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Angel Freaked Out By Planned Clearwater Stunt

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By KEVIN WALKER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 25, 2008

TAMPA - Criss Angel's not sleeping a lot.

He's got a few things on his mind, like how he's going to get out of the Spyglass Hotel in Clearwater Beach in the 3 1/2 minutes before 450 sticks of dynamite explode and bring the old building to the ground.

"If I wasn't concerned about it, I would be a very stupid person," Angel said during a conference call Thursday.

The illusionist (real name Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos) is the star of "Criss Angel Mindfreak" on A&E Network. Over the show's three seasons, he's done stunts such as walking on water, levitating above the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and making a Lamborghini disappear.

But on Wednesday's show at 11 p.m., Angel will try something new - a live show in which he will attempt to escape the beachside Spyglass Hotel before it is demolished. For added tension, he will be handcuffed to a railing on a sixth-floor balcony as the countdown to the explosion begins.

He'll have to pick the handcuffs with one of his lock picks, which will be hung around his neck. He will then have to get through a series of doors - many of them locked as well - and then run up three flights of stairs to the roof. After that, he'll have to get to the center of the roof and grab a ladder dangling from a helicopter hovering over the hotel.

So, yeah, he's got some things keeping him up at night.

"For me, the biggest challenge is staying calm, cool and collected," said Angel, noting that picking a lock is easy, but not when you know time is running out before an explosion. He's also worried about the weather and whether the pilot will keep the helicopter in the right place.

The building is set to implode four minutes after the stunt begins, bringing down 4,500 tons of concrete. But Angel wants to get to the ladder in 3 1/2 minutes to give the helicopter time to get 1,000 feet up in the air before the explosion. That's considered a safe distance.

"No matter what, that building will come down in four minutes. That will happen whether I am in it or not," Angel said.

Angel said the stunt is among the most dangerous he has ever done - this from a man who once escaped from handcuffs with a car coming at him (the car was on fire). It's so dangerous that Angel has promised his mother, who is attending the event, that he will not do another stunt this dangerous.

"My mom is in her 70s, and I adore her to death. I just don't want to put her through this anymore," he said.

That will be welcome news to Cirque du Soleil and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Angel recently signed a contract to perform 4,600-plus shows there over the next 10 years. "Cirque and MGM weren't very happy with my decision to do this," he said.

Angel said the key to doing stunts of this nature is not fearing death. "Once you don't fear death, what's left to fear? What's the worst that can happen?"

Reporter Kevin Walker can be reached at (813) 259-7975.

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