Rod became the first juggler in history to successfully juggle 8 balls with his mouth at the IJA Championships 2002, a staggering feat which won him he Bronze medal. In the late 1990's the World Table Tennis Association changed the standard size of a ping pong ball from 36mm to 40mm without first consulting Rod to see if this new size would fit in his mouth. At the age of 38 Rod learned to play Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" using his mouth, 3 ping pong balls and 6 gin bottles. Beethoven didn't even write it until the age of 47. If Rod hadn't chosen the career of juggler, he would like to have been a cricketer. He would still like to combine his two loves but despite being able to fit 6 ping pong balls in his mouth, he's unable to fit a cricket ball in there, yet. Rod toured with the acclaimed 'Dark Horse' company, winning a coveted Herald Angel Award at Edinburgh Festival 2001. In the same year Rod won a Silver Medal at the World Music Hall Festival in Paris. Rod reached the final of BBCTV's 'Let me entertain you' he survived the notoriously fickle public vote to win both his heat and semi-final but was eventually pipped by a chubby teenager impersonating Pavarotti. Rod has never met the great Australian Tennis player of the same name, but has discovered a family tree West Country link, so maybe the ball skills are genetic. Rod has never been involved in any celebrity gossip although he did once kiss Clare Grogan of 80's pop group Altered Images after a concert at the Locarno, Bristol. Rod graduated with a BA(Hons) in Theatre Studies from Dartington College of Arts but found juggling to be a lot easier than acting, although he still has a love of Bertolt Brecht and Musical Theatre. The cigars Rod juggles in his act are actually made from wood which makes them more durable, but also more painful and costly in dental fees. Before you are tempted to ask... ROD HAS NEVER SWALLOWED A PING PONG BALL.