I only started my journey in Magic at the end of November, 2017. At that point I didn’t even know who David Blaine was!
Around about December 2017 and January 2018, as I began showing friends some very basic card tricks, I was asked ‘have you seen that David Blaine guy?’
I would always say no, I couldn’t even put a face to the name, but a few people had mentioned David and were astonished that I had never heard of him. So I had to check him out…
It was actually thanks to Chris Ramsay that I began my research on Blaine, thanks to Ramsay’s video: ‘My Encounter With David Blaine (True Story)’.
I watched Chris’ strange story of how he met David and the bizzare description of how their meeting unfolded. If you aren’t familiar with the story then check the link above!
The Blaine TV Specials
I decided to search for David Blaine on YouTube and discovered one of his recent TV specials – Real or Magic? – and it was a major turning point for me.
I remember watching David Blaine just take a glass, drink from it, then just eat the glass! It was just such a bizzare yet amazing moment that I just had to keep watching…
I watched various other spectacular moments – such as when David Blaine made the word ‘Indigo’ appear on a wall, the very colour the spectator was thinking of, using fire in an elaborate manner.
I remember David taking George Bush’s watch without him realising, before jokingly giving it back to him, and the ‘invisible touch’ with Jamie Foxx.
I watched all of Blaine’s other specials, and it inspired me to go from just practicing a couple card tricks to becoming a real Magician.
My First Performance… Inspired by Blaine
Before I was just practicing a few card tricks for fun, but watching the reactions Blaine got, the atmosphere he created with his magic, his presence and performance style, it all motivated me to get to the next level.
The timing was perfect… it was early to mid February when I discovered Blaine’s magic, and on the 27th February I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a Talent Show at my University.
I wasn’t going to at first… but I was improving and a few friends encouraged me to take the opportunity. What was there to lose?
So after just 3 months of entering the Magic world, I performed two tricks on Stage in front of about 50 people! It was definitely the ballsiest thing I’ve ever done…
David Blaine’s Legacy
After my Stage Performance I started practicing all of the card tricks I saw from Blaine Specials – Ambitious Card, Two Card Monte, Here now There, etc. This was when I started getting some really good reactions and it made me fall in love with magic even more.
I loved that most of the Blaine Specials were heavily focused on Card Magic. I do like some other forms of Magic, but it’s the card magic that gets my attention.
Seeing how calmly Blaine would do card magic in a room full of people, or people surrounding him and up close, and how he controlled the mood and built such suspense had me in awe.
Some of my performance style is based from this, I like to create that moment of suspense, a twist maybe, and get everybody hooked on the finale.
David also leaves a great legacy with his endurance events (which are not to be misinterpreted as Magic).
While not everybody likes what David Blaine does with his endurance challenges, it sets a great example of what can be achieved with hard work, discipline, and belief.
David Blaine’s Playing Cards
I actually met David Blaine on his 2018 US Tour, and because of this I received my first David Blaine deck – Skull & Bones Private Reserves.
Since then I have used the Black Lions, Gold & Black Gatorbacks, Split Spades & White Lions.
The level of detail that goes into Blaine’s cards is remarkable – whether that the tuck case or the cards – they really impress.
The Gatorbacks have an intricate tuck case design, and the Gold Gatorbacks have a golden shimmmer just like the Gold Split Spades.
Various Blaine decks are marked and have hidden easter eggs in them. With any Blaine deck you can expect an interesting concept with lots of thought and meaning gone into it.
What’s next for David Blaine?
It appears that David may have a new TV Special coming up – so keep your eyes open for that!
DISCOUNT
As for those with an interest in David Blaine’s Playing Cards… we have a 10% discount across our ENTIRE David Blaine Collection!
USE CODE ‘SPLITSPADES’ To get 10% off your order at The Card Inn!
Link to The Card Inn’s Website: https://thecardinn.co.uk/
Link to our David Blaine Collection: https://thecardinn.co.uk/collections/all/david-blaine#MainContent
Thanks for reading!
James Kiernan
The Card Inn: Website/ Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube
Magic & Self-Development 