Out of Office: Zoey Phillips

You complement your role as a Court of Protection solicitor with fire eating. What inspired you to pick up your torches?

I’ve always been interested in performance arts.

As a child, I was fascinated by circus performers and would often spend time outside trying to emulate particular acts I’d seen.

I love trying new things, and have had my fair share of hobbies over the years, including figure skating, dancing, cheerleading and skydiving.

Having an interesting hobby is an excellent way to decompress after a particularly busy week at work, and I’ve met some wonderful people through these activities.

Learning to become a fire eater must be fraught with difficulty – what were the techniques you needed to master from the outset?

The most important technique is breath control, making sure you don’t accidentally inhale the flame into your lungs.

It can be a challenge at first to do this alongside the performance aspect.

When making it look effortless, timing is essential.

Working with naked flame presents no little amount of jeopardy. Have you had any injuries or mishaps along the way, and are such incidents deemed accepted hazards?

As a licensed solo skydiver with more than 100 jumps under my belt, I’m not put off by a little risk.

However, as with most things, appropriate actions can be taken to mitigate unnecessary risk when fire eating, such as being aware of the wind direction if performing outside and not wearing particularly flammable clothing.

I will, though, admit to accidentally burning off a few strands of hair as a beginner – it is always advisable to have a damp towel or fire extinguisher nearby just in case.

I work with paraffin fuel, which burns at a relatively low temperature, so that helps minimise the risk of burns.

Paraffin has quite a high flash point (the temperature at which it will ignite from a naked flame) and needs to be soaked into the wick on the prop before it will ignite.

So, contrary to popular belief, flames used by fire performers are a rather manageable temperature for a few minutes.

The effect is a ‘warm’ flame, as opposed to ‘hot’.

If the flame reaches a temperature that is too high, it can be extinguished and relit.

What reaction do you get from audiences, and do you have a signature trick that gets people cheering?

People tend to absolutely love it, particularly at night when the flames are really vibrant.

I’ve recently been experimenting with using spinning props alongside lycopodium powder, which dramatically increases the size of a prop’s flame and makes for stunning visuals.

This gets a fantastic response.

Being a fire eater must make for a fantastic conversation starter in your professional role too – what kind of response does it spark among your peers?

It is certainly something different!

The response can vary; some people would be interested to give it a go, and others would be happy to stay in the audience.

It makes for a great conversation starter and opens up discussions with people into other exciting areas, which is great for breaking the ice in professional settings.

Are there any crossovers between your job and pastime? Do skills from one help influence the other?

I think putting yourself out of your comfort zone is important, both personally and professionally, as it helps you discover and develop new strengths and skills.

The biggest thing I’ve gained from my pastimes is confidence, which naturally translates into professional settings too.

Working with fire requires patience and the ability to monitor and respond to risks, both of which are helpful skills for a solicitor.

Picture by Lee Dobson