After years of travelling the world with various circuses, the seventh-generation circus performer started his first circus, Circus Royale, in the 1970s.

"Coming from a circus family I knew I had to start my own one day," he said.

Australia gave him the chance to run a circus all year round - in his native Switzerland bad weather stopped the circus for four months of the year.

Gasser made his career as a high-wire trapeze artist and, when the strain on his body became too much for the trapeze, he continued to court danger training circus animals.

"I still miss the high-flying trapeze - the freedom and adrenaline. Knowing that no one in the world can help you, you are airborne."

He had an an act using lions, tigers, leopards and black panthers. "It was one of only three acts in the world to have them all together. You just got this real natural energy because of the extra danger involved."

Gasser says the only negative aspect of the job was dealing with animal activists. He says the animals he cared for had a longer lifespan than those in the wild, and lived in the lap of luxury with regular exercise and no worries about where their next meal would be coming from.

"I retired my animals to the Canberra Zoo and Whyalla Zoo and the last one died at 23. So how cruel is it to double their lifespan?"

He said the constant campaigning eventually got too much for the circus industry.

He thought retiring the animals would satisfy the activists.

"But they still don't leave us alone with the farm animals, even though they are being looked after 24 hours a day."

Despite the changing face of the circus, Gasser says the industry will never die.

"I've seen the ups and downs and I always say as long as there are kids the circus will survive."

And what does Gasser see himself doing in his retirement?

"My father and grandfather and theirs before them were all born in the circus and died in the circus. I want to keep that tradition up.

"For me that would be the nicest thing, just to walk out there and collapse one day here at the circus. I don't want to end up in an old person's home.

The circus is "just clean family entertainment where the kids can see human and animal skills". "The circus will always be a little bit of magic."

Circus Olympia is on from today to November 1 at Stud Park shopping centre, Rowville. Tickets from $20 for adults and $12 for children. Details: 0427513030 or www.aladdinstix.com.au