A professional sword swallower, who can fit up to three swords at once in her neck, has learnt how to put sharp objects up her nose.
Gigi DeLuxe, 38, from New Orleans, has been swallowing swords for five years to the delight of her social media followers.
Her Instagram followers, of which she has 14,000, said her unusual act is ‘incredible’ and ‘super cool and gross at the same time’.
Gigi DeLuxe, 38, from New Orleans has learnt how to put sharp objects up her nose in a move known as the ‘The Human Blockhead’
Gigi removes a letteropener from her nose that she got as a present in the video, to the delight of her fans
Followers of her Instagram page described her sword swallowing as ‘incredible’ and ‘super cool and gross at the same time’
In the footage Gigi, who has bright pink hair and several tattoos, pulls a sword-shaped letter opener out of her nose, that she was given as a present.
Then, in a separate clip where her hair is blonde, she takes a pair of scissors and cuts a heart out of a sheet of paper, and then sticks one of the scissor blades up her nose.
In the third clip she slides a long sword down her throat and pulls it back out before licking her lips.
Fan so_said_me wrote on Instagram, ‘That was super cool and gross at the same time’.
dezfairchild said online: ‘You’re such an incredible badass!’
Gigi first started swallowing swords five years ago and now tries to swallow at least one a day, and two swords at once a few times a week
In the video Gigi is also shown putting a pair of scissors up her nose to achieve ‘The Human BlockHead’
Instagram-user c_langlais, responding to a post about the number of sword swallowers, said: ‘That’s incredible! One sword swallower for every 250 million people means that there are only 28 sword swallowers in the world. You are definitely unique!’
Gigi tries to put a sword down her throat at least once a day, and two swords a few times a week. She also practises ‘The Human Blockhead’, a move that involves putting any sharp object up your nose including a drill, scissors and nails.
‘People are always amazed and shocked when they see me sword swallowing,’ she said.
Gigi also posted a video of herself swallowing a sword which she quickly pulls out after it goes down her throat
What is ‘The Human Blockhead’?
Someone has done the move when they manage to put a long object up their nose.
Nails, scissors and even corkscrews can all be used.
A performer is able to do this without damaging their brain because of the space within the head called the nasal cavity.
Melvin Burkhart performing ‘The Human Blockhead’ in 1978
The trick, regardless of what is used, often draws a strong response from the crowd. People either watch captivated or look away in surprise.
‘Most of the comments and reactions are positive overall. People are either quite fascinated by it or they think it’s fake or a trick.
‘In the beginning it was extremely difficult to do, and it took me several years to get to where I am now.
‘At first I was fearful of doing it, but I had it all backwards.
‘My thinking was all wrong because I was only thinking and worrying about what could go wrong, instead of focusing on how to do it properly.
‘The first year I started sword swallowing I ended up in the ICU because I had ripped my oesophagus in three places, and they had to open my throat to stitch it all back together.
‘I went back to training once I had healed fully. I have the scar as a reminder of how close I was to dying that day though.
‘Sword swallowing is basically learning to overcome fear and retraining the body to not do what it’s naturally supposed to do.
‘Once you swallow swords, everything else in life is a piece of cake.’
People first began swallowing swords almost 4,000 years ago in India.
Fakirs and shaman priests developed the practice, along with eating burning coals, swallowing snakes and stopping their own pulse to raise their body temperature.
Gigi has a large instagram following that praise her and her amazing sword swallowing
Sword swallowing spread from there to China and the Roman Empire, where it could be seen during festivals. They are also mentioned in 410AD during the Teutonic fight for Rome.
The practice was then spread and maintained in Europe by medieval street performers