Toronto Magician
Magic In Toronto by Kyle Chappell
I first got interested in Magic when I was very young. I was born outside of Toronto in Ajax, Ontario. I was given a book on magic called "Fifty Ninty Magic Tricks", which if you couldn't guess, had fifty magic tricks in it. My Dad noticed my hobby, and bought me a Cups & Balls set on one of his trips to Las Vegas, one of the Magic Capitals of the World! I continued to practise and learn some new magic, however my interest sparked again when David Blaine Street Magic first aired on Television.
My life turned into non-stop Blaine watching. Although I knew very little about the methods he was using, I love watching every minute of it. After reading more, and continuously watching the Street Magic special, I slowly began to learn the methods behind all the tricks, and began practising them myself. Eventually I was able to re-create nearly all of Blaine's tricks, and began to perform them at school in Grade 7 to many of my friends. Even though my skills were... mediocre, I was still able to 'amaze' many of my friends and teachers.
I then learned of something called a "Magic Store" somewhere in Toronto . Sherrie, my Dad's girlfriend at the time, took me downtown to the "Browser's Den Of Magic" for the first time ever. I was in wonderland. I saw the shop owner Jeff perform soo many tricks, and even some of the amazing Blaine Street Magic tricks that I had not figured out! The first trick I bought was the "Rising Card" deck. I couldn't wait to get to school and feel more like David Blaine himself, now with another trick he did!
I slowly began to learn more about Magic, including the sponge balls, Zombie Ball, Dove Pan, Needle Thru Arm (which Jeff at the Browser's Den was reluctant to sell me because I was only in Grade 8). One of my earliest "great" performances was to Sherrie, doing sponge balls. The idea of reaching into my pocket to grab more sponge balls without the audience seeing did not seem possible (I knew almost nothing about misdirection). But everytime Sherrie opened her hand she seemed shocked that more balls got in there! (or maybe she was very good at pretending.. either way, thanks for the confidence boost Sherrie!). I remember this moment very well, and its a reaction I always try to get again from my spectators.
I managed to get back to the Browsers Den of Magic in Toronto many more times thanks to my Dad. He got me into a "Magic Club" there, and drove me down the first Sunday of every month. Each month I'd spend nearly all the money I made delivering papers on new tricks. It was only a few hours, but it was my favourite day of the month. I loved my Dad for bringing me every month (and not stopping me from buying more tricks!).
When I got to High School, I felt it was 'time to shine'. I had many new tricks to show, my slight of hand skills had improved greatly, and I was starting to get a hang of the whole 'misdirection' thing. I continued doing magic through grade 9 and 10, however I didn't do much of it from grade 11 through college.
