NEW ALBANY, In. — A New Albany, Indiana man made it his mission to do the impossible. Creating magic tricks that would eventually be performed by some of the best magicians around the world.
Brent Braun is a magician and he’s on a mission to teach a new generation all the tricks of the trade. He is known as one of the top behind the scenes creators in the business.
After walking into the Greater Louisville Magic Emporium in Jeffersonville, Indiana on his lunch break one day his life changed forever.
“I walked into a magic shop and I saw a magic trick I couldn't explain and for the next week all I thought about was that magic trick,” Braun said.
At the age of 22 Braun became a single father and stuck in a job he hated.
“I was going through a divorce, didn't know what I was going to do with life, I wasn't happy with my job, I wasn't happy with where I was going or what I was doing so I just quit everything and became a professional magician,” Braun said.
A year after Braun saw that magic trick he quit his job to work at that very same magic shop and become a full-time magic student.
Magic then became not just a hobby for Brent but his life. Braun then met his wife and created a trick called "Torched and Restored" that can still be seen on worldwide platforms.
“The trick that Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent are both tricks I created in my parents basement when I was 19 years old and had nothing and was just some dude with ideas so it's sort of incredible.”
Braun even consulted with the 2021 winner of America’s Got Talent, Dustin Tavella.
Now an owner of his own magic shop, J & B Magic Shop and Theater, where it's not all about fame and fortune.
“It's about the moment. It's not necessarily about magic but it's the moment when you can make something impossible happen and you get a reaction of what we like to call astonishment. It's the moment where somebody sees a solid object melt away and they will remember that for a long time,” Braun said.
It's about inspiring future magicians and helping them get their chance in the spotlight.
“Obviously it's fun for me but the real implication is not in that moment, the real implication is in the moment years later, when I'm gone and dust and nobody really remembers. But there's somebody who has a story about walking into a magic shop when they were 7 years old and seeing some guy do magic and I was that guy, that's the real story for me,” Braun said.
For more information on the magic shop and when magicians are coming to perform visit you can visit Braun's website.