The Interview
The Interview
DK: Who is Erik Tait?
ET: He’ s just some guy.
This was the fastest interview ever. Haha – I don’ t know of a good way of answering that. I love my tiny dogs and card magic.
Now we’ re cooking.
I throw myself into my“ enthusiasms,” whether it’ s Lego, Robot Combat, Godzilla movies, or magic competitions. I love exploring things.
Have you always had a wide range of interests?
As a child, I was primarily interested in juggling. I dedicated a significant amount of time to it, and it eventually evolved into a part-time job. Between high school and college, I secured a full-time position as a juggler at The Comedy Barn, a variety theater. I watched magic specials on TV and owned magic kits as a kid, but I never imagined myself as a magician. I thought I was going to be a professional juggler.
Everything changed when I started working there. The cast members worked the souvenir stand before and after the show and during intermission because guests were likelier to buy a $ 30 t-shirt from someone you just saw on stage than a random teenager. So when I got there, the owner said,“ Well, you’ re a magician now. You can learn and pitch magic tricks because we sell some in our magic shop.” I said,“ Okay, no problem,” but I knew nothing about magic. I had to learn. Our ventriloquist, Stephen Knowles, taught me my first couple of card moves. I became a working magician that day. I learned almost all of my early magic tricks in that gift shop. I was doing the Svengali Deck, Mental Photography, Scotch and Soda, Cups and Balls, and the Professor’ s Nightmare. I was doing it if it was sold in a tourist shop, and it was an Empire Magic trick.
My interests have always extended beyond magic, encompassing science fiction, comic books, and other“ nerdy” pursuits. I collected and painted miniatures and participated in war games. Since a young age, I’ ve been building and repairing computers. My father owned a factory where the computers were often damaged due to the dirty environment. I would take these broken computers, clean them, and salvage usable parts to enhance my own computer at home. My passion for technology has persisted into adulthood. I have a wildly overbuilt PC, which I’ m constantly modifying and upgrading.
My most recent interest is Robot Combat. I want to compete in the sport and have my robot destroyed by people I admire in that subculture. I have some 3D CAD design and 3D printing skills and am expanding my knowledge of electronics, circuitry, and RC controls. I bought a relatively nice 3D printer, thinking it would force me to learn CAD software to design a small robot. Instead, I’ ve been using it to build parts for my magic show: little clips that hold ropes in place, a card clip, and modifications to a deck switcher that had started having issues. Seeing how these enthusiasms have fed back into magic and improved my show was a surprise, even to me.
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