Space Cowboy (performer)
Chayne Hultgren | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 13, 1978 Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Performer, artist |
| Known for | Holding 56 Guinness World Records in extreme performance art; sideshow, street, and freak show entertainment; incorporating augmented reality in art |
| Notable work | "Museum of Mutations and Oddities" collection, record-breaking sword swallowing feats |
Chayne Hultgren (born 13 April 1978), widely recognized as the Space Cowboy, is an Australian performer and artist famed for holding 56 Guinness World Records in extreme performance art, with a focus on sideshow, street, and freak show entertainment. Additionally, he incorporates augmented reality (AR) technology into his modern artistic creations.
Street performance and record-breaking feats
Hultgren’s repertoire includes juggling a combination of weapons such as a sickle, machete, and fire torch or alternatively a battle axe, jungle machete, and butcher knife—all while blindfolded atop a 10-foot unicycle. His skills extend to catching flaming arrows without sight, enduring suspension by hooks piercing his flesh, seven-ball juggling, hat tricks, spoon bending, levitation of both himself and objects, sword swallowing, psychic surgery demonstrations, the human blockhead illusion, and knife throwing performed alongside his partner Zoe Ellis. His stage acts have featured swallowing a 2000-volt neon glass tube equipped with a microphone that transmitted his heartbeat.
He has also toured with "Mutant Barnyard," a mobile tent exhibition showcasing rare historical freak show artifacts and curiosities. Among the collection are Ditto, a double-bodied duckling; Daisy and Maisy, a two-headed cow; an albino kangaroo; skulls with extreme body modifications from Peru; shrunken heads from Ecuador; as well as 18th-century portraits depicting bearded women and a child with lobster-like hands. This assemblage is known as the "Museum of Mutations and Oddities." A prized item within this collection is the alleged preserved head of famed tattooed sideshow artist Horace Ridler (The Great Omi). The entire collection is reportedly insured by Lloyds Bank for $7 million.
Hultgren’s performances have graced various platforms including street venues, theaters, the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Glastonbury Festival, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Belgium’s Gentse Feesten, the Rotterdam Straatfestival, Toronto BuskerFest, the Woodford Folk Festival, the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, as well as Movie World.
Contemporary visual art
Beginning in 2021, Hultgren shifted focus to become a contemporary artist, producing paintings that frequently depict anthropomorphic figures. Many of these works integrate AR features accessible through smartphone interaction. His debut exhibition in Byron Bay combined live painting with a Tesla coil performance.
Achievements
Hultgren has earned recognition as Australia’s most prolific record holder, possessing 44 official Guinness World Records as of 2016 for extraordinary accomplishments such as 'Most chainsaw juggling catches while riding a unicycle', 'Greatest weight pulled using hooks inserted in eye sockets', and 'Highest number of blowtorches extinguished with the tongue within one minute'—with flames reaching temperatures up to 1995 °C. His sword swallowing milestones include setting an initial record by swallowing 17 swords simultaneously in 2009—an achievement ranked among Guinness World Records’ top 100—and currently holding an official record for swallowing 18 swords at once. Unofficially, he managed to swallow 27 swords during the Irish Street Performance Festival.
His records also encompass pulling 411 kg using fishhooks embedded in his eyes; lifting the heaviest weight while sword swallowing; catching arrows blindfolded at record speed; enduring multiple motorbikes driven over his body laid on a bed of nails; and cracking the most flowers from his mouth within one minute. Among his pioneering feats are being the first to swallow two swords simultaneously, performing sword swallowing underwater inside a tank containing live sharks, and executing his signature act dubbed "Black and Decker Digestion Wrecker"—where he swallows an entire power drill fitted with a sword attachment. He is believed to have been Australia’s youngest professional sword swallower at age 22.
A three-time champion of the Street Performance World Championship, Hultgren holds memberships in both the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians.
Physical appearance
Hultgren is distinguished by his prominent tattoos, which include large angel wings spanning his back, alongside 11 piercings such as those on his nipples, ear cartilage, a flesh tunnel in his left ear, and a navel piercing. Additionally, he sports a subdermal implant in his chest, implanted at London's Tusk tattoo studio by renowned body modification artist Samppa Von Cyborg.
A congenital abnormality affects the lower portion of his stomach, which is duplicated and positioned lower than usual. This unique anatomical feature allows him to swallow swords reaching lengths of up to 72 cm.
Media coverage
In June 2008, Hultgren gained front-page attention across UK and Irish national newspapers as well as the BBC website after setting a world record in Dublin by swallowing 27 swords adorned with flags of EU member states on the day of the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
The Times highlighted him as a "two-time world champion and quadruple Guinness World Record holder" who attracts larger audiences in Edinburgh than any other performer without relying on television exposure.
His television credits include appearances on Australia's Got Talent, Ripley's Believe It or Not! (USA), Don't Try This at Home (UK), The Sideshow (Australia), "Guinness O Mundo dos Recordes" (Spain), and "Lo show dei record" (Italy). On the American show The World's Best, he initially faced elimination but returned as a wild card before ultimately departing the competition.
In February 2010, major media outlets such as The Independent, USA Today, and The Hindu covered his record-setting sword-swallowing performance.
In August 2011, while performing street acts in New York City, Hultgren was detained for allegedly brandishing a sword publicly; he was released without charges following the seizure of his equipment.
Personal life
Hultgren lives in Byron Bay, Australia with his partner Zoe Ellis (also known as Zoe L'amore). Together they have a daughter named Scarlett Showbiz Wild, born on 4 June 2013.