How Mahdi Gilbert is Making Magic Great Again

I recently sat down with Canadian Card Worker Mahdi Gilbert to talk about his new Kickstarter Campaign, “Making Magic Great Again”.  If you’ve never seen Mahdi work with a deck of cards, you should check this out first. It will totally blow your mind!  Below the video, you’ll see my interview with Mahdi Gilbert – and find out all about his new project – which is all about his passion for magic!

First, check out this performance!

"I think the reason so many people have latched onto that notion is they feel there was a time America was better than it is now."

Mahdi Gilbert

The Mahdi Gilbert Interview

Aaron: Hey Mahdi, What have you been up to lately?

Mahdi: Hey Aaron, great to be talking to the Conjuring Community today. It’s been awhile since we last saw each other, since then I’ve been sprouting my wings and traveling the world performing magic. It’s been really exciting for me to take one of my passions and be able to make a career out of it. So far this year I’ve been able to perform all over the US, Canada, South Korea, and Sweden and I’m about to hit the road again to perform in Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, and Spain. I LOVE IT!!!

I’m working on a few projects right now revolving around Matthias Buchinger. He was a 17th century showman, artist, and magician who was also born without hands and feet. I’m working on creating a documentary to show the audience the things he did with me trying to recreate his most amazing skills such as micrography, calligraphy, knife-throwing, performing the cups and balls, and much more which I hope to turn into a live show one day.

Aaron: What’s your new Kickstarter Project…and why Kickstarter?

Mahdi: I’m trying to Make Magic Great Again. The Kickstarter is to create a hat so that magicians in the community can pledge to restore our venerable art to it’s former glory. In the campaign I discuss what I believe is wrong with magic today and how we can make it better. I choose Kickstarter as the platform because my campaign is all about community engagement, I mean, who better to raise the bar in magic then it’s current practitioners. People can pledge any about they want and if they pledge enough money they receive a hat which is sure to become a collector’s item.

Aaron: How did you come up with this idea?

Mahdi: I came up with the idea from this wild and unpredictable election season. One of the candidates Donald Trump is promising the world that he can Make America Great Again. I think the reason so many people have latched onto that notion is they feel there was a time America was better than it is now. And that’s sort of the way I feel about magic. There’s more magic in front of more people than any other time in history… but… I believe that quality should come before quantity and there needs to be a lot of education so that the people in magic today can really move the art form to unseen heights.

Aaron: What are you hoping to accomplish with this?

Mahdi: Will my campaign change anything? Probably not. I mean, the hats will looks amazing, I’m having them made by one of the greatest hat companies in the world. But… I don’t think it will make magic great again. I think that’s something all of us are responsible in our own lives. Making Magic Great Again starts with you, the reader. Now let’s do this!

To check out Mahdi’s project while there’s still time, go to this link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mahdigilbert/make-magic-great-again-hat

Help spread the word about Mahdi and his campaign by clicking “share”. Also, drop a comment or question for Mahdi right here…