- Title: USA: David Blaine answers criticism about taking breaks during his latest stunt
- Date: 25th September 2008
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAGICIAN DAVID BLAINE SAYING: "The beginning of it was really, really difficult. The first day and especially the first night when it got cold, I thought there was no chance I was going to make it and I started thinking why was I even doing this thing."
- Embargoed: 10th October 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVADHVEZIO93R64O2H5NBF5IFOMC
- Story Text: David Blaine addresses criticism he has been facing over taking breaks during his stunt to hang upside down for 60 consecutive hours. He said he feels physically healthier on day three of the challenge than he did when he started.
Magician David Blaine who has been hanging like a bat for the past three days answered criticism on Wednesday (September 24) over taking breaks and standing upright during his latest challenge where he was supposed to hang upside down for 60 consecutive hours.
"Well they should try it just to feel it, number one. And number two, I'm not going to pee all over myself and everybody below me to not go the right way. So, I do have to go the right way every so often and since I didn't eat and I cleaned out my system that means my body will get dehydrated faster and I am exposed to sun so I have to drink a lot of liquids and I have to cleanse out the system quite frequently,'' Blaine said in response to his critics.
Blaine's doctors who have been monitoring him throughout the challenge said his vital signs are stable and that he is in much better shape on day three than he was at the beginning of the stunt. One of their biggest concerns was dehydration, along with blood clots and blindness, they said. After the challenge began and they saw that Blaine was having trouble drinking while hanging upside down, they insisted he take breaks and stand upright to get hydrated. The breaks do not take away from Blaine's incredible feat, they said.
"He is not eating, he is continuously exercising for all this time moving around and not sleeping. That in itself, to me, is absolutely amazing," said Massimo Napolitano, the surgeon advising Blaine.
The 35 year-old's past challenges have included being trapped in a block of ice for more than 60 hours, fasting for 44 days in a Plexiglas box that hung over the Thames in London and being buried alive. He said initially this latest stunt was the most difficult but it has gotten easier as the days have passed.
"The beginning of it was really, really difficult," he said.
"The first day and especially the first night when it got cold, I thought there was no chance I was going to make it and I started thinking why was I even doing this thing."
Blaine's stunton Wednesday evening with a "dive of death" where he is meant to plunge 44 feet to the ground. There is expected to be a big surprise at the end but Blaine wouldn't go into details.
"I'm not sure it's going to work but if it does work it'll be the coolest thing that I've ever done, that's for sure," he said.
The stuntwith a two-hour special on the "dive of death"
that airs on ABC News. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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