BULLWHIPHALLOFFAME.COM
Next round of inductees into the Bullwhip Hall of Fame
will be announced on July 4th, 2024.
Fire Whips are a Blast!
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WhipCrackers2023
These are men and women whose public activities have helped to popularize whips, educate audiences, and set standards of excellence furthering whip cracking as a sport, a performing art, a martial art, a working person's skill, and a recreational hobby in our world today.
We honor them for being vitally important co-creators of the Bullwhip Experience; In short, for making it Real.
Whip Performers & Instructors
Mark Allen
Gary Brophy
Chris Camp
Brian Chic
Naomi Damian
Robert Dante
Anthony DeLongis
Gery Deer
Mick Denigan
Alex Green
Restita DeJesus
Kyle Petersen
Karen Quest
Joyce Rice
Sylvia Rosat
Adam Winrich
Mark Allen / Western Stage Props
For more than 30 years, affable Mark Allen has kept the fire of whip cracking burning brightly when no one else was doing it.
He founded Western Stage Props, selling special effects props to films and theaters, and whips braided by the best whip makers in the world. As a producer, he has overseen video productions, Wild West shows, and for years he hosted the Wild West Arts Club conventions in Las Vegas. When he retired, he sold his shop to Kyle Petersen, also a Hall of Famer.
Mark Allen's contribution to the art of whip cracking is inestimable. We applaud his work and his passion, and here recognize his rightful place in the Bullwhip Hall of Fame.
See more of Mark Allen at https://www.mark-allen.com/home.html
07/4/2023
Gary Brophy
Gary Brophy has been doing a Wild West act which features cracking whips, and performing in circuses as a clown Internationally for more than 60 years.
To have a streak that long, you really have to know what you're doing.
Acclaimed as Australia's first family of the Western Arts, the entire Brophy clan of Gary, Caroline, and daughters Bonita and Jessinta have continued the family tradition of wowing audiences around the world.
Gary also held the Guinness World Record in whip cracking before it was "a thing," and he has won international recognition for his western skills with the lasso and Australian stock whips.
And Jessinta is now following in her father's footsteps and is now the fourth generation of the Brophy western arts to tour the world. At such a young age she has amazed and dazzled the audience and left them spellbound with the speed of her twirling colt 45s.
To cap it off, the Brophy Family was nominated for "BEST ACT" in the prestigious Circus Awards held in Russia in 2015.
Ever adaptable, Gary offers his brood's services to shows, circuses, theme parks, and cruise ships, thrilling audiences with his whips as well as his .45s and ropes. That's
a pro!
See more at at https://www.facebook.com/garybrophy.circussunrise.
07/04/2020
Chris Camp
Camp is a three-time world champion whip cracker. He is listed twice in Guinness World Records and once in Ripley's Believe it or Not for most whip cracks in a minute.
He has` been subsidized to take his whip act around the country by railroad. He performs solo and with his family, and has appeared on such TV programs as "America's Got Talent."
As a bullwhip-toting ambassador of good will, Chris is unequalled. it's difficult to not be impressed by his putting out three candles in as row with his 40-foot bullwhip, which he calls "Big Momma."
Chris' website is at http://www.thewhipguy.com.
07/04/2020
Brian Chic
Bullwhip artist Brian Chic impressed people with his soft and precise whip cracking style. Soft-spoken Brian was so good and had such a sense of showmanship on a nightclub stage, other whip crackers took some of the tools he developed to improve their own acts.
Brian loved living in Hollywood; He could look at a house and tell you when it was owned by which silent film stars.
Brian embodied the Kentucky gentleman he was, playing with contrasts (ie Beauty and the Beast) when he performed with his favorite "Target Girls," professional dancers.
His like will not be soon found again.
07/04/2023
Naomi Damian
Naomi dances with her whips as if they were living beings — and In her hands, they are.
As graceful as a candle flame, Naomi Damian infuses her whip cracking with mystery and beauty. Echoing samurai warriors expertly wielding their weapons, she can mesmerize an audience with her naturalistic balletic forms, sweeps and showers of cracks, allowing the flow of the whip to make counterpoint to her flowing robes.
While you're watching her, you're seeing an artist exploring and expressing the timeless beauty to be found in the shapes created by the bullwhip. She well deserves this recognition.
See more at https://www.naomidamian.com/thewaveshaperseng
07/04/2023
Anthony DeLongis
Stuntman/actor Anthony De`Longis has had a long relationship with weapons, beginning from his participation in the Olympics as part of the US Fencing Team. His expertise with swords and knives and martial arts has been overshadowed only by his role as a long-time leading man in the bullwhip world. He trained Michelle Pfeiffer to handle the single-tail whip for "Batman Returns," and he worked on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls."
Based out of his Rancho Indalo near Los Angeles, he enjoys an active lifestyle which includes horse riding with his wife Mary when he's not working behind or in front of a camera.
See more at www.delongis.com
07/04/2023
Robert Dante
Four-time Guinness World Record holder Robert Dante is the author of "Let's Get Cracking! The How-To Book of Bullwhip Skills." He has edited the Bullwhip Newsletter (www.bullwhipnewsletter.com) for years, and he's traveled from Australia to Denmark (and many points in between!) performing, presenting demos with his wife Mary, teaching groups and individuals the secrets of his own Bullwhip Experience.
His commitment and his passion are obvious, and are only matched by his sometimes sideways sense of humor.
His website is at www.bullwhip.net. He curates the Bullwhip Index of Whipmakers, Instructors and Performers at www.bullwhip.info, and he is the founder of the Bullwhip Hall of Fame at www.bullwhiphalloffame.com.
07/04/2023
Gery Deer
Gery Deer is owner of the country's only studio dedicated to the whip. Gery has ramrodded the Westerrn Arts Showcase as part of the three-day annual Annie Oakley Days in Greenville OH, giving bullwhip artists and knife throwers a stage on which to perform their feats of daring-do.
For his steady hand and generous heart, Gery Deer is rightly in the Bullwhip Hall of Fame today.
See more at https://thewhipartistrystudio.com/
07/04/2023
Mick Denigan
Australian Mick Denigan made news when he shot a criminal breaking into his workshop. He was convicted, but he took his appeal all the way to Australia's Supreme Court— and he won his case.
Further. he has formed a bullwhip and stockwhip club, and opened a museum on his property, where he makes the stockwhips and fire whips he cracks.
He's a spirited, fun guy who doesn't abide injustice. so, good on you, mate — Your qualities make whip crackers everywhere stand a little straighter. a little prouder. Saltbush Bill would have loved you!
07/04/2023
Alex Green
All Alex Green ever wanted was to be a cowboy in the movies.
He got his wish.
He also brought the bullwhip into the homes of countless people, working with Mark Allen to create an instruction video and to demonstrate this Wild West skill of whip cracking at conventions and other gatherings.
He was a personable, knowledgeable man of great integrity and a love for what he was doing. He put his brand on the bullwhip scene, going forward into the future.
07/04/2023
Restita de Jesus
Restita Jesus has reached pinnacles in her career as a professional martial artist and instructor, and now, as a whip master.
As her Instagram page says, her activities include
"Martial arts, paracord crafter, bullwhips, knife throwing, blowguns, slingshots. (Life is fun!) Kajukenbo, Tai Chi,
Wushu, Filipino martial arts."
Sifu Restita DeJesus is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Seattle Wushu Center. She has studied martial arts since 1978, and holds black belt certifications in many styles and schools.
And as instructor, she is now passing on her invaluable knowledge to a new generation of martial artists and whip crackers.
See more at https://seattlewushucenter.org/
07/04/2023
Kyle Petersen
As Kyle Petersen said, "At Western Stage Props, we consider the preservation of the Western Arts to be our primary ... Sincerely, Kyle Petersen, Manager, Western Stage Props."
From film to TV to stage to faire, Kyle's props and whips bring delight and awe to audiences everywhere, after he became Manager and General Partner with Mark Allen in this venture.
If ever there was a store that needed to be in the Bullwhip Hall of Fame, this is the one.
See more at https://www.westernstageprops.com/
07/04/2023
Karen Quest
Info to come
— RD —
07/04/2023
Joyce Rice
However you look at it, Joyce Rice raised the bar higher than anyone could have imagined possible.
The Iowa native was named the best baton twirler in the world in 1959, defeating over 20,000 other young women. This achievement opened the door for her to appear on TV shows and stages and arenas. She soon took those skills and applied them to a new career as a whip-cracking, rope-spinning cowgirl, entertaining and thrilling audiences far and wide.
On a personal note, I met her at a Wild West Arts Convention in Las Vegas, and she impressed me with her generosity of spirit and willingness to share real-world tips and insights with up and coming talent, like me. She radiated with a charisma I'd not encountered before.
She is now a dynamic motivational speaker, but from the baton to the bullwhip to the podium and microphone, it has been a straight line — as direct and true as she is.
We honor her here for the absolutely inspiring example she has given us with her life, devoted to such timeless Western Arts as whip cracking. Thanks, Joyce!
See more at https://joycerice.com/
— RD —
07/04/2023
Sylvia Rosat
The world of whips could not ask for a better ambassador than Sylvia Rosat. She has toured through Europe with Bobby Scala, demonstrating uncanny skill with whips in circuses and stage shows.
She brought her knowledge to create the French language version of "Let's Get Cracking! The How-To Book of Bullwhip Skills," and garnered recognition from Guinness World Records along the way.
As fine a person as you'd ever hope to meet, she brings power and grace to whips, both the ones she makes and the ones she cracks. We tip our hats to her.
See more at https://silverwhips.jimdofree.com/
07/04/2023
Adam Winrich
What can you say about Adam Winrich that hasn't been said before? Not much.
The fact that he is a 32-time Guinness World Record holder says a lot in itself, but this does not reflect the superb entertainer's skills that he brings to his demonstrations at Ren Fests and Wild West gatherings. His appearances on TV shows like "America's Got Talent" have been breath-taking and memorable events for thrilled audiences.
He also gives back to his communit4y, emceeing the Los Angeles Whip Convention annually, drawing competitors from as far away as Australia.
Joining this august crowd in the Bullwhip Hall of Fame is an honor that has been long overdue. Adam, we congratulate you here and thank you, looking forward to many more years of fearless fun and fantasy.
See more at https://www.winrichwhips.com/
07/04/2023
Peter Jack
" I met Peter ("The Whip Man") Jack at a Wild West conference in Las Vegas many years ago. He'd come all the way from New Zealand, and he'd struck me as an approachable, affable, alert man with a high good humor and a faraway gaze. And boy , did he know his whips!
" My Spidey Sense tingled, telling me that this man was an Artist.
"His video a few years later was eye-opening. I've followed his career, and no where in the world did I meet anyone who did not know about him or his whips, always in positive terms.
"The quality of his work has never faltered, even when we making inexpensive learner stockwhipps. He seemed to defy physics when he created the Zenith Whip, with the large square swirl of knots in the transition that was the smoothest and most powerful whip I've ever cracked, with the least amount of effort. He promoted the martial arts use of whips in the Latigo y Daga school. And he has generously shared his wealth of knowledge and experience with the bullwhip artists, whipmakers, and whip teachers of tomorrow."
- R Dante -
Peter Jack's website is at http://www.thewhipman.co.nz/.
5/29/2020
Sharron Taylor
Sharron Taylor
of SKT Saddlery
is recognized as an exemplar of Australian-style whip making, creating high quality, elegant gear
strong enough for rigorous use in an often harsh environment, crafting each item in the
traditional manner to exacting standards, encompassing the true spirit of
the Australian bush in the Science, Craft, and Art of Whip Making.
"George & Sharron Taylor are partners in SKT Leather, with more than 50 years combined experience with plaiting and saddlery. Sharron is a proud member of the Australian Plaiters & Whipmakers Association and the Saddlers & Harness Makers Association of Australia, and they both honour their ideals." (Paraphrased from http://raretrades.blogspot.com.)
"I could not say it better myself, because I have been using a pair of her 8-foot bullwhips for the last 20 years. These marched whips have been worked hard and gone around the world with me. While hundreds of whips have passed through my hands, there are only a few I will hold onto until the final curtain - and Sharron Taylor's are among them. She is one of the Greats."
(R. Dante, four-time Guinness World Records holder, author of "Let's Get Cracking: The How-To Book of Bullwhip Skills.")
You can find out more about Sharron Taylor and SKT Leather at http://www.sktleather.com.au/
5/29/2020
Bullwhip Hall of Fame
c/o R. Dante
314 Hennepin Ave, Apt. 913
Minneapolis MN 55401-1910
+1 831 869-1717
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