When UF student David Ferman revealed his stunt, Heidi Klum hid behind a table. Howard Stern clasped his hands in a prayer-like gesture. Nick Cannon cringed in fear.
But Ferman stayed cool, balancing a bottle of gasoline and a lit wick on a balloon and catching it on a stick — in his mouth — once he popped it.
The performance earned the 19-year-old UF marketing sophomore a ticket to Las Vegas to compete in the next round of this season’s “America’s Got Talent.”
“No one has ever gone out there and actually balanced a firebomb,” Ferman said. “No one has ever done a juggling stunt with an actual bomb that could blow up on stage.”
The confidence to do so has been 11 years in the making.
When Ferman was 8, he was called on stage to participate in a show on a cruise. The performers joked with him, saying they’d take him on the road someday if he learned how to juggle.
So he did.
After one year he could perfectly juggle three balls, but it was not until his father surprised him with a visit to a juggling convention that Ferman realized it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Ferman came to “America’s Got Talent” holding the world record for juggling the most balls — 10 — with 26 catches. On the show, he faces acrobats, musicians, dancers and more for $1 million.
“For my tricks I like to think outside the prop box,” Ferman said.
In between practicing his stunts, Ferman juggles classes, spending time with his family in Jacksonville and hanging out with his brothers at UF’s Alpha Epsilon Pi house. The fraternity hosted a viewing party for the airing of Ferman’s Chicago audition.
“My first time performing the bottle trick was at my fraternity’s chapter,” he said.
Ferman’s brothers, friends and family are looking forward to the Las Vegas episodes that will air 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We are very proud of him, and we are excited that he’s doing so well,” said his mom, Heather Ferman. “We would like to see him excel in what he does best.”
He said his next performance will be shocking.
“If you just come at it thinking that you are going to make these elaborate, huge tricks that are out of this world, like a magician does with these big illusions,” David Ferman said, “then you are taking the art form to a whole new level.”
UF marketing sophomore David Ferman, 19, prepares to perform in front of judges on “America’s Got Talent” on May 9 in Chicago. Ferman has advanced to the Las Vegas rounds, which will air Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC.
