Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Unbubble-lievable!!!

The first thing that struck me about Fan Yang is that his face does not match his name. I had envisioned a Chinese man, but he was obviously not. His father is Hungarian, and his mother Vietnamese. They met in Vietnam when his dad was fighting the Vietnam War. The couple fell in love, and moved back to Europe after the war, setting in present-day Yugoslavia.

Fan Yang came from a very poor family. His brother Jano and him grew up on a farm in the countryside. He had but 8 years of education. Before he discovered his love for bubbles, he was performing on the streets just to earn an extra penny. Juggling... whatever it took!

Fan Yang [right] with his elder brother Jano [left], who is involved in backstage work for the Gazillion Bubble Show.

His first encounter with bubbles was not the sort of bottled bubbles we find at Toys R Us. It was bubbles floating on the surface of a river. He thought to himself, how wonderful to be able to make these bubbles really, really big and to make them float in the air! The imagination of a young teenage boy... but it started him on a journey of no return.

For the first half of his 26-year career as a bubble artist, he invested in finding a special bubble solution that would make bubbles more "flexible". He did - after much blood, sweat & tears.

There are 7 secret ingredients in his special bubble solution, and with that, Fan Yang was able to create pure magic. In fact, he currently holds 16 Guinness World Records! The latest being to put a 8,800lb elephant in a bubble! *gasp*

Bubbles within bubbles! I blew gently on the surface of a bubble, and a baby one appeared inside miraculously!

This father of two says that the Fan Yang Gazillion Bubble Show is very much a family affair. As mentioned, his brother Jano helps backstage. His wife is a bubble artist as well, as are his children Deni, 20, and Melody, 19.

He tells us that he would do this for nothing. It's not about money.

The Gazillion Bubble Show is really about his true life story. And his journey is not without hardship and ridicule. For many years, people laughed in the face for wanting to do a bubble show. They could not understand or accept because they could not see what he saw.

But Fan Yang did not give up, and today, he's been welcomed with open arms on top-rated shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The David Lettermen Show, LIVE! with Regis & Kelly etc.

Fan Yang on the Stan & Pam show! *LOL*

I did not expect, as I walked into the studio this morning, to be touched and inspired so deeply by The Bubble Man. But I was. Fan Yang's sharing touched me deeply.

He spoke in a low, calm voice tinged with an Eastern European accent, which told me that even though he now resides in Canada and New York, he spent most of his formative years in the poverty of Yugoslavia.

A country boy who today travels the world sharing his love for bubbles... I can only conclude that this is the result of following his heart. This is his life's calling.

So without further adieu, here is the one & only, amazing Fan Yang creating a SQUARE bubble for us. Check this out!


Fan Yang Gazillion Bubble Show
18 - 20 June
D'Marquee @ Downtown East
Tickets via SISTIC

For more info, visit the Gazillion Bubble Show website.
Or find out more about the science of bubbles here.

And if you're still sitting on the fence, brace yourself for a sneak preview:


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