HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN MAGIC ? My first book in magic was the Klutz Book of Magic , which is still an amazing beginner magic book ! It was such a great thing to get because it came with all these things like a red silk , a thumb tip , a piece of latex rubber , a yellow cord or string , and a really solid metal ring . Then the effects in the book were excellent as well , especially for a child . I had to be about 10 years old at the time . From there I was hooked and it was fun showing magic to other kids . From there on I was obsessed .
YOU PERFORM ON STAGE AND UP CLOSE . WHICH CAME FIRST ? When I was a teenager , I bought a copy of Device and Illusion by Jim Steinmeyer . It was a life changing book for me as it was the first book I owned with real magic secrets in it . Even to this day there is a deeper sense of secrecy surrounding how the bigger stuff is accomplished . While I don ’ t remember exactly why , I sent Jim an email which led to me taking a metalshop class . For my final project I produced the metal components to make Jim ’ s effect Through a One Inch Hole so that it can break apart and go back together with relative ease . It was an education in building things and learning how to make things that has followed me ever since . Since my start in magic was more or less stage magic and not closeup magic , it was a very interesting and defining moment to
MENTORSHIP
Unbeknownst to Jim , he became a mentor , answered questions and made sure I had resources I couldn ’ t afford at the time . We would meet many years later and he ’ s become a good friend . Nobody has taught me more about magic and being a magician than Jim Steinmeyer .
go from the bigger stage to the smaller table in terms of work . Really early on , in my early teens , I was working a lot on things like the billiard balls , and classic card productions and manipulations . It was a very valuable education to start with stage magic and move to close up .
Getting help from Jim Steinmeyer on your high school shop projects is the luckiest magic break ever !
Unbeknownst to Jim , he became a mentor , answered questions and made sure I had resources I couldn ’ t afford at the time . We would meet many years later and he ’ s become a good friend . Nobody has taught me more about magic and being a magician than Jim Steinmeyer .
SEPTEMBER | 2021 13