Hey First name / Friend,
Three weeks ago, I found myself on stage at the World Championships of Magic (FISM) in Turin, Italy.
FISM is an event like the Olympics, only sweatier and with far less deodorant. Over the course of the packed week of competitions, shows and lectures the temperatures hovered between 30–36°C — thank god for air conditioning and Italian Gelato! 🍦
I found myself (rather by chance) competing for the title of 'World Champion of Magic 2025'.
Long story short: a passing conversation led to my name being mentioned months later at a Magic Circle council meeting, without my knowledge — with my foot already in the door, and a public announcement from the president, I thought I may as well walk through it, right?!
Having returned from the FISM pressure cooker, and just about recharged my batteries, I’ve had a chance to reflect on the experience.
Here are my takeaways…
1) 🎯 Goals and Deadlines
After years of late-night cramming for exams and putting competition acts together with just a few weeks before the date, I used to say "I work well under pressure." Now, later in life, I’ve come to realise I only work under pressure.
With FISM on the horizon in early 2025 I had just a handful of months to get the act fit for competition. Luckily I had an act I put together for my PhD performance at 4F convention the previous year (the catalyst which started this whole thing) created solely for the 4F audience and presumed to only be performed once!
I dusted it off ahead of the next 4F gathering in 2025 and headed straight to my go-to magic confidant Scott Penrose.
What followed was an intense period of countless visits to the workshop for discussion, thinking, experimenting and building in a bid to get the act up to standard in time – bear in mind I had to show quite literally 'magic's top 1%' the same act they saw last year BUT with added bells and whistles. No pressure then.
What followed were thousands of miles travelled and hundreds of hours filled with discussion, chasing mad ideas, rehearsal, and being reined in to focus on the most important elements.
What I am trying to get to is; without a looming deadline none of this would have happened. It's the deadline itself that causes the rest to happen. I found myself in meetings with some of magic's top minds obsessing over the minutiae of every moment of the act, a look here, a turn of the body there, a word delivered differently -- all in an effort to polish a silly idea I had a year ago!
Takeaway: Give yourself non-negotiable deadlines – your future self will be very tired, but thankful!
2) ♥️ Don't Take it Personally
…is a principle I have taken for granted. This had been pointed out to me a few times before, but it landed differently while in a feedback session with Alexandra Duvivier.
Right at the end of our conversation I asked if there was anything I should have asked about FISM that I didn't already; the session was recorded so I have gone back and will paraphrase Alexandra’s words: “I like the way you think, you like to have feedback. Your ultimate goal is your act, not your ego, it is the way we (magicians) should all think – it is not a question of ego is it a question of the act and doing the best we can. What I like about your philosophy is it is driven by the love of magic and not the love of yourself.”
It had never been articulated like this to me before, let alone considered it a philosophy – but she was right. Alexandra perceptively read not just my behaviour of compulsively asking for feedback, she saw my intent behind it.
It was a wonderful thing to hear of course but I am not sharing this here to gloat, instead I want to share this rather meta story because it perfectly captures the heart of my vision for magic and the mission of GivingMagic – to 'strive for magical excellence’.
Alexandra put it perfectly; “…you are driven by the love of magic, not the love of yourself.”
I have long shedded the idea of using magic as a tool to serve myself, my ego, or as a means to gain something from others. Instead I see magic as a gift, an opportunity to give something to others, without expectation. – I have my upbringing to thank for this mindset.
Growing up I witnessed my Mum being creatively resourceful with what she had, she had an open mind, and was happy as long as me and my brother were happy. My Dad, a principal aeronautical engineer and from an era when fixing things and DIY were the norm, would watch me try to do a piece of magic and had the mindset of 'that's good, and what if we tried it this way, let's see if that makes it even better' encouraging my brother and I to question things, learn how they work, and make them better.
Growing up with both these influences I can now see how this parenting combination shaped my approach to life and magic.
The way I see things; the act is my attempt at something, of course it can be made better! Tell me what I must add, remove, do, learn, develop to make it even better. – Hear them all, listen to the few, and don't take it personally.
Takeaway:
- Asking "what else" in every feedback session has unearthed more gold than any other.
- A phrase worth sharing; “Be driven by the love of magic, not the love of yourself.” – Thank you for bringing this phrase to light, Alexandra.
3) 💪🏻 Push Your Ideas Further
The first iteration of the act I presented at 4F had original moments in method, structure, and surprise – and I am very proud to say it proved to be standing ovation worthy. The looming deadline of FISM forced me to push these new ideas and build on top of them.
Now with the competition in the past I am already thinking of ways I can expand, alter, and refine those ideas further, thus building originality on top of what was already original.
Reading this back, my past self may have been left thinking "how do I get to 'original' in the first place? Let alone repetitively build on top of it!".
This is something rather intangible and is more a way of thinking, a curious mindset combined with the freedom to play and explore. Creativity and originality isn't something that can be put into a set of instructions and be followed like a recipe, if it were that easy magic would be much further along. However, what I can say with certainty is if originality is never attempted it will never be attained.
My retrospective advice would be to choose an existing classic, something with a track record, ideally one with a higher number of moving parts be it in method, structure, magical moments, movements etc... This gives one many more levers and buttons to play with and get curious about.
Then learn it, play with it, research what others have done with it, ask questions about it, explore it, add things, take them away, make them bigger, smaller, speed it up, slow it down, bring it up to date, simplify it, imagine what your perfect version might look like and feel like, what aesthetic would you give it? What would make it authentically yours? – There's no point in speeding up the chop cup if your authentic character traits are similar to Max Maven. Imagine stand-up comedian Lee Evans trying to slow down and stand still or Michael Jackson trying to wear lounge clothes and sing death metal, it simply wouldn't be authentic.
You can't ask all these questions at once, and you can't know any answers before you start.
Just choose something, pick up the props, start somewhere, and be led by your curiosity – you'll find originality is waiting just around the corner.
Post FISM I find myself visualising what the act would look like with various upgrades, it's a fun process. I can dream anything up in my mind, but until I get out of my head, put the props in my hands and begin physically playing with them I won't be making any actual progress.
Takeaway: Connect with your inner child -- Keep playing, exploring, and discovering. There is much to find.
4) 📈 Effort In = Growth Out
Every competition I have taken part in, regardless of the outcome, I have learned something and adjusted my approach for next time.
I have noticed a direct correlation between the level of focus and effort I put in to preparing the act and the level of growth I have gained as a magician. As the saying goes 'the more you know the more you realise you don't know'.
My level of input in preparation for FISM far outweighs anything I have done before. As a result my depth and breadth of magical understanding has taken a monumental leap forward. This is partly to do with focusing my attention on things I feel are important in my magic, and also a result of speaking to others who are just as obsessive magical thinkers and performers, getting to peek at the same act through their lenses and gaining insight into what they feel is important in their magic.
This cross-pollination of minds I have found to be jet fuel for the mind, and has significantly accelerated my progress and personal development in magic.
Takeaway: Keep the equation in mind -- Effort in = Growth out -- you'll never lose.
5) 🎭 Be An Artist - Take Responsibility
The debate of whether magic is an art form is something to discuss for another day (It depends). What I'm suggesting here is; I am ultimately the person who will be getting on stage delivering the piece I visualised, gave birth to, and developed. No matter what anyone else said or how much authority they had, the final decision rested with me.
Imagine if I allowed all the decisions about my act to be made by someone else, or worst still lots of other people. I would not only have some kind of Frankenstein-esque mess that fit me about as well as a suit made of cardboard, I would also, rather delusionally, believe I had license to blame everyone and anything other than myself. A very dangerous position to be in.
No. Be an artist. Consider everything, but make firm decisions on it all.
I am solely responsible for everything that goes wrong, and I am also responsible for everything that goes right. I'm not suggesting taking all the glory when things go well and making out like you had no help. No, give credit where credit is due.
But keep in mind you made the decision to follow or not follow advice, ideas, feedback. You step on that stage alone and for the duration of your performance you are representing you and your ability. Allow yourself to do it with pride.
Takeaway: Be an artist, failure will taste bitter, but success will never have tasted so sweet.
6) 👏🏻 Have A Support Team
Finally I must add to this list the importance and power of a support structure, without one the process would have been infinitely more lonely and difficult, and no where near as satisfying!
Over my lifetime in magic I have encountered many of our industries giants and had the opportunity to spend time with them (many, I hasten to add, would not consider themselves giants).
At one time or another I have called upon the help of these equally passionate magic geeks, some for a quick phone call, some a few hours over zoom, and others marathon in-person sessions; workshopping, perfecting, and building large swathes of the act.
Their support was not just a great help magically for the act, but also personally in terms of self belief and encouragement. Both of which I know I need to perform at my optimum.
Alongside help from my fellow magicians I had support closer to home from my mum, Patrica, who remains just as supportive as ever and continues to be something of a 'secret seamstress' who was key in developing some wardrobe based items. And my partner, Hayley, who knew taking on FISM was going to be disruptive to our lives yet remained nothing but supportive throughout. Despite my rehearsal space taking permanent residence in the living room, the en-suite turning in to a makeshift laboratory, and countless moments of heightened stress, Hayley showed nothing but encouragement and belief in me, for which I am eternally grateful.
Thank you, all!
