SINGAPORE – At 8.45pm on a Friday in March, in an open-air square at One Holland Village, 29-year-old Bryan Wong calls out to passers-by.

“Yes, come around me please,” he says, waving a young family over. A small crowd gathers.

For the next half hour, he dazzles them with acrobatic stunts using props like a leviwand – a stick that appears to float on an almost invisible string – and hula hoops.

For his final act, Mr Wong brings out a Cyr wheel, a single aluminium ring slightly taller than he is.

He steps into the wheel and, with a small shift of weight, sets it in motion. He spins – each rotation smooth and steady.

The movements open into wide, sweeping arcs, like turns across a ballroom floor. To keep the wheel moving, he shifts between his hands and feet.

Gradually, the wheel picks up speed. The rotations tighten, faster and faster, until he becomes a blur.

The audience breaks into applause. Mr Wong steps out of the wheel, bows and places a hat in front of him.

Some step forward to drop in cash, while others scan a QR code on a laminated sign.

The process goes like clockwork, honed since Mr Wong left office life in 2022 to busk full-time, performing twice a week at Clarke Quay.

But foot traffic at that once reliable spot is dropping.

“Friday used to be good, but these days it’s getting worse,” he observes. “It seems Singaporeans aren’t going out as much as before, and every year there’s more rain.”

Mr Wong is now experimenting with new busking spots like One Holland Village and Rainforest Wild Asia. He is also trying to reduce busking to one day a week while maintaining his income.