Balloon Talent Makes Spirits Rise

Steven S.F. Young, 43, seems to have an overly busy life.

He is a volleyball instructor, amateur magician, crap table dealer at charity parties, Japanese block print collector and a nonsmoking controller at a cigar company in City of Industry.

But that wasn’t enough for the Vietnam veteran.

“I wanted more,” said Young, who two yearsago taught himself how to make animals out of balloons.

“I do it for fun,” said Young, who has performed at the Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital in Hong Kong twice as well as fund-raising and children’s parties throughout Orange County.

He has never charged a fee to perform his balloon act.

“A child once told me I make the best Ninja Turtle, and to me that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “I also get smiles and thanks.”

But when his balloon animal-making days are over, “I’d like to become a clown,” said Young, who is preparing for that eventuality by taking lessons from Suds, a clown in San Bernardino.

Both are members of the Orange County Magic Club, in which Young served as treasurer for two years.

“I’m a magician, but not a very good one,” said the admittedly shy Anaheim resident who feels that all his extracurricular activities help overcome his shyness.

“All these events have made me become a more rounded person, and I’m not as shy as I used to be,” said the University of Redlands graduate. “After developing my talent with balloons, I said to myself: ‘Hey, That’s not bad.’ There’s more to me than I thought.”

And that includes his volleyball skill.

Although only 5-foot-2, he works as a volleyball clinic instructor at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley.

“There are positions on a volleyball team that don’t require height, like the set man,” said Young, who instructs one night a week and plays at least three times a week.

In college he performed in a different sport, helping his wrestling team to a league title. During his years in the military as a finance officer, Young continued to wrestle.

Away from athletics, he also finds happiness at the crap table as a dealer at charitable events.

“It’s something to do on a Saturday night,” noted Young, who also performs magic during his four-hour weekly stints in the casino, which nets him $35.

“You can see I don’t do it for the money,” he said. Young gets his rewards from his performance at the table.

“I’m real quiet at work, but when I get out I’m really noisy--telling jokes, doing magic and bantering back and forth with the guests,” he said. “At the table I can talk to 10 people at a time.”

At the casino, he is another person.

“It’s like I put on a mask and become a different person,” says Young, pointing out that the interaction with the customers has helped him feel comfortable performing his balloon routine in front of children.

“At first I was really frightened of doing my balloon act in front of the kids,” said Young, who wants to perform at more hospitals and charity events.

In particular, he would like to take another trip to the Hong Kong hospital to entertain the children and visit friends.