GREENFIELD — Casey Haynes put in white earbuds, grabbed his gray cyr wheel — a large hoop big enough for a person to stand in — stepped on the inside edge, grasped the top with two hands and started spinning.
His stage was an empty parking lot near China Gourmet and his backdrop was the Interstate 91 rotary, as he practiced on a recent Tuesday in front of traffic passing by on Mohawk Trail.
“I quit my job at the beginning of summer to travel, learn the hoop and meet interesting people,” Haynes said during a break in practice, adding that he worked as a residential caseworker with the Key Agency at the Greenfield STARR program, a short-term residence for at-risk youth, before he decided to take the summer off.
Haynes, a writer who’s originally from Kings Mountain, N.C., and studied English at Western Carolina University, traveled to New York and taught juggling at a renaissance festival after graduation.
“It was pretty spartan living, and ultimately I wanted something a little more stable,” he said later. Shortly after, he moved to Franklin County.
For the 24-year-old, the wheel holds a special significance because it represents a creative spirit he said he lost somewhere in the midst of paying back loans and working too many hours.
“Learning how to do this became, and still is, in a sense, my way of becoming reacquainted with the parts of myself I said I no longer had time for — the creative pursuits,” he continued. “I bought the wheel, and left my job shortly thereafter.”
According to Haynes, the cyr wheel was developed in the last 20 years and was popularized by a man named Daniel Cyr. It’s also called a simple wheel or mono wheel.
Haynes said he first became interested in spinning after watching a video a few years ago.
Eventually, Haynes said he’d like to get good enough to join the circus. Until then, he’s living on savings and intends to travel. The aspiring circus performer said he’ll head out on a road trip across the country to Seattle and then down to California, with a friend from Australia whom he met in Montreal.
“He’s also a writer,” Haynes continued, “so we’ll be collaborating on some travel work. I definitely plan on spinning as much as I can, both with the wheel and with some fire juggling.”
For more information and to follow along with Haynes’ journey, visit: momentumwriting.net
You can reach Andy Castillo
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo