How Did you Start Magic?

[Hayk Dilanyan]

Hey Guys, we al get this question here and there, but i dont think al of us actualy go in depth and detail on what Really started us in Magic. Was it that need of attention? Did you like freaking?
When asked that questions I sometimes jokingly say " Well heres the truth, 3 weeks ago i took 359 Vitamin C pills....and from that day on i can do the weirdest things!"
They get a laugh out of it, and dont ask me the question anymore.

But how did we set our minds to doing magic?

Me? It was 2 and a half years ago, i made short movies on Moviemaker, and posted them on youtube..NON Magic.
This one happened to be about the rise of the Antichrist.
and a youtuber commented me and said something like " Hey, There is a rumor going around that a person by the name of Criss ANgel is the Antichrist."

So i had never heard of Criss Before, So i searched him, and understood he was a magician, not that antichrist But that single search on google is what got me into magic. From then on i stumbled into Penguin magic and other sites. Started Ordering, and Learning.

How did you guys start? I want to hear the Story.

~HD

[John Logan]

Most people have cool or interesting stories like yours. Me? I dont have one.

I have that kind of mind that is always curious, takes observations and uses them on my advantage and fool people. Ever since I was little, Ive always hid from people and then scare them, pickpocket my friends (but obvisouly give it back to them) and find out things most people dont know. Ive always liked the idea of crossword puzzles, mind tricks, wizards, super powers, being sneaky, etc...

Im not too sure what you would call that, but I love it. I always like the idea of cards. Having there be 52 cards, 4 suits, 13 of each. Its a cool concept.

I guess what Im trying to say is that Ive always liked the idea of magic and tricker (is that even a word ?). I found out I was pretty good at tricking people in whatever it was so I just kept doing it.

Ive just always liked the idea of magic. I started to create my own stuff and stick with it so I guess thats my story. haha.

[David Bushinger]

I saw criss angel reveal a trick on tv, afteri leanred the method and freaked my friends. I staretd to discover all of the other materail out there. I havebeen doing magic for a year and plan to do it for a very long time.

[Fisher Oakes]

Originally Posted by John Logan

Most people have cool or interesting stories like yours. Me? I dont have one.

I have that kind of mind that is always curious, takes observations and uses them on my advantage and fool people. Ever since I was little, Ive always hid from people and then scare them, pickpocket my friends (but obvisouly give it back to them) and find out things most people dont know. Ive always liked the idea of crossword puzzles, mind tricks, wizards, super powers, being sneaky, etc...

Im not too sure what you would call that, but I love it. I always like the idea of cards. Having there be 52 cards, 4 suits, 13 of each. Its a cool concept.

I guess what Im trying to say is that Ive always liked the idea of magic and tricker (is that even a word ?). I found out I was pretty good at tricking people in whatever it was so I just kept doing it.

Ive just always liked the idea of magic. I started to create my own stuff and stick with it so I guess thats my story. haha.

Good fun.

I don't really have a story or influences. One of my first memorys is a magician at my birthday party lolol I remember a couple of things he did, easy stuff.

I just like magic, used to do a little when I was smaller, just got back into it a year ago or so.

Good stuff though.

[Brendon Michaels]

I've always had an interest in magic as a child. In 3rd grade this teacher showed me sponge balls, and the vanishing hankerchief which at the time puzzeled me. Then at the age of 11 I watched alot of David Blaine specials and he brought the interest back into me even more. Finally my mentor which is my former science teacher use to perform for my class in 8th grade. From their on I've kept the passion of magic, but didn't start until 2 years later when my friend David brought up the idea to start magic. I've always loved the idea of sleight of hand and deception and it came quickly to me and it's been an amazing craft.

[Dennis Laughlin]

I was working at Buckingham squar mall in Aurora Colorado and seen this magic shop after the first visit I was hooked and been doing magic ever since, that was 1977.

[ChaoStryder]

I think I started magic when i was 13, my coworker showed me a trick and i was amazed, I started learning some simple magic on the internet and me and him just started learning more and more advanced stuff, constantly showing the other person new magic.

Plus watching Cyril takayama on youtube really inspired me, and I've wanted to be able to perform at his level

[Nabil Murday]

Nice to hear your stories. Similar for me. Had seen a few guys doing terrible magic when I was young and got turned off. Then when I was 15, I was hanging out and working a bit on my friends farm in Minnesota for the summer. He had taped Copperfield's "15 years of Magic" special, and convinced me to check it out instead of watching "Ace Ventura Pet Detective" for the 50th time in a row. It was like love at first sight.
As far as motivating forces/psychological reasons for getting started, it was probably a mix of the reasons a lot of people have. But I think people can put to much stock into that. We constantly are changing, so surely our motivations are as well. If you got into magic because you wanted attention, or a sense of power, or control over things, that doesn't mean that you must have these motivations your whole life. Well, Derren Brown has gone deeply into this whole topic in one of his books, so I won't rehash it all here. But if you are thinking a lot about these things, you might want to check out his writings.
For me, a question I think about often is, "Why AM I doing this?" I think asking that every so often to yourself, you will come up with different answers over time. And it's generally a good idea to know why you are doing things, and what you want to get out of a situation. So when it comes to performing, I think the time you spend on these thoughts is well worth it.

[phuckstreetmagic]

Well if you go to the artist page the basics are there, however some of the detail is left out.(only so much space)

I saw Copperfield do grandfathers aces at that show and I was on a mission to learn that darn trick. In the process I went to the library and looked in every magic book. I went to magic shops, however the darn people said" You are not ready to learn that" LOL Im not ready, how do they know I am not ready I was thinking.

Well fast forward about 10 years, I finally learned the trick, the shop demonstrator was right. LOL And during that whole process of trying to find one trick I ended up learning a lot of magic, theater, and art. I am probably one of the few guys that truly did not plan on becoming a magician.

Now with all that knowledge, I was bar tending( still miss it) and performing on the side. I started making more money doing magic then bar tending and made the decision to do it full time.

I haven't stopped since that day and with any business it has its ups and downs, however I am who I am and I do what I do because I saw a card trick that Copperfield did.

Todd Diamond!

[Kipp Sherry]

For me it all started at the age of 5. I was living in Semi Valley, California and every Saturday morning I would watch a locally produced show, "Chuck Jones the Magic Man". He was my first influence.

My first effect I did was one that I created on my own. I found a half full bottle of Pepto Bismol in the medicine cabinet. I wrapped it up with a bathroom towel and turned it over and over again as I said every magic word I had ever heard Chuck say. When I took the towel off, the Pepto Bismol bottle looked full!!!! At age 5, I wasn't really sure how it worked, so I was convinced I had "The Magic."

Soon after that, I got a magic kit. I've been into performing and creating my own magic tricks ever since. It's been a very rewarding career.

Until we appear again,
Kipp Sherry