Ever since David Blaine was a kid, he was obsessed with a guy who was nicknamed the human fire hydrant. Since there was no YouTube, Blaine would spend hours at a broadcasting museum to watch old clips of the infamous trickster who could drink kerosene, spit it out and ignite an “enormous fire like a human dragon.”

No matter how many glasses of liquid he consumed, however, Blaine couldn’t quite figure out how the human fire hydrant performed his feat of magic. So in 2013, Blaine decided to go to the source and learn firsthand how to perform the fiery trick. That successful quest — yep, Blaine can spit flames with the best of ’em now — was the basis for David Blaine Do Not Attempt, a six-part documentary series for Nat Geo that explores the world through the lens of magic.

Blaine traveled the world to find ordinary people doing extraordinary things.