MY STORY.

I was interested in the idea og being a magician almost as long as I can remember, and I started trying to invent my first tricks when I was about 7 years old. At secondary school, rather that looking for ‘tricks’ to present, I would actually try to find things that I could present as real ‘abilities’. I would find ideas from magic books at the library, take a very simple method, cut out all the ‘magicky’ parts of the routine, and make it about a single impossible moment. I would often use simple fakery – more like a con-man than a magician. It was here that the foundations of my current routines were developed.

During those years at school I gained a reputation as a pickpocket, a mind-reader, and a contortionist – without actually having any real abilities.

At the age of 16 I started to call myself a magician, and convinced my milkman (who I was helping on his rounds) to hire me to entertain his 5 yr old daughter’s party, for £20.

The idea of being able to call myself ‘a magician’ appealed to me – and was perhaps more important to me than actually learning magic tricks. I had no knowledge of magicians – I had never seen one perform, and I had never even seen magic on TV, as we didn’t have one at home. In my mind, a magician was a fascinating character, who could captivate an audience with mystery, presence and charisma. For me, as an outsider and someone who struggled with confidence and social interactions, this was everything I wanted to be.

When I started college I continued performing, and I already considered myself to be an experienced professional when I first came in contact with the established magic community. While this contact gave me endless new magic secrets to explore, I am forever grateful that I began my journey in magic with only my imagination as a guide, rather than learning the same routines as everyone else. It gave me a very real understanding of my own methods, my own style and personality, and not least, it made my act original.

I dropped out of college after 2 years, and became a full-time magician. That was when my journey really started, and from there on it was all about becoming better at interacting and engaging with my audiences. I was acutely aware of the way that I performed – and the way people responded to me – and slowly I found my way of being on stage, which became the core of my brand.

In 2007 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and required a round of treatment which forced a break in my career, and triggered a rethink. We decided to move the family to Norway (my wife’s home country), and the move materialised in 2010. At this point I also moved from the upper-class private event market over towards corporate entertaining, and began to look for contacts in the Norwegian events market, in between trips to London.

Soon I was adapting my products for the corporate events scene, and I found that my performance style was well suited to hosting dinner events, and sometimes conferences. I soon found that there was interest in my expertise on stage and in the field of communication, and I began to delve into the area of speaking and coaching in between my usual jobs.

These days I am one of the few entertainers who are trusted by the British Royal family for their most private events, I speak to international audiences on the subject of charisma, and I earn a good living from my work on stage. Yet my journey of discovery into the world of performance, charisma and communication continues. First and foremost in working on my own performances and talks, but also in coaching, and directing other performers in my work as a producer, I am fascinated and excited by the experiences we all can create in the minds of the people around us. It is our superpower as human beings – let’s use it for the good!