Lee Padilla was born and raised in Hawaii. His first job was at an ice cream shop in Waikiki’s International Market Place, an iconic mall on O’ahu. “While I was there, that’s when I decided to become a bartender, and as a bartender, that’s how I became a magician,” he told Genii.
Lee’s life took him away from O’ahu for over 30 years. He recently came back to Waikiki, where he barely recognized the place where he used to sling scoops. “I was just sitting in the courtyard area under the banyan tree, just relaxing before I went to work, and I opened up my eyes and realized that I was in the International Market Place, where I ended up starting my first job 37 years ago,” he said.
Lee’s job at the time was being a magic bartender for one of the establishments in the Marketplace. He’s gained an online following performing there, with almost 200,000 followers on Instagram under his moniker, @magicleehawaii. After talking with fellow magician Anjo Sanchez, he decided to pitch the Marketplace’s management the idea of a magic venue. “I told them I thought that Hawaii was ready for nightlife. We were still kind of on Covid protocol, where everything was closing at 9 o’clock.”