FLAMING sword while the BLADE is on FIRE,
* and up to 7 swords at once!
* He can swallow a sword and have it WHIPPED out of his throat by a WHIP 6 feet away!
* And he is the only person to swallow a 30" sword UNDERWATER in a tank of 80 SHARKS and STINGRAYS!

A passionate advocate for preserving the ancient art of sword swallowing, Dan is known for his high-energy live performances, research studies, motivational talks, high-profile stunts, and media appearances around the world. As Executive Director of the Sword Swallowers Association Int’l, avid historical researcher and collector of sword swallowing artifacts, and author of a year-long medical study published in the prestigious British Medical Journal that won him the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine at Harvard, Dan is widely recognized as the foremost authority in the world on the ancient art of sword swallowing.

Dan and his wife Lisa live in Hartselle, AL where they raise Arabian horses. Dan is available for corporate events, conventions, colleges, universities, fairs, festivals, artist tours, media interviews, talk shows, documentaries, films, science and medical demonstrations, church youth events, Upward Unlimited Awards night programs, and other bookings through Cutting Edge Innertainment.com


Sharp and flashy cutting edge entertainment to put your audience on the EDGE of their seats...

A penetrating message that cuts to the point, pierces to the heart, and leaves a lasting impression, Cutting Edge INNER†ainment to get them OUT of their seats!

a hard act to follow • a cut above the rest
pierces to the heart • impossible to forget!

Cutting Edge INNER†ainment - The PROOF is what's INSIDE!

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