Jon Dorenbos loved magic before he played for the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons. When he was 12, his father killed his mother, and he turned to magic as a respite. “To this day,” he told The Athletic in a recent feature on him, “the sound of the riffle is where life makes sense.”
The article follows Dorenbos as he works as a magician and keynote speaker, and also delves into his background, chronicling his childhood and relationship with his father, his football career, his run on America’s Got Talent, and his performances at events like Barbra Streisand’s surprise birthday party and an Andrea Bocelli Foundation cruise.
“I’ve had a motto in my life: Never become what you do, be who you are, and may every experience be a great story for your grandkids,” he’s quoted as saying at one point in the piece.
The article provides an interesting profile of the former football player turned professional magician and speaker, and strongly implies that Dorenbos is living up to his life goal.