IamA Professional Magician.. *poof* AMA!

I have to think the alliance is going to frown on this.

What the alliance does not know...

Do you demand to be taken seriously?

We demand to be taken seriously.

What's your favorite song? and why is it Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band?

Great song, no doubt.

Although a have a few routines I do with cards that I prefer to do silently, but I will have some Lindsay Stirling on in the background. For some reason her music really fits many of my silent routines REALLY well, and adds a lot to it.

Oh, I participated in the Reddit Secret Santa, and posted my gift Here.

This is where the AMA was requested as well~

That's awesome. Have you opened it or are you going to keep it on a pedestal, in a alarmed case, on an island, guarded by sharktopuses with laser eyes?

Someone requested that I perform those tricks and record it for science. I just might :P

How do you decide who to hire/train, if magicians are not supposed to reveal their tricks?

Our shop is quite a bit unique compared to most. I am not involved in the hiring process, the main man himself does that, but I do train a lot of the new guys.

But the most unique thing about our place is, we have lots of guys who do shows that have very little magic experience prior to joining. We train them there and teach them the show and script. Not everyone makes it, some don't even get through training, some embarrass themselves in front of live audiences (Talking about you Drake), etc.

It's a fun process, with lots of different types that try it out.

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I'm a magician, not a miracle worker.

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I can, but I'll need 3 cats, pliers, some headlight fluid, and a banana for scale.

I saw you perform in your shop 2 years ago and I have to say I was impressed! I have no questions, I just wanted to say your levitating, spinning card trick was awesome!

Awesome! I always love hearing feedback, and the Levitator is pretty mind blowing.

Now I have a question, sorry about that.

Excluding your magic shop, what is the best thing about Universal Studios theme park?

Universal Studios:

• The new Transformers 3D ride

• Simpsons area and ride

• The soon-to-come Harry Potter expansion where Jaws used to be!

Islands of Adventure:

• The Hulk

• The Forbidden Journey (Harry Potter ride)

• Spiderman

Citywalk is a great area as well, to hang around, shop, and get some good eats.

They took Jaws away?! It was such a classic. I just wish I did not have the most unenthusiastic "tour guide" when I rode it for the first time.

When it was her cue to try to shoot the beast with a shotgun, she just pulled the trigger, and there was a random explosion. She showed no sign of recoil from her shots or enthusiasm at all and it kind of ruined it for me for the rest of the ride. If you're going to be bored doing it, I will be bored experiencing it.

Fun fact: Jaws was closed due it's faulty and malfunctioning nature. But on the final voyage (the last boat/ride taken out before closing), the very last shark (the burnt one) malfunctioned and never came up out of the water.

Misread jaws as Jews! Oh the hilarity

That'd be an interesting ride...

Was this your assistant in Microsoft Office?

Me and him go WAY back.

Are you able to watch a magic show and enjoy it? Or are you enamored by the process and wanting to know how it was done at every turn?

Great question...

I actually love watching magic shows, but being a magician, I do tend to over analyze what they are doing. But even though I tend to know what's going on, I can really respect the skill that goes into what they are doing.

Do you ever see tricks you don't understand how they were done? Or are most magic tricks based on the same illusions?

Currently, a LOT of stage magic still fools the pants off of me. But close up magic, I tend to analyze heavily, and can understand what's going on. But even with that said, I have run into a few close up tricks here and there that stumped me for a little while.

Do you like David Blaine? His latest special "Real or Magic" I though was seriously amazing. If you haven't seen it, and like his stuff, I highly recommend it.

I did see it, and I loved it as well! I remember watching David Blaine's first TV Special, and was blown away. When he took an empty beer can from a couple in the park, and made it un-crush and re-sealed it, I was blown away. Needless to say, I love performing the 'Heal and Seal' trick once in a while, and the sound a can makes when it is going from un-crunched and back to normal is just eery and freaks people out.

tl;dr - David Blaine's amazing, and definitely an early inspiration for me when learning magic.

Care to share your worst 'mistake(s)' and best recoveries?

Well, the final trick we always finish the show with is the Levitator, and for anyone who knows how it works, can be the most intense thing to perform in front of someone. After thousands and thousands of shows now, I am pretty solid with it, but starting out as a noob, I had my fair share of mistakes and mess ups for sure. I can't do into detail though without revealing the secret.

Best recovery though, I still remember one show a long time ago when a lady had brought her newborn baby into the show (why a newborn at a theme park? WHY?!) and he started to cry right as I started the show... Well I start with our Wonderlights (red light you can pull from anywhere), so I went over to the baby, pulled a light off it's shirt, and it was silent the rest of the show.

Tried that a week later on another baby, it cried the rest of the show.

Thanks.

Well done with the newborn. I can't imagine trying to perform anything with that shrill cry that newborns produce, cutting into everything.

A natural segue from that would be to ask about a**hole audience members, but you could probably type about them all night!

Everyone gets hecklers, everyday really. Luckily us veterans have a built in encyclopedia of come backs and responses those types of people.

Is there a video of the Levitator? I'd like to see it.

Also, I'll come see your show in February when I visit Universal.

Here ya go.

That's my main boss man Attillio performing in the video.

And hope to see ya at Universal :)

Is being a begenner anything similar to being a beginner? (0:47)

Pffffft. I will make great use of this spelling error. Thanks!

I refuse to accept that this video is real, at all. HOW DOES THAT WORK.

I had one person swear I rubbed lotion on their coin right before I floated it. And another person who was walking out of the show room telling his friend "Oh he has fans in his shoes to make things float."

I love peoples reactions, that is easily the BEST reason to do magic, is just the unique reactions people have to magic.

I am going to stand by the fans in his shoes theory. Thanks for clearing that up for me it was bothering me. I thought a true magician never revealed his trick.

Hey that's what they said, I never confirmed nor denied!

Can you do a trick right here in this thread?

I can make Reddit Gold appear out of thin air!

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Well the levitator trick we perform is only really doable with anything that weighs less than an empty soda can, so chicks and dudes might be a bit too heavy.

And I'm married.

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You'd have to ask his wife. He does have magic fingers after all.

I was juggling pre-show one day, and a lady had said "Oh wow he's really good with his hands" to her daughter, and since I heard her, I said "Oh, that's what my wife says too." The words left my lips before I really realized what I was saying.

http://i.imgur.com/rlIiM.jpg

No, they kicked me out of Hogwarts :(

I live five mins from universal. I want to learn from you. Im a card musician magic lover card shark, who loves performing, and has a solid C+ false shuffle. Got any openings? No srsly pm me, can i take out your trash?

I'd love to take someone under my wing, but my wings are full right now. Between full time doing shows at the parks, running a Minecraft server/community with the wife, etc... Ya.

But you can still take my trash out.

But... my tenkai palm is absolutely invisible to anyone under the age of five!

Don't under estimate the children. My niece is probably the hardest to pull tricks on, she sees right through all my trickery!

Illusions, Michael. Tricks are what whores do for money.

But I do tricks, and I get paid... Uh oh.

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How did I do... What?

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Well, depends on what you consider 'successful' lol. Am I famous and well known among millions? Nah. But do I get paid to trick people and mess with peoples heads all day long? Oh ya.

How did I get here? I saw an Ad for it after losing my job at a local cable company, already had lots of magic training under my belt growing up, and thought I would give it a shot. After getting good at the show, being a good seller of magic, and it just grew from there. Just requires the right amount of dedication.

Have you seen the movies "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist". If so, what are your opinions of them?

I watched both, and really liked both movies a lot. I actually liked The Prestige a bit more, just something about the whole plot was really fun to watch, and a great ending as well.

A real mystery, why do magic movies release in pairs...?

is this your card?

brain implodes

If magicians never reveal their secrets how do you become a magician? Did you start on your own or as an apprentice? I've always wondered if magicians are secretive within their community or if they work together like writing teams on sitcoms.

There are magic clubs and of course magic shops. I started by buying tricks at magic shops as a kid. Eventually as I grew up, magic was being sold online, and had more access to more things.

But if your lucky, having a magician take you under their wing would be an opportunity not to be passed up.

What was the best reaction you've seen to one of your illusions? Or the most memorable one?

Ah! We were filling for a show at our Islands of Adventure shop, and I was playing with Rocky the Racoon (picture a fake racoon that looks kinda real) and 2 asian girls comes in to see the show. As soon as they get halfway in the building and closer to me, I was petting Rocky, and launch rocky towards them with a snarl... The asian girl closest to me screamed and ran right out of the building, and her friend just laughed and left to go get her, but they never came back.

That was Rocky's favorite too.

My uncle is a magician! What is/are your favorite and least favorite trickals to perform?

Are there any gigs that make you happy to perform at or any that you dread? Like child birthday parties vs on stage somewhere or a business party?

What got you into magic?

What are your opinions of some of the ultra famous performers like Criss Angel?

We have a close-up trick called the Wonderlight that I absolutely love performing everyday. My least favorite.. I don't know if I have any! And if I do, I buried them away.

I primarily only do shows in the parks, but I have done kids birthday parties before, and nope. Never again. Walk around magic at events is great though!

I visited a magic shop in Orlando when I was around 9 years old, and watched some guy take my dollar and float it in my face. I couldn't give him my money any faster...

I respect all different famous performers. People give Criss Angel a lot of flak, but he is good at what HE does, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea. There are some things he does in performances that I can't condone though :P

There are some things he does in performances that I can't condone though.

Like what?

Well, in magic there has always been the stigma of "Hey! That guy's in on it!" during a trick. And let's say Criss Angel may or may not take advantage of that type thing, which isn't the worst thing in the world, just not something I would ever do.

What are your favorite tricks to perform in the bedroom?

The vanishing sausage. A classic.

I know that trick! The sausage doesn't vanish, it just gets stuffed into a taco!

Oh no, that's the Appearing Baby trick. A fun one to practice, but in the end it's really hard to pull off.

Hey Cale, my name is Cam, it's great to meet you. Upon reading all of your positive comments, it would seem really enjoy what you do!

To preface quickly; I am a 25 year old savant (legally) . I'm one of the nation's foremost experts in a field of applied Mathematics called Enumerative Combinatorics and also the current World Record holder for consecutive Division A. Playing Card techniques. In 2011 I was ranked in the top 10 Card Mechanics in the World by the MBA in California. I've been employed by everyone from the Military all the way to the Nevada Gaming Department as a Mathematics consultant. However, in a strange twist of events, I ended up opening the show at the 2013 F. I. R. S. T International Robotics Event, where I had to really convert card movements in to "Magic", and I must admit it really is so much fun! IMO, our jobs are really two sides of the same leaf; me doing the boring technical side, while you transform it in to a form of Art.

Anyways, this post is just to say 'Hello'. This March, I'm going to be nearby in Florida to work for Mathworks, a company that inspires kids to get involved with Math and Science, as a sort of 'Magician' for the first time ever. Since I will be in the area I will definitely be stopping by to see your show! Your energy and candor is really impressive and I'm glad you took the time to get on Reddit to answer questions today. Cheers, and best of luck!

That's awesome, and amazing. Really nice to hear from ya, and hope to meet you in March! It really does amaze me to see so many different sides, as you put it, to the same leaf!

might be a toughie: could you point me to an impressive trick that utilizes bar/restaurant/household items (excluding cards, coins) and little to no prep?

I'll do one better, I will teach ya one of my favorites. Here is what this will require: A bar, a bartender, and knowledge of at least one magic trick (anything that's quick).

Scenario: You arrive at a bar, and you are chatting with the female bartender. You ask her for a shot of your favorite liquid, and a plastic cup. Once she gives them to you, put the cup over the shot, and tell her "I bet you I could drink this shot without touching this cup" and naturally she will scoff at you. Convince her it's true, but side track her by saying you'll get back to that, but you want to show her something else.

This is where you perform the trick you already know, could be a simple card trick, mentalism trick, whatever. Once done, look her dead in the eye and say "By the way, would you believe me if I said I already drank that shot without you knowing it?" and eye ball the cup. She won't believe you, and lift the cup. Grab the shot, and enjoy your free drink.

EDIT: Fixed some bits.

and without you even knowing it

If you grab the shot right in front of them after they lift the cup, would that not disqualify you from receiving the shot for free based on the conditions of the bet?

Sorry, I mixed around some of the bits. You start by saying "I bet I could drink that shot without touching this cup at all" and then proceed and side track with another trick. Then come back to it and say "By the way, what if I told you I already drank that shot without you knowing" and eyeball it.

Hey I'm not too familiar with your subject, but what would you suggest to someone who wants to get into magic? Like, a specific book or website?

Also, thanks for doing this AMA! :)

Not to make this a shameless plug, but here is a link to our most popular tricks at our shops.

These are awesome kits for anyone just starting out in magic. Wonderlights is a great affect that's picked up in minutes. The Svengali deck is a classic and gets you into card magic without needing any kind of sleight of hand. Spongeballs are our intro into sleight of hand, as we teach you many different sleights and routines. And the Levitator is the big mind-blowing effect, being able to float any small objects, borrowed or not.

Hope this helps!

MY NAME IS ALSO CALE. I've never met another person with my name.

Welcome to the awesome club. And happy cake day!

What do you think of Val valentino revealing magic tricks on the masked magician?

What inspires you?

Also, could you remind me the name of the magician who died in cement ? That just poped up in my mind.

I was just getting into magic when the masked magician had his TV show, and I was actually disappointed. It doesn't really drive me crazy or piss me off, but it's sad that he had to drop to that level in order to make some money.

And I think it was Joe Burrus who died during a a stun/effect.

Hi! Thanks for doing this AMA!

I know all magic tricks take years of practice, but is there any trick you could teach us here that is easy enough to learn but still cool enough to impress a girl?

If it's so simple and common that I could reveal it here, it won't impress a girl. Going to have to buckle down and learn some of the good stuff to reach that level.

I bought all of your trick sets, and I've gotten great at the magic lights. The sponge balls need work, scared of the deck, and the levitator is anazing. Fire wallet scared a girl on a date, highly thankful of that one. Anyway, thank you for getting me into this! It's super fun!

Also, I don't know who, but to the magician with glasses at Universal, skinny, tell him he's great and thank you.

EDIT: Grammar.

Ah, you probably watched Jafo perform then. He's the only guy at the shop that's been there longer than me.

And it's awesome to hear you making good use of the magic! Spongeballs definitely takes some practice/repetition before doing for people, and fire wallets such an awesome ice breaker.

Do you ever make up your own tricks, or do you get them from someone else? If the latter, do you analyze it until you've figured out how it's done (and possibly improve upon it so your audience doesn't do the same), or do you ask/look it up?

Ah, another good question.

Magic has been around for such a long time, it's hard to really just come up with something new. But sometimes in between shows, we'll just be messing with coins and cards and just piece different things together to see what looks good.

The show we do specifically is actually designed and scripted to be quite faultless. The only way someone would be able to figure it out, is if they already know how it's done ;)

Which in your opinion is more important to a professional magician: Skill in the magic craft or skill as a general performer/entertainer?

I can easily say performer/entertainer. Being as comfortable as I am now doing close-up for 30-50 people at the same time, I can fumble my way through a mess up with ease, but if I didn't have the performance/entertainer experience, it would come off really bad.

I used to be really into card tricks, and I got pretty good. What's your favorite card trick/the one that gets the best reaction?

Well, I actually proposed to my wife with a card trick I just made up off the top of my head. This was when magic was a hobby for me, not a job.

I had her ring already, and she was about to leave for work, so I sat her on the couch to show her a new trick I was working on. I had her pick a card out of a deck, and sign her name on it (3 of hearts), and then I took the card and tore it into 4 even pieces. I stacked the pieces in my palm, and with a gesture, re-sealed the pieces. The card was noticeably all healed, but folded, so she took it, unfolded it, and there was a ring inside and her card said "Will you marry me?" on it, instead of her signature.

Here is a picture of the card in our scrapbook.

What house were you in? Griffindor?

For a day, then they kicked me out. So I turned my wizardry into a magic show. A win-win really.

Do you innovate tricks of your own, or has every trick been handed down to you?

The effects I perform are all tricks that can be bought and learned in our magic shop. But other than my own personality and how I handle myself, most the magic I do outside the shop all came from someone else. I'd love to eventually have an inspired moment and come up with something 100% unique and original. But that's tough these days in magic.

Tricks or Illusions?

I use both terms often. I actually use tricks more than illusions. I am not the type of magician that will try and convince you that what I am doing is real magic, I will just make you tear your hair out trying to figure it out.

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Long sleeves, and concealed lube. 60% of the time, it works EVERY time.

Very funny and interesting AMA!

• What's your favourite impromptu?
• What is your magic fomula, if any?
• Do you invented/remastered any trick?
• You seem a funny man, so I assume you have a favourite close-up/comedy trick. (Even not some real magic, but just something for make people laugh).
• A random advice to any amateur magician here?

Tell us :)

My go to effect is an Ambitious Card Routine with just a regular deck of cards. Or my fire wallet lol.

Not sure I understand the magic formula question. Detail that one and I will answer it.

I haven't invented or remastered any tricks yet, but I do put my own personal touches on many things, but nothing to call it remastered.

Probably the thing that gets me the biggest laugh that I do during my show, is at the very end when I am floating a borrowed dollar from someone. We usually get just singles, but once in a while we get 20's and 100's, so at the very end of floating it, I will grab my fire wallet out, and float the bill right into my wallet. People laugh, but then I let it on fire, and usually they laugh or gasp even more. But then I put it out, and give them their bill unharmed. Quite fun to do!

And for all you amateur magicians out there, just stay dedicated! Don't let bad audiences turn you down, it happens to everyone, just brush it off and keep on moving. Keep practicing, find the things you are comfortable at, and just practice the hell out of it, until it becomes second nature. The more confidence you show when doing magic (especially close up) the better you'll do, the better your tricks will look, and less likely someone will a heckler.

Do you drive a Saturn?

2010 Ford Fusion. The word Fusion just sounds magical.

Without necessarily going into specifics, what's the longest setup/prep time you've ever undertaken for an illusion which might only take up minutes or seconds on stage?

I only do close up magic, so no stage effects for me, yet! This is actually why I love close up magic, because majority of it takes little to no setup, and you absolutely destroy people.

Hey! I remember watching one of your shows when I went to Universal! You are a great showman and also one of the reasons I got back into magic. Since I always love to ask this question to magicians, what is your favorite magic routine?

Also, do you have any hobbies outside of performing? I like to play card games, but nobody trusts me with shuffling anymore.

I still always love the Ambitious Card Routine. If friends or family toss me a deck of cards and ask me to do something quick with em, my brain goes right to an ambitious card routine. Every magician should come up with their own, and never forget it.

As far as hobbies go, I am an avid gamer. My wife and I own and run a Minecraft Server/Community (www.awnw.net) and it really eats up lots of our free time, but we have a blast with it.

Are you jesus?

No, but I have had many spectators named Jesus.

What is the most daring trick you've ever done? The one that's put you or others in teh most danger?
What would be the one trick you would most like to perform?
Who's your hero/the person you most emulate?

First one's tough, cause all I do is close-up magic. But when a spectator gives me a plastic bill (like the new Canadian bills), I take that thing and levitate it like a boss. Even though we aren't supposed to use plastic bills because it's really risky.

I would personally love to get into Stage Magic. I might have a chance to work my way into learning some stage illusions soon though, but that's for another day.

And when it comes to performing, magic, and comedy, I can easily say Penn and Teller. They are my favorite performers, and I have taken quite a lot of lessons from watching them perform and meeting them.

Is Teller talkative off camera?

He is! He is actually quite sophisticated and very intelligent, and a lot of fun to chat with.

very intelligent

I would say that's an understatement. Both of them are geniuses.

I agree, but they might be reading, and I don't want to boost their ego.

Im confused, are you a magician or a homosexual?

I'm married, but I am totally gay for my wife. Now I'm confused..

WHAT THE F?!!!??!!!?

That's a common reaction during my shows. Although it's more hilarious when someone just straight up drops an F bomb during a trick. I tend to break character a bit and laugh.

What kind of skills do you need for sleight of hand tricks? It seems like that may be the best way to impress people but difficult to learn. Are there any simple tricks that seem a lot easier to do than it seems?

If you don't know any magic at all, it's best to go with the basics first. When it comes to cards, trick decks like a Svengali Deck are awesome. David Blaine used one during his first TV special if I recall, he got some flak for it, but really it's such an easy deck to use and it blows peoples minds.

Once you master that, you can move up to learning similar tricks but with a regular deck of cards. I fool more people with a simple trick deck then I do with pure sleights, it's great.

What is your favorite trick to do and how long did it take to perfect it? Do you go to other magic shows and ever think "damn..how did he do that?"

My favorite trick to perform pre-show is called Wild Card. It really didn't take me more than a few days to really get the moves down, but it took me a few weeks of performing it before I really found my side of it and made it my own.

And I have seen other live performers, and they always keep me on my toes. I can assume I know how many things are done, but sometimes I like to leave some things ot the imagination.

What are your thoughts on Gob and illusions?

Did I say Penn and Teller were my idol in an earlier question? I of course meant Gob. Hands down.

EDIT: /sarcasm

What do you think is the over under on Arrested Development jokes being left in the comments instead of questions?

My wife watches the show more than I do, but even when shows/movies make fun of magicians, I still think it's hilarious.

I've always been infuriated by magicians. They do these amazing illusions, and then don't explain how they did them! I would love to be able to see some fantastic magic trick and then be told in detail how it was done so I can marvel and the simple ingenuity of the whole thing. /rant

That's why we do what we do at our show/shop. We perform and do all sorts of amazing effects, and at the end of the show, you can head to the magic shop and purchase the kits and learn how.

I have put way too much money into magic in the past.

i work with a illusionist myself. basically backstage work "pulling strings" and building tricks/boxes. My question is has ever happened to you that a trick would go horribly wrong in front of the audience?

Well, close up magic is quite a bit different then stage magic. When something goes wrong with stage magic, it can easily go 'horribly' wrong, where in close up magic, a lot of mistakes I might make are easily fumbled through and the audience may not even notice.

I have had a couple really nasty flops with our Levitator trick, but I would say 5 really bad mess-ups are hardly a notch in 10k+ shows :D

Can you make yourself disappear like for real?

Didn't you see the poof in the title? That was it.

Seriously though, I perform purely close up magic, which doesn't involve things like disappearing acts. But it is something I would love to learn, stage magic that is.

Do you do any tricks with live animals?

Sadly no, don't think Universal would allow too much. But I do some pre-show magic with Rocky the Racoon.

What's that I got behind my ear?

I don't know, but I'd get it checked out.

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Not right away, but with enough time and effort, it does now.

What's the difference between you and a wizard?

Not much, I went to Hogwarts, got kicked out, and that's why I do magic shows right outside Hogsmeade now.

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I read all of this in hopes to find some encrypted message or question hidden in it. I was disappointed.

Do you believe in God?

I believe in myself. And sometimes I make others believe in me too :)

Do you believe you are God?

If it pays well enough, sure.