The Globe of Death. More than just a thrill show, a 100 year old legend continues with lessons in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Story & photos by Tom Rose
Matias Martinez with his Yamaha at the Globe
The show begins with a roar as the Yamaha 125 cc dirt bike comes to life...As GLOBE of DEATH rider Matias Martinez accelerates the steel globe shutters, rattles and vibrates. He circles inside the globe, weaving from side to side, up and down, upside down and over the top. The crowd stands in awe and disbelief of the death-defying performance.
Matias rides the Globe!
The GLOBE of DEATH began in circuses and carnivals over 100 years ago and the legendary show continues today with Martinez as the headline rider. I caught up with the creator of this spectacular current edition at the Lake County Fair in April 2022. Matias Martinez is keeping this legendary circus act alive and thriving. Martinez is the owner of the show and the featured rider in the globe. They tour the country 11 months a year entertaining thousands at fairs, circuses and festivals. Matias often rides in the globe 3 or 4 times a day. It’s a long season of set ups, performing, tear down and traveling on to the next event. They travel as a family and they love it. When there is time between shows they like to do some local sightseeing. Here in Central Florida, they visited NASA Kennedy Space Center. Their one month off the road home is in Dallas, Ga.
Martinez is well on his way to becoming a legend in his own right. He is 37 years old and a 5th generation circus performer. His wife Jamie serves as the master of ceremonies for their show. They have a 3-year-old son, Charles. His family were circus performers in their home country of Argentina and throughout South America. His father never performed in the globe but learned it for fun and as a backup for the family Globe of Death show. They first migrated to Mexico and then in 1994 to the United States when Matias was 9 years old. He had cousins who rode the globe and, on a family visit they taught his younger brother who in turn taught Matias. He credits his father with giving him advice and tips that have kept him from any serious accidents or injuries as a thrill rider. The most important one, “never get comfortable, always expect something to go wrong”. He began performing around the country with a rented globe but some 10 years ago designed and built the 14 ft diameter globe currently used in his show.
My
appreciation for the Globe of Death goes back to the mid 60's
when I met one of the legendary pioneers of the globe, Louis
"Speedy" Babbs.
Babbs was wintering off season in Stuart, Fl where I was living at
the time.
Speedy Babbs with his Triumph 500 Twin
I visited with him on numerous occasions and listened to his stories of his thrill show adventures which began in the early 1920's. Born in 1905 he started doing motorcycle stunts, airplane wing walking and parachuting in shows and for the movies in the late 1920’s. In 1929 Babbs began riding a motorcycle in the Wall of Death show at a California amusement park. He toured the country with the Wall of Death show for the next 20 years. Around 1950 he acquired a contraption known as the Globe of Death, a 16 foot diameter steel mesh ball. He performed motorcycle stunts inside the Globe of Death until he retired 20years later.
Although Speedy died in 1976 it’s a fitting tribute to his legacy that the tradition continues with Martinez's show. That’s why I was so excited when I walked into the Lake
County Fair and found the globe show right there on the midway. I had to meet the globe rider...the guy that was carrying on the century old tradition of the Globe of Death!
The Globe of Death is a part of a great entertaining and exciting show known as the Adventures in Space Thrill Show. The show has a scientific theme with the laws of physics and centrifugal force coming into play. The highlight is Matias’s globe ride on his 125cc Yamaha Dirt Bike. Worked into the show is a 2nd motorcycle circling the Globe on the outside at the “equator” along with a trapeze artist. Don’t miss it when it comes to your town.
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