Clowning around with the Mayers
By Kevin Allenspach
18 September 2010
St. Cloud Times
© Copyright 2010, St Cloud Times. All Rights Reserved.
COLD SPRING — The unicycle laying across the front steps, not to mention a two-wheeled model and a 5-foot-high version nearby, are a giveaway that what you find at Austin Mayers’ house is different from most others in Central Minnesota.
Most summer days you can find him working on his skills in the driveway, wriggling back and forth, hopping around on that one daring wheel, juggling, going up and down ramps — even a nearby stairway.
If it wasn’t for a $20 incentive from his grandfather, that first unicycle — a Christmas gift four years ago — probably would have gathered dust in a closet. Instead, Mayers has the dream of becoming a professional unicyclist — something it would seem only could be possible in the mind of a 14-year-old.
What else would you expect from a family of entertainers? His grandfather, Paul Kerzman, who challenged Austin to learn to ride that unicycle, is 92 yet still plays the harmonica at various senior citizens gatherings and events.
“When I was learning, it took me all summer, getting up at 6 a.m. and working at it. I started by holding onto the banister of the stairs in our living room. I remember I was so excited when I made it all the way to the hallway without tipping over.”
Austin’s parents, Ann and Quentin, have performed as clowns for almost a decade as part of a group from their church, River of Life. The River Clowns include about a dozen people who bring smiles to assisted living and independence centers, children’s groups and even an annual weekend gathering of campers in Hayward, Wis.
Austin, who has a cousin, niece and nephew who also perform, has combined the acts into one, regularly appearing in a hobo costume as Charlie the Clown on his unicycle, or as a more traditional clown on stilts.
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Mayers
“The key is to keep moving,” said Austin, who once walked two miles on stilts during a parade.
He picks up spending money working Saturdays as an entertainer and balloonist at the A maze’n Farmyard near Kimball and at Hidden Cove Orchard in Cold Spring. He’s nearly as comfortable on the stilts or creating things out of balloons as he is one wheel.
Austin has six siblings, though most never took this interest and the one who did, his 18-year-old brother, Shane, is too busy for it these days as a freshman at St. Cloud State University.
“I don’t think I’ll outgrow it,” Austin said. “Especially riding the unicycle — it’s something I love to do.”
He placed second at the Richmond’s Got Talent show in 2009, and was first this past summer.
In 2009, he performed on a pogo stick and won his biggest applause with a tablecloth bit — yanking the place-setting from under various dishes, only to reveal as he walked away with his props that they were all permanently attached to his table.
This year, he performed his entire 10-minute routine on a unicycle.
“We’ve never liked our kids to spend too much time in front of the TV or on video games,” said Ann Mayers, who has worked much of her life as an upholsterer and enjoys making costumes and puppets for their shows. “That’s why he got the unicycle in the first place. He also got the pogo stick one year for Christmas, and the next year he got stilts. He has to spend as much time being active or practicing on them as he does at the computer.”
Austin, a freshman this fall at Rocori High School, has other interests. He plays baseball, swims and is in track (pole vault) at school. Clowning sets him apart, though. He works one day each week with the Ringsmuth Riders, a local unicycling group, to improve his skill.
“The older people we entertain love kids — especially Austin,” said Diane Eisert, who directs the River Clowns. "He likes the limelight, but he takes this stuff seriously. Our pastor, Denny Curran, once asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up. Austin said ‘A clown.’ "
Austin is available for special events. To contact him, call 597-3769.
