How?

Oct 6, 2015
22
8
I would be interested in knowing how other magicians became interested in magic? Was it an old coin trick your grandfather showed you?
Did you see a magic show as a kid, and it just stuck with you?
 

Nurul

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2013
239
186
Birmingham, UK
I've always been a great fan of magic since at a very young age. When I was 6 years old, i learned my first trick, my teacher taught me at school. The trick was the one with the 4 queens, jacks, kings and aces. I'm sure many are familiar with that trick, to this day I still show it to the kids in the family haha
 
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Oct 12, 2016
114
57
25
Utah
The initial moment that instilled a spark of interest in me was a sponge ball routine that my friend's dad did at a party when I was about six. Ever since then it's always kinda sat in the back of my mind as something that would be really cool, but I didn't actively pursue it until this last summer, when I started learning the Cardini Change from a YouTube tutorial I stumbled across. I realized this was actually something I could do, and my interest lead me to Royal Road, Expert Card Technique, etc. Eventually I found this place, and I was hooked.
 
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Oct 19, 2015
317
220
My second grade teacher's' husband was a magician and he gave us a show, I still recall most of his show. Later in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade one of my good friends had a brother who was a magician, and he did shows for our Jr. High School class. I bugged him all the time to show me tricks....After that I started reading and when I was in a big city going to a magic shop to purchase tricks and books. I got pretty good by high school, but we moved to a big city. I got away from it until two years ago, I am now 66! I took it up again primarily to thrill and entertain my 6 Grandkids....and their parents, my kids....it has been great fun. If I get good enough, I plan on going to local hospitals and doing tricks/shows for kids confined in hospitals, especially on holidays....
 
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Oct 6, 2015
22
8
I've always been a great fan of magic since at a very young age. When I was 6 years old, i learned my first trick, my teacher taught me at school. The trick was the one with the 4 queens, jacks, kings and aces. I'm sure many are familiar with that trick, to this day I still show it to the kids in the family haha

Sure do remember that one!
 
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Oct 6, 2015
22
8
I started magic when I was 6 and am now 14 (I have "converted" to mentalism since). I remember when I was 6, probably near the end of my first year of school, I came home one day. My family of course ate dinner, then afterwards, flipped on the television. As they were changing channels they came across a show called "Magics Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed"
I had seen magic before, and thought that this would be no different, cheezy and boring. As I watched the "Masked Magician"(as he was called) perform, I came up with complicated and impractical explanations for what I saw. When he finally revealed the methods, I was starstruck to just the simplicity of the method. I realized I didnt need any complicated systems to perform. Something about it just clicked with me. When I was maybe 9, a substitute teacher showed me and my class the classic one ahead trick. When he saw how enthralled I was, he taught me it. That was when I fell in love with mentalism. Thank you for this art, and all that have took the time and effort to bring it forward!
 
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Stu-pendous

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2010
276
425
Perth, Australia
www.facebook.com
I believe my earliest memory of magic was watching Sherri Lewis and lamb chop. She did some magic on her show that I would then perform for my family. Then after watching countless Copperfield and masked magician tv specials growing up I started getting really into it. Also a big influence for me was Rudy Coby's special.
 

Dean Magic

Elite Member
Jun 13, 2013
452
480
Florida
I have been interested in magic since a young age. I remember a friend in elementary school having a magic book and my favorite thing about my first time at disneyland was getting a magic kit. I didn't become serious about learning magic until 8th grade. A magician performed at my school and shortly after I randomly found a magic tutorial on youtube. I learned a bunch of self working tricks and then spent that summer before high school learning a bunch of sleight of hand. :D
 
Oct 1, 2016
5
1
I think mine began ( and I am a rank beginner) when my father did a card trick and it wasn't so much a trick it was math. I have not done it in 20 years and the "how to" has faded in me. Maybe one of ya'll saw it way back when. Involves 3 but usually 4 stacks of cards (using one deck) start card is x and the following cards add to 13. Example start card is an 8 there would be 5 cards on top. All done till deck is gone. Pick up all but one of the piles. Trick is calling out the number of top card on pile. I think I can do it but do not have the name of the trick thats not a trick.
 
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Lyle Borders

Elite Member
Aug 5, 2008
1,604
859
Seattle, WA
www.theory11.com
One of my very earliest memories was from a family trip to Disney World when I was a little kid. I remember a few events from that trip, mostly rides that were super cool to a young kid, but one important thing I remember: I saw a street magician performing there. I don't remember much about what his main performance was, but I was so excited that my parents took me up to him to meet him when he was done. When talking to him, he pulled a short piece of rope from my ear (the remnant of a cut and restored rope trick), which he then gave to me. MIND BLOWN. I still have that little piece of rope today, some 25 or so years later.

From there, it was gimmicky magic sets as a kid in elementary school, a couple card tricks in high school, and then stumbling onto the online magic community after that. Many purchases and several years later I started at theory11 and am here today.

// L
 
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CaseyRudd

Director of Operations
Team member
Jun 5, 2009
3,393
3,801
Charleston, SC
www.instagram.com
I was in 7th grade and my brother showed me the 21 card trick. I was instantly hooked and had to learn how it was done. Like any young kid would do, I looked up how to do it on YouTube. However, that one trick made me want to learn more, and I stumbled across Ellusionist and theory11. I fully moved over to theory11, where for a few years I would post in the forums and give my input and advice. Although I was just starting my teenage years, I took pride in the fact that I was as professional as possible in my responses and was always willing to help someone out. When I was 15, I was offered a position to work for theory11 and never looked back since. It still remains to be the single greatest thing to happen in my life. Now I'm 21, and every day just keeps getting better. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I know that theory11 will always be a part of me. And that's the best form of magic that I continue to feel to this day.

-C
 

Christen

theory11
Team member
Oct 25, 2011
30
51
Los Angeles
For me, it started when I was nine and I saw World's Greatest Magic on TV. I'd always liked magic as a kid, having seen magic shows at friends birthday parties and what not but for some reason seeing magicians like Lance Burton, The Pendragons (their metamorphosis in particular), and Mac King just did it for me. However, my parents weren't very supportive of my interest in magic at first (they're quite proud of it now though) so I didn't really dive into learning it until I was 14. I remember being in a bookstore one day and finding Tarbell Course in Magic 1 & 2; I saved my money to buy them for myself for Christmas that year.

Then, I was introduced to theory11 by Zach (Mueller, needless to say) about six years later when we created Exposé; Zach and I were in the junior program at the Magic Castle together. Now, after many podcasts, TV shows, numerous episodes of Exposé, etc., I'm proud to still be part of the amazing theory11 family and continue to work on evolving my magic.
 
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Dec 30, 2014
279
344
When I was around 6 I always loved my granddad and dad pulling stuff out of my ear and making stuff disappear. When I was 11 my uncle showed me a couple of tricks that I thought were really cool such as the 4 robbers trick and the 21 card trick. He then proceeded to teach me the methods and I loved the reactions I got from my family members when I performed. I got really into magic though just after watching 'Dynamo: Magician Impossible' and wanting o be able to perform on that level! :)
 
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Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
1,101
Utah
I watched a Lance Burton TV special. He was the coolest guy I had ever seen. He asked us all to place a penny under our pillows that night. I did and it turned into a dollar by morning. It was the greatest thing I had ever seen!
 
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