SLEIGHT OF HAND or twist of fate, one works with the other when transforming an ordinary beverage salesman into a full-time corporate magician. With a long list of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, Bob Smith entertains with an interactive magic show and stand-up comedy. His relaxed style and fascinating talent of amusing corporate America seems as easy as the innumerable sleight of hand tricks he uses in his show, but like his well-practiced act and eye-fooling tricks, his career is more a dedicated professional practice than a quick-fingered fate of luck or chance. What started as a childhood curiosity for Bob Smith, evolved into an adult intellectual pursuit and finally into a full-time career. MAGIC! That bit of insight started at about 8 years old. “Watching The Ed Sullivan Show as a kid, magic became something I wanted to learn. Every month there were lots of dancers and singers… but only one or two magicians… somehow they seemed different in quality… they were intriguing… surprising.” At 13, he met his first magician at an arcade. This guy waiting to use a pinball machine was performing sleight of hand tricks to amuse himself and the others around him. Bob started a conversation and soon his free time was spent learning the same tricks. His new friend was putting himself through college as a magician and needed on apprentice, a position Bob willingly took for two years. “It was a typical birthday show… pulling a bunny out of a hat… but I learned a lot setting up the show and tearing it down again.” One year in school he was asked to participate in a talent show as the closing act. That privilege earned him center stage throughout school… “People were constantly coming up and asking me to do tricks… I just wasn’t prepared for that.” This is when he shied away from performing and turned magic into a hobby. Learning magic also helped put a twist on parental attention. His father opened one of the first fine dining restaurants in Lubbock, Texas. It was there that he learned the hospitality industry, starting as a dishwasher and ending as a manager, and where he also learned to deal in customer service. “…A very important aspect of my business.” Eventually settling in Houston, Bob worked as an on-premise beverage salesman, a job that required him to call on various clubs and lounges in the downtown area and set-up promotions. Sales calls were not permitted during the lunch hour, so with extra time to kill everyday he started hanging out at the local magic shop. This further developed his talents. On sales calls, while waiting to speak to the proprietor, Bob would keep himself busy by doing sleight of hand tricks. He soon found himself entertaining the staff and customers. In time, he even integrated magic into his sales calls to ‘break the ice’ during a cold call on new prospects and eventually for product promotions. The transition from a full-time salesman with magic as a hobby, to a full-time performing magician came a couple of years later. He fondly remembers working for the Circus Restaurant, part of the Pappas Family chain and as “MR. SEE IT” for T.S.O. (Texas State Optical) a job that ran slightly over four years, two hundred shows a year, and extolled the “magic of vision” to grade school students. Avoiding the typical magic show trappings of props, costumes and showy names, Bob Smith proves himself a true showman by not only keeping his act focused to his talents but also by interacting intimately with his audience in a comedic manner. Performing corporate shows requires adaptability depending on the requirements of the show. They seem to fall into 3 categories; Trade shows—using magic to promote a product or service; Breakouts—during meetings or training when entertainment is used to change the pace and mood, and the After Dinner—a typical awards ceremony and C.E.O. speech or morale boosting due to recent layoffs or bad news from management. Transforming the crowd’s mood is one of the greatest tricks of his trade. Bob’s shows typically run 30 to 40 minutes, “long enough to keep them entertained without medication”, and cost from $300 per hour to $2500 for a trade show appearance. His talents run the entire spectrum—from an audience walk-about showing hilarious sleight of hand tricks to a stage performance with assistants. Trade secrets do exist and magicians are as secretive and mysterious as their tricks when it comes to sharing them. Most work comes by word of mouth from people that have seen his show. Public appearances are rare, but every so often be can be caught performing at a local club.