At 27, he's a consummate performer, a world-record holder, a self-described "laugh extractor", whose ease in front of an audience can partly be explained by the fact he was born to this world.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rafael Nino jnr, aka Nino the Clown, the act who keeps The Great Moscow Circus humming, is a sixth-generation circus performer, the son of a comedian and trapeze artist, originally from Brazil, where his grandmother still works as a clown.
"I started as a normal circus kid," he said, before a show on Friday, the Big Tent rising at Canberra's Majura Park as the camels loll out the back and the planes rumble at the airport next door.
"After the shows, me and my friends used to go inside the ring and pretend to be the performers in the show. We'd do handstands, somersaults. We learned by ourselves, the tricks.
"Then a coach from each act would come and teach you the technical, but you already have the skill, playing around.
"Don't ask me about a different life [from the circus], because I don't really know. This is really fun. You can travel around and meet a lot of people. Go to a lot of countries. Like me? In the last 11 years, 22 countries, I've performed in."
His comic timing and fluid moves make him a crowd favourite as Nino the Clown but he also has the heart-pumping responsibility of being team leader of the Brazilian performers who ride up to six motorcycles in the Globe of Death.
Nino was also part of the team that earned a Guinness world record in 2011 for having six riders speeding and a person in the middle of the steel sphere, all at the same time.
He broke his arm performing the act in Cairns last year. Another performer was also injured.
"The Globe of Death is a very, very dangerous act, in which you have a lot of pressure on you, a lot of attention," he said.
"You have to trust yourself, trust your partners and trust the machines, but, you never trust the machines 100 per cent."
Nino's wife, Naira Moreto, is the woman who stands in the centre of the sphere as the motorcyclists ride around inside at speeds of about 50km/h.
Does he get nervous watching her?
"Not any more because you trust the guys. Of course, we know it's dangerous and anything can happen at any time. That's why it's an amazing act. Every second is a risk in the Globe of Death," he said.
After his accident, Nino concentrated on his clowning duties and removed himself as one of the six riders. But he still does a solo performance inside the Globe of Death, as Nino the Clown, resembling some kind of crazy cartoon character pushing the motorbike to speeds approaching 80km/h.
"I created this idea to come as a clown, break a little bit of the ice, the tension of the globe, it's a little bit of fun. I can still do the tricks and do my thing," he said.
His father put him in a comic act when he was four. He learnt the trapeze and to work with horses, and eventually the motorbikes.
"My father always said, 'Don't do the bikes'. My father hated the bikes. But something pushed me to the bikes," he said, adding his love of comedy just came naturally,
"Out of the curtains, in the every day, people always laugh at me because I love to play, make funny face. I love to entertain people, even my friends. So what I do in the streets, I do in the show. It is 100 per cent myself."
So what if he has kids? Will they be in the circus?
"Of course, yes. Maybe they will ride in the Globe," he said, with a cheeky smile.
The Great Moscow Circus is in Canberra until April 25. Australian impresario, Michael Edgley, the man behind the show, is due to visit the circus and the national capital this week.
Tickets available by phone 1300 667 269, online at thegreatmoscowcircus.com.au or at the box office on site.
