Of Sleights and Men

Harapan Ong - Physicist, Innovator and Sleight of Hand King

Singapore's Harapan Ong has caused an online sensation with his technical abilities.

Videos began to circulate some years ago from a pair of hands doing extraordinary things.

His style is natural, unassuming, and soft.

But Aces appear, selections transpose, and magical things just seem to happen in Harapan's hands.

Recently we had the pleasure of talking to him on our podcast, he was open, kind, and impressively candid. 

If you enjoyed listening to him and want more head over here: https://www.harapanmagic.com/shop

Pit Hartling - Hilarious, Ingenious and Impressively Humble

Pit Hartling is one of Germany’s most requested magic entertainers. 

His appearances have brought him to more than fifty countries on five continents…

...and he’s also the author of the incredible book ‘In Order To Amaze.’ (one of the best magic books ever written) 

Check out his books here: https://pithartling.com/shop/

Denis Behr - Magic Scholar and Sleight of Hand Master

Denis is an expert sleight-of-hand artist, memorized deck master, and hilarious performer. 

He’s also the creator and curator of the ‘conjuring archive’ website—THE largest research project in magic. 

On this website, you’ll find indexes, references, and contents of over 2000 magic books.  

This website was started in 2004, and Denis has been diligently reading and making notes on all kinds of obscure magic books ever since. 

That’s nearly 20 YEARS of hard work. 

Denis doesn’t get paid to do this—he does it out of his love for the art—but there IS a page on his website where you can support Denis by ’buying him a beer’ via a PayPal donation.

To donate, click the link below: 

https://www.conjuringarchive.com/faqs

Jonah Babins - The Secrets To Achieving Success In Magic (And Life)

Jonah Babins is the host of the podcast ‘Discourse in Magic’, co-founder of the Toronto Magic Company, and professional magician. 

Over the last 4 years, he’s interviewed some of the world’s best magicians—from Juan Tamariz to Derren Brown. 

In this episode…

We talk about the real ‘secret’ behind getting in touch with the world’s best magicians, the best way to increase your chances of success as a magician, and Jonah’s upcoming virtual magic convention. 

If you’re interested in Unconventional Fun, go here to get your tickets:

https://unconventional.fun/

 

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/