Photos By: Danielle Farrow
He is an ISU alum and America’s Got Talent top 12 finalist, yes you’ve guessed it, Christian Stoinev! Even with his busy schedule, he was eagerly willing to make time for Her Campus ISU. I had the opprotunity to sit down with him and I quickly came to learn what a humble, hard-working person he truely is.
HerCampus ISU: To start, tell me about your time here at ISU?
Christian Stoinev: I went to ISU for four years and got a degree in Broadcast Journalism. I was involved with TV-10 for two years as an anchor and I also had my own sports segment on there. Along with that, I participated in the Gamma Phi circus for four years. I also had an executive position my Junior year.
HC ISU: Looks like you were very involved! What did you do after you graduated?
CS: After I graduated I stayed here for a year with my family. I mainly traveled and performed in NBA half time shows. I performed at 15 different games with 12 different teams. Some of the teams were the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks.
HC ISU: NBA games? That’s awesome. How old were you when you actually started hand balancing?
CS: I was ten years old when I started. But I started performing when I was five in some acts with my dad. I also tried different things like juggling and unicycling. I grew up in the circus and I’m a fifth generation circus performer on my mom’s side, so I have been involved with it my whole life. Actually, for ten years my entire family lived in New York and worked with the Big Apple Circus.
HC ISU: So, who has inspried you to devote your time to learning these skills?
CS: I didn’t really look at my parents necessarily; it was just normal, since I grew up in this lifestyle. However, being around kids in college who didn’t essentially grow up in a circus family but were so passionate about it honestly inspired me more than anything.
HC ISU: That’s definitely inspiring. What has been the most difficult thing about learning this skill and just simply being a performer?
CS: Growing up, the most difficult thing was traveling all the time. It was hard to make friends and when I did meet people in different states I only would see them once a year, if even. It was hard because I didn’t go to a public school so I couldn’t play sports or go to prom. So sometimes I felt like I was missing out.
HC ISU: Yeah that does sound hard and time consuming. How often do you practice?
CS: Right now, I’m taking a break. But normally I practice 5 days a week and work out 5 days a week as well. I have to do this to maintain my skill, but I try not to over do it.
HC ISU: Have you had any injuries? If so what has been the worst one?
CS: I’ve actually been really lucky, I’ve only broken my pinky and had a couple concussions. I’ve also fallen before and gotten bruises, but honestly nothing ever that major.
HC ISU: So lucky! So how did you get started with America’s Got Talent and what made you decide to audition?
CS: Actually it never was a goal of mine, I gave them my email to let me know when auditions are. And when I found out, I sent them a video because I couldn’t make the first audition. Then I auditioned in LA in front of the judges. I knew I made it through the first round in May but I couldn’t tell anyone until the first judgment episode in late July.
HC ISU: Tell us a little bit about your personal journey in competing in AGT?
CS: Well with AGT, it felt like 2 different shows. Audition and judgment week were so different than the live shows. During the live episodes I starting making friendships with the other 48 contestants and we started to bond. We even would all watch the episodes together.
HC ISU: How has exposure to millions of people changed your life?
CS: Well it changed because when you’re in the spotlight and relevant, you want to keep it that way. Social media wise, you want to keep that going, so I plan to do so. My main goal was to get exposure and I got that.
HC ISU: Did you think you were going to go as far into the competition as you did?
CS: No, to be honest not at all. If I would’ve known how far I ended up going, I would’ve switched my tricks around and done other things. When I just simply made it to the semi finals, I was very thrilled and happy.
HC ISU : Let’s talk about the other part of your act, Scooby. How did you decide to incorporate him into you act?
CS: With Scooby it started as a game, he would do tricks already with out them being “tricks.” He would lie on my chest when we were watching TV and just started from there.
HC ISU: How did you start to train him?
CS: There wasn’t really any training, it just happened. Once he started to roll around and stuff with me, I would put a treat on my feet and try handstands. Then it started just like that.
HC ISU: That’s crazy! What a talented dog. What was the most exciting thing that happened to you when you were on the show?
CS: The moments when my performance was over, I would just get super pumped. For the first live show, that routine took the longest time to practice. And when I was finished performing, the judges gave me a standing ovation, so that made me super excited.
HC ISU: Sounds super exciting, especially the standing ovation from the judges. Now about the other contestants, did you all get along with each other or were there rivalries/drama?
CS: To be honest, there is no drama at all. We had the best group ever. We all got along really well. My closest friend during the show and even now are Miguel Dakota and Mat Franco.
HC ISU: How often do you get to see the judges and the host? Are they engaging with the performers or are they kept separate?
CS: It’s all based on chance and just if you ran into them. Heidi was the one I had the most interaction with. After one of the shows, she took a picture with me and posted it on her Instagram
HC ISU: Any important lessons you learned from this adventure?
CS: I wouldn’t say I learned any important lessons; it just put everything into perspective. It wasn’t about winning for me; it was more about improving and getting to stay longer just to be with everyone. I met a lot of awesome people and formed many lasting friendships.
HC ISU: And lastly, what are your future plans?
CS: I am going to keep performing, with events and half time shows. I want to get into other career forms as well. I would like to be a personality, like a Nick Cannon, and I know I want to be in TV in some way. All of this has been really good experience and it will help me in the future.