We gave $100 to magician Mason Michael, who is based in Colorado, and asked him to buy any current trick or tricks he wanted to take for a test drive.
Mason is 18 years old, finishing high school and planning on pursuing magic full time after he graduates. He’s been interested in magic for seven years. His interest started when his brother tricked him with the classic Red Snapper effect in which the magician pretends to be able to hook a rubber band onto a small hook at the bottom of a narrow cylinder. (At the time, Mason was so determined to solve this trick that, after a great deal of work, he once somehow managed to actually get the rubber band onto the hook.)
He often assists his mentor Ty Gallenback with shows. They have performed together on many occasions and are hoping to set up some form of residency venue in the near future.
Mason performs mostly card magic but has recently been studying Derren Brown’s books and taking inspiration from Brown’s way of reframing magic tricks as mental feats. In addition to magic, he loves Seinfeld and collects antique typewriters, which he fixes.
For this column, Mason decided to try a couple of new tricks, and ordered Perfect Cents by Cosmo Solano and Method 01 by Calen Morelli. Here’s what he had to say about these items.