For members of the Ashton family, carrying on the family business involves dangerous acts of acrobatics, extraordinary strength and a life on the road upholding a 150-year tradition.
Joseph Ashton, the chief of the family's cabaret circus troupe known as Infamous, said he could not stand the idea of a nine-to-five job.
But he did dabble in one as a teenager while he was recovering from shoulder surgery, brought on by his acrobatic work.
"The doctors told me I had to leave the [circus] site because I wouldn't rest," he said.
"I went and stayed with my grandparents in Sydney for a few months and I got a normal job. My goodness, how hard was that?
"Those people had to get up in the morning and go to work and do the same thing every day."
Admittedly, while performing in Infamous which is currently playing in Wollongong, he is delivering the same show each and every night.
But it is delivered with a lot more adrenaline than your average workday.
"As soon as my shoulder was repaired I went back into training because I needed to become a trapeze artist, like my parents," he said.
"That's the life I've led, and I remind my boys that's why we put on a good show and risk our neck because those people seeing us are doing things harder than us.
"They go to work and then come and see us. I think that's amazing, I really do respect that."
Joseph said a few members of the Ashton family had married and stayed out of showbusiness, but it is a reoccurring surname when you thumb through the list of performers.
Changing face of circus
Joseph Ashton watched the rise of cabaret circus at fringe festivals and theatres across Australia and decided to develop his own.
Infamous breaks from the Ashton's traditional format in that it has dancers, singers and adult comedy — with no animals.
It commands a nightclub atmosphere paired with circus skills.
The show is an adults-only event, a departure from the family-friendly format which has been sustaining the circus model for years.
"There will always be a market for the family circus show, but things go up and down and you change with the times if you have to," he said.
"That's what I think we're doing now.
"We've always operated a circus show and performed in entertainment, and this is another we're proud to produce.
"You make the people happy and give them what they want."
48 weeks on the road living in a caravan
When you look out the back of any travelling circus big top you will see the caravans that are the travelling homes of its performers and crew.
Joseph said it is all he has ever known, but some people find it difficult to adjust to.
"All my life I've only ever left a circus site for one-and-a-half years, at a school. And that's it," he said.
"My sons have never left the circus site or been away from my side. It's a way of life, that's the truth of it, and we're used to it.
"We train together and live together, but everyone has their own separate hobbies — whether it's sport or video games."
New performers are treated as members of the famous Ashton name and the troupe try to maintain as much normality as possible while on the road.
"We always have family barbecues, and birthday parties are all celebrated," he said.
"The good times go hand-in-hand with the harder times, if they arise."
