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Who is VanDoren ?
When did the magic start?
At the age of 5 my older brother ordered a trick deck of cards from the back of a comic book. To perform magic with these cards you needed to know how to shuffle. That is not easy for a 5 year old. I worked and practiced until I became magical with the cards.
I WAS
HOOKED
The teenage years
brings me back to Magic
I no longer sit in the back row of the classroom. I was gaining confidence. I interacted with teachers and children. I learned how to make friends. My card trick performances were no longer just for me. I became more comfortable showing tricks to friends.
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A MAGICIAN WAS BORN
As a young child,
I was a stutterer and understandably very shy. My intelligence was questioned at this early age due to a medical problem discovered at age 8. These events put me very behind in school. Upon my mother's insistence I was given an IQ test. When the test was given, the doctors and school officials were amazed and knew that with a little effort I could come from behind and become an easy A and B student.
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THESE EVENTS
CHANGED MY LIFE
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MAGIC THE HOBBY
In my young adult years, magic was my hobby and my passion. After college I had a real career in sales and marketing. I had a wife and a beautiful young daughter. Things changed as it happens in one's life. My daughter grew up and I was divorced. I was only responsible for myself. If I was going to become a true, full time professional, now was the time.
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MAGIC BECAME MY PROFESSION
VanDoren The Performer
With little real experience and equipment VanDoren Magic was created. I wasn't known by the public and had no reputation in the magic community. Advertising was expensive. I asked myself, "Where do I start?" I knew that there were shows out there, but I wasn't sure how to find them. Years before I had seen some magicians working in restaurants. I also knew that I performed well for children from my hobby days.
I decided that my first marketing plan was to perform in restaurants and get the restaurant owner to let me use table tents to advertise my birthday party show. This actually worked quite well. At one point I was working four restaurants and performing several birthday party shows a weekend.
I built my birthday party shows larger. It became more than a show. It was an event. This new show entertained the adults as well as the children. The new design pushed the weekend magicians out of my market area. This made me one of a kind. My business increased.
It didn't take long to expand my shows to daycares, schools, libraries and churches. The public seemed to like my style of magic. My grand illusion shows and corporate events came later.
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I have been very fortunate. I received Magician of the Year twice in South Carolina. I have performed in Asia, lectured in Europe and have shared my magical concepts by writing and publishing books. My unusual creative mind that was discovered in my childhood has allowed me to create new magic affects and build grand illusions for great magicians. And along the way I got to perform and be the special affects coordinator for an independent film.
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A MAGICAL LIFE
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My greatest love through the years was my magic camps. To see the children's lives grow with confidence and ability is the most touching part of my career. I have so many fond memories of these camps and making new ones every summer.
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