For him, the Mega Drop and the Haunted Hotel, and the staple American Strongman Hammer game is serious business.

Lew said being a travelling show person is no longer as simple as moving games and rides from place to place. Technological advances and regulations have meant huge changes.

Lew’s business is a close-knit family affair. He travels to 45 shows and functions a years with his wife Leonie, daughter Lauren and son-in-law Bronson.

“We don’t drive as much as you’d think. It’s not millions of kilometres, but more like 30,000km for the year,” Lew said.

He said the business he runs is more complicated than that of his parents.

“My parents only went to school for a few years, but they sent me to boarding school and I’m glad I went,” Lew said.

“This business is now as skilled as any other business. There is a lot more to it than there used to be.”

The Osbornes’ business has been hit by rising fuel costs and higher insurance premiums, and is always affected by weather.

“Each of our rides has to be insured for $20 million and you can imagine the premiums associated with that,” Leonie said.

Travelling with the shows are engineers and technicians, making maintenance of the $2.5 million Mega Drop and new Australian- made $1 million Haunted Hotel easier.

Technology has changed the show rides, making it easier to maintain and control.

“We’ve just spent $70,000 installing a new control panel in the Mega Drop. It’s not just a clutch and lever any more, the panel looks like something in an aircraft,” Lew said.

Lew said rising fuel costs were a major factor in the rising prices of their rides – $8 for the Haunted Hotel and $10 for the Mega Drop – but was apologetic.

“We’d like to maintain our prices a bit more but fuel prices have impacted on us a lot. We have to transport the Mega Drop on two semi trailers and that costs a bit,” he said.

Lew has been actively involved in the industry. As president of the Showman’s guild of Australia he successfully lobbied the Queensland and federal governments for funding for a travelling show school.

“I was sent to boarding school when I was eight. The school is a claim to fame of mine. It means kids can stay here until high school,” Lew said.

The school, which is attended by 70 students including two of Lew’s grandchildren, has full-time travelling teachers and a fully equipped classroom.

Lew and Leonie, who’s earliest memories are being at Royal Shows, have two daughters and a 16-year-old son Kyren who is “breaking his neck to come to the shows”.

“Kyren has swot vac from school next week and he rang and said, ‘Mum I’ll pay for my flight if you let me come down’. He just loves the shows,” Leonie said.

Love of their industry and life is a family trait, with countless people walking past and offering a smile and a hug to Leonie and Lew.

The travelling life runs deep in their blood and despite owning a home in Queensland, settling down isn’t something Lew or Leonie are planning.

“We go back. We are one of the oldest travelling families. Our parents have both retired and they are struggling to settle,” Leonie said.

The passion the family has for entertaining is evident in Lew’s face as he talks about scaring show goers.

“Scaring people is getting harder. Movies like Hostel and Saw make it tough, but I’ve got 32 years experience entertaining people and I think I know what scares them,” he said.

“I enjoy seeing people enjoy themselves, putting a smile on their faces. Making money is an added benefit, as well as travelling. But it’s really about enjoying yourself.”