Animal magic from Kevin
NIKI TENNANT
Rutherglen’s own Doctor Doolittle’s has built one of the most successful kids’ entertainment businesses in Scotland.
And the path that led to Kevin McMillan making children smile by introducing them to animals was an unconventional one.
The former Stonelaw High pupil was two-and-a-half years into a degree course in economics and management studies at the Univesity of Glasgow when he was struck down by ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
The debilitating, neurological condition left him bed-bound for 18 months.
Seeking work that would allow him to be occupied for a couple of hours a day as he began to gain strength, Kevin set himself up as a creator of decorative balloons.
Although it was a far cry from the career he’d envisaged in the professional sector, his business, Balloons and Parties, kept him ticking over until he was 23.
“Because of the name of the business, a lot of people would call and ask if I did kids’ parties,” explained Kevin.
“One day, I was really skint and I was sitting in a flat in the Gorbals with two £1 coins in my hand. I thought: ‘Am I going to buy food with that today, or am I going to put fuel in the car?’”
Then, someone called to inquire if he did kids’ parties. And that was the eureka moment that would set Kevin on a new path.
He invested in books on children’s entertainment, balloon modelling and magic tricks, and named himself Pickles the Clown.
He developed costumes which made him look as outrageous as possible. And for his magic tricks, Kevin bought a rabbit named Jessica, and a mouse called Stuart.
“It was clear the kids preferred aninmals to tricks and balloon-making,” said Kevin.
“So, I went out and got a few more wee animals – a guinea pig called Samantha and a rat called Ratatouille.”
It was then that he decided to devote his show entirely to animals, and came up with the concept of Animal Man.
“I changed the way I presented myself, from a clown to another character with an cowboy hat and boots, and an American accent. So, Animal Man was born, and still is. I have been doing that for almost 20 years.”
Up until last year, when the married dad-of-three decided to consolidate the business and devote more time to his sons, his entertainment enterprise employed 10 people.
Two years ago, he added the Dino Team to his company’s offering, investing £5000 in sem-animatronic technology he imported from China – a state-of-the-art technique through which machines controlled by computers make T-Rex puppets and models move in a natural way in films and other types of entertainment. puppets and models move in a natural way in films and other types of entertainment.
“We started catering for a different side of the children’s entertainment industry, feeding off the clients we already have,” he explained.
Kevin is now ‘zoo keeper’ to a managerie, which also comprised snakes, lizards, birds, spiders and other creepy crawlies.
He keeps them all in a smallholding, and personally feeds and takes care of them.
“I have grown up with animals. As a child, I was in my element with animals and have always been fascinated by them. That was my life,”continued Kevin, whose inituition tells him when one of his animals is sick.
“I was known for it in school. If anyone came across an injured animal, they would always bring it to me. I flew pigeons, I always had dogs, and I kept and bred large amounts of tropical fish.”
As his business, Animal Man’s Mini Zoo, evolved and market demands changed, Kevin left the cowboy act behind.
He and his team of animal handlers now host kids’ parties and visits to nurseries and schools as animal rangers, feeding hungry young minds with informative, fun facts about the animals the children meet, and giving them an all-round educational, entertaining and magical experience.
For more information, visit www. minizoo.org.uk