“I was only six when I entered a magic shop with my grandfather and I saw this guy floating a little red ball in his hand…

“I was only six when I entered a magic shop with my grandfather and I saw this guy floating a little red ball in his hand… I was mesmerised. My first thought was ‘I need to learn how to do this’. I asked ‘Papa’ if I could have the ball but unfortunately, that trick was not on sale, so he bought another kit box. For most kids, this story would end with that. They play with the kit a few times, get bored and move on. For me, it just didn’t stop. I kept practising, looking at videos, reading books, I was always fidgeting with something in my hand… It wasn’t even about the tricks themselves so much but about that magical connection with people when I perform! That’s worth everything to me. I remember I was only 13 when I got my first regular gig in a restaurant. I was doing tricks for the customers and although nobody took me seriously, it taught me a lot about being confident enough to just walk up to people. My first, full, solo theatre show was when I was only 19. Thousands of people bought tickets just to see me perform… I still can’t believe it! Lots of my friends are going to university now and most of them have no clue whether they are actually going to enjoy what they are studying. It makes me feel grateful I found my passion so early in life.”