One minute, Criss Angel was dangling upside down in a straitjacket performing an illusion, and then the next minute, he was surrounded by paramedics and EMTs and headed to the hospital.
At least that's the way he remembers it.
On March 13, the illusionist spoke publicly for the first time since his midair stunt went awry just moments into his Las Vegas show at the Luxor on March 10.
"Once I started going up, I was told that I began my escape, and that's all I remembered until I woke up and I was literally surrounded by paramedics and people putting things in my arms," he told ABC News of the stunt he's performed many times before. "I felt like [my unconsciousness] was really attributed to not eating properly. I've only been sleeping about two hours a night the past few days and I don't think I was hydrated."
Criss was taken to a local hospital and was told he should stay overnight for evaluation, but he signed a release waiving liability so that he could return to work.
"I actually left the hospital early because I was so angry because I wanted to get back to doing my show and thrill the audience with a show and a spectacle that the world of magic has never seen before," he said.
In his first show back since the scary straitjacket incident, he gave that same stunt another go and successfully executed it.
"There's a lot of things I do to thrill audiences, and I really do things that have never been done in the history of the art," he said. "So with that comes life and death risks."
In his interview, he blasted critics who also wondered if the whole thing was a publicity stunt.
"This is real," he said. "I blur the line between reality and illusion, but this demonstration and the risks that are at stake are no joke. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and for me it's always about pushing my envelope."