#679: Simon Coronel, World Champion of Magic — Quitting the Day Job, The Delights of the Magic Castle, Finding Glitches in Reality, Learning How to Use Your Own Brain, and Worshiping at the Altar of Wonder

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Simon Coronel (simoncoronel.com) is legally classified as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability” by the United States Government for his skills as a magician and illusionist. Simon discovered magic in 1999 as a first-year student at Melbourne University. He then spent five years working full time in management consulting while juggling his “secret” performance career.

He’s currently a jigsaw puzzle designer for The Magic Puzzle Company, which has the #1-backed puzzle on Kickstarter of all time, and is a regular performer at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Simon has appeared twice on the hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. He has won over a dozen international awards for magic, including being crowned the World Champion of Magic in 2022 at FISM, the Olympics of magic.

Please enjoy!

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[06:12] Radical earliness.

[08:23] The Magic Castle.

[17:27] Catching the magic bug at age 18.

[19:56] Acknowledging neurodivergence.

[28:16] Glitches in Reality.

[30:53] The road to winning the 2022 FISM World Championship of Magic.

[53:04] Workshopping out the kinks before the competition.

[57:59] The muse and the Shoot seal of approval.

[1:01:31] Gauging audience perception and finding balance pre-game.

[1:05:49] The big day.

[1:18:45] Categories of stage magic.

[1:20:15] Ugly crying through victory.

[1:30:10] The immediate aftermath.

[1:34:03] A homecoming drink at the Magic Castle.

[1:36:37] Why a later start in magic was lucky.

[1:39:13] How working at Accenture played into Simon’s weaknesses.

[1:45:30] Making the decision to do magic full-time.

[1:52:34] Hotbeds of magical innovation.

[1:55:57] Mentalism misgivings.

[2:01:13] Why learning magic can be so daunting for a beginner.

[2:07:29] How Simon teaches magic.

[2:10:45] Magic in the media.

[2:14:35] Is atheism a prerequisite for the modern magician?

[2:16:14] Jigsaw puzzles.

[2:23:26] Parting thoughts.

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