He's been frozen in a block of ice, buried alive, hung upside down for 60 hours. He is the star of numerous televised magic specials and arguably one of the greatest living illusionists in the world. But now, David Blaine faces what might be the biggest challenge of his life: Working a full year in EMS.
Blaine spent four and a half months preparing for this stunt, secretly getting his EMT-basic certification and then working in the field for two weeks with LA County Fire. When asked if he thought that was enough time to prepare, he replied that "Most of the paramedics I worked under had never even been EMT-basics before, so I think we're good."
"We originally were going to have me spend a year living with the worst frequent flyer in the area, talk about grueling... but then my manager started hearing about the world of corporate EMS..and I was like, That's a thing?" David told me during our phone interview yesterday
"Once we got the lowdown on just how shitty things can be for people working those corporate EMS gigs, we knew we had to shift gears and focus the project on that."
When I asked him how nervous he was for this crazy stunt, he replied without his usual nonchalance " I dunno, there's always been a level of control with the stunts I've performed in the past. But now no matter how well we prepare, we can't plan for everything; shitty dispatchers with a grudge, non-stop taxi runs without a chance to get food, getting written up because we broke a policy they made up 40 minutes prior..There are a lot of variables here."
When asked what part caused him the most concern, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before answering.
"Holding the wall for 16 hours." He finally replied "With a patient who doesn't need to be there, who won't stop bitching. And stinks like cat piss. That might push me to the breaking point."
Blaine spent four and a half months preparing for this stunt, secretly getting his EMT-basic certification and then working in the field for two weeks with LA County Fire. When asked if he thought that was enough time to prepare, he replied that "Most of the paramedics I worked under had never even been EMT-basics before, so I think we're good."
"We originally were going to have me spend a year living with the worst frequent flyer in the area, talk about grueling... but then my manager started hearing about the world of corporate EMS..and I was like, That's a thing?" David told me during our phone interview yesterday
"Once we got the lowdown on just how shitty things can be for people working those corporate EMS gigs, we knew we had to shift gears and focus the project on that."
When I asked him how nervous he was for this crazy stunt, he replied without his usual nonchalance " I dunno, there's always been a level of control with the stunts I've performed in the past. But now no matter how well we prepare, we can't plan for everything; shitty dispatchers with a grudge, non-stop taxi runs without a chance to get food, getting written up because we broke a policy they made up 40 minutes prior..There are a lot of variables here."
When asked what part caused him the most concern, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before answering.
"Holding the wall for 16 hours." He finally replied "With a patient who doesn't need to be there, who won't stop bitching. And stinks like cat piss. That might push me to the breaking point."
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