Bello Nock: Big Clown Hair

Introduction

Many people in search of their version of perpetual Good Hair Days will dye, fry, gel, wax, glue and spray their tresses into an array of modern day styles that range from super spikes and hawks to curls, waves and updos.

Once the desired coif is carefully engineered and created, the goal is to avoid environmental hair killers like big gusty winds, sudden downpours or unplanned cruises in open air convertibles that can wreck any hair work of art in mere seconds.

So imagine being employed as one of America's most famous clowns by The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Traveling Circus and performing 500 shows in 11 months, with three shows on Saturdays while carefully maintaining an eight inch spiked bright orange do. Talk about good hair days and their challenges.

Bello Nock (Demetrius Alexandro Claudio Amadeus Bello), declared "America's Best Clown" by Time Magazine and "greatest athlete to perform in Madison Square Garden" by the New York Times is known for his strawberry blonde strands that literally stick straight up from 5' 11" body and take on an orange tint under the big top's lights. His day-glo inspired hair is part of his trademark that makes him instantly recognizable to kids and adults everywhere.

This hard working superbly skilled gymnast manages to keep his tresses neatly in place through a series of physically demanding and daring feats such as being tossed up in the air by an elephant and then scrambling up a scary looking 60 foot Sway-pole that is a mere 2 inches in diameter. Once Bello is at the top of the pole, that he climbs with his bare hands, he perches on top and swings the pole in a series of death defying wild arcs which illicits ooohs and aaahs from the mesmerized crowds below. This act, created by his father Eugene, is both thrilling and scary to observe.

Besides Sway-poling, Bello thrills the crowds by utilizing science, mechanics and geometry to perform a series of tightrope acts including riding a motorcycle across the very thin wire.

You may be thinking that this master performer and renowned clown wears a wig or goes through several jars of hair gel, wax and spray every day. Not so according to what Bello has told the media. Claiming to use just a few good spritzes from unscented hair spray, he promises that his tresses are 100% natural as well as wax, gel and super spiking glue free.

But how can that be? According to Belo and those in the know, his hair is truly magical and naturally formed into his current style since the age of 12. Even more interesting, he claims to wear his hair up in his trademark eight inch spike whether in full clown attire or just hanging out in jeans and a shirt.

Indeed, many fans will comment that Bello's hair appears to have a life of its own, swaying, bouncing and jiggling in time to his own silly, spastic and high energy movements.

I guess his hair history is not all that amazing considering that this member of a seventh-generation (1700s) Swiss circus family (Circus Nock) is a super achiever. The big haired 33 year old clown born in Sarasota, Florida, officially suited up for his first clown performance at age three. By age six he was a seasoned performer in the touring version of Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. At the age of nine he was performing as a clown on a nine foot wire with the rest of his family known as the Nerveless Nocks in the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Shows in Dells, Wisconsin.

When not performing, this wild king of spiked strands who plays 12 musical instruments and speaks 5 languages focuses on his wife Jenny, a retired trapeze artist, and this three children.

If you get a chance to catch the Ringling Bros.and Barnum & Bailey Circus when it comes to your town, be sure to check out Mr. Nock, who is an amazingly strong and talented entertainer. And yes, he has that awesome hair.

Note: Mr. Nock tours with a Ringling troupe that does 450-500 shows in the major cities. He is currently attached to The Red Unit. To find up when Mr. Nock will visit your city or to find out when the circus is coming to your town, visit Ringling Brothers at their website.

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