Hello,
I have a couple of quick questions to everybody who either does magic or cardistry. I am just interested about yall.
1) How long have you been into cardistry and/or magic?
2)What got you interested in the craft (was it a magician or maybe a magic kit that you got when you were 10?)
3)Favorite type of magic (Coin, cards,etc,.) (Favorite Flourish)?
4)Which one do you prefer: Physical Magic Shops or Online Stores?
Thank You Very Much!
Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!
1. I've been into magic for like 13 years but I only became serious about it about 5 years ago or so. And I only became REALLY serious about it like 3 years ago. If that makes any sense.
Basically, about 8 of those years, I had an on and off interest in magic. It would come and go in spurts but I always had a passing interest and would go out of my way to watch magic on TV and whatnot. When I started high school, I got really into magic and have stuck with it since then, but I cringe looking back at that time when I first started. It was bad but that's for another post. I started to actually read and really work hard on my sleights and whatnot about 3 years ago. So you can pick whichever of those you'd consider valid haha.
2. When I was 6, I went to this evening daycare thing for a week while my mom and my friends mom had "mom nights" together. On one of the last days, a magician came to perform and I had never seen magic before in any capacity so my little 6 year old brain was rocked. He ended the show by giving us each these little silver cylinders that he told us to throw into the air on the count of 3. I threw my little capsule in the air and it popped into a wand. I was hooked. My mom hired him for my birthday as his contact info was printed on the wands. Obviously, because I had a magic-themed Birthday party, I got a whole bunch of magic kits and then it took off from there.
I hate to admit it, but a combination of YouTube magicians (One that rhymes with Derek 4:20) and my 7th grade science teacher who, in hindsight, was most likely an amateur magician got me interested in magic again. I learned the french drop at some point and then when I started high school, I started learning tricks from YouTube. I was that guy who had 3 gimmicked decks on him at all times and thus only knew 3 card tricks. I'm happy to say I haven't been like that for a long time but I still feel like I have a lot of room for improvement.
3. Easily card tricks, although I don't think they're always the most fun for me to perform. I don't really do flourishes but a spring or ribbon spread seem to get some good reactions haha.
4. Physical shops all the way. Online shopping is very convenient and has a lot of positives (love u Theory11 <3) but I don't think I'd be half of the magician I am now if it weren't for all the great people I met at my local magic store. Plus, there's something special about being able to see a trick demoed for you live. I think magic is at it's best when it's done in person but that's just me. Plus, the owner, Steve, is very honest about your skills, products, etc. and I think that's super helpful.