Adam Pearson: Freak Show

This programme contains some strong language.

My name is Adam Pearson and I've got a condition called NF1

that causes tumours to grow on my face.

All my life I have been called horrible names.

Mutant,

fat face, spastic,

monster...

Elephant Man.

But the one that I detest is freak.

-He's real?

-Yeah.

Thank you, sir.

Freak. I hate that word.

I don't want to be classed a freak,

but some people embrace it.

'It's showtime. Step right up.'

MUSIC: Le Freak by Chic

I thought freak shows died out with the Victorians.

Now when people shout, "Yo! Freak show!",

I turn round and go, "Thank you very much."

It has become, for me, something I'm proud of being.

But, in fact, freak shows are still alive and kicking in the US.

Once I started seeing what I could do, how much money I could make...

Ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching.

To finally face my inner demons,

I'm heading to the spiritual home of the freak show,

to find out if I should stay in the freak closet...

Hoo! Woo!

..or kick down the doors and embrace my inner freak.

Do you think I'm a freak?

I think you are whatever you want to be.

We're dancing!

He was a beautiful baby. Beautiful blue eyes.

Why are we talking about me being beautiful in the past tense?

-He was absolutely lovely.

-Was lovely. Am lovely. Am lovely.

He is lovely.

And then he went to school and turned into a monster.

-Oh, you could have worded that so much better.

-Well...

I was only five years old when I was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis,

a genetic condition that led to my face turning

from looking pretty normal to how I look now.

The doctor said to us, "Don't rush down to the library

"and look it up in the medical dictionary."

Of course, the next day,

their dad, straight down the library,

on the phone.

He says, "This is what the Elephant Man has got.

I said, "Well, that doesn't mean you going to look like the Elephant Man."

The Elephant Man was a guy called Joseph Merrick,

who lived in the 1800s.

He had an extreme facial disfigurement,

not dissimilar to mine.

If you say name a freak show performer,

most people go, "The Elephant Man."

He is the most famous oddity who ever lived.

The Elephant Man was exhibited as a human curiosity

in Victorian freak shows.

His legend had all but disappeared

until an iconic film was made about him in the 1980s.

When I hear the name the Elephant Man in my head

I get very angry and anxious because it takes me straight back

to the school playground,

to the, kind of, the taunting and the jeering and the...

..the dark side of adolescence.

"Ah, look at him, mummy, he looks like the Elephant Man."

"Do you think that's a monster?"

"That's disgusting."

Followed by revulsion.

At the time, it really sucked.

And you feel like it's your fault.

Yo, come on in. Let me show you my room.

I think 12 is a very hard age.

That's when you go from primary school to secondary school.

I had just lost the sight in my left eye,

so you from being around with people who have kind of grown-up with you, who know you

and have gotten used to you,

to bottom of the pecking order

and also kind of the odd one out.

I guess in that sense, I was an oddity.

It was hell.

I am not an animal!

I am a human being.

I hate the stigma of the name the Elephant Man.

And I don't like the comparison and when people do it, it pisses me off.

I hate being called that name.

-I've never watched the film.

-What? The Elephant Man?

No, I've never seen it.

You've never...? But it's a really good film.

So...

Your dad and I actually went to the cinema to see it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Like what? Like on a date?

Well, yeah, I suppose.

It's been on the television several times and you've still not watched it.

-No, I... I'll go one further.

-Have you avoided it?

-I've avoided it. Yes.

I think if somebody called me a name I'd want to, er,

to have a good look at it.

'Life...

'..is full of surprises.

'Ladies and gentlemen,

'the terrible

'Elephant Man.'

The name Elephant Man implies that he was subhuman...

MAID SCREAMS

..more of an animal

than a man.

'..and it's got to stop!'

It's sort of bringing up memories of, kind of,

school and stuff, which is the reason I avoided it.

INTERVIEWER: Do you think there is a resemblance?

A little bit.

I kind of get it a little bit,

the facial disfigurement

and, in particular, the tumours.

As an adult, I thought I had escaped the shadow of the Elephant Man,

the greatest freak show performer who ever lived,

but I've received an unexpected invite.

So, I've gotten this letter...

..from a guy in America that owns

and operates a freak show.

"Hello, Adam. Do you make it out to America much?

"I would love for you to work with us."

Not quite sure how I feel.

It is intriguing.

I thought stuff like this had died in the Victorian period.

As invites go,

it's probably the weirdest job offer I've ever had.

-Human freaks.

-Yes, or "oddities."

I dislike the idea of freak shows intensely.

I think it's exploitative,

parading people around as a spectacle for the baying masses.

I don't think freak shows should exist.

He just told me that he'd received an e-mail to be in a freak show.

I just said to him, "I hope you said no."

What do you think of that word?

-What?

-Freak.

-Freak?

I don't know.

My "monstrosity"? No.

"An abnormally developed individual or thing."

I mean, abnormal? That's...

What does that mean?

Well, I don't think he's any of them, really.

Why would I want someone to call my child a freak?

I would... Or you.

Or anybody

to be called a freak.

I'd say, erm, "oddities".

INTERVIEWER: So you are happy to be called an oddity?

Er?

-You don't want to be called a name at all, do you?

-No.

I guess I'm better with the word "oddity" than "freak"

because no-one hollered that at me

from across the street or across the playground,

but it's still not great.

It's like, kind of, chlamydia is better than syphilis,

though neither are desirable.

I haven't had either,

just in case any ladies are watching. I'm good.

INTERVIEWER LAUGHS

I'm completely clean.

I wonder, will modern day freak shows be any different?

I've decided to go to the United States to find out for myself.

But first I want to confront the freak show oddity

whose existence has haunted me since I was a child.

This is personal to me

because I've been constantly compared, my whole life,

to the most famous freak show performer in history.

'Ladies and gentlemen,

'the terrible

'Elephant...

'..Man.'

We're the same bloody height, aren't we? That's weird.

I'm a lot more well-built than he is.

"The most striking feature about him was his enormous and misshapen head."

Treves, the doctor who took him to the Royal London,

described the Elephant Man as

"the most disgusting specimen of humanity that I have ever seen.

"At no time have I ever met with such a degraded or perverted

"version of a human being as this lone figure displays."

It makes me angry.

Where does that, then, leave me?

Even today people would say similar things about me

just with a lot more medical bullshit to disguise

what they are actually saying.

When he wasn't on display as part of a freak show,

Victorian society found Joseph Merrick's deformity

so shocking he was driven to wear a mask in public.

I'm going to try this, then.

I think wearing that is more denigrating

than, kind of, being stared at and jeered at.

-I've never ever had at hat that's fit me.

-OK, let's try this.

OK, that's...

This is incredibly claustrophobic.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Yeah, this does not feel

good at all.

If you could get it off, that would be brilliant.

-OK. There you go.

-Phew.

That was awful.

It's just really hard to run away from it

when you're wearing his bloody hat, isn't it?

How much could Joseph Merrick have made as a freak show performer?

Anything up to about £20 a week, I suppose,

which is a round about £1,000 in today's money.

Maybe there is something to this freak show thing after all.

£1,000 a week sounds quite good. Maybe I'm missing a trick.

Freak shows displaying human curiosities

became popular in America in the 1840s

and up until their decline in the early 20th century drew huge crowds.

'Now for the big show.

'The event that the kids and the grown-ups have been waiting for

'for months.'

Biological rarities, human marvels

and even sexual oddities toured the States alongside sword swallowers

and fire-eaters to shock and entertain the viewing public.

'Everyone is headed for the big top to thrill to and cheer

'the fun makers, daredevils, freaks and ferocious performing animals.'

Freak show performers such as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy

and Tom Thumb became huge stars.

But by 1900, human novelties became considered distasteful

and, in America today, there are only a handful of freak shows left.

I'm not convinced that modern-day freak shows are in any way

different to the ones of old and can't understand why anybody

would allow their deformity or condition to be exploited.

I've heard about a performer from Detroit

who is preparing to join a freak show

and I want to find out why.

-Morning, Adam.

-How you doing?

'Bethany was born with ectrodactyly,

'also known as lobster claw syndrome.'

I like your hands.

Well, a lot of people call them, like, lobster claws

because that's what they resemble.

It's a mutation of the 13th chromosome.

'Because of her condition, she had her leg amputated

'when she was just three.'

Yet, I just scoot and swing.

'That hasn't stopped her learning circus skills

'for her freak show debut.'

Why are you learning this?

I like fire. I'm kind of a firebug.

OK.

This is something I've always wanted to do.

How do you feel about terms such as freak show,

oddity, lobster girl?

Do you find them a bit crass and sensationalist

or is it something that you embrace?

I think that when people hear "freak show"

they are thinking the crazy guy in a steel cage,

shaking and rattling chains.

People may label us

because of the deformities that we were born with,

but we are out to educate and show the beauty

in the deformities and the oddities.

You know, we're showing people that

because we're different

doesn't mean we can't be beautiful.

I thought I'd be, like, "Why are you joining a freak show?

"This is degrading."

But she spoke about it so passionately

that I couldn't knock it.

-This is Adam.

-How are you doing? Pleasure to meet you.

-You too.

-This is Adam.

-How you doing? Pleasure.

-Yeah, pleasure to meet you, too.

'Bethany's condition has not been passed on to her children.

'Whilst they support her decision to join a freak show,

'they also worry for her.'

Well, my mom is using it to change people's view

of special people with special skills

better than other normal people.

Growing up with a deformity of any kind

makes you a stronger person.

I think mom is strong enough.

My problem is I just don't want people to criticise her.

I had a bus driver today. She goes and says,

"Is your mom a freak?"

-And I go, "No."

-Heck, yeah, baby.

-And I was going, "No."

I gave her that look, like, you're just try to keep it in,

because she didn't understand and I was going, you know,

"No, she's not."

'I get why her children are concerned about their mother

'being labelled a freak

'when they don't see her that way.

'They just see her as Mum.'

-At least he can run.

-Yes.

It's going to bother me but I know she's going to have fun.

I promise you, I'll take good care of her.

-Amputees on parade.

-Yeah.

-Boom.

Oh, yeah. I love this one.

Come here. Just squeeze me. Yeah. I love you.

No more tears.

'Bethany is leaving her family behind to travel over 1,000 miles

to Texas to join a freak show.

And I'm going with her.

The Elephant Man is coming.

Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the world where the bizarre is beautiful.

Are you bored of ten fingers and ten toes?

Tired of one normal-looking head,

two boring lower limbs?

Bethany is joining a circus called the 999 Eyes.

It is one of only a handful of a freak shows left

in the United States and the first one I have ever been to.

Mother Nature is a mad scientist.

We all have our own differences, genetically.

It's very tribal-like as well.

I mean, looking out for each other and...

We are all so close-knit, it does feel quite a bit like a family.

# Ain't those freaks just grand? #

Bethany's debut performance with her new freak family is a warm up,

so no fire breathing.

Please welcome the newest member of this freak talent show,

Dolly the Human Cyborg, ladies and gentlemen.

She's simply sharing with the crowd

her experience of growing up with lobster claw syndrome.

Kids would go, "Um, ma'am,

"what happened to your fingers? Where did they go?"

I'd go, "I was really bad as a child

"and if you're not good to your parents,

"watch out, they may cut yours off, too.

LAUGHTER

I get a kick out of it, so for somebody else to actually see

it the way I see it and laugh with me and not at me is amazing.

Calm down.

You're getting out of hand!

Black Scorpion is the founding father of this family of freaks.

I was born this way but...

He has the same condition as Bethany.

Ectrodactyly!

If it wasn't for the word "freak", I wouldn't be on stage. It's like a shout out.

And that's one of the things about the 999 Eyes taking the word "freak"

and making it a positive.

Do you think I'm a freak?

I think you are whatever you want to be.

I don't like being called deformed. I think I'm perfectly formed.

This is the way I was supposed to come out.

Adam, do you feel like you are a freak in the closet?

Oh, bloody hell. Erm...

I'm starting to get my head around

the idea of owning the word "freak".

I've only ever heard it used towards me

as a term of derision in the school playground,

so I've only ever had the experience of it being used as a slur.

All I wanted to do

was finish school and put my penis in something

and it was painfully obvious that wasn't going to happen.

So do I need to just grow the hell up and get over it

and just kick the closet door in

and get on stage.

If you feel like you want to get on stage,

I think you should.

I think you should do whatever empowers you.

It's what's inside our souls.

Let me tell you something, you are beautiful. Just talking to you.

Like, I feel like,

looking at you is like looking at a reflection of me

in many ways and you are beautiful.

Black Scorpion told me I was beautiful.

It was a really heartfelt thing to say.

I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that.

It rarely happens.

Like, I think, twice in my life.

Hi, Mum. How are you doing?

'Oh, hello, darling. How are you?'

I'm good, thank you. I'm good.

'You sure you're all right?'

-Yeah, yeah.

-'You sound a bit jaded.'

No, I'm good, I'm good. Just calling you to say, "Hey".

Do you like my new hat?

'I feel you're very impressive.'

Yeah, we found a hat that fit me

so I thought, "This may never happen again."

HIS MUM LAUGHS

-'It's not to be sneezed at, is it?'

-No.

Are you OK without me? Are you not completely lonely?,

'It's not too bad.'

Anyway, I will love you and leave you, OK?

'All right, then, sweetheart. Thanks for ringing.

-'It's lovely to talk to you.'

-Take care, Mum.

-'Bye.'

Ah, Mum.

I miss her. I always thought I would.

I found a hat that fits.

Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world

and I'm here in search of freak show stars.

It's a Mecca for cabaret artists and has always embraced the bizarre.

With an entertainment industry worth billions of dollars,

there's money to be made here for modern day freak show performers.

If you're a performer, this is the place you come.

Las Vegas is very much the main stage.

This evening is going to be a weird one. It's Halloween.

We are going to a place called the Fright Dome.

It's going to be a very, kind of, Halloween, Fright Night kind of vibe.

And I hate Halloween.

It's showtime. Step right up.

Jake works for himself, hosting alternative cabaret nights

and running a dwarf wrestling company.

-Hey, Jake, how are you doing?

-Hey, buddy, how are you doing?

Yeah, good, thank you. So, freak shows. Is it lucrative?

Is me being a little bit PC

and maybe a bit of a girl about the whole thing

missing out on a big,

to put it bluntly, cash cow?

Vegas is known as the glittery asshole of the States.

We make money here.

This is where we get all of our big bucks at.

What can you earn in Vegas as an oddity?

-I charge clubs anywhere from 3,500 to 10,000 a show.

-Nice.

That gives me a bit of food for thought.

-So, could I work here?

-Yes.

You would actually work perfectly fine in a freak show.

But you would have to be comfortable with it

because you're going to be in front of large crowds of people

staring at you like you were in school.

I don't like being stared at and there's always people going,

"What's wrong with that man's face?" So, do I need to get over it?

Yes.

You're going to... OK, no offence,

you're never going to change the way you look, right?

-No.

-Unless you go in for some plastic surgery.

Is it true that natural-borns are freak show royalty?

100%. There are people that join the freak show

that will learn the sword swallowing or fire breathing,

but there's natural-borns that are freaks like you and I.

They consider us gold because we don't need to have an act.

We don't need to have a performance.

You are a rare oddity.

-There's only one other person like you...

-And he's dead.

-..and he's dead.

That means you're one-of-a-kind.

Accept it and want it.

If you can get over the anger of people staring at you

and just accept it as you being different to say,

"Hey, this is me.

"I look beautiful. Take my picture."

If you have too much political correctness about yourself,

you will not fit into the sideshow business.

I was very PC when I was kid. I hated the word "midget".

But once I started seeing what I could do,

how much money I could make

and if I just accepted the word

and marketed it, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, on money,

that PC correctness was gone.

I decided to take Jake up on his word and see if I could make money

for the first time out of my freakiness on the Las Vegas streets.

With a face like this I deliberately don't normally go out on Halloween.

I'm really anxious.

Hoo! Woo!

I am acutely aware that my face is, in a way, a commodity

and that it kind of sparks interest and curiosity

and, then, curiosity can create cash.

-What's your name?

-Adam.

-Adam.

-And you are?

-DJ.

-DJ.

-Pleasure to meet you, DJ.

-Nice to meet you, man.

I'm thinking of coming to Vegas to join the sideshow scene.

-What you reckon?

-Oh, man.

-How do you think I'd do?

You belong in Vegas, buddy.

Yeah, man. For sure.

Well, I've just talked to you and I feel better already.

Awesome.

Want to do our picture? Want to do a picture?

I'd love to have a picture, man.

-See, Adam? See all the people?

-Yeah.

-It's awesome, man.

-Thanks very much, again, Adam.

-Vegas, baby. Vegas.

Fucking awesome.

Thank you.

One dollar.

It seems that on the streets of Vegas, I'm an object of desire,

not derision.

Pale imitation.

-No plasty?

-No, natural.

Natural born oddity, my dear.

He is natural.

Ah, seven...

..17,

18 in half an hour just for standing in the fucking street.

I have greatly underestimate my earning power

in freak shows and sideshows.

This is very dirty money.

I feel like I've made 18 but I've sold my soul.

As much as I've heard about empowerment,

reclaiming the term "freak",

I still think, to a degree,

that this is exploitation.

I've heard of a freak show performer who's been a headline act worldwide,

but despite the opportunity to earn big bucks,

has turned his back on the circus because of exploitation.

In the circus they call me Wolfman,

Monkey Boy and Werewolf.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Wolf Boy!

Chuy lives in a small town in Mexico.

He has a rare condition called hypertrichosis.

-Hola.

-Adam.

-Hola, mucho gusto.

"The one and only Wolf Boy."

You are freakshow royalty.

I think it's amazing, I think it's unique.

-TRANSLATION:

-I was 11 when I first started at the fair.

We didn't earn anything.

They exploited us and we were just little children.

I felt imprisoned.

All these freakshows want the Wolf Boy in their shows.

Yes, I know, but it traumatised me.

In the circus, after every show,

and this happens in every country,

there is alcohol and women.

There are a lot of things for you to get lost in.

Personally, I think it was difficult for me.

I didn't want to accept myself as God made me.

OK, Chuy, bring it in, big guy.

OK, let's do this, I've only got little arms.

Awesome! Done.

'Despite being a headline act

'at travelling circuses all across the world,

'Chuy now shuns the attention he attracts,

'preferring instead to work 12-hour days on a local rubbish tip.

'He paints a very different picture than what I've heard so far'

and he talks about how he only did it for the money

and he felt exploited and mistreated

which is sort of...

..how what I thought I'd hear from a lot of people.

But then he's got posters of it all

and has all these mementos of it in his house,

which if he hated it that much, why is it up on his walls?

And I thought he'd have made a lot more money doing it

than he actually has.

Unlike Chuy, his cousin Alex still loves the circus life

and I have been invited along to watch a rehearsal.

TRANSLATION:

MUSIC: Thriller by Michael Jackson

# It's close to midnight

# And something evil's lurking in the dark

# Under the moonlight

# You see a sight that almost stops your heart

# You try to scream

# But terror takes the sound before you make it... #

THEY GREET EACH OTHER IN SPANISH

'There are only 59 cases of werewolf syndrome in the world.

'Chuy and Alex's family make up 30 of them.'

This is possibly the weirdest table I have ever sat at.

We've got two wolf boys and an elephant man in the same trailer.

-TRANSLATION:

-Yes, it's a unique moment

unlikely ever to be repeated.

So, with a face like mine,

could I work at the circus?

-TRANSLATION:

-Your face is magnificent for the circus.

We've never seen something like that in the circus.

If you are in a circus and they present you as The Elephant Man,

people will be filled with a morbid curiosity.

Your face will be great!

Yes, it's really unique

because we don't know if there will be another elephant man

for another 100 years.

For me, growing up, I always...

that was a name people used to call me as a term of derision.

And everyone I've spoken to so far

has said that whilst there are kind of elements of exploitation,

that's not exactly how it works now.

And it has all given me real food for thought.

And that I've spent 30 years

trying to distance myself from Joseph Merrick,

but I haven't realised how remarkably similar we are.

It absolutely brought a tear to my eye, kind of,

just that there might not be another elephant man for 150 years.

I don't know how to word this quite properly.

It sits kind of weird.

I feel like by acknowledging that I am similar to The Elephant Man,

Joseph Merrick, I am somehow accrediting all the negativity

and everything the bullies at school said.

Chuy and his cousin have had a massive impact on me.

I think that was the kind of straw that broke the camel's back.

INDISTINCT YELLING

I think Chuy and Alex definitely think I'm more unique than they are.

The point of coming here was to immerse myself in this whole world.

And slowly but surely,

my defences have been kind of chipped away at

and now I think I took a big step forward today.

It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I can now say things like freakshow and Elephant Man and Wolf Boy

and not feel like I'm...

not feel disgusted at myself!

Ladies and gentlemen,

we're proud to present under the big top tonight

human oddities!

I'm following in the footsteps of Joseph Merrick,

also known as The Elephant Man -

the most famous freak, oddity, freakshow performer who ever lived.

I think he was a good man, maybe even a great man...

..who just wanted to be understood.

I think that's what beats at the heart of everyone,

this desire for acceptance.

That desire to love and be loved.

Spending time with other natural born oddities

has given me a sense of belonging that I've never felt before.

I am absolutely a freak, to all intents and purposes.

No matter what definition you use, I am a freak.

And now, I need to make a choice -

if I'm going to get all upset and PC about it

or embrace it and be a rockstar about the whole thing.

But embracing it doesn't necessarily mean taking to the stage.

The freakshow has now entered the 21st-century.

We are the Hamills.

I'm Michelle.

I'm Dan.

I'm Jack.

And these are our twin daughters, CeCe and Cate.

We are a family of five

and what makes us so special is that we're all small.

Dan and Michelle live in Maryland with their kids.

The whole family has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.

They have a hit TV series

and earn more filming every season

than they do the rest of the year from their normal jobs.

-Hi, Adam.

-Hi, Dan, how are you doing, man?

-Good, how are you?

-Really good, thank you. Pleased to meet you.

Sorry, I get nervous meeting kids cos it's a lot to take in.

Yeah, I get it. Jack, can you come and say hi?

How are you doing, Jack, are you good?

Give a high-five.

-Yes!

-Good job!

-Best high-five.

CeCe, CeCe, do you see Mr Adam over there?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Do you want to know why his face looks different?

-No.

-OK!

-Fine, yes

-Jack, do you?

-OK, yeah.

-You do? OK.

-It's OK, just say yes.

-So, much like you, I was born different.

I have a condition that just means my face looks different.

It doesn't mean I'm silly

or can't be cool and funny and awesome.

It just means I'm different, just like you three.

Do you think you guys would have gotten the TLC show

-had you not been little people?

-I wouldn't think so.

-We wouldn't have got it just for our personalities.

-Yeah.

-I think you're right.

-How do you feel about words like freak and...

I know that Michelle hates the word midget.

We are not midgets.

-I definitely don't like the word.

-What particularly do you not?

-That's a very derogatory term for little people.

-I get that.

I get that. I never used to like the term freak.

And so why do people put us on TV?

-Is it a freak show?

-I don't know, we try to be entertaining.

That's our number one thing.

And we try to teach through osmosis that little people, sort of,

are just another neighbour down the street.

And we have a show and a means to do that.

You know, there's always going to be

a million people you can't convince or can't change,

but sometimes if you have something different, you have to own it.

And...be the freakshow.

How do the other kids... How do they mix with the other children?

I think it's a nonissue in our own neighbourhood.

I think they're just so used to the kids.

It's very important that they're playing outside.

I love when they play outside.

I didn't play outside, I didn't have that many friends to play with.

But I guess outside wasn't my jam. Other kids weren't my...my jam.

You can take one home with you if you wish today!

You could either have CeCe or you could have Cate.

-Take this one!

-I'm not CeCe! No!

Meeting the Hamills has made me realise

that I've actually been part of a freakshow all along.

I like them, they're really normal.

They are just choosing to live their lives on TV.

And I certainly wouldn't have done as well in TV

if it hadn't been for how I looked.

The internet has also opened up a whole new world of work

for people like me,

who once might have been sidelined into circus life.

Victorian freakshows often had adult-only tents

displaying a variety of human curiosities,

from the biologically weird

to the sexual oddities.

Nowadays, people with sexual fetishes will pay big bucks

to watch disabled people online.

Of all the things I thought I would be doing on this trip,

meeting a disabled porn star was not one of them!

Cindi-Lu lives in LA and makes a living

posting pictures and videos of herself on the internet.

I do videos, I do modelling, I do chats.

I'm a Gilf. You guys know what a Milf is, right?

-Yes, you are a Gilf.

-Do you know what a Milf is?

Yes, "Mum I'd like to fuck." And then Gilf is "Grandmother..."

Oh, my God, you're the first person that's gotten it!

'I am a complete paraplegic.

'And I've been a paraplegic for 22 years.

'I can't walk, so I roll.'

I don't know why they like this pose so much, but they do.

It's cos it's legs akimbo, isn't it?

They like the legs open, or like flopped on the side.

OK, yay me!

-OK.

-Awesome.

OK, come on.

'Cindi has regular clients who pay to have video calls with her.'

-RECORDING:

-'One second.'

-'You wouldn't want my broken body.'

'I do want your fucking broken body.

'God, I want to put those useless legs over my shoulders.'

'If I don't listen, you keep my chair.

'I've got to pleasure you to get it back.'

'You'll pleasure me to get it back, yeah.'

So what do you think?

-Um...

-Say interesting again, watch! I'm close!

No, no, that's the last word I would use to describe that.

Well, that might have been interesting.

150 years ago, freak shows were based on people paying money

to come and see the kind of...

the different, the strange and the unique.

And I think whilst this isn't in a tent in Victorian London,

it certainly is people who have a very specific taste

or fetish for something that they want to see,

who are willing to part money for it.

So there are definite parallels there.

I'm seeing some ropes down there.

So we're either going to wrap Christmas presents

-or we're doing some bondage.

-Oh, yeah, love it.

Oh, you're going to do some stuff with me, right?

Crippled people are kinky too.

I think Cindi is a consenting adult who is meeting a very niche demand.

He's a good roper.

A friend of mine suggested I get into porn

-and that there's a gap in the market.

-Are you endowed?

-Just curious, I'm sorry. I had to.

-Yeah, no, I...

It's two inches...

from the ground.

So, yeah, that's why they call me The Elephant Man.

Oh, you could do it. I mean, people are curious.

So are you going to do porn? Are you considering it?

-I don't know, my mum googles me.

-Oh, my God! That would be scary.

I know, right? "Oh, what's Adam been up to?"

-That would be a hot scene.

-"I don't know, cousin Jean,

"let's have a look.

"Oh, my word, what is he doing to that...?"

-Oh!

-Yeah, yeah.

People are going to look anyways,

might as well give them something to look at.

Yeah, my inner showman is slowly winning the day.

Wait, my tits are getting squashed.

OK, there we go. OK, give me a look.

-INDISTINCT SPEECH

-I know, it's OK.

MUSIC: Super Freak by Rick James

So give Adam some rope to hold in his hand, like he did it to me.

OK, so, to be a true...

You have to like show a fist wrapped around and,

like, give it the look.

-Ooh!

-Show a fist.

-Yeah, yeah, tension.

Tension like this.

-That's it!

-Now, you come here.

This could well be the modern version of a freak show.

And I think, kind of, at first my PC head kicked in

and said, "You're setting us back ten years!"

But the more I hung out with Cindi and talked to her

and helped tie her up and stuff, the more I got over that.

He's thinking, "I could get some freaky stuff going on."

THEY LAUGH

Say the word, my dear, say the word.

-I lost my bondage virginity in Los Angeles.

-Ooh, kinky!

We've gone from kind of exploitation to sexploitation in one fell swoop.

I did quite enjoy it, just because of the experience.

I think, kind of, there's that little bit in everyone's brain

that goes, "I wouldn't mind trying that just once."

And when am I ever going to get

to have a bondage session with a paraplegic again?

I'm probably not.

My trip across the States is almost over

and it's given me a lot of food for thought.

I think I came to America to learn about freak shows,

kind of shake my head a little bit and then go home.

But then...

in a weird way, I found my own liberty.

I've learned a lot more about myself doing this than I thought I would.

Now I've got to put it all into practice.

If I'm going to flaunt my freak on stage,

I'm going to need some expert advice.

Mat Fraser is a Brit who now lives in New York.

He's one of the world's highest earning freakshow performers.

I used to love fairgrounds.

I used to want to work on the fairground.

Mat made a name for himself

as Seal Boy in the TV show American Horror Story.

But he's also renowned for his daring freakshow cabaret act.

If anybody feels delicate around the issue of disability

and crippledness and mutations and things like that,

you're probably at the wrong show, ladies and gentlemen!

-Mat Fraser, how are you doing, sir?

-Very good, thank you.

-Are you well?

Yes, I'm very good. Very good indeed.

Out of all the kind of freaks we've spoken to, you're the one who's...

who's made it, who's cashed in in a big way.

Have you ever met someone like me before?

No, I've not met anyone

with the elephant man-esque facial features such as yourself.

Just cos I'm a crip, doesn't mean I didn't think,

"OK, you're going to be meeting the guy,

"he's going to have a kind of elephant manny face."

And then I saw you and I'm like, "Oh, I could kiss that."

Is it the same impairment as Joseph Merrick had?

-Potentially yes.

-OK.

He either had what I have - neurofibromatosis type 1 -

Proteus syndrome

or both.

Oh, look at that.

Quite the rake, with his top button done up.

-Gosh, I wish I'd known him. Don't you?

-Oh, yeah.

-Listen to me!

-Not now!

-No, otherwise...

I'm the closest you're going to get, I'll be honest.

No, no, you're good enough for me.

What do you think of the word freak?

For me, freak is now a positive word.

You know what we've got?

Natural born freaks. It's deformed!

And that's the stuff of horror films and nightmares and scaredy stuff.

It has become, for me, something I am proud of being.

And now when people shout, "Yo, freakshow,"

I turn around and go, "Thank you very much. Yes, I am."

So do I need to get out of the freak closet?

I would suggest to you that you acknowledge

that you're probably the modern-day Elephant Man.

For most people in a sideshow that's what you're going to be, right?

And I would talk about him.

It will give you power but it will also give them their pound of flesh.

-Yeah.

-Put a few gags in,

-people have got to know that you can laugh at yourself.

-Yeah.

I say that clearly because I've got no thumbs,

I have no opposable digit.

Now, this means that I have to do some things with two hands

that most other men can find they can adequately perform

with just the one hand...

Obviously everyone's thinking about wanking,

and then I go... Wait, applause,

"I'm talking about holding a screwdriver

"or picking up a pint of beer.

"But you're all obviously thinking something else.

"You should know that I've got a very supple back

"and I'm clever with my feet." That gets a big laugh.

Then I go, "But I wank with my hands!"

-And I get a second laugh off it.

-Nice.

If I was to give you one note, you have to deal with your face.

It has to be the baseline for your act.

That is the bottom line.

Yeah, and I suppose there's no better way

of facing your demons than facing your demons.

-I've just thought of something.

-Mm-hm.

In your act that you're going to do, are you going to use a hood?

I don't know. I...

I would totally make you... FORCE YOU!

Have a hood.

I mean, the world is literally your oyster.

-GIRL CALLS OVER

-Oh, you did?

-Hey, how are you doing?

-It's nice to meet you!

Bring it in, bring it in. I'll stand up for you.

-Got it.

-Thank you so much!

-You're very welcome.

-Thank you!

-Take care, now.

-You too!

-Bye!

If you like someone, you are remotely attracted to them,

and they get on stage,

you fancy them exactly a minimum of ten times more

than you did before they got on the stage.

And if you're a single man, believe me, you'll get action.

I AM currently a single man.

I would say hit the stage as soon as possible.

Let's do this!

Back home in London, I am off to meet artistic director Garry Robsin,

who specialises in training physically disabled performers

and will help me rehearse my act.

Really good to meet you, sir.

And yourself.

'I can't control why people will come.

'I can control what they'll leave thinking.'

I'll keep flexing the neck.

'They'll come thinking I'm an idiot who can't speak, or...'

THEY DO VOCAL WARM-UPS

'..and they're just there to come and laugh at The Elephant Man.'

THEY LAUGH

'And I'm going to help them see past that.'

Good, keep at it. Go on.

There may be something good has come of it.

We're dancing!

THEY LAUGH

So, have you written something?

Yeah, the idea...

The concept is kind of the true story of The Elephant Man.

But also telling the story of the journey I've been on as well.

Freak shows were all about transformation.

It's kind of Adam Pearson

but it's Adam Pearson as The Elephant Man.

Yeah.

I know who the elephant man is, I spent years avoiding him,

I don't know what I was afraid of.

He is, to all intents and purposes, the king of the freak shows.

But he is dead and I am not.

CABARET MUSIC

This is now the point of no return.

Tonight should be good.

On the one hand, I am looking forward to it

and in another way I'm nervous as anything.

If you'd have told me this would've been the end of the journey

when I was standing opposite The Elephant Man skeleton

at the Royal in London...

I didn't think it would end this way.

I thought I'd go on a journey and be like, "Yeah, freakshows are bad.

"I told you all so!"

And, you know, roll credits, that's the end of it.

Maybe get Missy Elliott playing in the background.

Whereas this is a complete 180.

I'm definitely going to go through with this.

Ladies and gentlemen, the terrible Elephant Man!

LAUGHTER

JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYS

LAUGHTER

CHEERING

CHEERING

HE SIGHS OK. Let's address the...

elephant in the room for a second!

The kids in the playground used to make me

do impressions of The Elephant Man every day.

And then just come up to me and say,

"Not as good as John Hurt."

LAUGHTER

As you heard, I've been around America

meeting various freakshow performers.

I met a wolf boy in Mexico

who said I was the first elephant man for 150 years

and I should be proud.

I met a lobster boy in Texas

who said I needed to break out of the freak closet.

And I met a seal boy in New York

that said if I got on stage and performed,

I would definitely get sex.

LAUGHTER

So... here I am!

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

Ladies!

Gentlemen?

LAUGHTER

Anyone!

Anyone...at all.

So, it's been an amazing journey.

I'd like to say thank you to my mum for having me

perfectly imperfect - 50% man, 50% elephant,

100% awesome.

And in conclusion, I am not an animal...

I am The Elephant Man! Thank you!

MUSIC: Nellie The Elephant

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Performing does something unique to you.

In that one moment, I got what everyone meant

when they said it was empowering.

Now I am going to go

and I am going to get my promised sex!

MUSIC: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

'Instead of running from it, I need to own it.'

If you offered me the chance to change my face,

I would not.

I would not take you up on it.

It's very much my... kind of my calling card.

I guess I've made it work for me.

'Whether I like it or not, I am a freak.'

MUSIC: Le Freak (Freak Out) by Chic