For David “The Bullet” Smith, life as a human cannonball was almost inevitable.
He spent his childhood watching his father, David Smith Sr, being shot out of a cannon.
“My mum and dad ran away to the circus after college, my dad was a top level gymnast and he’s always been a builder of strange things,” Mr Smith said.
“He always says he laid awake for a year designing his first human cannon and that was eight cannons ago.
“I was about 12 years old when he brought home the first Guinness World Record for the farthest cannonball shot.”
David’s parents, David and Jeannie Smith (left), joined the circus after college. (Supplied: David Smith)
Teen cannonball
Mr Smith was first shot out of a cannon in his family’s Oregon front yard when he was 17, but it wasn’t until two years later that he officially entered into the family business.
“I was out doing my own thing and I was in North Carolina at the time with my friend.
“I came home to a message on the answering machine that said, ‘Hey son, this is the old man, I hurt my back, I need you to come fill in for me, you start on Wednesday.’
“I was a cannonball three days later.”
David “The Bullet” Smith performed at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show. (ABC Mid North Coast: Lauren Bohane)
Mr Smith said while he was initially unsure whether he wanted to be a human cannonball, it was always the path he was going to follow.
“If Dad says you do something, you do that, so it was never a question of whether I was going to do it or not.
“I think he faked the injury anyway now, I think he just was suckering me into this job.
“I’m glad he did because it’s taken me all over the world and it’s been such an amazing adventure.”
Decades later, Mr Smith now holds the Guinness World Record for both the farthest and highest human cannonball shot at 198 feet and 89 feet respectively.
Life as a cannonball
Tens of thousands of people watched Mr Smith get shot out of a cannon at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show, and as spectacular as the performances were, he said it was all a very calculated process.
“It becomes a very scientific process, mathematical equations going [on] to make sure the cannon does what it’s supposed to do.
“I’m picking angles based on effects outside, [like] the wind.”
David “The Bullet” Smith being shot out of a cannon at the 2026 Sydney Royal Easter Show. (Supplied: Sydney Royal Easter Show)
As for being shot out of the cannon, Mr Smith said there was “no feeling like it in the world”.
“Being in the cannon itself is one of the most intense environments imaginable … I’m all the way down in the bottom of the cannon, if I look up, I see a little hole in the sky,” he said.
“By the time my eyes and my mind know that the cannon went off, I’m already out of it.
“It’s half a second, 10 times the force of gravity, either you’re ready or you weren’t.”
Carrying on tradition
As a second generation human cannonball, Mr Smith hopes his son and daughter, both in their late teens, will carry on the family tradition.
“I think they’re going to do it, they’ve got to at least do it a few times to make that decision,” he said.
“It’s very difficult for me to keep them from experiencing that if they want to do it.”
David is following in the footsteps of his father, David Smith Sr. (Supplied: David Smith)
Mr Smith said while it was an unpredictable life, he would not trade it for anything.
“There’s no routine, it’s just if you’re up for the adventure and love the thrill of the crowd, then that’s why I’m here.
“I don’t know how you could ever get a greater experience in the world than what I’ve been blessed with.
“It’s worth every injury and every scary moment.”