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Professional Magician | Job Deep Dive
Lewis Chaney explains a career in magic and mentalism. He explains how a professional mentalist uses performance to cure loneliness and create moments of awe for his audience.
Like all TFTS episodes, you get the unfiltered reality of how this job works that you won't find in any instruction manual.
If you have an interesting job and would like to be a guest on the show, then email me at [email protected]
Real Human Conversations, No AI in this video.
Lewis Chaney: https://lewischaney.com/
International Brotherhood of Magicians: https://www.magician.org/
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:37 Starting a career in magic
1:23 Response to magic being for kids
2:30 Best path for a new magician
3:42 Appearance of a veteran magician
4:30 People not suited for this career
5:37 Future of story driven mentalism
6:46 Differences between mentalists and magicians
8:54 Mentalism and cold reading
10:50 Exposing charlatans in the craft
15:35 Potential earnings for a magician
16:38 Work life balance and scheduling
17:35 Benefits of joining the Brotherhood of Magicians
19:33 Teaching each other tricks
20:18 Difficulty of inventing a trick
22:11 Slang terms used by magicians
23:54 The 15 card trick explanation
26:50 Injuries from a fire wallet
29:05 Purpose of Zener cards
31:04 Preferred brands of playing cards
32:30 Outlook on humanity from the job
34:25 Starting out at any age
35:04 Why restaurants hire magicians
37:37 Best and worst days on the job
42:07 Moments of wanting to quit
44:00 Understanding people beyond the books
46:47 Hot takes on cold reading
47:29 Defining success as a magician
48:42 Advice for turning pro
50:18 Lifting yourself up with magic
51:51 Thoughts on cardistry and the Sting
52:42 Impact of the Masked Magician
54:00 Dream of the Magic Castle
54:36 Mentalism vs sleight of hand
55:07 Legacy of Harry Houdini
55:30 Caution with YouTube tutorials
56:07 Dislike for virtual magic
56:29 Influence of the Amazing Kreskin
57:18 Groundwork laid by David Copperfield
57:58 Experience with stage pickpocketing
1:00:41 Complexity of the shell game
1:03:01 Using gaff cards and lucky reveals
1:06:52 Secrets of being a professional magician
Copyright 2025 Soffley LLC
View all episodes
By Shane PetersonLewis Chaney explains a career in magic and mentalism. He explains how a professional mentalist uses performance to cure loneliness and create moments of awe for his audience.
Like all TFTS episodes, you get the unfiltered reality of how this job works that you won't find in any instruction manual.
If you have an interesting job and would like to be a guest on the show, then email me at [email protected]
Real Human Conversations, No AI in this video.
Lewis Chaney: https://lewischaney.com/
International Brotherhood of Magicians: https://www.magician.org/
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:37 Starting a career in magic
1:23 Response to magic being for kids
2:30 Best path for a new magician
3:42 Appearance of a veteran magician
4:30 People not suited for this career
5:37 Future of story driven mentalism
6:46 Differences between mentalists and magicians
8:54 Mentalism and cold reading
10:50 Exposing charlatans in the craft
15:35 Potential earnings for a magician
16:38 Work life balance and scheduling
17:35 Benefits of joining the Brotherhood of Magicians
19:33 Teaching each other tricks
20:18 Difficulty of inventing a trick
22:11 Slang terms used by magicians
23:54 The 15 card trick explanation
26:50 Injuries from a fire wallet
29:05 Purpose of Zener cards
31:04 Preferred brands of playing cards
32:30 Outlook on humanity from the job
34:25 Starting out at any age
35:04 Why restaurants hire magicians
37:37 Best and worst days on the job
42:07 Moments of wanting to quit
44:00 Understanding people beyond the books
46:47 Hot takes on cold reading
47:29 Defining success as a magician
48:42 Advice for turning pro
50:18 Lifting yourself up with magic
51:51 Thoughts on cardistry and the Sting
52:42 Impact of the Masked Magician
54:00 Dream of the Magic Castle
54:36 Mentalism vs sleight of hand
55:07 Legacy of Harry Houdini
55:30 Caution with YouTube tutorials
56:07 Dislike for virtual magic
56:29 Influence of the Amazing Kreskin
57:18 Groundwork laid by David Copperfield
57:58 Experience with stage pickpocketing
1:00:41 Complexity of the shell game
1:03:01 Using gaff cards and lucky reveals
1:06:52 Secrets of being a professional magician
Copyright 2025 Soffley LLC