Q) Is Robert Gallup your real name?
A) Yes.
Q) Where and when were you born?
A) Santa Barbara, California, on the 18th of October.
Q) Do you have any brothers or sisters?
A) I have two brothers, Kevin and John, and one sister, Mercedes.
Q) What is your favorite food?
A) Chocolate.
Q) What do you like to do in your spare time?
A) If I'm looking for a rush then any extreme sport (skydiving, extreme skiing, rock climbing etc.). If I'm looking to chill then something a little more mellow like hiking, camping and fly fishing.or just going to the movies. I think it's important to have balance.
Q) How tall are you?
A) I'm 6ft.
Q) How long have you been doing Magic?
A) I was given my first magic set for Christmas when I was five years old, and have been hooked ever since.
Q) Do you wear colored contact lenses?
A) Nope! Have had the same eyes all my life. (Funny question though!)
Q) Do you have any pets?
A) Kind of - My girlfriend has a dog that I like to think has adopted me.
Q) What is your favorite place to visit?
A) I love a lot of places for different reasons, however Australia has become my second home.
Q) What gets your blood boiling?
A) Los Angeles traffic! Grrrr!
Q) What has been your worst ever experience onstage?
A) I accidentally made a kid from the audience cry once after he volunteered for an illusion. That was a drag.
Q) What has been your best ever experience onstage?
A) Performing for the Washin Children's Orphanage in Tai Pei, Taiwan.
Q) What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you onstage?
A) Falling off a two-meter stage onto the audience in Sun City, South Africa.
Q) Are you married and do you have any kids?
A) Never been married and no kids.
Q) What did you look like in your high school yearbook photo?
A) Big hair, big smile.
Q) If you were going to be stranded on a desert island what are three things you would take with you?
A) My girlfriend, a never-ending packet of Double Coated Chocolate Tim Tams, and my rod and reel.
Q) What is your favorite movie?
A) Favorite guy movie - "Fight Club". Favorite chick-flick - "Somewhere in Time."
Q) What was your favorite subject in High School?
A) Science.
Q) What was your least favorite subject in High School?
A) Toss up between History and English. (Ugh!)
Q) Describe yourself in three words.
A) Challenge-a-holic.
Q) What was your first car?
A) Subaru hatch back.
Q) What is your favorite color?
A) Definitely blue.
Q) What is the worst injury you have sustained while performing onstage or doing an escape?
A) Straddling a tree at 30 miles an hour while landing a skydiving escape.
Q) If you could invite any three people to a dinner party, who would they
be?
A) Houdini, Elvis and my Grandpa.
Q) What is your favorite restaurant?
A) Either "Yama Sushi" in Moorpark, California that makes the most amazing nouveau sushi, or a roadside shack in Rosarito, Mexico called Tacos Jr. that makes the most unbelievable shrimp tacos you'll ever taste.
Q) What is your kitchen specialty?
A) Post big-night-out breakfasts!
Q) What do your family and friends think of you attempting your Deadly Escapes?
A) Friends are usually supportive, but my parents hate it. In fact, my parents don't even want to know anything about my escapes until after they're completed. and even then they're not too thrilled.
Q) How do you feel before you do a show or an escape?
A) Very pumped and intensely focused.
Q) Who is your inspiration?
A) Harry Houdini.
Q) Do you have any physical anomalies that assist you in achieving your escapes (e.g. dislocating joints, etc.)
A) No physical anomalies that I'm aware of. but perhaps a few mental, (ha!).
Q) Which do you prefer, a pub or a bar?
A) Yes.
Q) What would you do if your children said they want to become magicians or escape artists?
A) Since I don't have any kids, this is a tough one. As a parent, you of course wouldn't want them to do anything dangerous, but also as a parent, you'd want them to follow their dreams.
Q) Describe what would be a perfect day for you.
A) Be on a river fly fishing at dawn with my best friend, barbecue at lunch with all my closest friends and family, survive a Deadly Escape in the afternoon, perform a live show in the evening, dinner with my girlfriend at our favorite restaurant, and the rest of the evening together.
Q) Do you prefer Magic or Escapes?
A) I love them both for different reasons. Magic for it's mystery and suspension of disbelief, and escapes for their challenge, rush and achievement.
Q) How long have you been skydiving, and how many jumps do you have?
A) Since 1993, and lost count around 500.
Q) What is your favorite sport?
A) It's not really a sport, but Hapkido is my favorite physical activity.
Q) Who is your favorite musician or musical group?
A) I have a few, U2, Phil Collins, and hometown favorites, Kenny Logins and Dishwalla.
Q) What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
A) "Don't become a Magician!"
Q) What is the worst piece of advice you've ever received?
A) "Don't become a Magician!"
Q) What is your best childhood memory?
A) The thrill I felt when I was eight years old when I performed my first magic show for all the neighborhood kids and parents.
Q) Is it true you have a pilot's license?
A) Yes, but I'm not current.
Q) If you could be anyone else in the world for a day who would it be?
A) My girlfriend, because I'd like to know what goes on in her head!
Q) What would you run across the road for?
A) Anything I couldn't find on this side.
Q) If you could set a trend, what would it be?
A) Random acts of kindness.
Q) What fictional character most resembles you?
A) Astro Boy!
Q) What can't you live without?
A) Chocolate.
Q) If you could choose a product to endorse, what would it be?
A) The best shrimp tacos in the world, Tacos Jr, Rosarito, Mexico!
Q) How do you procrastinate?
A) E-mail.
Q) Who should play you in a movie about your life?
A) I doubt anybody would want to do a movie about my life, but if they did, I guess it should be me, unless I'm dead ... in which case, I don't care.
Q) What do you look for in a woman?
A) Beautiful smile, kind heart, fun personality ... and willing to put up with me!
Q) What's your most memorable escape?
A) Any of them that I walked away from ... but particularly, the Challenge of the Death Dive.
Q) What's your catch phrase?
A) If the consequence of failure isn't death. then it's just not fun!
