Nate "Scramble James" Hughes started juggling when he joined the Humboldt Circus in 2009 while he was attending Humboldt State University. A year later, in 2011, he traveled to Guatemala and worked with Circo Que Chilero, a Guatemalan circus, for 6 weeks. In 2012, he returned to the United States and toured up-and-down the West Coast with the New Old Time Chautauqua, and Humboldt Varietyville. 

In 2014, he moved to Portland, Oregon and joined Circus Luminescence which he now co-owns and operates with Eli March. Since moving to Portland, he has performed with multiple groups including MarchFourth, Rose City Circus, High Step Society, and Flamebouyant Productions. 

In the winter of 2016, he returned to Guatemala and started a circus arts education program called, "Circo Patojiano" at Los Patojos School in Jocotenango, Guatemala. The program lasted over two years and enabled hundreds of students to learn the magic of circus arts. This is one of the most special and memorable periods of time in Scramble's life and he still regularly donates to fund circus arts at Los Patojos. If you are looking for an organization to donate to, please consider Los Patojos.

 

He returned to Portland in June of 2016 and continued to hone his craft while working as a coach at The Circus Project. In May 2018, he won the Fire Entertainer of the Year competition for his funkadelic Saturday Night Fever inspired act. Then, in July, he and Eli March won the teams category at the International Juggler's Associations annual competition, netting them their first gold medal. 

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Currently, Scramble James performs as a solo artist, with his company Circus Luminescence, and as a collaborating artist in ensemble productions. You can find him performing with MarchFourth, Rose City Circus, Flamebuoyant Productions, Arc In Movement, at events such as Portland Winter Lights, White Album XMAS, Dante's Sinferno, Moisture Festival, and at county and state fairs across the Western United States.