ABOUT JOHN
A little magic. A lot of stories. More than forty years of wonder.
I first discovered magic as an awkward thirteen-year-old watching magicians like Doug Henning and David Copperfield on television. Before long, I was checking every magic book I could find out of the library and spending hours practicing in front of the bathroom mirror.
Over the years, magic has followed me through a life here in northern Indiana that has included family, firefighting, EMS, 911 dispatching, writing and storytelling. Somewhere along the way, all of those experiences began finding their way into the kind of performer I became.
Today my shows are less about proving that I can fool someone and more about creating those moments of laughter, mystery and wonder that we can share together.
MORE THAN MAGIC
The things we carry have a way of becoming part of the stories we tell.
A LIFELONG PASSION
SERVICE AND COMMUNITY
STORIES I CARRY
From a curious thirteen-year-old checking magic books out of the library to the performer I am today, the wonder has never really left. More than forty years later, I still enjoy discovering something new and sharing that sense of wonder with an audience.
Years spent in firefighting, EMS and 911 dispatching taught me a great deal about people, community and the importance of the small moments we sometimes overlook. Those experiences have shaped not only who I am, but the kind of performer I have become.
I've always been a storyteller, whether through writing, poetry, history or magic. The stories and experiences I've gathered along the way often find their way onto the stage, because sometimes the story surrounding a piece of magic is every bit as important as the magic itself.
A LIFETIME OF WONDER
Sometimes the smallest moments are the ones that stay with us.
One of my earliest performances happened when I was about fourteen years old at an Abbott’s Magic Get-Together. I was walking past Harry Blackstone Jr. when he called me over and asked if I would like to show him some magic. I was terrified. Here I was, a kid who had spent countless hours practicing in front of a bathroom mirror, suddenly being asked to perform for one of the greatest magicians in the world. I nervously did a simple card trick, and Harry reacted as though I had just performed the greatest piece of magic he had ever seen. For those few minutes, he made me feel like I was the king of the world. I have never forgotten that.
Magic followed me into places I never would have imagined back then. During my years working in fire and EMS, I would sometimes use a little sleight of hand with a cotton ball to distract a frightened child from what was happening around them. Every once in a while, it worked on a nervous adult too. There was no stage and no applause, but those moments taught me that sometimes magic isn't really about fooling someone. Sometimes it's simply about giving someone a reason to smile when they need one.
Along the way, I began creating and writing magic of my own. Effects I've created have been reviewed in The Linking Ring and have found their way into the hands of magicians around the world, while some of my stories and routines have appeared in international collections. Then, in 2025, more than forty years after that nervous encounter with Harry Blackstone Jr., I had the honor of opening for Master Magician Jeff McBride at the MagistroruM convention in Texas.
I still love that wonderful moment when something impossible seems to happen, but after all these years I think what Harry gave me that day was something even more important. He showed me how magic could make someone feel. I didn't understand it at fourteen, but I do now. Whenever someone joins me during a show, whether they're eight years old or eighty, I hope I can give them at least a little of what Harry gave that nervous kid so many years ago.