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David Blaine filmed the 'Do Not Attempt' episode in Brakpan in April 2024, where he did stunts alongside Samkeliso Thubane and Kaylin Oliphant.
David Blaine hanging off Samkeliso "Sam Sam" Thubane's BMW E30 while Sam Sam does a stunt, 28 April 2024. Picture: Shaun Holland/The Citizen
I had the opportunity to meet magician David Blaine at the Kwa Magesh Sports Academy And Entertainment Centre in April 2024 when he was shooting a Do Not Attempt episode in South Africa.
When spinner Kaylin Oliphant introduced me to David I had absolutely no idea who he was.
I knew that he looked very familiar but I couldn’t place his face.
Oliphant mentioned to Blaine that The Citizen had featured a picture of her doing the suicide slide on our front cover.
I knew that they were clearly filming something big because the production team had quality camera rigs and there were action cams mounted all over the car.
If you have been to a car spinning event before, you would know that spinners perform hair-raising stunts like the suicide slide.
In some cases, you need to see these stunts in person to believe them.
This is what Do Not Attempt is all about; Blaine travels the world looking for death-defying activities.
He is on the search for activities that look so dangerous that it looks like it could be magic – but in fact they are real.
The spinning part of the episode was shot at Kwa Magesh Sports Academy and Entertainment centre.
While filming the series in Brakpan, Blaine did a few practice rounds alongside seasoned spinners Samkeliso “Sam Sam” Thubane and Kaylin Oliphant.
You can watch David Blaine’s Do Not Attempt on Natgeotv on Sunday 23 March 7:20pm or you can stream it on Disney Plus.
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