Mad Chad juggled chainsaws Saturday, as advertised, but the crowd at the CAC Theater at Wichita State was given much more than one cheap thrill. The quirky Santa Monica, California, native relied on comedy and crowd interaction to fuel his thrilling show.

He began the show by making a promotional video with the help from the crowd. Luckily, he equipped the audience with the appropriate props: a lighter (for rock-concert-like waving), a sign that read “We [heart] you Mad Chad” and a pair of red panties that one girl was directed to throw on stage when pointed at.

“Everyone knows you’re famous when they’re throwing panties at you,” Chad said.

After stocking the first few rows with props, he ran offstage and then back on with a camera as the crowd threw their arms in the air and screamed, ending with a successful wave.

After the video, he began the juggling portion with “L.A. Juggling” – a series of tricks involving cell phones and a skateboard, accompanied by traffic sounds and other L.A. associated noises.

Chad quickly established himself as a comedic presence. As he began juggling five tennis balls, he jumped in the air commenting that he was juggling seven balls — a comment met with much laughter from the student-filled crowd.

The audience participated in Chad’s antics on stage many times. At one point, four audience members were given bats to throw on stage for Chad to catch and juggle.

“I didn’t expect juggling to be that cool, but it was impressive,” Whitney Warner, a sophomore, said.

Perhaps the best audience-fueled joke was Chad’s “Audience Challenge,” where he asked everyone to hold up an item they wanted him to juggle to be paired along with an egg and a 10-pound shot-put ball. The suggestions included a belt, a pocketknife, baby wipes, a cowboy boot and a chair. The pocketknife and chair were chosen by crowd vote.

Throughout the show Chad juggled a variety of items. He juggled breast implants while telling a story. He explained he loaned money to a girlfriend to buy breast implants. After they broke up, he requested them back.

“I juggle them in my show so this way I can write the five thousand dollars off on my taxes as a business expense,” Chad explained. “Our tax code is too complicated – there was actually a form to write-off breast implants.”

In addition to breast implants, Chad juggled dangerous materials including swords while taking bites of an apple, 100,000-volt stun guns that he flung over his face (the trick appropriately named “Stun Guns in my Face”) and, of course, chainsaws.

“How many folks came mainly to see me chop a limb off tonight?” Chad asked.

The event ended as expected. The chainsaws’ roaring, paired with the smell of gasoline, mirrored an atmosphere close to NASCAR. The crowd cheered almost entirely through the final sequence of intense and dangerous juggling. They were impressed.

“I have seen a couple juggling routines before, but this one – when he pulled out all of his knives and stun guns – that added something extra,” Jordan Kerr, freshman, said.

Saturday’s attendees weren’t the first WSU students to witness Mad Chad’s antics.

“I was actually at this college years ago when I first started doing colleges, about fifteen years ago,” Mad Chad said. “I had a fun time both times, I know that.”