My Story... Whats Yours?

[andinimagic]

Hey everyone!
Many of you probably do not know me because I have only recently gotten on the Forums.
My name is Andy Kohrman and I am a 15 year old employed magician and just want to introduce myself and share my story, and ask for yours!

When I was about 7, my brother got the infamous Klutz Magic Kit for christmas and I took a big liking to it, I went to ym local magic shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana called Stoners Funstores ( Good name right and talked to a 65 year veteran Mr. Dick Stoner, a local celebrity. I purchased a Finger Chopper and a Flower Production bag and I got the "bug" right at that moment, I did magic for mostly family until I was about 9 and performed a dove production, fake sword swallow, and levitation at my school talent show, which from then on I was known as "The Magicman" and since thennnnn I know it is terribly unoriginal, I have been kown as The Great Andini , performed on local TV , and had loads of fun!

My life was great until I was about 11 years old and fell terribly sick with Double-Mono and had to get over 8 Spinal Taps, however, at the hospital a Mr. Dick Stoner came to visit, taught me a few tricks on the house and really brightened my life, after I was healthy once more, I sort of drifted from magic until the age of 13 I picked it up again and did a few birthday parties, i drifted once more and more into the average freshman in high school teenager.

That is. Until now. I have been working with my brother who is now a professional DJ and EmCee and we own a company called Magik Sounds. I had been somewhat into magic for awhile now and performed shows every few months or so.

Until recently. About 2 weeks ago I performed at a Senior-Ball and enjoyed it greatly, I performed 3 Nights ago at a High School After-Prom and it hit me. I had lost that spark in me that I had when I was young and I hated it. Then...I remembered a website I had went to years back. It was called theory11 and I visited, reminisced and created an account. I now finally have that spark back in me and really want to excel in my magic. Any advice would be great, but I want to also return the favor and help in any way possible. I performed thread today for my friends and they ate it up loving every second of it! Much thanks, please reply with some feedback!

- The Great @ndini

 

[starthelegend]

Wow i really enjoyed reading this. Its obvious that you must be a very very talented magician, and a great person. I guess it just proves that even if the spark dies if you love something enough you can always rekindle it.

 

[notsoltd]

Justin Miller always says, "you don't get into magic...magic gets into you." If you really have that passion, no matter what kind of fallouts you have you'll always come back. I know I have "quit" a few times. I literally sold EVERY magic item I owned and didn't touch a pack of cards my entire junior year in high school, and look at me now. I've never been so passionate about something and I guarantee it's something I will do for the rest of my life. Hopefully as my job. Welcome back, man!

 

[JNGmagic]

that was a good read!

 

[Craig Browning]

We all go through cycles when it comes to our passions, especially when we take one such love and allow it to become "a job" -- there's no quicker way to sour your view on things. I've learned that running a store tied to Renaissance Fair and New Age themes really made me jaded, FAST but I had to go back and try it again and again just as I've done with Magic and other fields of venture. My conclusion is to be very careful and do what you can to balance it all.

The line above about "magic gets you" rings way too close to home. Some years ago I'd gotten fed up and sold "the show", took a job in a bookstore and walked away from Magic entirely. . . it was the third time in my life I'd done such a thing but this time I was quite content with the decision and had no second thoughts. . . until a certain Mr. Blackstone reminded me that I'd been tinkering with this stuff since I was barely out of diapers and it was a part of my life. . . roughly six months after that conversation I was back to building a new show.

I both love and loathe magic. I understand how it, like so many other things in life, ebbs & flows and in learning how to embrace those cycles I'm best able to shine when my passion is high but shine in other areas of my life when that passion shifted. The moral of the story being, just accept that what you've gone through is normal, especially for your age group. . . most of us take time away from magic in our mid and latter teens because we discover sex and sexual urges that can be quite powerful sources of "misdirection" in our life -- puppy love romances and bed time fantasies start filling our dreams rather than visions of our performing in Las Vegas or some other "elite" environment.

Shift your gears when you find the low points; move to another aspect of magic/entertainment skill development or a totally different skill set such as writing, learning a new language or even craftsman skills like wood working or jewelry work. . . you'll find that these alternative paths can, in the long run, benefit you and your magic, in ways you may not presently recognize.