Magician Will Tsai hit the America’s Got Talent stage earlier this year and wowed the judges.
Simon Cowell said his audition was the best magic he’d ever seen on the show.
The 33-year-old, who was born in Taiwan and moved to Burnaby when he was 15, did a trick with cards, coins and rose petals.
“I like flowers because they remind me how beautiful life is, but also very fragile, and that’s why every second counts,” he tells the crowd before starting. “In the grand scheme of things, life happens in the blink of an eye, so for the next few moments, don’t blink.”
That performance has since received more than 100 million views online.
What some may not know is Tsai is already a well-known act around the world. He’s the founder of SansMinds Magic, a magic production company that has provided programs to major TV networks around the globe. In June, he appeared on the front cover of Vanish, one of the top magazines in his industry.
NOW reporter Tereza Verenca caught up with Tsai to see how life’s been since AGT. At the time of the interview, not surprisingly, he was oversees working in China.
What got you into magic?
Times were tough back then. When I was a kid, I saw a street performer and what he did was so impossible. For a moment, I forgot about my problems. I thought if he could do all those impossible things, maybe my situation wasn’t so impossible after all. It became my way of escaping reality. I thought it would be amazing if I could one day be that person and give hope to people. Just like that person did with me. He gave me the courage to try again.
You call yourself a visualist, not a magician or an illusionist. Why is that?
There’s usually tricks behind a magician’s performance. Some of the things I do are just pure visual that I believe doesn’t need a trick to convey the emotion and wonder. In that sense, it’s not a magic performance.
To me, it’s all about the emotion and story I want to express behind the performance. So I came up with the term visualist for those moments when people ask me why they don’t see tricks in my act.
You own a magic production company, SansMinds Magic. Tell us a little bit about it.
It’s a creative platform that’s dedicated to inventing magic tricks or special effects that are never before seen. It’s available to both professional magicians to find tools as well as to the public to learn some cool ice breakers. Magic is an amazing tool to make friends in seconds. Even if you don’t remember everyone’s name, most will remember yours.
How did AGT come about?
I almost died from a lung infection three years ago. I always thought I’d have more time to try things. When I was sick in bed, I realized that could pretty much be it. So when I was lucky enough to recover over time, I decided to try new things in my life. One thing led to another and one day I was contacted by AGT.
What was that experience like?
Restless, stressful, challenging. Loved every second of it. To be able to give my all to a 3,000-person live audience and four very established judges in the performance field, not knowing how they will respond to my new piece, was a nerve-racking experience. But I did try my best with the given situation and left no regrets on that stage. For that, I am grateful.
Tell us about the trick you performed, with the cards, coins and flower petals. What’s the meaning there?
The whole performance was in what I said and the visual was there to aid. Just my perspective on how fragile life is. Most, including myself, spend our lives chasing money. We forgot how beautiful life is.
I read that you changed your look for AGT – that your style is very different than what aired. For example, you’re known to sport light coloured hair and accessories. Why the change?
Contestants only have 90 seconds on stage to show what they’ve got. I wanted the whole process to be visually intuitive so judges could go straight into my work without having to judge who this person is.
Since your first AGT episode has aired, what’s business and life been like?
After the video view of my performance broke 100 million views worldwide, it certainly opened up different doors and opportunities. Nothing from Canada yet. Anyone?
What advice do you have for aspiring magicians?
This would apply to all forms of artists. Never stop trying. Have faith and believe in yourself.
Anything else?
Anything could happen and opportunity waits for no one. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my team from SansMinds and all those who came out to help. Their restless nights paid off. I am only as good as the people who help me.
