MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Most people see clowns riding unicycles, juggling balls and flipping in the circus, but aboard Parris Island, it is normal to see Lance Cpl. Michael Osorio, a legal specialist at the Depot Law Center, doing some of the same tricks.
The 21-year-old taught himself to ride a unicycle and juggle five years ago.
Throughout the week, the Framingham, Mass., native can be spotted aboard the Depot wearing a backpack and a helmet while riding his one-wheeled bike from the barracks to work and back.
Osorio first discovered his passion for unicycling after watching a television show with a unicyclist when he was 17 years old.
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My mouth dropped open, I was in awe," Osorio said. "After I watched the unicyclist special on television, a couple of days later I saw a unicycle in a store and the price tag next to it."
The bike was $100 and Osorio had concluded he would one day own the unicycle. Osorio saved every bit of his money and bought the unicycle months after originally seeing it.
"I was determined to ride it," he continued. "The day I bought it, it rained outside. I didn't want to wait to ride it so I was in the rain holding on to a fence and trying to keep my balance. I would count one, two and three and then let go of the fence. I didn't fall, but I didn't stay on the bike too long either."
Osorio then searched the Internet for techniques of riding a unicycle. After learning to ride, Osorio became interested in juggling.
"I used to take two oranges and throw them into the air and bother my mom with 'look what I can do's,'" Osorio said. "After I got the hang of two, I tried three. It was hard, but again, I was determined."
Osorio has also taught himself to juggle pins and balls and aspires to juggle lit torches.
"If I didn't join the Marine Corps, I would have joined the circus," Osorio laughed.
He has taught his two younger brothers to juggle, too.
"I taught [my brothers] how to juggle and then I tried to teach them to juggle with two people, but it didn't work," he laughed again. "I guess I wanted to do it more than they did."
Osorio's attention was constantly on circus antics. Even after learning to juggle and ride a unicycle, Osorio still wanted to learn more "circus tricks."
After watching Cirque du Soleil, an elite circus show, Osorio was inspired to pursue gymnastics, however the course was not offered at his local high school.
"I wanted to flip and literally fly like they did on television," Osorio said. "If I could do gymnastics, I would probably be in a circus."
Because his school did not offer gymnastics, Osorio detoured and took up cheerleading.
Osorio's peers, because of his choice to become a male cheerleader, often ridiculed him.
"I enjoyed cheerleading, but the hardest thing about it was ignoring the rumors," Osorio said.
The jokes often hurt him, but made him stronger, he said.
Becoming more determined, Osorio continued choosing to do different things and not to be influenced by his peers.
"If I really want to learn to do something, I will teach myself," he said. "It is better to teach myself than to let someone else get frustrated while trying to teach me."