Tallulah, yes!
Look at that point!
One, up you go.
Yes Leelai!
Toes up, toes up.
Control the comedown.
Control it all the way down.
Ah, Crispy's amazing.
And he pushes you to your
absolute limit and he can tell
where your limit is.
Crispy is...
very cool.
Daniel Crispin isn't your
average suburban circus teacher.
The twice-nominated
Australian of the Year
used to tour with the world's
most famous troupe.
I saw the show 'O'
by Cirque du Soleil
and it was all the money that I had
to see it,
and that was it.
That was the time where I said,
this is what I'm going to do.
My name's Daniel Crispin,
or Crispy,
and I am, I guess,
I'm a circus acrobat.
What did your parents
want you to do?
Be a plumber, like straight up.
Like that I'd just stop school,
be a plumber.
But that wasn't going to cut it.
I think he's kind of meant to be
on stage.
It's his natural state!
He's incredible at it.
He has a magnetism about him.
It's almost like a medatative moment
where doesn't matter
what else is going on.
When you're really like in that
flow state with whatever's going on,
everything else melts away
and it's an incredible moment
and it's impossible to describe.
After more than a decade of
training and performing,
Daniel finally got the call up
to join Cirque du Soleil
as a lead role.
I just stood there and I had
like that stare, like I was like,
are you kidding me?
Like what does this mean?
Like because it was still like
a moment where there's
go to be a mistake.
Like,
there's got to be a mistake.
He was the poster boy for Toruk:
the First Flight.
That's you!
Yeah.
Woah.
The production inspired by
James Cameron's 'Avatar'.
He even worked with
the Hollywood director.
I can't think of a film that's like,
bigger than this.
So when you're representing
something like that,
you want to make sure you do it
to the very best of your ability.
Daniel performed in front of
record-breaking arena crowds
across the world.
His life as a professional acrobat
was wild.
Like two weeks in and I got
asked to go and perform at
Madonna's house
and Cirque let me go to do her
birthday party, come back
and I'm in rehearsals the next morning.
It gave me the opportunity
to have just the most incredible
life that most people would
never dream of.
Look at you.
Oh so pretty!
I mean even when I talk about it,
it seems stranger than fiction.
But Daniel says
behind the scenes,
Cirque du Soleil was a mess.
He battled one injury after another.
It started with sprained and
broken ankles from what's alleged
to be faulty props and sets.
And later,
a traumatic brain injury
from accumulated concussions
on and off stage.
Three concussions in two weeks.
And you kept performing.
Yeah.
Like I'd go on stage and,
I just didn't know what
direction I was.
Daniel says Cirque du Soleil
did not have his head
or neck scanned,
and claims the company later
directed him to delete any
videos he had of the knocks.
But he was told to take time
off to get better.
By the end of the, sort of run,
I felt like I was in
The Hunger Games.
Even after he recovered
and returned to the show
months later,
new issues began plaguing him.
His bicep and hip were
in chronic pain.
He couldn't feel his fingers,
his leg was giving away
at random,
causing him to fall.
He was taking pain killers
after every show.
It just felt like a melting pot
of hurt.
And I'd been logging all this at work
and they just kept saying
it's just neural tension,
it's tightness in your neck,
it's tightness here, that's why it's
getting numb.
And um...
I got told it's not going to
make it any worse
if I keep going.
Cirque du Soleil told you that?
Yep.
Why did you keep performing
and pushing it?
There's a few reasons.
I really wanted to be able to
get back to Australia.
At least to Brisbane.
You know,
my dad was hearing impaired like
profoundly Deaf his whole life so
for him to be able to see me perform
for the first time,
as a main character,
in a show that's that visually
like, appealing,
I wasn't going to get that
chance again because
his cancer was pretty bad and
while he defied the doctors
by ten years,
his time was running out.
His dad died months after
seeing Toruk in 2017.
And that show was Daniel's last.
That actually feels a lot better,
to be honest.
Daniel's personal physiotherapist
in Australia spent years
helping him get to the top.
And it was her who demanded
he stop.
I think that most people
who have those types of injuries
would probably not return to
the level of sport that they were at.
That's a lot looser.
Dorothy Hawkins has worked
with Olympic teams
and says Daniel's injuries
were some of the worst she's seen.
It's a bit bleak.
Yes, we've been through some
dark times.
And there have been moments
where he just felt like,
I can't do this.
This was laying on the table
before they did the operation.
Scans reveal Daniel had
seven injured spinal discs,
as well as nerve damage,
a torn bicep,
and osteoarthritis.
One of the worst things as
an acrobat that you can imagine.
It was really shocking,
not even being able to respond
to someone calling his name
without hesitation or walk without
pain was quite upsetting.
The old folks are always like
'oh, you better watch out,
you'll end up in a wheelchair!'
Like that sort of flippant remark
came very close to a reality.
Daniel is now preparing to
sue Cirque du Soleil,
alleging the company was
negligent by failing to provide
a safe work place.
Cirque du Soleil requires a
great deal of perfection.
Perfectionism is probably a part
of what they do.
Lawyer James Chrara alledges
the company didn't adequately
monitor or document Daniel's
condition.
When you're at that level,
it's all about pushing yourself
and pushing your limits
and sometimes you need to
moderate that.
And that's where the company like
Cirque du Soleil's responsibility is?
Absolutely, I believe so.
Cirque du Soleil did pay for
Daniel's first lumbar spinal surgery
and some associated rehab.
But that was it.
It was almost like the
carnival model of business
where they pulled up stumps
and just vanished.
He's since had at least
seven operations and procedures,
most of which he's paid
for himself.
Well I woke up and I could
feel my legs.
In like the first time in two years
I've been able to feel my legs.
Despite Daniel's repeated pleas,
Cirque du Soleil has refused to
acknowledge that his
spinal injuries came from his time
with the company,
which has made it difficult,
and at times impossible,
for him to claim insurance
or get compensation.
And for years,
he's felt pressured to keep quiet.
All information whatsoever,
artistic creative and technical,
without limitation shall not be
disclosed in any way
whatsoever.
It's basically saying,
don't talk about anything.
After more than
two and a half years,
Daniel has now been in rehab
for longer than he performed
with Cirque du Soleil.
He says he's out of pocket up to
$100,000 dollars
from medical expenses,
home modifications
and lost wages.
I don't want anything other than
what was agreed upon
and I don't think that that's
too much to ask.
I went into a show that
physically maimed me.
Cirque du Soleil has refused to
comment for legal reasons.
But in a general statement,
it told The Feed it provides the
highest level of medical care
and support to its artists.
It said if artists need
medical support at the end
of contract,
third party insurers make decisions
on care, which are removed
from Cirque du Soleil influence.
It's been, the hands down
the most challenging rehab process
that we've ever come across
as a company.
That's exactly what we're aiming
for, mate.
Exactly that!
When you realised the full extent
of his injuries,
did you think that he would ever
perform again?
For a normal person, I'd say no.
But for him I thought yes.
Because he's just not a
lay down and lie person.
He's just got so much
strength of character and
mental toughness that I thought,
no matter what happens,
he's going to try and come back.
But it's been four months since
I first met Daniel,
he's now using a walking stick
and has been dealt a major blow.
Doctors have told him he needs to
have his spine fused,
which could mean
he'll never be back on stage.
I got off the physio table
and I just said,
it wasn't worth it.
And Dorothy said
what do you mean?
And I said,
that lifestyle,
the whole career
wasn't worth it
because this is just hell.
How would you describe your
situation right now?
I'm just falling apart
and
it's like drowning
in a swimming pool
and everyone's standing around
holding like a life raft,
and I'm like 'hey can I
have one of those?'
and they're like 'we just need to
have a meeting'.
Will you perform again
after this surgery?
You've got to have hope.
But...
I don't.
I don't forsee that as
a possibility.
I want to but um...
Sometimes want isn't enough.
Does his case have the potential
to perhaps, set a precedent for
companies like Cirque du Soleil?
I believe it should.
Fundamentally, what we want
to do is ensure the safety of
all performers,
irrespective of whatever jurisdiction
they're in to avoid this from
happening to the next person.
I think my dream for circus
is to tour with Cirque du Soleil
and tour around the world.
Make it big.
What have you learnt from Crispy?
Never give up.
Yeah, that's what I've learnt from
Crispy the most is to
never give up and to keep trying.