Meet Fuzzy Juggler, the stunt performer of San Luis Obispo’s Farmers’ Market

The Downtown San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market has been a staple of the Central Coast since its creation in 1983. The street performers who come together every Thursday to entertain attendees are iconic representations of the community’s creativity.

For some attendees, one memorable element of the market experience is running into a performer shouting something along the lines of “Move forward, and you move backward, you’re scaring me!”

Past a large crowd gathered on the corner of Higuera and Chorro is performer Derek Derek, also known as Fuzzy Juggler, who is trying to find balance atop a large black pole being held down with ropes by audience members.  

Derek McAlister has performed his entertainment variety acts in San Luis Obispo for the past six years. Although he is currently touring the Midwest as a circus clown, he plans to continue his Central Coast endeavors in the coming years.

“I don’t seem to be overstaying my welcome,” McAlister said. “It seems as though enough people like watching my show over and over again … there’s enough turnover in San Luis Obispo because it is a college town.”

It took a long journey of trial and error for McAlister to develop his show into what it is today.

“I am very subversive, I love [messing] with the status quo,” McAlister said. “That’s one of the things that drew me to street performing — I’m not going to have a boss.”

During his routine, McAlister juggles fire and climbs a Chinese pole, an ages-old tool that performers use to hold themselves in poses mid-air and do other maneuvers.

An essential part of McAlister’s show is audience participation, which typically includes several volunteers to assist with balance, often preceded by some fun dancing with them.

He said taking time near the beginning of his act to interact with his male volunteers is a tactic he uses as a performer to see if he can trust them, but also an opportunity to push men out of their comfort zones.  

“I do want to push men to be like, dudes, we’re all humans — it’s fine, you can touch another man’s hand,” McAlister said.

McAlister was first exposed to juggling at seven years old through an alternative to PE class, which taught him the basics. His interests extended into college at the University of Texas where he met his first juggling partner while waiting tables.

During his college days, McAlister traveled to Europe where he became deeply inspired by street performers in Switzerland and Amsterdam. Once he returned to the U.S., he convinced his partner that street performing in Europe was their next step after college. 

Even after McAlister and his partner split up, he went back to Europe consistently to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for nearly a decade. He has since dialed in a show influenced by all of his travels and juggling experiences, one he is proud to perform. 

McAlister is currently touring the Midwest and plans on returning to the Central Coast near the end of winter. He sees no reason not to return to his monthly residency soon.