Flying high

San Diego Union Tribune – San Diego,CA,USA
Ayers said he thought it would be an “if you build it they will come
situation when he established his school in Leucadia in 2002…..

ESCONDIDO – David Ayers says he owes everything in his life to trapeze.

The 60-year-old is co-owner of Trapeze High, a circus-style flying trapeze school in Escondido that offers classes, private parties and corporate team-building exercises. Students at the school range from beginners to professional trapeze artists.

Ayers said he injured his back as a child and suffered from chronic pain for 38 years until he tried trapeze at age 47. After six weeks of swinging on the trapeze, he was pain free, he said.

Ayers said he also felt younger and healthier and lost 25 pounds.

“It’s one of the best physical activities you can do,” he said, “because it works every part of the body.”

He added that it also requires mental focus.

“Trapeze for me is very much like meditation,” he said. “I fly every day. I go and set aside all the issues in my life and I fly the trapeze.”

Ayers said his life fell apart in 1995 when he lost his landscaping business, his house and his second wife, but he reconstructed his lifestyle around trapeze. He met his current wife while working as a teacher at a trapeze school in Sonoma.

“My main focus besides being a trapeze coach is being a husband. If it weren’t for my wife, I wouldn’t have this,” Ayers said, referring to the almost-2-acre property where their house and trapeze rig sit. “I was a homeless, destitute trapeze artist when I met my wife.”

Ayers met Lindsay Van Voorhis in 2000, and they married three years ago. Van Voorhis, 51, is a neonatal nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla who admits she is addicted to trapeze.

“It’s the funnest thing I’ve ever encountered,” she said. “Trapeze changed my life for the better in almost every regard.”

Van Voorhis said she and Ayers share a vision of bringing trapeze to everyone who wants to try it.

Ayers said he thought it would be an “if you build it they will come” situation when he established his school in Leucadia in 2002. (It moved to Escondido almost three years ago.)

But he said he discovered that there is so much for people to do in San Diego County that trapeze is often overlooked.

“The people that fly here do it for the love of it,” Ayers said. “It’s the best way to get high.”

Beginners can sign up for 90-minute classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The cost is $45. The school also has a club anyone can join. Its members pay $120 a month for unlimited flying.

Ayers said everyone from 3-year-olds to people in their 80s have taken classes at the school. Anyone who can hold their weight for 20 seconds can do it, he said.

“There are lots and lots of people in their 70s and 80s who fly all of the time,” Ayers said. “People don’t know that because there are only like 12 places in America where you can do this.”

San Diego resident Kevin Six, who works as a catcher at Trapeze High, has known Ayers for more than five years. He said Ayers has never performed as a trapeze artist but prides himself on being one of the best teachers.

Six said several of Ayers’ students have gone on to be professional trapeze artists.

Six said Ayers is one of the few people dedicated to trapeze who didn’t come from a family of fliers. Ayers mainly learned on his own, but he also studied with Tony Steele, a world-famous trapeze artist known for being the first flier to do 3 back somersaults to a legs catch.

Kathy Behar and her 14-year-old daughter fly at Trapeze High two or three times a week. Behar, who lives in Murrieta, said she feels safe practicing because she knows Ayers will grab her safety line if necessary.

“I’ve seen him save many, many people of various weights from falling in the net incorrectly and hurting themselves,” she said. “He’s a great teacher. He knows when to critique and when to applaud.”

Kristin Thomas, a 15-year-old San Diegan who aspires to be a professional trapeze artist, said Ayers has had her life in his hands a few times, but she always feels safe because he is an awesome teacher.

“He’s very down to earth. He’s not afraid to be blunt with you,” Thomas said. “It really helps because if you’re working on a trick and it’s not that great, you need to know that.”

Ayers said flying the trapeze isn’t dangerous because of the safety measures used. He said the sport often evokes fear in those who are trying it for the first time, so it literally requires a leap of faith.

Trapeze helped Ayers get a handle on his fear of heights, and he said he has seen it dispel the same fear in a lot of people.

“It improves every aspect of your life – physically, mentally and emotionally,” Ayers said. “As long as I can climb the ladder, I’m sure I will keep flying.”