Fire dancer doubles as Las Vegas indoor skydiving instructor

Kaniala Charles spends a good portion of his work day in a howling wind trying to avoid being kicked in the face, and yet he says he’s never had a job that was more fun.

He is an instructor at Vegas Indoor Skydiving.

“It’s just like riding a bike,” Charles said. “In the beginning, it takes a little getting used to. You’re stepping into a wind tunnel, and it’s just like a hurricane in there. But then it becomes second nature.”

The attraction at 200 Convention Center Drive simulates the motion of skydiving, without the danger of plummeting several thousand feet to your death. A giant fan pointing straight up blows the customer into the air while instructors help adjust them and keep them “flying” with hand signals and facial expressions.

“That’s why we have the classroom — to tell people how it works in the wind tunnel because we can’t communicate verbally inside,” Charles said. “Basically, it’s getting into your flyer’s head and saying, ‘Relax, and no matter what happens, stay big and stay still.’ It’s an adrenaline rush, and it’s fun.”

Charles and his other instructors also endeavor to get their jobs done without accidentally becoming airborne themselves.

“The instructors have to learn to walk on the wind,” said supervisor Carly Roberts. “The instructor doesn’t fly because of the surface area he presents, but it’s still a 120 mph wind that you have to learn to walk on. You wind up looking like a baby giraffe. As soon as you present your back or your belly to the wind, you’re going to fly up.”

The instructors know that while flying, shifting your elbows, hips, hands and other parts of your body can put you into a different position and move you around, so they keep an eye on the flyers for the customers’ safety, and on rare occasions, their own.

“I’ve gotten two black eyes in this job,” said instructor Andy Chidester.

Roberts is proud of the company’s excellent safety record, noting that of the few injuries it has had, most have happened to instructors being scratched or kicked by customers, although the risk to the instructors doesn’t come only from the customers.

“Andy kicked himself in the nose today,” Roberts said.

“It’s the penalty for being flexible,” Chidester said with a wide grin and a swollen nose.

Some of the instructors have been with the company many years, and they are always inventing new tricks and testing their limits. The company recently had its first Tunnel Jam, a competition to show off those tricks. This year, it was limited to the instructors, but Roberts said that may change next year and that it was going to be an even bigger event next year.

“The guys that have been here for 20 years, they can just go ‘beast mode’ in there,” Charles said. “They can bounce off the wall and do five back flips.”

The job is strenuous, and new employees train by doing what the instructors call “tunnel legs,” running circles around the padded surface on the bottom edge of the wind tunnel. There have been some who have stepped down from the position when it came to be too much for them to handle, but Roberts said that it’s unusual for anyone to leave for any reason.

“Our turnover rate here is slow as molasses,” she said. “Pretty much all of our hiring is done word of mouth.”

Charles was performing on call at “O” on the Strip doing the Polynesian fire dance when one of his co-workers suggested he apply at the place her husband was managing. He agreed, not knowing what the job was and took the job right away when he saw it.

“I was doing a lot of different stuff before this,” Charles said. “Working at Home Depot; working at luau shows playing with fire. But this job, taking people inside, keeping them safe and providing a bunch of fun, it’s the best.”

The Hawaiian-born Charles is still working on call and as a freelancer doing his performance work and said he can almost always get a shift covered if something comes up. He has been doing it for 10 years, starting as an offshoot of a Polynesian club he was part of in high school.

“It’s basically a warrior dance that shows off athleticism and precision,” Charles said.

Working with fire may help Charles prepare for the job in the busy summer months when the the temperature rises both outside and inside.

“There’s a physical aspect to instructing in the summertime, when the classes are full,” Roberts said. “There is air conditioning, but the air is recirculating past a 1,000-horsepower electric fan, so by the end of the day, it gets hot in the wind tunnel. The instructors get worked. It’s like standing over a hair dryer, and they’re lifting 230-pound guys.”

Despite all that, Charles loves his job and doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat, the physical labor or the threat of injury. When asked about worst part of the job, all he could think of was the janitorial aspects of it, when instructors are called upon to empty trash, clean a bathroom or wash windows.

“Our motto here is ‘Share the love,’ ” Roberts said. “We’re all really laid back.”

Visit vegasindoorskydiving.com.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.