“There's no you're magic and chosen for this element. It's just how long you're willing to do the work, and so that's the most offensive thing you can ask anyone who's an athlete: when did you discover you were just gifted like that?”
What It's Like To Be... with Dan Heath · October 2026
A professional contortionist explains that she is not naturally flexible and dislikes the idea of people being "chosen ones" with innate gifts. Dan Heath notes that some people are naturally bendy, but that this is only a head start.
Transcript
…I'm not a naturally flexible person, and there was no magical discovery element. I'm a big Harry Potter hater because I hate this nonsense about like, oh, you're like just the chosen one, and some people are special and they have special skills, and it's all about like natural ingrained aptitude.
…are some people who are naturally bendy. They might have joint hypermobility or a connective tissue disorder. But Lisbeth's point is twofold. Number one, she didn't have that advantage, and number two, even for those people, the natural bendiness is just a head start. There's so much more to it.
There's no you're magic and chosen for this element. It's just how long you're willing to do the work, and so that's like the most offensive thing you can ask anyone who's like an athlete is just when did you discover you were just gifted like that?
Oh, I love this.
Because they want to believe you can do it and they can't because you're just lucky. Lisbeth caught the contortion bug at a Cirque du Soleil show when she was 11 years old. And so, that I did what every child does who gets inspired and gets excited to do something, and I went home and I just…
Her mom found an ebook written by a Swedish guy.
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