Minnesotan's path to national television: A talent for tossing pizza dough

Nick Diesslin had an unlikely explanation ready when TSA workers asked him why he was trying to get on a plane to Los Angeles with a cooler full of frozen pizza dough.

He told the security workers he was going to toss the dough in a televised audition for the NBC show "America's Got Talent."

"I kind of explained it's dough for pizza acrobatics, and they weren't fazed by it, which is kind of funny," said Diesslin.

Maybe it's because the 29-year-old Maplewood man is now kind of famous for his talent for artistically and athletically tossing and spinning floppy disks of raw pizza dough as a form of entertainment.

His "America's Got Talent" appearance on July 20 marked his third appearance on national television as a pizza acrobat. Before that he was featured on a segment on the "CBS Weekend News" on Jan. 31, and he threw some dough for an amused Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" on Dec. 8.

Diesslin has a day job as web developer, but he's been putting his dough-throwing skills to use whenever he can.

This summer he's also been entering county fair amateur talent contests. He took first place at contests at the Anoka, Isanti and Washington county fairs.

Diesslin got into throwing dough in middle school as an outgrowth of his interest in juggling. He continued to throw dough as a teenager when he worked for a pizza restaurant.

He sometimes performs with an inedible, artificial practice dough used to train dough throwers without wasting food. But for the "America's Got Talent" show, the producers wanted him to use actual dough.

"I think they just wanted the real experience," Diesslin said.

The show arranged for refrigerators at his hotel and backstage at the theater to keep his dough fresh before it was rolled out and tossed.

Dressed in a cape and clothing decorated with pizza slices, Diesslin hit the stage announcing that he was "Pizza Man Nick Diesslin!" — a "retro, time-traveling, wacky pizza super hero" from the 1980s or 1990s. His mullet-style haircut and the Zubaz pants he sometimes wears help complete the look.

But they warmed up to the idea of flying pizza dough as his act went on. He got a yes vote from each of the judges.

"It was very surreal. I thought I was going to be really nervous," he said. "I felt like when I was up there to do the audition, there was this whole new confidence that I didn't have before."

So far he hasn't heard back on whether he'll be returning to the show. But after his appearance was broadcast, he's gotten other offers to perform.

"I got a lot of e-mails from random people, like people who wanted me to perform at their wedding," he said.

He also got contacted by former NBA player Dominique Wilkins to perform at a gala in Birmingham, Ala., for a nonprofit that Wilkins supports.

You can also catch him in a dough flying interview at the Star Tribune's stage at the fair on Thursday at 11 a.m.