WEEKLY WHINE

On tour with Edvard

Now, as a special bonus, GoobNet presents an exciting look inside the life of "Dynamite Eating" Edvard van de Kamp, the famous, well, dynamite eater. You may recall that on THU 18 MAR 1999, Edvard set an unofficial world record by eating twelve sticks of dynamite. Shortly thereafter, something occurred that his fans know simply as "The Explosion".

"My stomach felt a bit funny. But that's nothing new - it always feels that way when I eat explosives," recalls Edvard. "Looking at the video of it always makes me a bit uncomfortable. It reminds me of what the explosion felt like. Even so, reviewing recordings like that is very helpful, for it allows me to review my mistakes. I definitely went too quickly that day. Even though I'd only gone as high as eight before that, I was sure I could do twelve. And I did, only I didn't expect that what happened was possible."

Says his mother Anita, "I had the camera off to the right of the stage and about twenty rows back. That's where we like to put it, because from there we get a clear view of Edvard as well as a chance to pan across the crowd. That is why Edvard does all this - for the people who support him and come to the shows. So anyway, we could clearly see what happened. About ten minutes after he finished the last stick, he got up and started to say something. At that time, the explosion happened."

The footage that Anita shot that day is not very disturbing at all. "If I watch it with the sound off, it looks as though I'm just falling over," says Edvard. "I even looked for signs of pressure buildup in my stomach. I didn't find anything, which is a bit disappointing. If we found something tangible that shows an explosion is imminent, that would be useful to know at future events."

"I couldn't tell what happened at first," says Edvard's father Norman. "I thought maybe he tripped over something. Then Anee shouted, 'He blew up!' and ran up to the stage. I thought that was crazy. When was the last time you saw somebody's stomach explode? Of course, after that I realised that before Edvard I hadn't seen anybody eat dynamite to begin with. So it was a moot point."

Because Anita and Norman are always careful to arrange an ambulance to be put on standby for Edvard's performances, medical attention came rapidly. He was brought directly to hospital, where doctors were stumped. "How the hell are you supposed to treat a guy who eats dynamite, anyway?" says Dr Jacob Hoojink, who treated Edvard in the Hague after the Explosion. "Doctors always find one or two things that they never mentioned, never thought of in medical school. A guy whose stomach blows up has got to be at the top of that list. But I'm trying to change that. I'm writing a book about treating Edvard, and I'm hoping it will serve as useful information for medical students as well as for anybody who wants to take up Edvard's hobby."

"Dr Hoojink has been remarkably helpful to me," says Dynamite Eating Edvard. "He's gone above and beyond the call of duty, especially in those first two months. At the same time, he's also learned a lot about how the stomach handles dangerous substances, and the paper he wrote about it should be of immense help to doctors treating patients who consume weird stuff."

Edvard was restricted to non-explosive foods for two months after the Explosion, followed by small explosives for the next three months. Dr Hoojink, reviewing his records for that period, says, "Edvard kept to our schedule very well. I made it clear to him that this was the only way he would be able to get back in shape and start doing his thing again. He told me that he wanted to come back, like Michael Jordan. He wanted to prove that he was still capable of doing it, but I was able to convince him to retire after his last tour." Dr Hoojink laughs, slowly and quietly. "I should have asked how long that tour would be."

Dynamite Eating Edvard set off for Amsterdam on FRI 02 JUN 2000 and has been on tour since. Norman, who books Edvard's engagements, says, "We just kept getting more and more requests. Edvard would say, 'Yeah, I want to go to the Madeira Islands! Add them at the end!' And what could I do? I don't want to stop him if he's having fun."

Edvard performed outside of Europe for the first time on MON 05 MAR 2001, travelling to Alexandria, Egypt. "I was nervous about a place like Egypt. They've already got fire breathers, snake charmers, and all that. But they were really appreciative. I guess they never tire of this stuff."

His African tour has continued to Rabat, Lagos, and Zanzibar since then. On FRI 13 APR 2001, his African tour concludes at Pretoria. "I was actually hoping there would be a Yuri's Night party in Pretoria, but there won't be. I thought about moving my performance up a day, but I'd feel kind of silly honouring such a remarkable achievement by consuming pyrotechnics," Edvard admits. He will move on to a four city tour of India after Pretoria, which will conclude his dynamite eating career.

Regardless of what one may think of Dynamite Eating Edvard, his poise and relentlessness are universally adored. "Lagos was another terrific experience for me. I only ate four then. That was the fewest I'd done since before the Explosion, but nobody seemed to mind. I didn't understand what most people were saying. That happens a lot, actually. Someone came up afterward and shook my hand, and then someone else came up and hugged me. After that, everyone else came up as well. I had to have shaken hands with the entire audience. They had such wonderful smiles on their faces. That's why I got into this business in the first place. I think everybody can relate to a guy who eats dynamite."