Tom Shanon
From the Street to the International Stage
I didn’t start out as an entrepreneur.
I started alone in the streets of Paris in 1976.
Freestyle. No mentor. No market.
At the beginning, I did not want to be an artist. I wanted to have fun and become the best in my discipline.
I became a Red Bull Trophy Winner (Los Angeles, 1999).
But talent alone does not create income.
If you want to live from your talent, you must understand the system around it.
That lesson changed everything.
No One Was Waiting for Me
When I began performing professionally in 1992, I knew nothing about show business.
I did not know how to sell.
I did not even have the words to describe what I was doing.
Nobody was waiting to book me.
So I had two choices:
– Stay a talented outsider
– Or learn how the market works
I chose the second.
Building Shows. Building Access.
I had to invent everything.
I created my first act, ROLLER-SKATE, from my street experience. Then I built:
– THE PLANE
– LASER
– THE CRAZY PUPPETS
Each project required:
– Innovation
– Risk
– Failure
– Technical precision
– Business structure
Creating a show is powerful.
But understanding how to position it in the market is what makes it profitable.
Show and business are inseparable.
International Recognition
For over 30 years, I worked on long-term contracts in major international venues, including:
– Moulin Rouge — France
– Wintergarten — Germany
– Grand Lisboa — China
– Cruise Lines — International cruise market
– Fantissima (Phantasialand) — Germany
– Major television productions — Europe & USA
These results did not come from luck.
They came from:
– Strategic positioning
– Direct access to decision-makers
– Professional structure
Talent opened doors.
Strategy kept them open.
From Performer to Entrepreneur
For many years, I lived the reality most performers face:
How do I make money from my talent?
Through trials, errors, failures, and persistence, I learned:
→ The stage is only half the game.
→ The market is the other half.
That is why UPLEVI exists.
Not to inspire you.
To structure you.
Why I Built UPLEVI
There was no clear education about:
– How booking really works
– Who actually makes decisions
– How to access the professional network
I had to learn it the hard way.
UPLEVI shortens that path.
It focuses on what matters:
→ Access.
If you understand the system, you can enter it.
If you don’t, you stay outside.
For Performers Who Are Ready
UPLEVI is not for dreamers.
It is for performers who accept that:
– Marketing is part of the profession
– Structure beats emotion
– Access beats visibility
If that mindset is yours, the next step is logical.
That is where professional access begins.