The best thing about Stranger Things was that the 80’s throwback theme was so good it finally got magicians to stop stealing Hans Zimmer’s songs for their social media posts. 

Jokes aside, this is a neat variation on the camera drop trick that’s been haunting Facebook as of late performed by killer close-up magician, Rodney Reyes. We’ve featured him on the site before when he collaborated with the incredibly talented Patrick Kun. Reyes’ technical skill and slick presentation are a must-see if you ever get the opportunity. 

He’s also responsible for my favorite trick reaction video:

One of the advantages of having divorced parents – aside from the traditional Christmas-time, who-is-the-best-parent competition that can prove very lucrative for savvy kids – is that you don’t have to buy them wedding anniversary gifts unless you’re feeling mean. But props to magician Manmeet Singh, who’s not only figured out how to wish his mum and dad a happy anniversary without spending a dime, but also managed to throw a little self promotion in there as well. 

It’s a cute trick with a heartfelt message at the end. It’s also a very good ad for Singh’s Facebook page, which features cool tricks and card deck reviews. Good stuff. That reminds me. Mother’s day is coming up and I need a way to promote my Twitter account. Hmmm.  

Adam Trent is currently enjoying a nationwide tour following his successful turn on Broadway as part of The Illusionists, and he’s chronicled a bit of his journey in a freshly-posted Facebook video simply titled “Why I Do What I Do”. Interspersed with cuts from his tour, Trent tries to get to the heart of why he likes magic, why he enjoys using it to connect with people, and what makes touring in cities both large and small so fascinating. It’s a quick burst of heartwarming inspiration for your day, and it appears that there will be more of these videos to come in the near future.

Take a couple minutes and watch the video above (or check out Adam Trent’s Facebook page), and visit Trent’s website for tour locations and ticketing information.

Update (2/14/2018): Other magicians have come forward expressing their displeasure with Jibrizy’s latest video, which has exposed the method of several currently-marketed tricks as well as copied a previous viral video. Mentalist Bedros Akkelian (aka Spidey) has posted his own thoughts on the matter:

Whether a result from criticism from other magicians or the fans, it would appear that Jibrizy has since deleted the video from his Facebook page. We have removed the embedded post (which has since thrown a “video unavailable” warning”) and updated our story below to reflect this.

Original Story:

A few months back, a series of videos starring someone fans dubbed the “Pokerface Man” hit critical viral mass on the internet. In the videos, a magician pulled off a series of tricks while his jerkface friend exposed all of his methods, all while continuing to stare stonefaced into the camera. They were funny, got millions of views, and were shared across all corners of the internet, including mainstream sites like MSN.

Today, Jibrizy posted a compilation of magic tricks along with his friend Paul Vu, but the format looks very familiar…

(The original post for this story featured the Facebook video embedded here, which has since been pulled.) 

The tricks themselves are different from the ones performed in the Pokerface Man videos, but the effect is the same: Jibrizy does a trick, then Vu walks over, steals whatever item Jibrizy is using, exposes the method, they bicker, then the duo moves on to the next trick.

Other magicians don’t seem too happy with the video, like Xavier Spade, who shared the video on his Facebook page with the comment “Another sad day in magic… Can’t even steal magic in an original way…”. YouTube illusionist Chris Ramsay (who has previously been critical of Jibrizy’s work) replied to this post saying “When all else fails…”

This isn’t the first controversy Jirbizy has gotten himself embroiled in: back in August, 2017, the magician had been caught stooging his magic tricks, coaching his onlookers on how  to react in his videos. It hasn’t seemed to have effected his popularity, though, as he continues to boast over 1.1 million followers on Facebook.

Exposing method is one thing, and whether it’s ok or not is still a hotly-contested debate in the magic community. Copying someone else’s routine, though, is something else entirely. What do you think?