John Reid's career is making balloon animals

You've probably always loved the thrill of balloon animals. But John Reid helps you see them in a whole new way by creating things like a big King Kong and more out of balloons.

My class was visited by Reid, who is a balloon artist.

At first, John said he wanted to be an architect; but in high school, he started doing magic tricks and was taught to make balloon dogs. He was inspired to make this his job partly out of fear. He said he didn't want to have a job sitting behind a desk all day. He has done this for more than 20 years and makes some of the most amazing balloon creations in the world. He even goes to the White House on the Fourth of July and makes balloons on the president's lawn. He has done this for four years and continues to be asked back.

John is more than just your average magician-balloon artist. He can make more than balloon dogs; he makes balloon dresses you can wear, a life-size car, a 231/2-foot-tall Empire State Building with King Kong climbing it, and a balloon plane flying by.

These are only a few of John's amazing creations. He also does parties and owns a magic and balloon store called Tricky Business.

We asked John if making balloon animals is hard. He said that anything you try at first is hard, but with practice it gets easier. He said it's like doing anything else that requires practice.

John runs balloon classes out of his store in East Meadow. Although you can watch videos, John says it's better to have someone show you the techniques.

He inspired our class to want to learn how to make balloon animals. Visit his website: trickybiz.com