Mathieu Bich is only 34 years-old, but he has already created a number of truly scary, original concepts and routines, most of them relying on new methods and principles - or at least, a willingness to cheat like a crazy monkey.

It can get frustrating sometimes, as Mathieu loves to fool you with your own tricks based on different methods. He has frightened and intimidated a lot of knowledgeable and respected magicians. Some of them won't leave the house now!

Mathieu Bich is different. He has an excuse though: he's been one of Dominique Duvivier's students since 1996. Or maybe it's in his genes. In June of 2011, Mathieu Bich performed on Penn and Teller's "Fool Us" television show in the UK. Watch his (successful!) performance here.

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Q&A with Mathieu Bich

What's the last trick you saw that fooled the crap out of you?

The last one is from Dan & Dave's - Trilogy. It's a "simple" transposition that killed me. It's called Tivo 2.0.

What got you into magic?

At the age of 15, I bought a tape that explained basic card magic.

How long have you been performing?

12 years. I started performing 2 years after I started learning magic. The moves came very easy to me, because I studied piano from the age of 8 to 16. That helped me a lot in mastering the sleights.

Who is your favorite performer to watch?

I love too many magicians to give you only one name, but I will say Dominique Duvivier, Ricky Jay, Michael Weber and David Williamson. All different and amazingly good.

Do you have a favorite effect?

Like a singer or a movie director, the favourite one is usually their most recent. It's exactly the case here. My favourite personal effect is (until now) Spreadwave, which won the FISM 2006 Invention Award.

Tell us about the first time/effect you performed.

It was the Glide at the age of 15. I learned and practiced it in 48 hours, then I performed it for my father. I was sure I would get caught. It was difficult to imagine that a move SO simple can fool an adult. I did it and I completely fooled him. That changed my vision of the world forever.

What do you see as wrong with the industry today?

I really love to create new tricks or new methods, and I'm very surprised that a lot of magicians (usually new in the business) put their name on classic effects and sell those.

I would love to have a place where I would be sure to find what I'm really looking for. Something NEW. Something GOOD. Something STRONG. Not a tiny variation of a classic effect I already own. I think that's what we will find at theory11.

What advice would you give to those that are just starting in magic?

To practice a lot. Watch lots of different magicians / styles in order to get inspired. Not by one, but by all of them... and then practice again.