I’ve always been fascinated by magic, in particular, but also by being a performer. As a kid, I loved doing impressions, and after winning several talent shows as an impressionist, I ended up as a guest on a Radio London show. Alongside Clodagh Rodgers — which tells you how long ago it was.

former career

Despite that, I spent much of my career in the paper and print industry, following in my father’s footsteps. Most of it was in a sales role, and I used my knowledge of magic to engage people and break down barriers, giving me some advantage over competitors who stuck to more traditional methods.

next steps

By 2006, I’d decided to take magic more seriously, but I had too much respect for the art to dive straight in. I spent three years studying and practising and taking lessons from professional magicians before I felt I was ready to do my first paid event in 2009. For a while, I kept my “day job” as well until I turned fully professional in 2015.

i love weddings

From talking to my many magician friends, I find that we all love magic for slightly different reasons. One of the things that particularly appeals to me is that so many of the jobs involve weddings — and I’m a sucker for a wedding. The beautiful venues, smartly dressed people all around, love in the air — who wouldn’t want to work in that context?

There’s far more to love about the work, though. I get a real kick out of people’s reactions to the magic, whether that’s applause, laughter, screams, or even stunned silence. And I enjoy the process of engaging groups of people and winning them over until I leave as their “semi-friend” — or sometimes they don’t want me to leave at all.

meeting people

Like many kinds of performing, magic can be a lonely life, but I’ve made many friends through it. Some are wedding suppliers I meet at wedding fairs — photographers, caterers, musicians and the like — and others are magicians. One of the great joys is when there’s a booking big enough to need more than one magician, and I get to work with people I respect as magicians and get on with as well as friends.

It’s both a privilege and a responsibility to help enhance events (whether weddings, parties, or corporate events), but having done over a thousand bookings since 2009, I wouldn’t change that.