Dallas Says: You Get What You Settle For
I met Dallas Saupe on the beach. Between wisecracks, he'd juggle knives and blow fire for the appreciative audience gathered around him.
For Dallas, this was just another day at the office. For me, it was an inspiration. It doesn't occur to most of us to create our own day jobs, but I wish it did.
Dallas didn't start out as a fire-breathing, knife-juggling street performer.
Actually, he has a degree in electrical engineering and he served four years in the Air Force. "I did the white collar thing for about five, six years. I did computer-aided drafting and electrical engineering," he explained.
So what happened? He went to one audition for the circus—just to watch the jugglers, he claims. "At the end of the audition, I walked up while the other jugglers were packing up. I hadn't seen any props in about seven years. I did a couple of tricks just playing around and the owner of the show came up and asked me why I didn't audition. And pretty much that's what I did. I took a leave of absence from work to go check it out," he continued.
Dallas estimates that he earns about $100,000 annually as a street performer, but that's not what drives him to entertain crowds five to six times a day each week. "It's instant gratification. These people come up and shake my hand and tell me, 'Good job.'
It's not like I'm waiting for a boss 90 days from now to give me a review," Dallas said.
Dallas has performed in music videos for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Aerosmith as well as commercials for Pringles and Pepsi. He once opened for Carrot Top on HBO and he's done the Jerry Lewis telethon five times.
He says he couldn't be happier, "Having fun and living life are more important than doing anything else. I could sleep in a tent tonight on the beach if I wanted to and I could have just as good a time listening to the ocean as anybody in a condo on Highland Estates. You pretty much have to soul search and just find out what makes you happy as a person."
what's next?