Criss Angel: The Mindfreak
Criss Angel and his repertoire of magic
“It’s impossible for me to go anywhere nowadays without somebody saying: “Hey Criss! Levitate! So every now and then, I try to surprise people and do it in a unique location.”
These are the words of Criss Angel whose repertoire includes levitation and walking on water. Can you imagine a man floating at the top of two buildings, causing a car to disappear, cutting himself in half or getting himself run over by a steam roller while lying stomach down on a bed of broken glasses. Only an insane man could do this! Or maybe, it is just an illusion. But how did he do it?
His stage name is also the name of his own television show, Criss Angel Mindfreak. Never in the city of Las Vegas offer and dare audiences from around the world to witness his make believe acts amid the negative reactions of his critics. He often just shrug his shoulders because he have the guts to show and let his fans believe in his tough acts.
Magical obsession
Christopher Nicholas Sarandakos (December 19, 1967) of Greek descent grew up in East Meadow, Long Island, New York along with brothers and parents who owned a local doughnut shop and restaurant. His eyes on magic were opened by his aunt when she taught the young Christopher card tricks that paved the way to his stature nowadays as the famous Criss Angel.
Criss Angel’s Achievements and Failures
With his accomplishments as a leading act in Las Vegas since 2005 for his show Criss Angel Mindfreak, Criss Angel did not only show his expertise in illusion or magic but he also widened his acts as escapologist, musician and stuntman. I may add that he is also a good actor on stage. The A& E Network TV show comprises of series of illusions, magic, stunts on land, air and water that nearly cost his life while escaping and jumping from a running car. It is in its fourth season to date.
His second act, Criss Angel Believe, is in collaboration with Cirque du Soliel which was a live show at Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas on October 2008. A hundred million dollars were spent on the show believing that it will follow the success of his Criss Angel Mindfreak. But with the negative criticisms hurled at him, especially by Perez Hilton, a known critic in Hollywood entertainment industry, his patience ran off and Criss Angel said obscene words after his performance in April 2009.
Criss Angel also judges at the reality show Phenomenon along with Uri Geller. One episode in October 2007 showed paranormalist Jim Callahan performing a summoning in order to guess the content of a locked box. Criss Angel was not satisfied with the act and dared Geller and Callahan to guess the contents of his two envelopes with his own money as the prize. Geller failed like Callahan who walked out the show calling Criss an “ideological bigot”. He revealed the first envelope with an index card on it with written numbers or date 9-11. He explained that if on September 10, 2001, someone guessed what will happen the next day, many lives will be saved on that fateful day in America.
Criss Angel is not successful in his married life. Now divorced, he continue to amaze his audience and fans who frequent and attend his shows both in indoor and outdoor locations in different states in the country.
He recorded his acts through his book, Mindfreak: Secret Revelations which in the book stores since April 2007.
