Today we’d like to introduce you to Emerald Gordon Wulf.
Hi Emerald, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was a six year old gymnast when I saw my first circus show. It was a traveling circus and the star of the show was a contortionist, although at that time I didn’t have a word for what she did. I just thought she was a flexible gymnast. For the first time, I saw someone with a body that could bend even more than mine. Up to that point, every day was a struggle. I loved gymnastics, but no matter how much I trained, or how hard I worked, the things that came easy to everyone else, were impossible for me. I could not hold a straight handstand, and my coaches and teammates didn’t understand why. They said I was weak, and I thought that must be true. I went home from that circus show and attempted some of the poses I had seen her do. I shocked myself and my parents by being able to do many of them. My mother is a photographer, so for fun one day we did a little photoshoot with some of my flexible poses. My mother shared them on her instagram and the photos went viral. Together, we started looking for flexible yogis to learn from online. I would try their poses, we would take photos, and she would post them. Within three months, her instagram went from her 300 friends, to over 100,000. America’s Got Talent scouts came across my photos and reached out to my mom. They said they were going to be in my town the next day, and could she bring me to try out as a contortionist. My mother explained that I was a gymnast, not a contortionist, but they told her I was actually a contortionist. We did go to that audition, but it was as unpolished as you’d expect a routine put together by a six year old and her mom in one day to be. From that point on, we started researching contortion, and I spent my free time learning how to get more flexible. When I started, I could barely do the splits, and I could not do a chest stand. With a lot of practice, I started seeing myself get much more flexible, but still I struggled with the strength required to be a gymnast. We moved from Texas to California, and I decided to try rhythmic gymnastics instead of the acro and artistic gymnastics I had done before. Rhythmic was much more suited to my body, and while I was there stretching, one of the other moms told my mom, “your daughter should join the circus.” What seemed at first like an insult, was actually a suggestion. There was a circus school an hour away, and I met with the owner who confirmed that I was, in fact, a contortionist. For the first time, the body that had always been too bendy, too weak, became a gift. With the help of Cheryl, the owner of the circus school, I started learning how to become stronger in a way specific to my gifts and challenges. And the world noticed. I was asked to perform on Little Big Shots Australia, then Little Big Shots Vietnam. I was in circus shows in Canada, and London. I finally got a chance to redo my America’s Got Talent audition and this time, I made it on the show and received four enthusiastic yeses from the judges along with a standing ovation. I became a possessed child enduring an exorcism in The Conjuring. I just turned 15 last week, and I’m up for a new tv show in Paris. It’s been quite the journey!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve definitely had my share of challenges. My own body is my biggest challenge. It is really hard for people with hypermobility (more flexibility than is typical) to put on muscle. I train three to five hours each day in order to maintain and build my core strength. One of the other big challenges was related to that. I have had to learn how to handle people who do not understand my body’s challenges saying really hurtful things. I have had adults yell at me that I am weak, that I am lazy, that I would never be successful because I couldn’t do what others could do. It’s really hard not to believe it when you hear all the time that you are weak, but fortunately my parents have always been there to support me and remind me of how strong I am, physically and emotionally.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a contortionist. I am known for being one of the most flexible people in the world. There is a contortion trick called the Ruppel bend, and there are only about five people in the world who can do it, and I am one of them. I invented a trick where you use a blow dart gun with your feet while in a chest stand. I also can do bow and arrow with my feet while in a handstand,
Contact Info:
- Email: Contact@FlexyEm.com
- Website: www.emeraldgw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emeraldgordonwulf
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmeraldGordonWulf
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EmeraldGordonWulf/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5645941/
Image Credits
Renee Choi Photography Kali Alexis Media
