RD201812-201901

THE

MAGIC

TRICK

THAT CHANGED

MY LIFE

By Nate Staniforth

from the book here is real magic

I

became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old,

I learned how to make a coin disappear. I’d read The Lord

of the Rings and ventured into the adult section of the library

to search for a book of spells—nine being that curious age at

which you’re old enough to work through more than 1,200

pages of arcane fantasy literature but young enough to still hold

out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the

library. The book I found instead taught basic sleight-of-hand

technique, and I dedicated the next months to practice.

rd.com | dec 2018 )jan 2019 81

matthew cohen (cards). courtesy nate staniforth (portrait)

FIRST PERSON

Staniforth’s early shows were painful, but from the beginning, he was hooked.