Of Sleights and Men

Michael Vincent - One of the Most Inspiring Stories in Magic

Internationally renowned magician Michael Vincent has been named Best Close-Up Magician three times by the UK’s Magic Circle, 3 times in three consecutive decades; 1983, 1991, and 2003, and was awarded the title of International Magician of the Year in 1993.

He truly is one of the 'best' and when you hear how he got to be that way, we promise you'll be blown away. 

Michael is kind, inspiring and genuine.

We can honestly say that he's one of our magic idols. 

This was an emotional episode, and we learnt a lot, so we hope you do too! 

John Guastaferro - Magic, Philanthropy and Connecting People to the Extraordinary

John Guastaferro is a name every magician should be aware of he possesses an incredible array of talents from Spanish guitar to a deep and developed knowledge of the non-profit world. 

 

In this episode we discuss: 

• Why you should learn Spanish Guitar (everyone could do with better finger dexterity in magic) 
• The incredible similarities between philanthropy and magic (and why John Guastaferro sees them as one of the same)  
• The power of the 'one degree' principle and why it applies to pretty much everything in life. 
• John Guastaferro's book 'en route'. 
• And much, much more. 

Evan Porter- SEO Master and Magic Enthusiast

Evan Porter is a SEO expert, who ranks in google for a living, and thankfully for the majority of our readers, he’s also a HUGE magic fan. 

In this episode we discuss: 

• What makes a good magic website (and why there are so few good ones out there) 
• What SEO work and magic have in common (and how to harness the powers of both worlds) 
• The AIDA formula that ANY good magician knows intuitively (but copywriters are forced to learn) 
• How Evan Porter became financially independent simply by writing a few blog posts (and learning how to get people to read them)
• Why all magicians should have a second hobby (and the power of harnessing it) 
• And much, much more! 

Adrian Lacroix- The King of Virtual Magic

Adrian Lacroix recently burst onto the worldwide magic scene with his incredible virtual magic (used by magicians Penn and Teller and the like!) 

And just a few days ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming him on the 'Of Sleights and Men' podcast where we discussed: 

• How Adrian went from watching David Copperfield perform on TV as a kid, to performing for Copperfield’s children. 
• Why Adrian Lacroix is ALWAYS confident during performances (he wasn’t even stressed to perform for the Argentinian President!) 
• How being a self-confessed ‘lazy-bone’ has led Adrian Lacroix to incredible heights of success. 
• The secret behind Rene Lavand’s most fooling shuffle (and how it came to be that he NEVER came up with it in the first place) 
• How to perform incredible zoom magic (and why quarantine isn’t the end of magic)
• And much, much, more! 

Morgan and West: Magicians, Time-Travelers & All Round Spiffing Chaps

Very recently we had the pleasure of meeting the only time travelers we know... They happened to be English and turned out to be, much to our own pleasure, all around spiffing chaps! 

In this podcast with the great Morgan and West we discuss: 

- Why Morgan and West prefer to perform children’s shows (and would ONLY perform for children if they could) 

- Why Morgan and West hate to perform close up magic (and almost NEVER do it) 

- How Terry Pratchett books inspired their current stage persona (Benji was dying to talk about this with them— and it showed)

- The incredible success of their recent book, Parlour Tricks (and what makes it COMPLETELY different from most magic books)

-And much, much more!

David Regal - When Brilliant Creativity Meets Hilarious Comedy

David Regal is behind magic seen by millions across the globe.

He has written for, and designed effects for stage performers who perform internationally, in Vegas showrooms, and on Broadway stages. His television writing credits range from kid shows (Rugrats) to sitcoms (Everybody Loves Raymond)

He truly is a huge name in the magic world— and today he became our latest podcast guest. 

In this episode we discuss: 

• The key to producing great TV shows (and how to harness that power in your magic performances) 
• The BIG do’s and don'ts of magic shows (including how to avoid creating a HUGE ‘flop’)
• Why every magician should watch Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (and what we ALL can learn from her) 
• David Regal’s view on our ‘big question’ (and how he finds meaning in magic) 
• And much, much more.  

To access his books and other products, head here: https://davidregal.com/

Steven Bridges - London Street Magic Secrets

In this episode, Benji got to talk to one of his all-time heroes and overall amazing magician - Steven Bridges. 

Recording this was a whole lot of fun for all of us! We hope you feel that you're hanging out in a pub with three British lads who love chatting about magic, rather than sitting, or working out, or even sleeping while listening to this podcast.

In this podcast we discuss:

• The secret to a good street performance (and the secret to a bad one) 
• Why Steven is haunted by 'lemon failures' (and how they actually helped him become the person he is today) 
• The reason why Steven does magic in the first place (and why maybe it doesn't even matter at all) 
• 'The Montage Effect' (and why it's stopping you from progressing not just in magic, but in life in general) 

Take a listen...

Roberto Giobbi - Card Magic's Most Distinguished Author

Recently we were honored to welcome a legend of the magic world onto our podcast - the one and only Roberto Giobbi. 

During this episode, we talked on a variety of subjects, from card college to the power of linguistics.

Here's what you can expect: 

• How Roberto Giobbi went from selling floppy disks to a world-class magician
• What made Roberto Giobbi 'take the leap' to become a professional magician (and the 'big shot' job he gave up to do so)
• Giobbi's tips on performing for all types of audiences- from children to magic castle guests.
• What you should do when writing a magic book (and what UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES you should ever do)
• And much, much more! 

Alice Paihlès and The Science of Psychological Magic

In this episode, we were honoured to welcome our first female guest a Miss. Alice Paihlès. 

She's made a name for herself in the magic world with her analysis of the direct connections between magic and the science of psychology. 

In this episode, we discuss her upcoming book, semi-viral ted talk and: 

• How much of Derren Brown's magic is true 'mentalism' (it was far more than we expected) 
• The BEST force in magic (I guarantee it will surprise you) 
• How to avoid being tricked (the answer made us laugh out loud) 
• And finally... why all humans are lazy (and how accepting that can change your life forever) 

 

Andi Gladwin — 23 Years In The Making...

In this episode of the podcast, we sat down with the one and only Andi Gladwin. 

We started out by asking Andi about his brand new book—The Boy Who Cried Magic. This book has been, by our estimation, 23 years in the making—and includes Andi’s most exquisite material. In fact, it’s in such high demand—Vanishing Inc have started buying copies from OTHER magic companies just to fulfill their orders.  

With that in mind, hit the link below to secure your copy while you still can... 

https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-books/the-boy-who-cried-magic/ 

Next, the conversation quickly went ‘no-holds-barred’—and over this nearly 2-hour mega session, we also discussed... 

• The one skill that history’s greatest magicians and computer programmers nearly always have in common (Ed Marlo was incredible at this...even though he never touched a line of code)
• How the 46th richest man in the world redefined the way we approach magic (nearly zero magicians have ever studied this, but it’s a game-changer)
• Andi’s number one tip for the magic business during the pandemic (you’d have to be crazy not to sit up and pay attention to this)
• The one Derren Brown line that separates the good magicians from the truly great (this has been a long time coming) 
• Andi’s definition of ‘a good problem to have’ (featuring stories about Vanishing Inc we’ve never heard before) 
• The ‘BIG’ question we’ve always wanted Andi’s opinion on (frankly, he didn’t have an answer—and neither did we)

Take a listen…