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Meet Dr. Danger: Gregory Carpenter
At age ten, Gregory E. Carpenter—armed with nothing but a pack of matches, an abandoned car, and a love of fire—unknowingly set out on the path to becoming Dr. Danger.
A true stunt gypsy road dog, Dr. Danger spends most of his life on the road, living in the trenches and wringing every ounce out of each day. He’s a father, a believer, a songwriter, a mechanic, a bus driver, a dishwasher, and an eternal optimist. For the past 24 years, he’s performed live daredevil stunts at racetracks, speedways, and monster truck shows across the country.
A child of the ’60s, born in Sacramento, California, Carpenter’s entertainer streak appeared early. While most kids staged backyard plays, he and his two sisters invented their own favorite game: “Howdy, Partner!” Using an ironing board as a saloon bar, one sibling would swagger in, slap the other on the back with a hearty “Howdy, Partner!”—and the stunt fighting would begin.
At age 11, he became enthralled with Evel Knievel after watching the George Hamilton movie three times in a single afternoon. After years of working odd jobs, Carpenter finally gave in to his true calling.
He began his stunt career in Hollywood, but soon realized he didn’t want to be just another anonymous stuntman—he wanted audiences to know his face and his name. True to his nature, he took to the open road, where he’s spent more than two decades living—and crashing—his dream.
His signature stunts include a Dr. Danger original: the “Suicide Car Explosion.” With two pounds of explosives and twenty gallons of gasoline wired to a switch, Dr. Danger gets in, flips it, and—KABOOM!—the only question is whether he can get out in time. To raise the stakes, he later added his own fiery twist: emerging from the wreck engulfed in flames.
Another trademark feat is the “Suicide Car Jump,” often called The Steel Wall Crash. In his early career he tempted fate by attempting it without roll bars—one step closer to suicidal than even he was comfortable with. These days, safety has (mostly) replaced sensationalism.
In 1993, at Portland Speedway, Dr. Danger became the only person to ever launch a full-size school bus off a ramp with a kicker, landing it upside down a hundred feet away. Over the years, he has jumped and crashed hundreds of cars, trucks, and buses in every way imaginable: head-on collisions, rollovers, T-bones, and full-tilt chase scenes.
Pyrotechnics are a signature element of every Dr. Danger event. From fire pots and fire eating to his crowd-favorite Human Torch Body Burn, he’s pushed the limits of flame. He holds records for the longest run (over 500 feet) and the longest burn time.
After five Life Flights and five custom fire suits either burned or cut off, he decided it was time to pass the torch—pun fully intended. In 2012, he launched TEAM DANGER: A Rock ’n’ Roll Wrecking Ball, carrying the daredevil spirit from town to town.
His fearless career has caught the attention of national media, with features on CBS Sunday Morning, MTV Nitro Circus, Talk Soup, Fuel TV, and even National Geographic Magazine in a Garrison Keillor article on state fairs. Cameras followed him for five years for the History Channel’s hit series American Daredevils.
In 2015, he brought his chaos to NBC’s America’s Got Talent: Extreme, creating two acts—Dr. Danger’s Daredevil Allstars and Danger’s Angels—both of which landed on the show’s official 10-Year Highlights Reel.
Go Team Danger! Anything could happen next.
A Note from Dr. Danger
As daredevils, we take the hit and we get up—until the day we can’t. That’s the best advice I can give to anyone struggling to survive in life.
I hope our fans see that in us: facing incredible odds, and standing again. What happens next is what happens next. If it’s our turn to end up on the dead list, so be it. Everybody gets a turn—take it when it comes.
Until that day, I will—because I choose to.
And I hope others may learn one thing from us daredevils:
“I choose to stand.”