Meet Robin Valencia, one of a family of human cannonballs.
You're fired! —
Meet Robin Valencia, one of a family of human cannonballs.
Courtesy Robin Valencia
The mother-of-two from Oregon first shot out of a cannon as a teenager, in a barrel her uncle built in his basement.
Big bang —
The mother-of-two from Oregon first shot out of a cannon as a teenager, in a barrel her uncle built in his basement.
Courtesy Robin Valencia
Two decades later she goes by the stage name "Shooting Star," working alongside her human cannonball husband, Chachi.
Shooting Star —
Two decades later she goes by the stage name "Shooting Star," working alongside her human cannonball husband, Chachi.
Courtesy Robin Valencia
Chachi flew 55 meters at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony, in front of a crowd of 80,000 people, pictured here.
Spectacular sport —
Chachi flew 55 meters at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony, in front of a crowd of 80,000 people, pictured here.
Stu Forster/Getty Images/File
The couple met when Chachi (pictured mid flight) was working as a flying trapeze artist in a circus in Texas. They decided they wanted a career together -- cannonballing.
Love is in the air —
The couple met when Chachi (pictured mid flight) was working as a flying trapeze artist in a circus in Texas. They decided they wanted a career together -- cannonballing.
Courtesy Ken Lane
Two stage hands fire a human cannonball at a Chipperfield's Circus in the 1950s. The inner-workings of the barrel is a guarded secret by human cannonballs.
Trade secret —
Two stage hands fire a human cannonball at a Chipperfield's Circus in the 1950s. The inner-workings of the barrel is a guarded secret by human cannonballs.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images/File
Many believe 14-year-old acrobat, Rosa Maria Richter, billed as "Zazel," was the world's first female human cannonball, pictured here at the start of her act at the Royal Aquarium in London in 1877.
Zazel Zoom —
Many believe 14-year-old acrobat, Rosa Maria Richter, billed as "Zazel," was the world's first female human cannonball, pictured here at the start of her act at the Royal Aquarium in London in 1877.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images/File