This video is cutting edge.
NYC sword swallower Gin Minsky went viral after filming a video of what it looks like when she shoves an 18-inch blade down her throat.
The shocking Instagram clip — which was taken at Columbia University Medical Center in Midtown East — shows the sword moving over her larynx and into her esophagus — and has already racked up over half a million views.
Comments range from “so gross and so totally awesome” to “epic” and “educational.”
“Omg how did she just stay alive and so calm? I almost dropped to the floor,” one marveled.
“My brain couldn’t fathom enough composure to witness that,” another added.
Minsky, a Bed-Stuy resident who’s been practicing the audacious art form for close to a decade, hopes the video proves to skeptics that her act is, in fact, real.
“I was just performing this weekend, and I could see a woman in the audience that was going to her husband [about the sword], ‘It collapses!’” she told The Post.
The video is part of Columbia’s Center for Voice and Swallowing‘s new educational series where doctors and speech-language pathologists examine the throats of professionals like a trumpet player and flutist by placing a scope in their nose with a high-definition camera at the tip.
“This allows us to see and record the entire throat and larynx [voice box], areas we cannot see when looking through the mouth,” said Dr. Michael Pitman, the chief of the division of laryngology at Columbia, who performed the procedure on Minsky, called a laryngoscopy.
“We can see these structures in high detail and also watch them in action as people speak, sing and swallow.”
Holly Reckers, the speech-language pathologist at Columbia who filmed the clip, said she was amazed by Minsky, who was “so calm” throughout the daring feat.
“I watch the function of people’s voices and swallows all the time, so when you think about sword swallowing, it makes sense what’s happening, but to actually see it happen is mind-blowing,” she said.
Minsky, who’s also a burlesque performer and tap dancer, was trained in the art of sword swallowing in 2017 by Todd Robbins, “an old-school sideshow guy” on Coney Island.
“I went over his house and that day he taught me technique, proper head position and all that. He made me do it seven times a day, every day,” she explained.
“You have three gag reflexes, one at the back of your mouth, one at the bottom of your throat and one at the opening to your stomach. So you have to overcome all three parts. It took me a year of training.”
Sword swallowing is only practiced by “a couple thousand people in the world,” said Minsky, who performs at places like Duane Park, a supper club in NoHo, and Bathtub Gin, a 1920s-themed speakeasy in Chelsea.
Minsky has never been injured by performing the scary stunt, but has had some uncomfortable moments if she eats something spicy right before performing.
“Just because my sword goes into my stomach, it pulls up some of that stomach acid. So I will pull up some of my food sometimes. So anything spicy you can feel that burn just in your esophagus. It’s not nice.”
Read the full article here
