Brad Christian

Mar 21, 2011
36
0
Hi there

I was browsing the forums for a bit and noticed quite a few instances of casual hate towards Brad Christian... just wondering why this was the case...
 
Oct 31, 2010
64
0
actually i dun really like brad too he is just pure boring i enjoy more when watching other DVDs compared to his...
 
for me brad gave more advices for your showmanship..
he's the one who gave me power to start performing in front many peoples

i have some brad vids and he good enough with advices..
maybe just about the package of the performance and the sets thats makes people thinks is boring..
 
Jun 6, 2010
796
0
Nashville, TN
Because many people on theory11 believe that magic is a competition and they pretty much hate on Ellusionist. But, we actually have been pretty good about keeping it down lately.
 
Because Theory11 and Ellusionist both have a fairly young target demographic for forum users (as far as magic retailers are concerned) and teens have this insane need for constant one-upmanship and a need to belong to something "cool" that fuel this perpetual myth that one site is better than another.

Honestly, there's nothing bad about Brad. He's a good teacher.
 
Sep 11, 2010
90
0
I have to agree with Draven. I originally learned the Biddle Trick fom Ellusionist, and I also have their Bicycle Gaff Deck as well as Tricycle by Daniel Garcia and Luke Dancy.

Theory11 tends to be more about sleights, and Ellusionist products are mostly gaffs. Some people only like impromtu magic. I happen to be someone who likes both.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Hi there

I was browsing the forums for a bit and noticed quite a few instances of casual hate towards Brad Christian... just wondering why this was the case...

Full Disclosure -- I'm a moderator over at the Ellusionist forums -- I don't get paid for that and I'm not affiliated with the company.

That being said, I think a lot of the "hate" over at the Cafe stems from two areas. The first is the people who Ellusionst markets to and the second is how they market. A lot of Ellusionist's customers are teenagers (much like T11). I've heard magicians refer to Ellusionist and T11 as "kiddie" magic sites. Ellusionist (particularly with Brad's early DVDs) markets itself as teaching beginners to be able watch the DVD and go out an perform. What Brad initially taught wasn't anything new or groundbreaking but rather his version of a lot of classics. So, it became cool to bash on Ellusionist because they thought that Ellusionist was spawning a group of kid magicians that posted videos on Youtube unwrapping packages and then performing effects "out of the box." Now most of those folks doing the bashing didn't even buy the Ellusionist DVDs. Most of what you see is people repeating what they've heard from other people.

I think a lot of the Ellusionist DVDs teach essential principles like "simple hits hard" and "presentation matters".

You see, Brad really started the next generation of magic. All the internet magic shops that feature new artists like T11, Paper Crane, Vanishing -- Ellusionist was the first. The edgy way most DVDs are produced today... Ellusionist was the first.

As for comparisons between companies, don't limit your magic to one company. Ellusionist, T11, Paper Crane, Vanishing, L&L, MJM, Penguin, RNT2, etc. all have strengths and weaknesses. Focus on the products you like, not where you get them from.
 
May 3, 2008
858
0
I personally was just annoyed at Brad Christian after seeing his How To Do Street Magic DVD. In the DVD he teaches effects that aren't his but he changes the names and doesn't credit the original creators. I also was a bit annoyed at how he would do an erdnase change and talk about the "magical moment" for about an hour.
 
Oct 20, 2008
273
0
Austin, TX area
I've heard magicians refer to Ellusionist and T11 as "kiddie" magic sites.
I'm almost certainly guilty of that. It was an act of thoughtlessness on my part when it happened. I will try to find a more accurate and respectful means of expressing it in the future and apologize to everyone for having said those things.

T11 especially makes sense for younger students. Inexpensive learning material is presented, to be performed with very inexpensive props. Rubber bands, balloons, cards? A person can build a varied and full act for less than the cost of a nice linking ring set. As a rule, older performers have more financial power to invest in the craft and a broader range of interest. Many of them still prefer to buy in shops an real world gatherings. The "web site" thing is rather alien. There is a divide, as there probably should be. It should also be more like two friendly nations than two warring tribes.

----------

Brad Christian. The man is so non-offensive as to have the opposite effect at times. If Mr. Rogers had softer facial features and taught magic: that's Brad. So many young performers are in love with this idea of being "dark," that I can see Brad's style would not go over well.

He also seems wholly unrepentant about making good business choices. That just makes a lot of people mad no matter what field the businessman is in. That's such a shame, too, that people feel destroying someone else is more moral than lifting themselves up.
----

Final note: There are two instructors I won't buy from. No names here, just reasons why. One criticizes stage magic on Twitter as if the only "real" magic can be done outside of a gym locker. One criticizes the kinds of magicians and aspiring magicians found on E, T11 and similar sites with unduly harsh words.

This is a place where I feel stuck in the middle. I owe T11 and even E a great deal of thinks for rekindling something I gave up long ago. T11 played some huge roles in my growth. Yet, I am also fast turning into that old guy who is more interested in a room full of bigger effects than what can happen in a five inch cube.
 
Apr 14, 2011
192
0
The first magic trick I ever learned was from Brad. I have an infinite amount of respect for the man. I am also a teenager and do not understand why people can see E and T11 for what they are; Two awesome places to learn, grow, and buy some freaking awesome looking decks.
 
Because Theory11 and Ellusionist both have a fairly young target demographic for forum users (as far as magic retailers are concerned) and teens have this insane need for constant one-upmanship and a need to belong to something "cool" that fuel this perpetual myth that one site is better than another.

Honestly, there's nothing bad about Brad. He's a good teacher.

Exactly! word for word.
 
Jul 13, 2010
526
34
http://www.antinomymagic.com/swiss.htm
Keep in mind, that`s not my opinion. In fact, I don`t know Brad Christian personally, but have watched some of his DVDs...all I can say I´m not a fan at all (that doesn`t mean I hate him, I actually like his surname xD ).

BTW, please, never ever compare Ellusionist to Vanishing again. They have different target groups. Customers of Vanishing CAN read xD.
Their marketing is less aggressive and misleading and they`re the most honest sellers of magic products I`ve ever encountered.

As long as E offers more quality products from artists like Eric Jones, Gregory Wilson, Alex Pandrea, Daniel Garcia, I think it`s getting better.
 
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Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
My favorite part of Ellusionist is if you have a minor disagreement with anybody who has the sleightest moderating power, they ban you without question.
 
Jul 13, 2010
526
34
My favorite part of Ellusionist is if you have a minor disagreement with anybody who has the sleightest moderating power, they ban you without question.

Depends on the moderator. I highly respect RealityOne, and I doubt someone like him would ever ban you for no serious reason. I think he`s mature enough to handle such situations.
The mods are just people and they´re different.
If someone doesn`t like you, the cards are stacked against you.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
http://www.antinomymagic.com/swiss.htm
Keep in mind, that`s not my opinion. In fact, I don`t know Brad Christian personally, but have watched some of his DVDs...all I can say I´m not a fan at all (that doesn`t mean I hate him, I actually like his surname xD ).

BTW, please, never ever compare Ellusionist to Vanishing again. They have different target groups. Customers of Vanishing CAN read xD.
Their marketing is less aggressive and misleading and they`re the most honest sellers of magic products I`ve ever encountered.

As long as E offers more quality products from artists like Eric Jones, Gregory Wilson, Alex Pandrea, Daniel Garcia, I think it`s getting better.

Chris:

I think that article is the one most often cited by people post negative things about Brad - including people who have never seen one of his videos. If you've seen his DVDs and don't like his style, I can respect that. I have several DVDs from different companies where I don't like the teaching style.

I agree that Vanishing is different from Ellusionist in that it carries a lot of books and in that it actually publishes the books. The reason I listed it is because I think it effectively uses the Internet to market magic by having downloads and e-books. Those people that know me know how I feel about books. As I type, I have Card College Volume 4, Bannon's Dear Mr. Fantasy, Bannon's Six. Impossible. Things., Caleb Wiles Hot Spots, Caleb's Six Pack and Fitzkee's Showmanship for Magicians on my desk (and a bag of sponge bunnies, but I digress).

My favorite part of Ellusionist is if you have a minor disagreement with anybody who has the sleightest moderating power, they ban you without question.

Phenomena:

If there was a disagreement, whatever it may have been, it was before my time. Nonetheless, it usually takes repeated actions that are disrespectful, repeated requests for exposure, attempts to expose methods or something serious like pirating magic DVDs to get banned. If there is a particular issue you want to discuss, I'd be glad to do it through PMs. Here is not the place to discuss the policies of another forum or decisions made regarding particular members on that forum.
 
Jul 13, 2010
526
34
Chris:

I think that article is the one most often cited by people post negative things about Brad - including people who have never seen one of his videos. If you've seen his DVDs and don't like his style, I can respect that. I have several DVDs from different companies where I don't like the teaching style.
Yes, I´ve seen some of his DVDs. I owned his Ambitious Card DVD (I think it was called Crash Course 2) and Crash Course 1 and have seen Ninja 1 and 2 . As a prove, i can post you the code of the CC1 forum (CC2 hasn`t had the access code on the DVD) ;).

I don`t always agree with him and I´m not a big fan of his teaching style or behavior (I´m generally not a fan of the 'Street Magic'-hype, what is has become and how it is misused to make a fast buck, and that`s where I fully agree with Mr.Swiss), but that doesn`t mean it`s wrong, bad or that I hate him. The reason I posted this was just to show why people may dislike (hate is not the proper term) him and doesn`t reflect my personal opinion at all. In fact, I cannot judge him as I don`t know him well enough. Evaluating someone`s personality solely based on some DVDs is not quite appropriate in my opinion.
I agree that Vanishing is different from Ellusionist in that it carries a lot of books and in that it actually publishes the books. The reason I listed it is because I think it effectively uses the Internet to market magic by having downloads and e-books. Those people that know me know how I feel about books. As I type, I have Card College Volume 4, Bannon's Dear Mr. Fantasy, Bannon's Six. Impossible. Things., Caleb Wiles Hot Spots, Caleb's Six Pack and Fitzkee's Showmanship for Magicians on my desk (and a bag of sponge bunnies, but I digress).
I know. My crystal ball told me ;)
No, really, I´m familiar with your posts and they`re quality threads. You always act wise and mature.That's not to be taken for granted, especially in the context of the internet.


BTW, excellent choice of books. Bannon is one of my favorites, Caleb an aspiring upcoming magician (also a trusted reviewer) and I`m rereading CC4 while posting this ;)
 
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