This week Jonah connects with cardistry legend Franco Pascali. Franco is an amazing magician, thinker, and creator and he’ll share his secrets on how he develops his skills and grows his communities.

Magic found Franco when he would spend time with his fathers friends when they were playing card games. Even though none of these friends were magicians they all knew one basic trick. By the time Franco saw David Blaine on TV, he was already familiar with the basic concepts. 

As a kid, Franco was running up and down the playground trying to show everyone everything he knew. It wouldn’t be long before he’d audition for the Magic Castle Junior Academy, which would be the first time being around other magicians apart from the magic shop. 

Franco shares with Jonah all you’ve ever wanted to know about the Junior Academy and what it was like being a kid growing up in that environment. 

Franco has a lot to say about learning magic and learning how to be creative. He doesn’t consider himself a naturally creative mind but truly believes in the power of practice and repetition. There are so many resources available online that if you’re willing to put in the work you’ll be able to develop your skills and be a decent magician. The trick is you have to be willing to put in the work! 

Franco is prolific in the cardistry community, as well as being brought in as a consultant for cardistry on shows like Magic Camp. Franco has a lot of praise for cardistry and shares with Jonah why he loves cardistry and the differences it has between the magic community. 

Franco loves cards so much it’s no surprise that he launched his own card line, enter Cartelago, and he opens up on all the details and considerations that go into the design and construction of great card decks.  

Tony Picaso, AKA the “Cardfather”, is an LA underground sensation in magic. He’s done many exclusive shows at the Magic Castle for many prestigious guests and he just oozes knowledge.

I like that there are a lot of creative young people right now which has led to a lot of advancements in gimmick building. The modern gimmicks we have now are very exciting. 

I don’t like anything unauthentic in magic. I hate cheezyness. I hate stupid tiktok content.

When it comes to performing magic and being a better magician, there’s been a lot of glorification of ideas without backing and for me the backing is the actual hours spent performing. Your audience is your best teacher.

You also have to be fully fearless of failure. Failure has nothing to do with us. All we can do is our absolute best and then go do it with a good heart and good intentions and the rest does not matter and won’t matter to anybody watching. 

If you find a repertoire that you love… it’ll somehow show and it’ll be the best thing you do. 

Instagram: @francopascali

If you’re interested in being part of a cool magic community that teaches free magic, follow @magicintel. This is a private account and when you follow you may be asked to DM a video of you doing magic.

If you’re interested in getting playing cards check out @cartelago 

Finally, Franco just dropped his latest trick, “Disposition”, which you can find in the Theory11 store.

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