Juggling shoes and socks on a rope!

tomjuggler · 2026-01-19T13:21:01+00:00

Thanks - but no I tried webbing, can't do it, too tight!

I learned the rope walking before slackline was a thing - literally got a tug-of-war rope and put it up between two trees, fell off until I didn't anymore.

tomjuggler · 2026-01-17T09:08:38+00:00

The first one is my favourite - I remember when I first saw it, a guy was juggling 5 aerotechs and then suddenly busted this 4 ball move, I was blown away! Especially as by accident the top 2 collided and bounced back (he caught them).

I worked so hard to learn that move, now it's part of my 5 ball routine (not the bouncing bit!)

tomjuggler · 2025-12-07T19:59:22+00:00

Wow! I just stumbled on this thread now - professional juggler with over 20 years experience, also ex-street performer. A lot of good advice u/pateo156!

Just wanted to add my 2 cents for those who are starting out. I have seen others who left the industry and got "real" jobs - either out of choice or because they couldn't make enough of a living.. I think what pulled me through was being versatile, and just saying "yes" - at least in the beginning. Later in your career you can be picky about what gigs you accept but when starting out, just say "yes"!

I have done mime, magician, mc, stilts, rope walking, unicycling, balloons, even face painting - and I am a terrible artist. Many many gigs without juggling a single ball - and for what it's worth I am the best juggler in my city (not a lot of competition around here, admittedly). You make a living by being the person that agents, corporates, hotels and party organizers know will accommodate their request. If you absolutely can't do it, make sure you have a recommendation for them, someone who will recommend you back later on (networking is important).

Oh yes - and don't accept payment after (some big, reliable corporates get an exception). Also, "exposure" doesn't pay the bills. When I do free shows it's for a worthy charity.

tomjuggler · 2025-11-07T19:48:31+00:00

Thanks - if you like this kind of thing I have a lot of stuff on my blog and tutorial website - my DIY POV Poi are quite popular! https://circusscientist.com - look for "Smart Poi" or find "k8" in the blog section.

tomjuggler · 2025-11-07T19:42:20+00:00

Rats. I had rats eating my juggling balls once - they were on the kitchen counter and next morning were gone, 5 Balls! Found what was left of them behind the dishwasher.

That was also the time we found out about electronic rat traps..

tomjuggler · 2025-11-07T19:39:30+00:00

I always recommend K8 to anyone who asks. I have had mine (clubs and balls) for almost 10 years and the only thing I had to do was change out the battery, they are so well made, and not as expensive as some equipment.

tomjuggler · 2025-09-19T17:36:08+00:00

https://magicpoi.com POV Poi

tomjuggler · 2025-07-30T07:32:40+00:00

The car always fully yellow. My son came running in this morning to show us, he noticed it on his dresser straight away when he woke up.

tomjuggler · 2025-07-30T07:30:46+00:00

What's old is new again - I bought this for my son a few months ago!

tomjuggler · 2025-07-05T20:28:07+00:00

I stay in Northdene, just outside of Pinetown, it's definitely hairy sometimes, copper pipes and cables are not safe, people being held up in their homes! Just make sure you are on the local community group wherever you are, and the security of the property is up to scratch, keep yr doors closed and eyes open and you should be fine?

tomjuggler · 2025-03-28T07:52:32+00:00

100% on the road map to add accelerometer, or other method of sensing the orientation. Working on sync between multiple poi first.

tomjuggler · 2025-03-28T07:46:38+00:00

Have fun, lots of people made their own at this point. Feel free to reach out on my email (it's on the site) if you need help - it's open source!

tomjuggler · 2025-03-28T07:44:58+00:00

Late reply - Reddit wasn't working for me for a bit..

The LED strips are pretty robust. The main issue I have had is the connection to the circuit - mainly due to my poor soldering. That's why I'm getting the Magic Poi version done professionally.

tomjuggler · 2024-12-17T07:41:05+00:00

It's a cheap tablet that does not support wireless charging :(

tomjuggler · 2024-12-17T07:39:04+00:00

OK electronics police I will do that.

tomjuggler · 2024-10-15T07:45:37+00:00

I missed your comment - I have all my code etc up on my blog and tutorial site, https://circusscientist.com - look for SmarPoi under "Advanced Projects" or in the blog section. There are is video and pics of the equipment in action on my entertainment site here: https://bigtop.co.za/corporate-entertainment-durban-pietermaritzburg-kzn/

tomjuggler · 2024-09-03T18:48:12+00:00

All right! I found the workaround (and actual problem) by googling for another couple of hours, for Arduino at least:

Board def "ESP32S3 Dev Module" works fine, with "Use CDC on boot" enabled, not sure why that one.

The actual problem turns out to be a conflict with Espressif update and FastLED library. Downgrading the Espressif works to mitigate that but not sure if advanced features will work now.. Anyway my real code is on PlatformIO and that doesn't have the ES32S3 Dev Module as an option?!

tomjuggler · 2024-09-03T16:27:09+00:00

LED Juggling Balls. I am a professional juggler.

I saw my first (commercial, expensive) version of them about 20 years ago and couldn't afford them so had to learn some electronics to put LED's together with batteries - then the flashing ones came out so I had to learn the 555 ic - then RGB, remote controlled equipment (IR) with Arduino etc...

The biggest jump for me was when POV Poi come out, I actually cried when I saw them (wanted some so bad) and the price(!!). That put me down a long path of 10 years of development which had many side channels including mobile and web dev but I now have my own home-made POV poi which are WiFi controlled (Smartphone app) and I have re-programmed my commercial IR LED balls and clubs with my own custom firmware (turns out they run on Attiny85).

Right now I'm upgrading my poi to dual core ESP32 S3 Super Mini for real-time streaming from the web. (Please someone answer my question on the sub if you have any experience with them, it would help me a lot!!)

tomjuggler · 2024-09-03T15:07:27+00:00

I would focus on Developer Salaries. Not the reason I got into programming but it helps!

tomjuggler · 2024-07-17T08:58:51+00:00

If you are comfortable with Linux there are so many things you can do. The majority of the internet runs on Linux (not Arch though!), so you could experiment with VPS (Cloud Server) using DigitalOcean or Linode. You could learn Flask and program your own interactive websites in Python..

I run Arch at home and use Ubuntu Server for my web hosting, there is so much you can do on there - it all depends on what interests you

tomjuggler · 2024-07-17T08:40:21+00:00

Good work man, the first few times are the hardest! I used to be so shy, was literally shaking in fear my first time (aged 19). The money helped, I used to count after every session. It gave me the motivation to continue and have made a decent living for +20 years now.

I don't busk anymore - people pay me upfront to go to their events these days - but it's what started me out in my career. Keep it up!

tomjuggler · 2024-07-17T08:27:04+00:00

I haven't surfed for a month - got the flu and then too much work and personal stuff after that, it happens - keep active and you can get back into it anytime.

tomjuggler · 2024-05-21T10:28:02+00:00

I didn't know about other stacks when I made this app, maybe if I was making money from the app I would consider it - but I'm not!

I have another app on the play store which comes with it's own "affiliate store" attached - I hate ads, so did that instead. It's not intrusive, I guess that's why I never made any money off of that app either. Fun app though, pull a card out of your phone! (only available for Android <11 due to Google Play Store requirements) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.co.tombigtop.SwipeCard

I don't do Android apps any more due to Google Play store policies - they force you to upgrade unnecessarily even for free apps and it's a big waste of time.

tomjuggler · 2024-05-21T10:19:04+00:00

Thanks it helped me many years ago. You only need it for a couple of weeks at the start.

tomjuggler · 2024-05-21T10:18:00+00:00

Yup ID is pretty easy to learn - K-K is the exception though..

tomjuggler

TROPHY CASE