Have you spent years cultivating a talent, working on it almost daily, honing yourself to perfection only to then show off to someone for them to think it’s absolutely useless, nay, ridiculous?
Despite that, true masters and enthusiasts know their worth. The harsh critique of people fades away when there are many more experienced people who appreciate your skill, talent, and most of all - effort.
Such is the case with the beyond-human juggler Michael Rayner. His skills have let him achieve more than most ever will, but sometimes the occasional hater does crop up and he knows how to deal with them.
More info: TikTok
Michael is a juggler with more than 40 years of experience performing pretty much everywhere, from stage to TV, so calling his talents "useless" is pretty, well, useless
Image credits: brokenjuggler
"Oh, bro, you said 40 years of useless ability. I am hot under the collar"
"First, let me make a Nicolas Cage basket and then we're gonna get into this. Oh, there it is. All right. 40 years, no, not a useless ability. This has gotten me a house, a car, that's paid for the college education of two of my daughters – I only have two daughters, not like there's other ones."
Image credits: broken_juggler
"I have two bathrooms in my house, two bathrooms! That means I can urinate in two different places"
"Let me tell you something right now. That is not a useless ability. These abilities have gotten me to go on shows - Japan, the Cayman Islands, 40 United States, Canada. Yes, I have done shows in Canada. I've been on the David Letterman show – I gotta move this outta the way, I’m angry now."
Image credits: broken_juggler
"That's right, I've been on the David Letterman show, Real Late Show with David Letterman"
"The Late Late Show with James Corden, America's Got Talent. That's right. So let me just tell you, it is not wasted. It is not wasted. This has provided a living for my family, my wife, my children. Please go to my website. You can see what I've done - do your research. Thanks for the comment."
Image credits: broken_juggler
Image credits: broken_juggler
Watch the full video here:
Michael's talents have gotten him millions of views online alone - over 100 million
You’ve probably seen him across your various feeds - on Facebook, the ‘Gram, TikTok - his talent has opened up many digital doors for him. Only on TikTok, he’s got over 20 videos that have gotten at least 1 million views or more. Way more!
For example, his most popular Tok has almost 17 million. It’s a clip of him juggling two rackets while balancing on one of those core strength trainers that you see people precariously get on and immediately off in a gym. Many people are jokingly saying that if Isaac Newton could see this, he’d probably revise the whole gravity thing.
Michael’s response? “I can come to your house and do this,” which is probably the most boss thing ever to tell someone about your talent.
And don’t you dare, even for a moment, to think that a guy like Michael would be content with opening digital doors. He’s only here because he is running out of doors to open, I mean, he himself mentions visiting Japan, the Cayman Islands, many of the States on shows, and even Canada! I mean, if he’s been to Canada, is there anywhere he hasn’t been?
You can’t help but smile when someone says that his talent is “useless”. It’s anything but.
Image credits: broken_juggler
If you can think of a juggling trick, he's probably done it, from juggling with fire, to spinning burgers on parasols, to Nick Cage baskets
If you’re still unconvinced, the briefest of glances at Michael’s website will change the way you look at him. After you’ve gone there, you’ll know forever that this is not some online entertainer, but rather an industry professional, with appearances in shows, movies, performances on the stage and on the TV screen as well.
Oh, and he’s got over a million views online. Just saying.
It’s not just that his tricks are impressive too - it’s the entire person of Michael. I mean, you’ve probably seen hundreds of behind-the-back basketball trickshots, but how many Nicholas Cage sequin pillow baskets have you seen?
He’s an entertainer, through and through. If there’s such a thing as destiny, Michael’s was to bring smiles and gasps of awe to the faces of hundreds of thousands, millions, perhaps even more.
Let’s not give destiny or fate all the credit. Have you ever tried playing an instrument? How long did it take you to go from “yippee, practicing is so much fun” to “I wish to hear this instrument scream in agony for what it has done to me”? Now imagine practicing something like what Michael does and grinding that “useless ability” to perfection? I’d probably eat a whole shoe rather than that, which just shows his talent and perseverance to the craft.
Image credits: brokenjuggler
Bored Panda reached out to Michael, asking him about how he started and what he is up to these days
And you just know that we here at Bored Panda had to get in touch with Michael and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to ask him a couple of questions.
Despite the obvious time he’s put into the performance, Michael says that he still isn’t bored of it all.
As for how it all started, Michael had practiced tricks for two years after high school and going to college. Then, a county fair happened in a village near Michigan.
“They were having a talent show and asked the crowd ‘do you have any talents?’. I went to my car and got a few tricks and did my first ever show and won 25 dollars. It was transformative. Money for tricks. That was 1982.”
25 bald eagles from 1982 in today’s money is $79.19, which is pretty good motivation to start “showing off” more frequently, if you ask me.
Considering the all-round hatefulness of the internet, Michael doesn’t get people trying to roast him all that often. “I was really just using that as a tool to do a fun bizarre rant. If you notice at the end I say ‘thanks’ for the comment.” Most people see Michael doing shows in venues and not Toks from his yard - so they know that what he’s doing isn’t useless by any stretch of the word.
Image credits: brokenjuggler
And about 41 years later, he still has new things to try and learn. “[Yesterday] I posted a trick that is still difficult - there is always room to grow and create. I've been practicing spinning two parasols and spinning two burgers on each one. So far I can do it for 10 to 20 seconds but not consistently for a show.”
Right now, Michael is doing shows as well as doing goofy sketches while playing both parts on TikTok. He does shows wherever he is hired - The Magic Castle, Hermosa Beach Comedy and Magic, Flappers Comedy Club and numerous schools, libraries and corporate shows.
He’s also done several commercials as an actor which you can actually watch on YouTube. Last of all, if you’d like to see all of Michael’s accomplishments in one place or even contact him, make sure to visit his website.
What are your thoughts about Michael? Do you fancy yourself a juggler and think you could compete on stage with him? Type everything up down below!
Besides that one hater, the comments gushed with admiration for him and laughed at his amazing performance even mid-rant
