A South Bay ranch owners remarkable journey NBC Bay Area [Video]

In San Jose’s East Hills, hundreds of rescued farm animals live on a 12-acre ranch run by a former circus performer turned police officer. 

It’s an unconventional career path that Matt Roben can trace back to a specific moment: a musical theater summer camp he attended when he was 12.

“On the last day of that class, they actually taught us how to juggle, and I ended up turning that into my career for almost 25 years,” Roben said. 

After attending high school in the South Bay, Roben attended a circus school and then spent close to half of his life as a circus performer, eventually living and performing in Chicago. It was there that his non-traditional career path took an unexpected turn.

“I took a complete, I guess you would say, right turn and actually joined the Chicago Police Department,” he said.

For four years, Roben patrolled the streets …