A COMEDY STRONGMAN SHOW

Real feats of strength from the 1920s. Comedy that keeps the adults laughing as hard as the kids.

THE STRENGTH

The steel is real.

Mike bends steel bars, straightens horseshoes, tears decks of cards and juggles bowling balls, the way the strongmen of the 1920s did it. He holds two Guinness World Records, and he learned the feats by hand, in a line that starts with The Mighty Atom.

“I tried to bend one before he even got there. It’s real steel, and the crowd can tell.” 

— Tinthony Glenn, Stage Manager, Washington State Fair

THE COMEDY

The comedy is why they stay.

A grown man in a striped bathing suit talks to the crowd, and the crowd talks back. The show is clean for a family crowd without going soft for the adults, and the volunteers Mike brings up on stage, young or old, come away looking good.

“It plays to both kids and adults humor and that’s rare.”

— Becky J. Fairgoer, State Fair of Texas
START WITH A CALL

WHERE THE SHOW HAS PLAYED

Seven seasons at the State Fair of Texas.

INDIANA STATE FAIR · NEW YORK STATE FAIR · FLORIDA STATE FAIR · WASHINGTON STATE FAIR · COLORADO STATE FAIR · UTAH STATE FAIR · DELAWARE STATE FAIR · THE BIG E · CALGARY STAMPEDE · CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION

“The crowd that’s there when Mike starts is still there when he finishes.”

Andrew Stinson, Entertainment & Events Manager, Indiana State Fair

WHAT THEY TAKE HOME

One lucky audience member takes home a bent horseshoe, and their family talks about it for years.

“She still has the horseshoe you bent into a heart. And shows it off regularly.”

— Stephanie D, Fairgoer, State Fair of Texas

"We just happened to be walking by and I was a bit curious and we ended up staying for the whole show. Even bought a magnet and it’s still on my fridge years later.” 

— Scott H, Fairgoer, Erie County Fair

BUILT LIKE THEATRE

The show is built like a play, and rewritten every year.

“It’s a built show: structured, rewritten, tested on a crowd, rewritten again. And the audience is inside it, not just watching it.”

— Deanna Fleysher · Director and Dramaturg

Mike has worked one on one with directors in New Zealand, Canada and the United States, with the support of two Canada Council for the Arts grants. New material goes in every season and the weak bits come out; he films his shows, watches them back, and fixes the jokes that didn’t land.

Four generations.

Old-time strongman is a craft that gets passed down by hand, from one performer to the next. This is the lineage the show comes from.

  • 1920s

    Joseph “The Mighty Atom” Greenstein

    He did these feats at fairs and on vaudeville stages across America.

  • 1960s

    Slim “The Hammerman” Farman

    The Atom’s student. He levered sledgehammers at Madison Square Garden.

  • 1990s

    Dennis “Grandmaster Strongman” Rogers

    Slim’s student. He taught a small number of performers the craft the way it was taught to him.

  • 2010s and on

    Michael “Mighty Mike” Johns

    Dennis' student since 2016. Over a decade performing at fairs & festivals across 25+ countries.

“It is my professional opinion that Mike Johns is the best strength stage performer in the world today.”

— Dennis Rogers · Grandmaster Strongman

  • GUINNESS · 2022

    3

    Most bowling balls juggled.

  • GUINNESS · 2016

    439

    Most catches juggling three balls in one minute.

  • U.S. VISA

    O-1B

    Extraordinary ability in the arts.

  • ONLINE

    100k+

    Followers across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

The promo runs three minutes. If you’d rather judge a whole show, unedited, ask and Mike will send you one.

What a fair gets.

  • “Every time you were on stage, the plaza was packed! The response throughout the week really made the decision pretty easy." — Lauren McLaughlin · Programs Manager, Delaware State Fair

    “Kids, teenagers, and grandparents were all laughing at the same jokes and enjoying his shows together as a family.” — Devin Vaughn · Director of Programming & Partnerships, Colorado State Fair

    “His show was a huge draw for the sponsor’s space, with a crowd gathering three times a day and staying for the entire performance.” — Erica Dowdall · Sponsorship Account Executive, The Great New York State Fair
START WITH A CALL

HOW BOOKING WORKS

A call, then paperwork.

It starts with a fifteen-minute call about your grounds, your dates and your stage. Then Mike sends the booking information for your fair by email, with the standard contract and rider, and every fair gets the same terms. Dates are confirmed in the order contracts are signed, and a date can be held while a board decides.

BOOKING

Now booking the next season.

If the show fits what you’re building, the next step is a fifteen-minute call.
If it doesn’t, say so, and no hard feelings.

START WITH A CALL