Sway Pole Acrobat Cyndel Flores Earns Final Golden Buzzer on ‘AGT Extreme’
Eliza Morse/NBC Reading Time: 2 minutes
The final Golden Buzzer of ‘America’s Got Talent Extreme’s first season has finally been revealed. Sway pole acrobat Cyndel Flores earned Travis Pastrana’s buzzer with her jaw-dropping and unique act. The judges agreed her performance was like nothing they’d ever seen before. Veteran talent expert, Simon Cowell, even said he was jealous he couldn’t give her a Golden Buzzer himself.
The 23-year-old climbed to the top of a pole over 60 feet high. She was not tethered to anything during the high climb, and during her acrobatics, she had only a foot harness to secure her.
“Every act I’ve seen I feel like there’s a bit of theatrics, this time I feel like they’re downplaying the gravity of the situation,” Pastrana said.
The Sarasasota, Florida native learned her act from her mother who was one of the first women to ever perform on the sway pole. She performed around the country for over twenty years, and was on sight to watch her daughter perform on the ultimate stage.
“The dream is bringing back this legacy that my mom kind of started and hopefully put together an extreme thrill show together and have it traveling all over,” Cyndel said.
Sway Pole Acrobat Cyndel Flores Impresses Judges Before She Even Begins
After climbing the high pole, the judges were all in agreement that Cyndel was impressive enough, but she was just getting started. Despite the wet pole from the rain, she performed a series of acrobatic tricks upside down with only one foot harness for security and no mats beneath her in case she fell.
The final moment of awe came when the 60 foot pole began to swing through the air with Cyndel still attached. The move was so terrifying, the judges jumped out of their seats thinking it was an accident, but the pro stepped off her pole at the bottom smiling.
“It’s not very often that I am shocked and scared, but that had all of it,” Pastrana said. “It has been a long time since I’ve been nervous during an act, or even surprised, but when you swung down on that pole it took my breath away. In the rain, you’re slipping off just trying to keep your balance, then you’re dropping 60 feet on a sway pole. I for one absolutely loved it.”
Pastrana didn’t let Cowell give his opinion on the daring act. He immediately got out of his chair to give Cyndel the final Golden Buzzer of the season to cheers from the crowd.
“This defines what the show is all about, you could have gotten the Golden Buzzer just by climbing up there,” said Cowell. “It was extraordinary.”
Cyndel will now go directly through to the finale of America’s Got Talent Extreme, which is next Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
