Devin Meek never saw his hobby as a possible career.
“I was going to school for computer science,” said the 22-year-old three-time world champion rope jumper who has created a niche for himself and several of his friends as jump rope entertainers known as WeFlip Entertainment.
Meek will join with three of his rope jumping cohorts when the Colorful Hat Circus comes to the Jabez Sanford Hardin Performing Arts Center Jan. 20-22.
The Maryland native started jumping rope when he was 7. He was introduced to the sport through an afterschool program.
“I spent all my time doing it,” he said.
Jump rope competitions are divided into different categories; some people jump for speed and try to see just how many times they can jump in one minute. The ropes of the best jumpers make six to seven revolutions a second, Meek said.
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Others jump with style in mind. Gymnastics often comes into play. There are individual and team competitions as well as Double Dutch.
Meek’s competition wins led to teaching opportunities in the niche sport. That combined with his entertainment gigs provided him a job he didn’t know existed.
Although he went to college to pursue that degree, he found the jump rope opportunities more than he could handle with school. He decided to take off one semester, but that led to more semesters. Ultimately, the hobby won out and became the career path.
For the circus act, Meek said they’ve taken some Old-World circus and fused it with contemporary tricks. They use a teeterboard or giant see-saw as well as stacked chairs all while jumping rope, but people will have to get tickets to see what the act is really like, he said.
Meek now lives in Florida, and he said those in the rope jumping world fared well in the Sunshine State for most of the pandemic. They had a lot of time to work on routines and come up with new ones. And they continued to perform.
As for the rope Meek uses, it’s usually nothing fancy — just an inexpensive rope with a couple of handles — unlike the rope used for speed jumpers which is more expensive and features a special handle. For some of the routine, however, they use rope with LED lights.
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To get an idea of WeFlip’s act, Meek suggested the group’s Instagram account @WeFlipEnt or on YouTube.
Other performers include international award-winning magic and circus arts duo Nathan Kepner and Morgan Tsu-Raun, who have performed around the world including shows at the Magic Circle Theatre in London and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Also part of the Colorful Hat Circus is International Jugglers Association Gold Medalist Juggler Zak McAllister. He’s been featured on ESPN and Wired Magazine and has won multiple awards and two gold medals at the World Championship of Juggling.
Performances are at 7 p.m. Jan. 20, 2 and 7 p.m. Jan. 21 and 2 and 6 p.m. Jan. 22. Tickets range from $25-$45 and are available at colorfulhat.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Managing Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
