Erik Sprague aka The Lizardman is a freak. The 34-year-old Texas resident transformed himself from a doctoral candidate in philosophy to sideshow performer, with an estimated 650-700 hours of tattooing and other body modifications including several piercings, subdermal implants above each of his eyes, filed teeth, and a bifurcated tongue. This transformation and his performance art have earned him world-wide acclaim and landed him a contract with Jagermeister as the host of their music tour. His repertoire of actsfrom sword swallowing, to lifting weights via his piercings, to fire breathing, among many othersis impressive. It is his intellect and humor, however, that make the Lizardman unforgettable.
Marisa DiMattia: First, a story. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a remote Greek island. It isn't a tourist island and the population of goats rivals that of people. I decided to print out some photos from my camera, which included some of you, and when I returned to pick them up, the dude behind the counter was all atwitter. He excitedly asked, "You know the man lizard? I see him on TV! I see him on TV! Very funny man!" Then he proceeded to ask a stream of questions about your splendid greenness. You have truly enthusiastic fans in small reaches of the globe.
When you hear stories like this, what's your immediate reaction?
Erik Sprague: Excellent (a la C.M. Burns from the Simpsons).
MDM: He must have seen you on Ripley's Believe It or Not or National Geographic TV. Is it safe to say those shows launched your popularity?
ES: Ripley's certainly helped me achieve a high level of recognition in a very short time close to the start of my current run as a performer. I filmed for Ripley's in 1999?it aired as part of their first season in 2000?shortly after I had decided to quit graduate school and make a full time go of it as a performer. That decision was motivated primarily by a very strong response to my work at the Night of 1000 Scars in 1998 and my growing personal dissatisfaction with academia. National Geographic came years later (2004 I believe) and was more of just another media appearance, although it did add to my credibility in the eyes of some viewers and airing globally certainly makes it a noteworthy appearance.
The thing about TV shows is that, while they do get your name out, they very rarely tell people anything really important about you. And no matter how good the show is, TV just can't convey what it is like to be at a live show. There are still people who know me from Ripley's but have no idea what I do. TV will get your name and image out there but live shows and doing things like hosting the Jagermeister music tour puts me in contact with people?that is how you make fans. If I only did TV, I would be nothing. It is getting out there and connecting with people that has made me what I am and it is the tours that let me do that.
MDM: Next month, you're back with Jagermeister as host of their music tour. In addition to introducing all the bands, what stunts will you be performing? What's the biggest crowd pleaser? What's the most difficult?
ES: I haven't even decided my set list for the tour yet. I bring along a number of acts and just pile up notes so that I can pick and choose whatever I like on a given night. That said, I usually do fall into a rhythm pretty quickly. The tour is a great place to 'burn in' routines. The condom and my accompanying stand-up for it always goes over really well, plus it keeps evolving and growing into new places. In terms of difficulty, I have actually stopped doing the gavage [live stomach pumping] and snake floss on the tours due to difficulties associated with them but for special nights I will work them in. This time around I plan on adding even more comedy and taking the stunts I do include to more extreme levels.
MDM: Well, comedy and danger is sexy. Any fun groupie stories you want to share?
ES: I have seen some really funny stuff on tour, mostly with other people's groupies though. The ones that make me laugh the most are the people who don't believe I am me. One girl got really angry with Dr Grift, my assistant and cohort onstage, because she was adamant that I was not the guy from TV. In fact she accused me of ripping him?myself?off. Her reasoning was that I was greener than the guy on TV and she would not accept that I had gotten more tattooing since the filming.
MDM: I've seen you hit on by many-quite shamelessly in fact-even though one would think that the filed teeth, implants, split tongue, and tattooed scales would scare people off. What is it that attracts most people to you sexually?
ES: I think it's mainly the tongues but it also has to be the performance aspect. No matter who you are, if you get onstage, somebody becomes enamored with you. If you add TV to that, it becomes a really potent mix. This isn't something I think is a good thing really?people should be impressed by actions not exposure?but I'm not going buck good fortune.
MDM: With all the tours, TV shows, and paparazzi, you're like the Paris Hilton of the freak world. Will there be a Lizardman sex tape out any time soon?
ES: I hope not since it would probably be immediately followed by the Lizardman divorce scandal seeing as there isn't a tape of Meghan and I. Actually, I don't know of any tapes of me with anyone. I've always been too focused on getting it on to set up a camera, besides, I'm not bashful but it would probably be unfair to make others so envious of Meghan by putting out a tape.
MDM: You've been with your wife Meghan for quite some time. How do you keep a marriage strong while often being away on tour?
ES: This is the only relationship we have ever had. I met her in 1999 during a tour with Godsmack. I was gone the next morning after the night we first met, though we had talked a little online before that. She sometimes calls us the world's longest one night stand. We talk every day on the phone when I am on the road and we make very good use of the time we get together when I am home. I think the fact that we are separated so much just means we appreciate each other that much more when we get to be together.
MDM: That and your split tongue, perhaps? Has it been a welcome marital aid?
ES: She has been known to rave about it. Yes, I love my tongues and I practice moving and posing them?something Meghan has always been very gracious about assisting with for me. Someday I hope to market a lizardman sex toy with tongue action; perhaps a modified jack rabbit.
MDM: But you do have a toy coming out soon: The Lizardman action figure. Will it have a split tongue and be equipped with a pierced penis? If so, will it also come in life-size for those groupies wanting some reptilian lovin?
ES: I actually removed my Apadravya piercing [Link NWS] a while back due to some scarring-perhaps I was overly exuberant with it. The figure has to have the split tongue, I can't imagine approving it without it. What would be the point? It won't be life-size but I am sure some ingenious people will make use of it for their own purposes; maybe I should make a special section of my site for them to send in pictures...
Anyway, the figure is to be produced by Super Rad Toys and they are doing a whole line of heavily modified people and sideshow folks. I believe that Cat (Dennis Avner) has also signed on and I know they talked with Enigma & Katzen. Its really very exciting and something I have always wanted. If all goes well they will be available in 2007.
MDM: Youre also up for a movie part. Can you share any details? Is Enigma also vying for the role? Will we ever see you guys in a freak show death match?
ES: It's a pseudo remake of Freaks (Tod Browning) but more along a horror/gore line. I have no idea if they have talked with Enigma. Rather than a death match, I think we should do a huge sideshow spectacular together.
MDM: You, Enigma, Cat, Katzen, even Lucky Diamond Rich, would be fabulous! Theres a great deal of curiosity surrounding all of you because of the extensive transformation to your bodies. I like how you particularly give people an opportunity online to ask questions about your modifications and lifestyle through your BME column. You've also done tons of interviews with the mainstream media, many in which a lot of the same questions get asked. Don't you get tired of being asked "Why a lizard" or even worse, just "Why"?
ES: I can handle answering the same question over and over again but in the back of my head I am always thinking this person is a professional? what happened to research? I don't fault the guy on the street but someone who comes to interview me should at least read the FAQ on my website beforehand.
MDM: You've answered the lizard question by essentially saying you like lizards aesthetically. Still, wouldn't you want to be more cuddly like, say, Scotty the Blue Bunny?
ES: Cuddly is not my thing and it would be very apparent if I tried to be something I am not. My existence and my livelihood onstage are based on being straightforward with people.
MDM: I've gone through all the various questions people have asked you in the Lizardman Q&A but one query was absent, one that seems most natural to ask the man lizard from TV: Does god exist? Discuss.
ES: No and there is nothing to discuss. It is really that simple and that is probably why so many people have a problem accepting it.
MDM: I'm really only half joking with that question because I know your academic background, that you left your PhD studies in philosophy to pursue performance art. Being serious now, is there a certain philosophy that surrounds your transformation?
ES: There are philosophical elements to the project. It started out as a purely conceptual art piece exploring ideas from later Wittgenstein. I have talked a couple times with Philosophy Now and some others about writing some essays on philosophy and body modification, but I don't have a philosophy of body modification?rather I incorporate philosophy into my body modification.
MDM: What does it mean to be a "freak"? Is it being able to perform certain stunts? The lifestyle of looking different? ...
ES: I see being a freak as being an intentionally self-realized individual. That can be hard to explain, I have been working on a freak manifesto for years but the perfectionist in me has never been happy enough with it. It isn't about particular stunts but it does touch on lifestyle. One of the best ways I think I have come to boiling it down is that a freak is not defined by abnormality, a freak defines their own abnormality. For instance, being abnormally short does not make you a freak, Tom Thumb was not a freak until he made himself one. Freaks are always self-made. We all have the potential to be freaks but the vast majority live in denial and the fear that their freak potential will be exposed.
Marisa DiMattia: First, a story. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a remote Greek island. It isn't a tourist island and the population of goats rivals that of people. I decided to print out some photos from my camera, which included some of you, and when I returned to pick them up, the dude behind the counter was all atwitter. He excitedly asked, "You know the man lizard? I see him on TV! I see him on TV! Very funny man!" Then he proceeded to ask a stream of questions about your splendid greenness. You have truly enthusiastic fans in small reaches of the globe.
When you hear stories like this, what's your immediate reaction?
Erik Sprague: Excellent (a la C.M. Burns from the Simpsons).
MDM: He must have seen you on Ripley's Believe It or Not or National Geographic TV. Is it safe to say those shows launched your popularity?
ES: Ripley's certainly helped me achieve a high level of recognition in a very short time close to the start of my current run as a performer. I filmed for Ripley's in 1999?it aired as part of their first season in 2000?shortly after I had decided to quit graduate school and make a full time go of it as a performer. That decision was motivated primarily by a very strong response to my work at the Night of 1000 Scars in 1998 and my growing personal dissatisfaction with academia. National Geographic came years later (2004 I believe) and was more of just another media appearance, although it did add to my credibility in the eyes of some viewers and airing globally certainly makes it a noteworthy appearance.
The thing about TV shows is that, while they do get your name out, they very rarely tell people anything really important about you. And no matter how good the show is, TV just can't convey what it is like to be at a live show. There are still people who know me from Ripley's but have no idea what I do. TV will get your name and image out there but live shows and doing things like hosting the Jagermeister music tour puts me in contact with people?that is how you make fans. If I only did TV, I would be nothing. It is getting out there and connecting with people that has made me what I am and it is the tours that let me do that.
MDM: Next month, you're back with Jagermeister as host of their music tour. In addition to introducing all the bands, what stunts will you be performing? What's the biggest crowd pleaser? What's the most difficult?
ES: I haven't even decided my set list for the tour yet. I bring along a number of acts and just pile up notes so that I can pick and choose whatever I like on a given night. That said, I usually do fall into a rhythm pretty quickly. The tour is a great place to 'burn in' routines. The condom and my accompanying stand-up for it always goes over really well, plus it keeps evolving and growing into new places. In terms of difficulty, I have actually stopped doing the gavage [live stomach pumping] and snake floss on the tours due to difficulties associated with them but for special nights I will work them in. This time around I plan on adding even more comedy and taking the stunts I do include to more extreme levels.
MDM: Well, comedy and danger is sexy. Any fun groupie stories you want to share?
ES: I have seen some really funny stuff on tour, mostly with other people's groupies though. The ones that make me laugh the most are the people who don't believe I am me. One girl got really angry with Dr Grift, my assistant and cohort onstage, because she was adamant that I was not the guy from TV. In fact she accused me of ripping him?myself?off. Her reasoning was that I was greener than the guy on TV and she would not accept that I had gotten more tattooing since the filming.
MDM: I've seen you hit on by many-quite shamelessly in fact-even though one would think that the filed teeth, implants, split tongue, and tattooed scales would scare people off. What is it that attracts most people to you sexually?
ES: I think it's mainly the tongues but it also has to be the performance aspect. No matter who you are, if you get onstage, somebody becomes enamored with you. If you add TV to that, it becomes a really potent mix. This isn't something I think is a good thing really?people should be impressed by actions not exposure?but I'm not going buck good fortune.
MDM: With all the tours, TV shows, and paparazzi, you're like the Paris Hilton of the freak world. Will there be a Lizardman sex tape out any time soon?
ES: I hope not since it would probably be immediately followed by the Lizardman divorce scandal seeing as there isn't a tape of Meghan and I. Actually, I don't know of any tapes of me with anyone. I've always been too focused on getting it on to set up a camera, besides, I'm not bashful but it would probably be unfair to make others so envious of Meghan by putting out a tape.
MDM: You've been with your wife Meghan for quite some time. How do you keep a marriage strong while often being away on tour?
ES: This is the only relationship we have ever had. I met her in 1999 during a tour with Godsmack. I was gone the next morning after the night we first met, though we had talked a little online before that. She sometimes calls us the world's longest one night stand. We talk every day on the phone when I am on the road and we make very good use of the time we get together when I am home. I think the fact that we are separated so much just means we appreciate each other that much more when we get to be together.
MDM: That and your split tongue, perhaps? Has it been a welcome marital aid?
ES: She has been known to rave about it. Yes, I love my tongues and I practice moving and posing them?something Meghan has always been very gracious about assisting with for me. Someday I hope to market a lizardman sex toy with tongue action; perhaps a modified jack rabbit.
MDM: But you do have a toy coming out soon: The Lizardman action figure. Will it have a split tongue and be equipped with a pierced penis? If so, will it also come in life-size for those groupies wanting some reptilian lovin?
ES: I actually removed my Apadravya piercing [Link NWS] a while back due to some scarring-perhaps I was overly exuberant with it. The figure has to have the split tongue, I can't imagine approving it without it. What would be the point? It won't be life-size but I am sure some ingenious people will make use of it for their own purposes; maybe I should make a special section of my site for them to send in pictures...
Anyway, the figure is to be produced by Super Rad Toys and they are doing a whole line of heavily modified people and sideshow folks. I believe that Cat (Dennis Avner) has also signed on and I know they talked with Enigma & Katzen. Its really very exciting and something I have always wanted. If all goes well they will be available in 2007.
MDM: Youre also up for a movie part. Can you share any details? Is Enigma also vying for the role? Will we ever see you guys in a freak show death match?
ES: It's a pseudo remake of Freaks (Tod Browning) but more along a horror/gore line. I have no idea if they have talked with Enigma. Rather than a death match, I think we should do a huge sideshow spectacular together.
MDM: You, Enigma, Cat, Katzen, even Lucky Diamond Rich, would be fabulous! Theres a great deal of curiosity surrounding all of you because of the extensive transformation to your bodies. I like how you particularly give people an opportunity online to ask questions about your modifications and lifestyle through your BME column. You've also done tons of interviews with the mainstream media, many in which a lot of the same questions get asked. Don't you get tired of being asked "Why a lizard" or even worse, just "Why"?
ES: I can handle answering the same question over and over again but in the back of my head I am always thinking this person is a professional? what happened to research? I don't fault the guy on the street but someone who comes to interview me should at least read the FAQ on my website beforehand.
MDM: You've answered the lizard question by essentially saying you like lizards aesthetically. Still, wouldn't you want to be more cuddly like, say, Scotty the Blue Bunny?
ES: Cuddly is not my thing and it would be very apparent if I tried to be something I am not. My existence and my livelihood onstage are based on being straightforward with people.
MDM: I've gone through all the various questions people have asked you in the Lizardman Q&A but one query was absent, one that seems most natural to ask the man lizard from TV: Does god exist? Discuss.
ES: No and there is nothing to discuss. It is really that simple and that is probably why so many people have a problem accepting it.
MDM: I'm really only half joking with that question because I know your academic background, that you left your PhD studies in philosophy to pursue performance art. Being serious now, is there a certain philosophy that surrounds your transformation?
ES: There are philosophical elements to the project. It started out as a purely conceptual art piece exploring ideas from later Wittgenstein. I have talked a couple times with Philosophy Now and some others about writing some essays on philosophy and body modification, but I don't have a philosophy of body modification?rather I incorporate philosophy into my body modification.
MDM: What does it mean to be a "freak"? Is it being able to perform certain stunts? The lifestyle of looking different? ...
ES: I see being a freak as being an intentionally self-realized individual. That can be hard to explain, I have been working on a freak manifesto for years but the perfectionist in me has never been happy enough with it. It isn't about particular stunts but it does touch on lifestyle. One of the best ways I think I have come to boiling it down is that a freak is not defined by abnormality, a freak defines their own abnormality. For instance, being abnormally short does not make you a freak, Tom Thumb was not a freak until he made himself one. Freaks are always self-made. We all have the potential to be freaks but the vast majority live in denial and the fear that their freak potential will be exposed.
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As for all the hating, fuck off. Go hate on Tom Cruise.