0:00:02 > 0:00:04This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07My name is Adam Pearson and I've got a condition called NF1
0:00:07 > 0:00:10that causes tumours to grow on my face.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16All my life I have been called horrible names.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Mutant,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21fat face, spastic,
0:00:21 > 0:00:22monster...
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Elephant Man.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29But the one that I detest is freak.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31- He's real?- Yeah.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Thank you, sir.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Freak. I hate that word.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I don't want to be classed a freak,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46but some people embrace it.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51'It's showtime. Step right up.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53MUSIC: Le Freak by Chic
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I thought freak shows died out with the Victorians.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Now when people shout, "Yo! Freak show!",
0:01:00 > 0:01:02I turn round and go, "Thank you very much."
0:01:02 > 0:01:06It has become, for me, something I'm proud of being.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10But, in fact, freak shows are still alive and kicking in the US.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Once I started seeing what I could do, how much money I could make...
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18To finally face my inner demons,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I'm heading to the spiritual home of the freak show,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24to find out if I should stay in the freak closet...
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Hoo! Woo!
0:01:26 > 0:01:30..or kick down the doors and embrace my inner freak.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33Do you think I'm a freak?
0:01:33 > 0:01:34I think you are whatever you want to be.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36We're dancing!
0:01:46 > 0:01:49He was a beautiful baby. Beautiful blue eyes.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Why are we talking about me being beautiful in the past tense?
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- He was absolutely lovely.- Was lovely. Am lovely. Am lovely.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55He is lovely.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59And then he went to school and turned into a monster.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- Oh, you could have worded that so much better.- Well...
0:02:03 > 0:02:08I was only five years old when I was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11a genetic condition that led to my face turning
0:02:11 > 0:02:13from looking pretty normal to how I look now.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19The doctor said to us, "Don't rush down to the library
0:02:19 > 0:02:22"and look it up in the medical dictionary."
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Of course, the next day,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26their dad, straight down the library,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27on the phone.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30He says, "This is what the Elephant Man has got.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34I said, "Well, that doesn't mean you going to look like the Elephant Man."
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The Elephant Man was a guy called Joseph Merrick,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39who lived in the 1800s.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42He had an extreme facial disfigurement,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44not dissimilar to mine.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47If you say name a freak show performer,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49most people go, "The Elephant Man."
0:02:50 > 0:02:55He is the most famous oddity who ever lived.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The Elephant Man was exhibited as a human curiosity
0:03:00 > 0:03:02in Victorian freak shows.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06His legend had all but disappeared
0:03:06 > 0:03:09until an iconic film was made about him in the 1980s.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14When I hear the name the Elephant Man in my head
0:03:14 > 0:03:17I get very angry and anxious because it takes me straight back
0:03:17 > 0:03:20to the school playground,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23to the, kind of, the taunting and the jeering and the...
0:03:25 > 0:03:27..the dark side of adolescence.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32"Ah, look at him, mummy, he looks like the Elephant Man."
0:03:32 > 0:03:33"Do you think that's a monster?"
0:03:33 > 0:03:35"That's disgusting."
0:03:35 > 0:03:36Followed by revulsion.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40At the time, it really sucked.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And you feel like it's your fault.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Yo, come on in. Let me show you my room.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I think 12 is a very hard age.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05That's when you go from primary school to secondary school.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07I had just lost the sight in my left eye,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11so you from being around with people who have kind of grown-up with you, who know you
0:04:11 > 0:04:12and have gotten used to you,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14to bottom of the pecking order
0:04:14 > 0:04:16and also kind of the odd one out.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19I guess in that sense, I was an oddity.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20It was hell.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I am not an animal!
0:04:26 > 0:04:30I am a human being.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I hate the stigma of the name the Elephant Man.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41And I don't like the comparison and when people do it, it pisses me off.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I hate being called that name.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- I've never watched the film. - What? The Elephant Man?
0:04:49 > 0:04:51No, I've never seen it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54You've never...? But it's a really good film.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56So...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Your dad and I actually went to the cinema to see it.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00- Really?- Yeah.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Like what? Like on a date?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Well, yeah, I suppose.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08It's been on the television several times and you've still not watched it.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13- No, I... I'll go one further.- Have you avoided it?- I've avoided it. Yes.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I think if somebody called me a name I'd want to, er,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19to have a good look at it.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21'Life...
0:05:23 > 0:05:24'..is full of surprises.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'Ladies and gentlemen,
0:05:29 > 0:05:30'the terrible
0:05:30 > 0:05:33'Elephant Man.'
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The name Elephant Man implies that he was subhuman...
0:05:38 > 0:05:40MAID SCREAMS
0:05:41 > 0:05:44..more of an animal
0:05:44 > 0:05:46than a man.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47'..and it's got to stop!'
0:05:47 > 0:05:51It's sort of bringing up memories of, kind of,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54school and stuff, which is the reason I avoided it.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57INTERVIEWER: Do you think there is a resemblance?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01A little bit.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03I kind of get it a little bit,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05the facial disfigurement
0:06:05 > 0:06:07and, in particular, the tumours.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15As an adult, I thought I had escaped the shadow of the Elephant Man,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17the greatest freak show performer who ever lived,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20but I've received an unexpected invite.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So, I've gotten this letter...
0:06:26 > 0:06:29..from a guy in America that owns
0:06:29 > 0:06:31and operates a freak show.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37"Hello, Adam. Do you make it out to America much?
0:06:37 > 0:06:39"I would love for you to work with us."
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Not quite sure how I feel.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48It is intriguing.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I thought stuff like this had died in the Victorian period.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54As invites go,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57it's probably the weirdest job offer I've ever had.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- Human freaks.- Yes, or "oddities."
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I dislike the idea of freak shows intensely.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09I think it's exploitative,
0:07:09 > 0:07:15parading people around as a spectacle for the baying masses.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17I don't think freak shows should exist.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26He just told me that he'd received an e-mail to be in a freak show.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I just said to him, "I hope you said no."
0:07:31 > 0:07:33What do you think of that word?
0:07:33 > 0:07:35- What?- Freak.- Freak?
0:07:35 > 0:07:36I don't know.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43My "monstrosity"? No.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47"An abnormally developed individual or thing."
0:07:47 > 0:07:50I mean, abnormal? That's...
0:07:50 > 0:07:52What does that mean?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Well, I don't think he's any of them, really.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Why would I want someone to call my child a freak?
0:08:01 > 0:08:02I would... Or you.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Or anybody
0:08:04 > 0:08:06to be called a freak.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I'd say, erm, "oddities".
0:08:08 > 0:08:11INTERVIEWER: So you are happy to be called an oddity?
0:08:13 > 0:08:14Er?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- You don't want to be called a name at all, do you?- No.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I guess I'm better with the word "oddity" than "freak"
0:08:19 > 0:08:21because no-one hollered that at me
0:08:21 > 0:08:23from across the street or across the playground,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25but it's still not great.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30It's like, kind of, chlamydia is better than syphilis,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34though neither are desirable.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I haven't had either,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41just in case any ladies are watching. I'm good.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42INTERVIEWER LAUGHS
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I'm completely clean.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50I wonder, will modern day freak shows be any different?
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I've decided to go to the United States to find out for myself.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04But first I want to confront the freak show oddity
0:09:04 > 0:09:07whose existence has haunted me since I was a child.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18This is personal to me
0:09:18 > 0:09:23because I've been constantly compared, my whole life,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27to the most famous freak show performer in history.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34'Ladies and gentlemen,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36'the terrible
0:09:36 > 0:09:37'Elephant...
0:09:38 > 0:09:39'..Man.'
0:09:43 > 0:09:47We're the same bloody height, aren't we? That's weird.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52I'm a lot more well-built than he is.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00"The most striking feature about him was his enormous and misshapen head."
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Treves, the doctor who took him to the Royal London,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10described the Elephant Man as
0:10:10 > 0:10:14"the most disgusting specimen of humanity that I have ever seen.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18"At no time have I ever met with such a degraded or perverted
0:10:18 > 0:10:22"version of a human being as this lone figure displays."
0:10:25 > 0:10:26It makes me angry.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Where does that, then, leave me?
0:10:31 > 0:10:36Even today people would say similar things about me
0:10:36 > 0:10:40just with a lot more medical bullshit to disguise
0:10:40 > 0:10:42what they are actually saying.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50When he wasn't on display as part of a freak show,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Victorian society found Joseph Merrick's deformity
0:10:53 > 0:10:56so shocking he was driven to wear a mask in public.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I'm going to try this, then.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06I think wearing that is more denigrating
0:11:06 > 0:11:09than, kind of, being stared at and jeered at.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14- I've never ever had at hat that's fit me.- OK, let's try this.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20OK, that's...
0:11:21 > 0:11:24This is incredibly claustrophobic.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- Is it?- Yeah.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- OK.- Yeah, this does not feel
0:11:29 > 0:11:30good at all.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41If you could get it off, that would be brilliant.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- OK. There you go.- Phew.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44That was awful.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52It's just really hard to run away from it
0:11:52 > 0:11:54when you're wearing his bloody hat, isn't it?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00How much could Joseph Merrick have made as a freak show performer?
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Anything up to about £20 a week, I suppose,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07which is a round about £1,000 in today's money.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Maybe there is something to this freak show thing after all.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18£1,000 a week sounds quite good. Maybe I'm missing a trick.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Freak shows displaying human curiosities
0:12:31 > 0:12:34became popular in America in the 1840s
0:12:34 > 0:12:39and up until their decline in the early 20th century drew huge crowds.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41'Now for the big show.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43'The event that the kids and the grown-ups have been waiting for
0:12:43 > 0:12:45'for months.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Biological rarities, human marvels
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and even sexual oddities toured the States alongside sword swallowers
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and fire-eaters to shock and entertain the viewing public.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'Everyone is headed for the big top to thrill to and cheer
0:12:57 > 0:13:02'the fun makers, daredevils, freaks and ferocious performing animals.'
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Freak show performers such as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy
0:13:07 > 0:13:09and Tom Thumb became huge stars.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16But by 1900, human novelties became considered distasteful
0:13:16 > 0:13:20and, in America today, there are only a handful of freak shows left.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I'm not convinced that modern-day freak shows are in any way
0:13:38 > 0:13:42different to the ones of old and can't understand why anybody
0:13:42 > 0:13:46would allow their deformity or condition to be exploited.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49I've heard about a performer from Detroit
0:13:49 > 0:13:52who is preparing to join a freak show
0:13:52 > 0:13:53and I want to find out why.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57- Morning, Adam.- How you doing?
0:13:57 > 0:13:59'Bethany was born with ectrodactyly,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02'also known as lobster claw syndrome.'
0:14:02 > 0:14:03I like your hands.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Well, a lot of people call them, like, lobster claws
0:14:06 > 0:14:08because that's what they resemble.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11It's a mutation of the 13th chromosome.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'Because of her condition, she had her leg amputated
0:14:15 > 0:14:16'when she was just three.'
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Yet, I just scoot and swing.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'That hasn't stopped her learning circus skills
0:14:22 > 0:14:23'for her freak show debut.'
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Why are you learning this?
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I like fire. I'm kind of a firebug.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33OK.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35This is something I've always wanted to do.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40How do you feel about terms such as freak show,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43oddity, lobster girl?
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Do you find them a bit crass and sensationalist
0:14:45 > 0:14:48or is it something that you embrace?
0:14:48 > 0:14:53I think that when people hear "freak show"
0:14:53 > 0:14:58they are thinking the crazy guy in a steel cage,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01shaking and rattling chains.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02People may label us
0:15:02 > 0:15:05because of the deformities that we were born with,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10but we are out to educate and show the beauty
0:15:10 > 0:15:13in the deformities and the oddities.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15You know, we're showing people that
0:15:15 > 0:15:17because we're different
0:15:17 > 0:15:19doesn't mean we can't be beautiful.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26I thought I'd be, like, "Why are you joining a freak show?
0:15:26 > 0:15:27"This is degrading."
0:15:29 > 0:15:33But she spoke about it so passionately
0:15:33 > 0:15:34that I couldn't knock it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47- This is Adam.- How are you doing? Pleasure to meet you.- You too.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- This is Adam.- How you doing? Pleasure.- Yeah, pleasure to meet you, too.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54'Bethany's condition has not been passed on to her children.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'Whilst they support her decision to join a freak show,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00'they also worry for her.'
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Well, my mom is using it to change people's view
0:16:03 > 0:16:06of special people with special skills
0:16:06 > 0:16:08better than other normal people.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Growing up with a deformity of any kind
0:16:12 > 0:16:14makes you a stronger person.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16I think mom is strong enough.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20My problem is I just don't want people to criticise her.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23I had a bus driver today. She goes and says,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25"Is your mom a freak?"
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- And I go, "No."- Heck, yeah, baby. - And I was going, "No."
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I gave her that look, like, you're just try to keep it in,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35because she didn't understand and I was going, you know,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37"No, she's not."
0:16:37 > 0:16:40'I get why her children are concerned about their mother
0:16:40 > 0:16:44'being labelled a freak
0:16:44 > 0:16:47'when they don't see her that way.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'They just see her as Mum.'
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- At least he can run.- Yes.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57It's going to bother me but I know she's going to have fun.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00I promise you, I'll take good care of her.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01- Amputees on parade.- Yeah.- Boom.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Oh, yeah. I love this one.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Come here. Just squeeze me. Yeah. I love you.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13No more tears.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'Bethany is leaving her family behind to travel over 1,000 miles
0:17:18 > 0:17:20to Texas to join a freak show.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And I'm going with her.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26The Elephant Man is coming.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Ladies and gentlemen,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30welcome to the world where the bizarre is beautiful.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Are you bored of ten fingers and ten toes?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Tired of one normal-looking head,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37two boring lower limbs?
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Bethany is joining a circus called the 999 Eyes.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44It is one of only a handful of a freak shows left
0:17:44 > 0:17:47in the United States and the first one I have ever been to.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Mother Nature is a mad scientist.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54We all have our own differences, genetically.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56It's very tribal-like as well.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I mean, looking out for each other and...
0:17:58 > 0:18:02We are all so close-knit, it does feel quite a bit like a family.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04# Ain't those freaks just grand? #
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Bethany's debut performance with her new freak family is a warm up,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12so no fire breathing.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Please welcome the newest member of this freak talent show,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Dolly the Human Cyborg, ladies and gentlemen.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19She's simply sharing with the crowd
0:18:19 > 0:18:23her experience of growing up with lobster claw syndrome.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Kids would go, "Um, ma'am,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29"what happened to your fingers? Where did they go?"
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I'd go, "I was really bad as a child
0:18:33 > 0:18:36"and if you're not good to your parents,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38"watch out, they may cut yours off, too.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40LAUGHTER
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I get a kick out of it, so for somebody else to actually see
0:18:42 > 0:18:47it the way I see it and laugh with me and not at me is amazing.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Calm down.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51You're getting out of hand!
0:18:51 > 0:18:56Black Scorpion is the founding father of this family of freaks.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58I was born this way but...
0:18:58 > 0:19:02He has the same condition as Bethany.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Ectrodactyly!
0:19:04 > 0:19:08If it wasn't for the word "freak", I wouldn't be on stage. It's like a shout out.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12And that's one of the things about the 999 Eyes taking the word "freak"
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and making it a positive.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Do you think I'm a freak?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19I think you are whatever you want to be.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22I don't like being called deformed. I think I'm perfectly formed.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24This is the way I was supposed to come out.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Adam, do you feel like you are a freak in the closet?
0:19:32 > 0:19:33Oh, bloody hell. Erm...
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I'm starting to get my head around
0:19:40 > 0:19:43the idea of owning the word "freak".
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I've only ever heard it used towards me
0:19:48 > 0:19:51as a term of derision in the school playground,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55so I've only ever had the experience of it being used as a slur.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58All I wanted to do
0:19:58 > 0:20:02was finish school and put my penis in something
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and it was painfully obvious that wasn't going to happen.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10So do I need to just grow the hell up and get over it
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and just kick the closet door in
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and get on stage.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17If you feel like you want to get on stage,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19I think you should.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21I think you should do whatever empowers you.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24It's what's inside our souls.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Let me tell you something, you are beautiful. Just talking to you.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Like, I feel like,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33looking at you is like looking at a reflection of me
0:20:33 > 0:20:35in many ways and you are beautiful.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Black Scorpion told me I was beautiful.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50It was a really heartfelt thing to say.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05It rarely happens.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Like, I think, twice in my life.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Hi, Mum. How are you doing?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23'Oh, hello, darling. How are you?'
0:21:23 > 0:21:25I'm good, thank you. I'm good.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29'You sure you're all right?'
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- Yeah, yeah.- 'You sound a bit jaded.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:34No, I'm good, I'm good. Just calling you to say, "Hey".
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Do you like my new hat?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38'I feel you're very impressive.'
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Yeah, we found a hat that fit me
0:21:41 > 0:21:43so I thought, "This may never happen again."
0:21:43 > 0:21:45HIS MUM LAUGHS
0:21:45 > 0:21:49- 'It's not to be sneezed at, is it?' - No.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Are you OK without me? Are you not completely lonely?,
0:21:54 > 0:21:55'It's not too bad.'
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Anyway, I will love you and leave you, OK?
0:21:58 > 0:22:00'All right, then, sweetheart. Thanks for ringing.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- 'It's lovely to talk to you.' - Take care, Mum.- 'Bye.'
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Ah, Mum.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09I miss her. I always thought I would.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15I found a hat that fits.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and I'm here in search of freak show stars.
0:22:24 > 0:22:30It's a Mecca for cabaret artists and has always embraced the bizarre.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33With an entertainment industry worth billions of dollars,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37there's money to be made here for modern day freak show performers.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41If you're a performer, this is the place you come.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Las Vegas is very much the main stage.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49This evening is going to be a weird one. It's Halloween.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52We are going to a place called the Fright Dome.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58It's going to be a very, kind of, Halloween, Fright Night kind of vibe.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00And I hate Halloween.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01It's showtime. Step right up.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Jake works for himself, hosting alternative cabaret nights
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and running a dwarf wrestling company.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14- Hey, Jake, how are you doing? - Hey, buddy, how are you doing?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Yeah, good, thank you. So, freak shows. Is it lucrative?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Is me being a little bit PC
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and maybe a bit of a girl about the whole thing
0:23:22 > 0:23:24missing out on a big,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26to put it bluntly, cash cow?
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Vegas is known as the glittery asshole of the States.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31We make money here.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33This is where we get all of our big bucks at.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36What can you earn in Vegas as an oddity?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40- I charge clubs anywhere from 3,500 to 10,000 a show.- Nice.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42That gives me a bit of food for thought.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- So, could I work here?- Yes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47You would actually work perfectly fine in a freak show.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49But you would have to be comfortable with it
0:23:49 > 0:23:52because you're going to be in front of large crowds of people
0:23:52 > 0:23:54staring at you like you were in school.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I don't like being stared at and there's always people going,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59"What's wrong with that man's face?" So, do I need to get over it?
0:23:59 > 0:24:00Yes.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02You're going to... OK, no offence,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04you're never going to change the way you look, right?
0:24:04 > 0:24:06- No.- Unless you go in for some plastic surgery.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Is it true that natural-borns are freak show royalty?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11100%. There are people that join the freak show
0:24:11 > 0:24:15that will learn the sword swallowing or fire breathing,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19but there's natural-borns that are freaks like you and I.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22They consider us gold because we don't need to have an act.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24We don't need to have a performance.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26You are a rare oddity.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- There's only one other person like you...- And he's dead. - ..and he's dead.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31That means you're one-of-a-kind.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Accept it and want it.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38If you can get over the anger of people staring at you
0:24:38 > 0:24:40and just accept it as you being different to say,
0:24:40 > 0:24:41"Hey, this is me.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44"I look beautiful. Take my picture."
0:24:44 > 0:24:47If you have too much political correctness about yourself,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49you will not fit into the sideshow business.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52I was very PC when I was kid. I hated the word "midget".
0:24:52 > 0:24:55But once I started seeing what I could do,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57how much money I could make
0:24:57 > 0:25:00and if I just accepted the word
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and marketed it, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, on money,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06that PC correctness was gone.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I decided to take Jake up on his word and see if I could make money
0:25:12 > 0:25:16for the first time out of my freakiness on the Las Vegas streets.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24With a face like this I deliberately don't normally go out on Halloween.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25I'm really anxious.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Hoo! Woo!
0:25:32 > 0:25:37I am acutely aware that my face is, in a way, a commodity
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and that it kind of sparks interest and curiosity
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and, then, curiosity can create cash.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46- What's your name?- Adam.- Adam.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- And you are?- DJ.- DJ.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- Pleasure to meet you, DJ. - Nice to meet you, man.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I'm thinking of coming to Vegas to join the sideshow scene.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55- What you reckon?- Oh, man. - How do you think I'd do?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57You belong in Vegas, buddy.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Yeah, man. For sure.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Well, I've just talked to you and I feel better already.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Awesome.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Want to do our picture? Want to do a picture?
0:26:06 > 0:26:08I'd love to have a picture, man.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- See, Adam? See all the people? - Yeah.- It's awesome, man.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- Thanks very much, again, Adam. - Vegas, baby. Vegas.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Fucking awesome.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Thank you.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30One dollar.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36It seems that on the streets of Vegas, I'm an object of desire,
0:26:36 > 0:26:37not derision.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Pale imitation.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- No plasty?- No, natural.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Natural born oddity, my dear.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57He is natural.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05Ah, seven...
0:27:07 > 0:27:09..17,
0:27:09 > 0:27:1318 in half an hour just for standing in the fucking street.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I have greatly underestimate my earning power
0:27:16 > 0:27:18in freak shows and sideshows.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21This is very dirty money.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23I feel like I've made 18 but I've sold my soul.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28As much as I've heard about empowerment,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31reclaiming the term "freak",
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I still think, to a degree,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36that this is exploitation.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53I've heard of a freak show performer who's been a headline act worldwide,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56but despite the opportunity to earn big bucks,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59has turned his back on the circus because of exploitation.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06In the circus they call me Wolfman,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Monkey Boy and Werewolf.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Ladies and gentlemen, the Wolf Boy!
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Chuy lives in a small town in Mexico.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20He has a rare condition called hypertrichosis.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24- Hola.- Adam.- Hola, mucho gusto.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32"The one and only Wolf Boy."
0:28:32 > 0:28:35You are freakshow royalty.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I think it's amazing, I think it's unique.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40- TRANSLATION:- I was 11 when I first started at the fair.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42We didn't earn anything.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48They exploited us and we were just little children.
0:28:48 > 0:28:49I felt imprisoned.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54All these freakshows want the Wolf Boy in their shows.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Yes, I know, but it traumatised me.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01In the circus, after every show,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and this happens in every country,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06there is alcohol and women.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10There are a lot of things for you to get lost in.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Personally, I think it was difficult for me.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21I didn't want to accept myself as God made me.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25OK, Chuy, bring it in, big guy.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28OK, let's do this, I've only got little arms.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Awesome! Done.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35'Despite being a headline act
0:29:35 > 0:29:37'at travelling circuses all across the world,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40'Chuy now shuns the attention he attracts,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43'preferring instead to work 12-hour days on a local rubbish tip.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49'He paints a very different picture than what I've heard so far'
0:29:49 > 0:29:52and he talks about how he only did it for the money
0:29:52 > 0:29:54and he felt exploited and mistreated
0:29:54 > 0:29:56which is sort of...
0:29:57 > 0:30:00..how what I thought I'd hear from a lot of people.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03But then he's got posters of it all
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and has all these mementos of it in his house,
0:30:07 > 0:30:12which if he hated it that much, why is it up on his walls?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17And I thought he'd have made a lot more money doing it
0:30:17 > 0:30:18than he actually has.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Unlike Chuy, his cousin Alex still loves the circus life
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and I have been invited along to watch a rehearsal.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33TRANSLATION:
0:30:44 > 0:30:47MUSIC: Thriller by Michael Jackson
0:30:59 > 0:31:02# It's close to midnight
0:31:02 > 0:31:05# And something evil's lurking in the dark
0:31:07 > 0:31:10# Under the moonlight
0:31:10 > 0:31:13# You see a sight that almost stops your heart
0:31:13 > 0:31:15# You try to scream
0:31:15 > 0:31:20# But terror takes the sound before you make it... #
0:31:20 > 0:31:24THEY GREET EACH OTHER IN SPANISH
0:31:27 > 0:31:30'There are only 59 cases of werewolf syndrome in the world.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33'Chuy and Alex's family make up 30 of them.'
0:31:34 > 0:31:39This is possibly the weirdest table I have ever sat at.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44We've got two wolf boys and an elephant man in the same trailer.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47- TRANSLATION:- Yes, it's a unique moment
0:31:47 > 0:31:49unlikely ever to be repeated.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54So, with a face like mine,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57could I work at the circus?
0:31:57 > 0:32:03- TRANSLATION:- Your face is magnificent for the circus.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07We've never seen something like that in the circus.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12If you are in a circus and they present you as The Elephant Man,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16people will be filled with a morbid curiosity.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Your face will be great!
0:32:22 > 0:32:24Yes, it's really unique
0:32:24 > 0:32:28because we don't know if there will be another elephant man
0:32:28 > 0:32:29for another 100 years.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33For me, growing up, I always...
0:32:33 > 0:32:36that was a name people used to call me as a term of derision.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40And everyone I've spoken to so far
0:32:40 > 0:32:43has said that whilst there are kind of elements of exploitation,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46that's not exactly how it works now.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50And it has all given me real food for thought.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53And that I've spent 30 years
0:32:53 > 0:32:57trying to distance myself from Joseph Merrick,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00but I haven't realised how remarkably similar we are.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10It absolutely brought a tear to my eye, kind of,
0:33:10 > 0:33:15just that there might not be another elephant man for 150 years.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23I don't know how to word this quite properly.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35It sits kind of weird.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40I feel like by acknowledging that I am similar to The Elephant Man,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Joseph Merrick, I am somehow accrediting all the negativity
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and everything the bullies at school said.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57Chuy and his cousin have had a massive impact on me.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01I think that was the kind of straw that broke the camel's back.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04INDISTINCT YELLING
0:34:06 > 0:34:10I think Chuy and Alex definitely think I'm more unique than they are.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17The point of coming here was to immerse myself in this whole world.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20And slowly but surely,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23my defences have been kind of chipped away at
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and now I think I took a big step forward today.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
0:34:36 > 0:34:41I can now say things like freakshow and Elephant Man and Wolf Boy
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and not feel like I'm...
0:34:44 > 0:34:46not feel disgusted at myself!
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Ladies and gentlemen,
0:34:51 > 0:34:57we're proud to present under the big top tonight
0:34:57 > 0:35:02human oddities!
0:35:05 > 0:35:08I'm following in the footsteps of Joseph Merrick,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11also known as The Elephant Man -
0:35:12 > 0:35:17the most famous freak, oddity, freakshow performer who ever lived.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25I think he was a good man, maybe even a great man...
0:35:27 > 0:35:31..who just wanted to be understood.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I think that's what beats at the heart of everyone,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37this desire for acceptance.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40That desire to love and be loved.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Spending time with other natural born oddities
0:35:52 > 0:35:56has given me a sense of belonging that I've never felt before.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04I am absolutely a freak, to all intents and purposes.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08No matter what definition you use, I am a freak.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10And now, I need to make a choice -
0:36:10 > 0:36:13if I'm going to get all upset and PC about it
0:36:13 > 0:36:17or embrace it and be a rockstar about the whole thing.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23But embracing it doesn't necessarily mean taking to the stage.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27The freakshow has now entered the 21st-century.
0:36:27 > 0:36:28We are the Hamills.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30I'm Michelle.
0:36:30 > 0:36:31I'm Dan.
0:36:31 > 0:36:32I'm Jack.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35And these are our twin daughters, CeCe and Cate.
0:36:35 > 0:36:36We are a family of five
0:36:36 > 0:36:40and what makes us so special is that we're all small.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Dan and Michelle live in Maryland with their kids.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48The whole family has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50They have a hit TV series
0:36:50 > 0:36:52and earn more filming every season
0:36:52 > 0:36:56than they do the rest of the year from their normal jobs.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58- Hi, Adam.- Hi, Dan, how are you doing, man?
0:36:58 > 0:37:01- Good, how are you?- Really good, thank you. Pleased to meet you.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Sorry, I get nervous meeting kids cos it's a lot to take in.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06Yeah, I get it. Jack, can you come and say hi?
0:37:06 > 0:37:08How are you doing, Jack, are you good?
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Give a high-five.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12- Yes!- Good job!- Best high-five.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16CeCe, CeCe, do you see Mr Adam over there?
0:37:16 > 0:37:17- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Do you want to know why his face looks different?
0:37:20 > 0:37:23- No.- OK!- Fine, yes
0:37:23 > 0:37:27- Jack, do you?- OK, yeah.- You do? OK.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31- It's OK, just say yes.- So, much like you, I was born different.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34I have a condition that just means my face looks different.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36It doesn't mean I'm silly
0:37:36 > 0:37:40or can't be cool and funny and awesome.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43It just means I'm different, just like you three.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Do you think you guys would have gotten the TLC show
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- had you not been little people? - I wouldn't think so.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52- We wouldn't have got it just for our personalities.- Yeah.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- I think you're right.- How do you feel about words like freak and...
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I know that Michelle hates the word midget.
0:37:59 > 0:38:00We are not midgets.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03- I definitely don't like the word. - What particularly do you not?
0:38:03 > 0:38:06- That's a very derogatory term for little people.- I get that.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12I get that. I never used to like the term freak.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15And so why do people put us on TV?
0:38:15 > 0:38:18- Is it a freak show?- I don't know, we try to be entertaining.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20That's our number one thing.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25And we try to teach through osmosis that little people, sort of,
0:38:25 > 0:38:27are just another neighbour down the street.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31And we have a show and a means to do that.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33You know, there's always going to be
0:38:33 > 0:38:35a million people you can't convince or can't change,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38but sometimes if you have something different, you have to own it.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41And...be the freakshow.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53How do the other kids... How do they mix with the other children?
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I think it's a nonissue in our own neighbourhood.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58I think they're just so used to the kids.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00It's very important that they're playing outside.
0:39:00 > 0:39:01I love when they play outside.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05I didn't play outside, I didn't have that many friends to play with.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13But I guess outside wasn't my jam. Other kids weren't my...my jam.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18You can take one home with you if you wish today!
0:39:18 > 0:39:20You could either have CeCe or you could have Cate.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23- Take this one!- I'm not CeCe! No!
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Meeting the Hamills has made me realise
0:39:35 > 0:39:39that I've actually been part of a freakshow all along.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43I like them, they're really normal.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46They are just choosing to live their lives on TV.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50And I certainly wouldn't have done as well in TV
0:39:50 > 0:39:53if it hadn't been for how I looked.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08The internet has also opened up a whole new world of work
0:40:08 > 0:40:09for people like me,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12who once might have been sidelined into circus life.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Victorian freakshows often had adult-only tents
0:40:18 > 0:40:20displaying a variety of human curiosities,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22from the biologically weird
0:40:22 > 0:40:24to the sexual oddities.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Nowadays, people with sexual fetishes will pay big bucks
0:40:28 > 0:40:30to watch disabled people online.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37Of all the things I thought I would be doing on this trip,
0:40:37 > 0:40:42meeting a disabled porn star was not one of them!
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Cindi-Lu lives in LA and makes a living
0:40:47 > 0:40:50posting pictures and videos of herself on the internet.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55I do videos, I do modelling, I do chats.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58I'm a Gilf. You guys know what a Milf is, right?
0:40:58 > 0:41:00- Yes, you are a Gilf. - Do you know what a Milf is?
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Yes, "Mum I'd like to fuck." And then Gilf is "Grandmother..."
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Oh, my God, you're the first person that's gotten it!
0:41:06 > 0:41:08'I am a complete paraplegic.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11'And I've been a paraplegic for 22 years.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14'I can't walk, so I roll.'
0:41:16 > 0:41:19I don't know why they like this pose so much, but they do.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22It's cos it's legs akimbo, isn't it?
0:41:22 > 0:41:25They like the legs open, or like flopped on the side.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30OK, yay me!
0:41:30 > 0:41:32- OK.- Awesome.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35OK, come on.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38'Cindi has regular clients who pay to have video calls with her.'
0:41:38 > 0:41:41- RECORDING:- 'One second.' - 'You wouldn't want my broken body.'
0:41:41 > 0:41:43'I do want your fucking broken body.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46'God, I want to put those useless legs over my shoulders.'
0:41:46 > 0:41:48'If I don't listen, you keep my chair.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51'I've got to pleasure you to get it back.'
0:41:51 > 0:41:53'You'll pleasure me to get it back, yeah.'
0:41:53 > 0:41:55So what do you think?
0:41:55 > 0:41:59- Um...- Say interesting again, watch! I'm close!
0:41:59 > 0:42:02No, no, that's the last word I would use to describe that.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Well, that might have been interesting.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07150 years ago, freak shows were based on people paying money
0:42:07 > 0:42:09to come and see the kind of...
0:42:09 > 0:42:13the different, the strange and the unique.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17And I think whilst this isn't in a tent in Victorian London,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21it certainly is people who have a very specific taste
0:42:21 > 0:42:24or fetish for something that they want to see,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26who are willing to part money for it.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29So there are definite parallels there.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32I'm seeing some ropes down there.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36So we're either going to wrap Christmas presents
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- or we're doing some bondage. - Oh, yeah, love it.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Oh, you're going to do some stuff with me, right?
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Crippled people are kinky too.
0:42:43 > 0:42:50I think Cindi is a consenting adult who is meeting a very niche demand.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52He's a good roper.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57A friend of mine suggested I get into porn
0:42:57 > 0:43:00- and that there's a gap in the market.- Are you endowed?
0:43:00 > 0:43:03- Just curious, I'm sorry. I had to. - Yeah, no, I...
0:43:03 > 0:43:04It's two inches...
0:43:04 > 0:43:06from the ground.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10So, yeah, that's why they call me The Elephant Man.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Oh, you could do it. I mean, people are curious.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15So are you going to do porn? Are you considering it?
0:43:15 > 0:43:20- I don't know, my mum googles me. - Oh, my God! That would be scary.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I know, right? "Oh, what's Adam been up to?"
0:43:23 > 0:43:25- That would be a hot scene. - "I don't know, cousin Jean,
0:43:25 > 0:43:26"let's have a look.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29"Oh, my word, what is he doing to that...?"
0:43:29 > 0:43:30- Oh!- Yeah, yeah.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32People are going to look anyways,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34might as well give them something to look at.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38Yeah, my inner showman is slowly winning the day.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Wait, my tits are getting squashed.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43OK, there we go. OK, give me a look.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45- INDISTINCT SPEECH - I know, it's OK.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49MUSIC: Super Freak by Rick James
0:43:49 > 0:43:53So give Adam some rope to hold in his hand, like he did it to me.
0:43:53 > 0:43:54OK, so, to be a true...
0:43:54 > 0:43:58You have to like show a fist wrapped around and,
0:43:58 > 0:43:59like, give it the look.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- Ooh!- Show a fist. - Yeah, yeah, tension.
0:44:03 > 0:44:04Tension like this.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06- That's it!- Now, you come here.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13This could well be the modern version of a freak show.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17And I think, kind of, at first my PC head kicked in
0:44:17 > 0:44:19and said, "You're setting us back ten years!"
0:44:19 > 0:44:23But the more I hung out with Cindi and talked to her
0:44:23 > 0:44:27and helped tie her up and stuff, the more I got over that.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30He's thinking, "I could get some freaky stuff going on."
0:44:30 > 0:44:32THEY LAUGH
0:44:34 > 0:44:37Say the word, my dear, say the word.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41- I lost my bondage virginity in Los Angeles.- Ooh, kinky!
0:44:56 > 0:45:01We've gone from kind of exploitation to sexploitation in one fell swoop.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07I did quite enjoy it, just because of the experience.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12I think, kind of, there's that little bit in everyone's brain
0:45:12 > 0:45:15that goes, "I wouldn't mind trying that just once."
0:45:15 > 0:45:19And when am I ever going to get
0:45:19 > 0:45:23to have a bondage session with a paraplegic again?
0:45:23 > 0:45:24I'm probably not.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29My trip across the States is almost over
0:45:29 > 0:45:32and it's given me a lot of food for thought.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37I think I came to America to learn about freak shows,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41kind of shake my head a little bit and then go home.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44But then...
0:45:44 > 0:45:46in a weird way, I found my own liberty.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51I've learned a lot more about myself doing this than I thought I would.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Now I've got to put it all into practice.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07If I'm going to flaunt my freak on stage,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10I'm going to need some expert advice.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13Mat Fraser is a Brit who now lives in New York.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17He's one of the world's highest earning freakshow performers.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20I used to love fairgrounds.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22I used to want to work on the fairground.
0:46:24 > 0:46:25Mat made a name for himself
0:46:25 > 0:46:28as Seal Boy in the TV show American Horror Story.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32But he's also renowned for his daring freakshow cabaret act.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36If anybody feels delicate around the issue of disability
0:46:36 > 0:46:39and crippledness and mutations and things like that,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42you're probably at the wrong show, ladies and gentlemen!
0:46:45 > 0:46:48- Mat Fraser, how are you doing, sir? - Very good, thank you.- Are you well?
0:46:48 > 0:46:51Yes, I'm very good. Very good indeed.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Out of all the kind of freaks we've spoken to, you're the one who's...
0:46:54 > 0:46:58who's made it, who's cashed in in a big way.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Have you ever met someone like me before?
0:47:01 > 0:47:03No, I've not met anyone
0:47:03 > 0:47:08with the elephant man-esque facial features such as yourself.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11Just cos I'm a crip, doesn't mean I didn't think,
0:47:11 > 0:47:13"OK, you're going to be meeting the guy,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15"he's going to have a kind of elephant manny face."
0:47:15 > 0:47:20And then I saw you and I'm like, "Oh, I could kiss that."
0:47:20 > 0:47:22Is it the same impairment as Joseph Merrick had?
0:47:22 > 0:47:24- Potentially yes.- OK.
0:47:24 > 0:47:29He either had what I have - neurofibromatosis type 1 -
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Proteus syndrome
0:47:31 > 0:47:32or both.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35Oh, look at that.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Quite the rake, with his top button done up.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41- Gosh, I wish I'd known him. Don't you?- Oh, yeah.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45- Listen to me! - Not now!- No, otherwise...
0:47:45 > 0:47:47I'm the closest you're going to get, I'll be honest.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49No, no, you're good enough for me.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54What do you think of the word freak?
0:47:54 > 0:47:58For me, freak is now a positive word.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00You know what we've got?
0:48:00 > 0:48:04Natural born freaks. It's deformed!
0:48:04 > 0:48:08And that's the stuff of horror films and nightmares and scaredy stuff.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11It has become, for me, something I am proud of being.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14And now when people shout, "Yo, freakshow,"
0:48:14 > 0:48:17I turn around and go, "Thank you very much. Yes, I am."
0:48:17 > 0:48:20So do I need to get out of the freak closet?
0:48:20 > 0:48:22I would suggest to you that you acknowledge
0:48:22 > 0:48:25that you're probably the modern-day Elephant Man.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28For most people in a sideshow that's what you're going to be, right?
0:48:28 > 0:48:30And I would talk about him.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33It will give you power but it will also give them their pound of flesh.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34- Yeah.- Put a few gags in,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37- people have got to know that you can laugh at yourself.- Yeah.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41I say that clearly because I've got no thumbs,
0:48:41 > 0:48:42I have no opposable digit.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Now, this means that I have to do some things with two hands
0:48:45 > 0:48:48that most other men can find they can adequately perform
0:48:48 > 0:48:50with just the one hand...
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Obviously everyone's thinking about wanking,
0:48:52 > 0:48:54and then I go... Wait, applause,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56"I'm talking about holding a screwdriver
0:48:56 > 0:48:57"or picking up a pint of beer.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59"But you're all obviously thinking something else.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01"You should know that I've got a very supple back
0:49:01 > 0:49:04"and I'm clever with my feet." That gets a big laugh.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Then I go, "But I wank with my hands!"
0:49:05 > 0:49:08- And I get a second laugh off it. - Nice.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12If I was to give you one note, you have to deal with your face.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14It has to be the baseline for your act.
0:49:14 > 0:49:15That is the bottom line.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Yeah, and I suppose there's no better way
0:49:18 > 0:49:21of facing your demons than facing your demons.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23- I've just thought of something. - Mm-hm.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27In your act that you're going to do, are you going to use a hood?
0:49:27 > 0:49:29I don't know. I...
0:49:29 > 0:49:32I would totally make you... FORCE YOU!
0:49:32 > 0:49:34Have a hood.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38I mean, the world is literally your oyster.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40- GIRL CALLS OVER - Oh, you did?
0:49:43 > 0:49:46- Hey, how are you doing? - It's nice to meet you!
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Bring it in, bring it in. I'll stand up for you.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53- Got it.- Thank you so much! - You're very welcome.- Thank you!
0:49:53 > 0:49:56- Take care, now.- You too!- Bye!
0:49:56 > 0:49:58If you like someone, you are remotely attracted to them,
0:49:58 > 0:49:59and they get on stage,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02you fancy them exactly a minimum of ten times more
0:50:02 > 0:50:05than you did before they got on the stage.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And if you're a single man, believe me, you'll get action.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11I AM currently a single man.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13I would say hit the stage as soon as possible.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Let's do this!
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Back home in London, I am off to meet artistic director Garry Robsin,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28who specialises in training physically disabled performers
0:50:28 > 0:50:31and will help me rehearse my act.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32Really good to meet you, sir.
0:50:32 > 0:50:33And yourself.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38'I can't control why people will come.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41'I can control what they'll leave thinking.'
0:50:41 > 0:50:43I'll keep flexing the neck.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46'They'll come thinking I'm an idiot who can't speak, or...'
0:50:46 > 0:50:49THEY DO VOCAL WARM-UPS
0:50:49 > 0:50:53'..and they're just there to come and laugh at The Elephant Man.'
0:50:53 > 0:50:55THEY LAUGH
0:50:55 > 0:50:58'And I'm going to help them see past that.'
0:51:00 > 0:51:01Good, keep at it. Go on.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05There may be something good has come of it.
0:51:05 > 0:51:06We're dancing!
0:51:06 > 0:51:08THEY LAUGH
0:51:14 > 0:51:16So, have you written something?
0:51:16 > 0:51:17Yeah, the idea...
0:51:17 > 0:51:20The concept is kind of the true story of The Elephant Man.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25But also telling the story of the journey I've been on as well.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27Freak shows were all about transformation.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29It's kind of Adam Pearson
0:51:29 > 0:51:32but it's Adam Pearson as The Elephant Man.
0:51:32 > 0:51:33Yeah.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36I know who the elephant man is, I spent years avoiding him,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38I don't know what I was afraid of.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43He is, to all intents and purposes, the king of the freak shows.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45But he is dead and I am not.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52CABARET MUSIC
0:52:02 > 0:52:05This is now the point of no return.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Tonight should be good.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12On the one hand, I am looking forward to it
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and in another way I'm nervous as anything.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22If you'd have told me this would've been the end of the journey
0:52:22 > 0:52:25when I was standing opposite The Elephant Man skeleton
0:52:25 > 0:52:27at the Royal in London...
0:52:27 > 0:52:30I didn't think it would end this way.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36I thought I'd go on a journey and be like, "Yeah, freakshows are bad.
0:52:36 > 0:52:37"I told you all so!"
0:52:37 > 0:52:40And, you know, roll credits, that's the end of it.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Maybe get Missy Elliott playing in the background.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Whereas this is a complete 180.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48I'm definitely going to go through with this.
0:52:55 > 0:53:01Ladies and gentlemen, the terrible Elephant Man!
0:53:04 > 0:53:07LAUGHTER
0:53:07 > 0:53:10JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYS
0:53:19 > 0:53:21LAUGHTER
0:53:32 > 0:53:34CHEERING
0:53:47 > 0:53:50CHEERING
0:53:52 > 0:53:56HE SIGHS OK. Let's address the...
0:53:56 > 0:53:59elephant in the room for a second!
0:53:59 > 0:54:01The kids in the playground used to make me
0:54:01 > 0:54:04do impressions of The Elephant Man every day.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06And then just come up to me and say,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08"Not as good as John Hurt."
0:54:08 > 0:54:10LAUGHTER
0:54:10 > 0:54:12As you heard, I've been around America
0:54:12 > 0:54:14meeting various freakshow performers.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16I met a wolf boy in Mexico
0:54:16 > 0:54:19who said I was the first elephant man for 150 years
0:54:19 > 0:54:21and I should be proud.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23I met a lobster boy in Texas
0:54:23 > 0:54:26who said I needed to break out of the freak closet.
0:54:26 > 0:54:27And I met a seal boy in New York
0:54:27 > 0:54:30that said if I got on stage and performed,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33I would definitely get sex.
0:54:33 > 0:54:34LAUGHTER
0:54:34 > 0:54:38So... here I am!
0:54:38 > 0:54:41LAUGHTER AND CHEERING
0:54:46 > 0:54:48Ladies!
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Gentlemen?
0:54:51 > 0:54:53LAUGHTER
0:54:53 > 0:54:54Anyone!
0:54:58 > 0:55:00Anyone...at all.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05So, it's been an amazing journey.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08I'd like to say thank you to my mum for having me
0:55:08 > 0:55:12perfectly imperfect - 50% man, 50% elephant,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15100% awesome.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19And in conclusion, I am not an animal...
0:55:19 > 0:55:23I am The Elephant Man! Thank you!
0:55:23 > 0:55:26MUSIC: Nellie The Elephant
0:55:26 > 0:55:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Performing does something unique to you.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40In that one moment, I got what everyone meant
0:55:40 > 0:55:42when they said it was empowering.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Now I am going to go
0:55:44 > 0:55:47and I am going to get my promised sex!
0:55:50 > 0:55:53MUSIC: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
0:55:55 > 0:55:57'Instead of running from it, I need to own it.'
0:55:59 > 0:56:01If you offered me the chance to change my face,
0:56:01 > 0:56:03I would not.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05I would not take you up on it.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07It's very much my... kind of my calling card.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09I guess I've made it work for me.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14'Whether I like it or not, I am a freak.'
0:56:17 > 0:56:22MUSIC: Le Freak (Freak Out) by Chic