Magician & Illusionist Wes Iseli: "Stay humble, no matter how big you get; The celebrity status itself is nothing more than an illusion"
Ming S. Zhao
Apr 7 * 13 min read
Stay humble, no matter how big you get you always need to remember to be yourself. The celebrity status itself is nothing more than an illusion if you think about it. You can be on a top tv show making tons of cash, but you are no more of a celebrity to the person who doesn’t watch that show than some banker who is also wealthy. Money or fame does not make you better than others. Luckily I don’t think I have been a jerk to others along the way, this is just a lesson I have learned by observing others over the years.
Asa part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Magician & Illusionist Wes Iseli.
Wes Iseli has been performing magic since he was 7 years old. He started his own business called Party Magic after graduating from high school.
Wes currently performs at resorts, country clubs, theaters, trade shows, company picnics, and high school auditoriums all over the East Coast. He still enjoys doing the smaller shows such as private parties and family reunions. He says “I can’t think of a better career choice; it never gets old performing all over and entertaining thousands of people each month.”
Wes Iseli keeps himself in the public eye by performing such effects as accurately predicting the headline of a national newspaper one month in advance or by his amazing escape effects. As in the case of letting the audience tie him up completely with 100 feet of rope during his live show.
For 10 years Wes performed a 24 hour magic show to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Wes has since created The Magic of Giving Project where he uses his talents to create a magical moment that helps out those in need.
Wes has lectured for magicians helping them to realize their potential and get started in the business while teaching them to be as professional as possible. He also taught them some of his favorite tricks as well as let them in on some office secrets. Recently Wes Iseli was hired as a USDA certified animal trainer and magic consultant for The Carbonaro Effect on TRU TV.ru TV.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share with us the “backstory” that led you to this career path?
Ihave always loved magic, but even as a kid I didn’t think I could make a living at it. While attending high school I was planning on attending the Art Institute of Pennsylvania to become a special effects makeup artist. Then my world and plans for my future were turned upside down when Terminator 2 came out in theaters. I knew that the future of special effects was going to be mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and I wanted to do hands on movie magic, plus I couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk 80 hours a week working on a few frames. I immediately did a 180 and attended a community college to study marketing to learn how to promote myself as a magician.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway that you took out of that story?
A few years ago during the summer we were performing at a county fair and met another magician who absolutely loved my show. As we were talking he said he was the animal trainer and one of the magic consultants on The Carbonaro Effect on TRU TV. He was running a mobile zoo and taking it around to a number of county fairs. He had so many animals; water buffalo, monkeys, lemurs, camels, a tiger, a panther, macaws, goats, chickens and much more. Every night after the fair closed, we would talk magic and my wife and I would help out with the animals just because we knew hanging out with all these amazing animals was possibly a once in a lifetime thing. The second to the last day he got a call that they needed him back on set to start to film season 2 in one month. He told them he had contracts with all these fairs and couldn’t break them so he asked me if I could take his place for season 2. We stayed up all night talking about scenarios and what animals I would be working with. Since I have a love of animals and an extensive knowledge of magic, he knew I would be a perfect fit. 30 days later I was in Georgia filming and I was working with all types of animals such as dogs, kittens, rats, mice, a macaw, snakes, chickens, a teddy bear hamster, and more. I had such a blast and it is something I will never forget. For season 3 I had a phone call with the producers about coming back, but in the end they hired a guy from the zoo to bring over animals everyday for filming instead of an animal trainer/ magician trying to secure a unique or exotic animal for each day of filming. I was asked to price a giraffe for one day of filming and it was going to cost $15,000.00 for one day on set, so hiring the zookeeper was just a way of saving so much more money.
What I learned from working on The Carbonaro Effect is to always be ready, you never know where your next show is going to take you. Since then we have had offers to perform all over the US and even in Africa.
What would you advise to a young person who wants to emulate your success?
Never stop learning! Whether it be magic, marketing, modern technology, or from folks who are where you want to be. Learn as much as you can, promote yourself on social media, but with your friends and colleagues ask questions and listen more than you talk.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
I would not be a full-time magician today if it were not for my dad. When I was starting out shows were so few and far between that I couldn’t keep up with what little expenses I had. I was living at home with my parents, so really I just had a car to maintain and maybe a cell phone bill but my shows couldn’t cover that so my dad would slip me a few bucks here and there. He would also brag to his friends and tell them how great of a magician I was. My mom kept bringing home applications for me to get a real job, but my dad kept telling her to give me a little more time. If both of my parents had started to tell me to get a real job I would have probably caved in and joined the work force, but because of my dad I have been doing what I love full-time for over 24 years. My dad passed away when I was 25 and he never got to see me perform my illusion show in a theater, but I know even he would be amazed as to where I am today. My mom passed away two years ago and while cleaning up her house she had my show posters on the back of her door as you enter the house. She also had show photos of me and my wife onstage in a collage on a wall next to her desk and lots of newspaper clippings of me in the paper and much more. My mom was a huge fan of mine later when the business was self-sustaining, she only wanted the best for me and since she had never met another full-time magician before she couldn’t wrap her head around how I could turn that into a living.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you are working on right now?
Wes Iseli’s Magic of Giving Project is something I created to show wonder and help the community using my talents as a magician. I do a new video each month and the videos have magic in them as well as a charitable or volunteering aspect to them.
Magic is so much more than just what you see on stage. It crosses language barriers and cultures and can put smiles on faces of those who are struggling in sickness and/or with life in general. I wanted to use magic to give back because I knew some folks would watch just for the magic and others would like the charity aspect and the reactions of the generosity, but most of all I wanted to encourage others to give back as well.
Can you share with us the story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
About 15 years ago I heard the song at Christmas, Happy Christmas (War Is Over) and the lyrics “So this is Christmas and what have you done, another year over and a new one’s just begun” hit me and I thought yeah what have I done I want to use my talents to give back and make a real difference. So the following Christmas I started my 24 hour magic show to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. In this event I would stand out front of a Walmart at Christmas performing close up magic for 24 hours straight asking for donations for the kids. I did this for 10 years then created my Magic of Giving Project that continues all year long.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
In episode #15 of Wes Iseli’s Magic of Giving Project I magically produced a car for a lady in need. She was 28 years old and she had a 9 year old daughter who had 2 heart transplants. Because of all her surgeries she couldn’t take public transportation, so I helped her out by magically making a car appear for her.
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
If you wanted to help me in My Magic of Giving Project
- Share my Youtube videos to help inspire others
- Video yourself doing a random act of kindness and upload it with the hashtag #Wesiselismagicofgivingproject or #magicofgivingproject
- Subscribe to my facebook page (Wes Iseli’s Magic of Giving Project) and Youtube channel (Wes Iseli) to be the first to see what we come up with next.
I’m hopeful that Wes Iseli’s Magic of Giving Project will continue to grow over the next few years. We are in talks with TV production companies about making this a weekly show and possibly turning this into a nonprofit as well. As of now everything is paid for fully by me and my wife.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or an example for each.
- The phone doesn’t just ring on its own, the people on the other end must be excited to have you at their gig and be motivated to call you. I have learned over the years that lots of my friends in magic have quit or continue to struggle because they won a magic award or did a huge event and feel like they can now just sit back and wait for the phone to ring because they are so good. I had a friend who loved magic so much that he would practice day and night and won a ton of magic awards but hated to put in any time in the office, so his mantle was covered in awards but he never performed because he wouldn’t do anything on the business end. The old adage is: show business is 2 words and the business is just as important as the show.
- Some of the people who are put on pedestals in showbusiness are not only someone you don’t want to emulate but may completely disappear in the near future. When I would go to a magic convention or read about a magician in a trade magazine, I would imagine how cool it would be if I were where they were. In reality, so many of them were part time magicians and they had day jobs that they kept hidden from the entertainment community. Some entertainers in all fields are nothing more than a flash in a pan and will disappear never to be heard from again. Think about movie stars of the 90’s who have vanished as if by magic. Don’t do it for the fame and fortune, do it because you love it and success will follow.
- Having a great show and business plan isn’t enough, you will also need a publicist. I currently have a team who help me in all aspects of my business. My wife Natalie is not only my office mgr. and my assistant onstage but she is someone I can bounce ideas off 24 hours a day. I also have a publicist, having a publicist has helped get me into meetings, gotten me in newspapers, tv interviews, radio interviews, podcasts, and has gotten my name out in towns I have never performed at previously to help sell show tickets.
- Don’t be discouraged, when I was starting out things were hard. If I had one show a week I was doing good, but one show a week doesn’t pay the bills. If you are laser focused on your goals and are willing to keep pushing through the hard times you can and will reach them.
- Stay humble, no matter how big you get you always need to remember to be yourself. The celebrity status itself is nothing more than an illusion if you think about it. You can be on a top tv show making tons of cash, but you are no more of a celebrity to the person who doesn’t watch that show than some banker who is also wealthy. Money or fame does not make you better than others. Luckily I don’t think I have been a jerk to others along the way, this is just a lesson I have learned by observing others over the years.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Wes Iseli’s Magic of Giving Project would be an amazing legacy to leave behind. If I had an army of people who experienced what I feel when I help those in need, I think they would be hooked as I am. Just think about it, I magically produced a car for a lady in need. All in all, it took me only a few hours to put everything together and pull it off but that is a memory that family will have for the rest of their lives. Long after that car is dead and gone, they will never forget the day that magician made a car appear for them.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
When I was 25 my dad was fighting cancer and I bought a video camera to capture as much as I could of potentially his last days. In one of these recordings I asked my dad if he had anything he wanted to tell the camera he said, “Life is short”
I remember watching this video over and over after he passed and his quote that life is short really stuck with me. It motivates me to not put off work, not to wait until things are 100 percent ready but to start today. I wanted to do an upside-down straight jacket escape just like Houdini and I decided there was no time like the present. I had to figure everything out on my own, such as rigging my ankles, signing waivers with the venue, and much, much more. I knew in my heart I would feel much better having accomplished this goal than I would have if it was written on a wish list of things I wanted to accomplish in the future. I was in talks with several production companies about doing a reality show that followed my family around doing 400 shows per year and after a year of several companies saying maybe next quarter, I decided to film it myself. It is called Wes Iseli’s Magiclife and it is sponsored by Vit Hit. Wes Iseli’s Magiclife currently has 222 episodes available on Youtube. Life is short and I wanted to jump on it because each week that went by, I was missing cool stuff that could have been in the show. Life is short, go for it, it is better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all…
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
David Copperfield hands down. I grew up watching his yearly specials and he changed the face of modern-day magic. He is not only an amazing magician and extraordinary businessman, but he also has a love of magic that is unmatched and on full display in his museum in Las Vegas. David has become the richest magician in history and doesn’t need to perform any more, but because of his love of magic he is still doing over 600 shows per year. Even with all that he isn’t just resting on his name, but he is continually updating his show and is always on the cutting edge of the impossible.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
