People always say, “Wow, magic must be so fun — adults love that kind of stuff!”
Yeah. Sure they do.
Right after they finish checking their phones, updating LinkedIn, and pretending they’re not dead inside.
Let’s be honest: adults are terrible magic audiences.
Exhibit A: The “I Know How That’s Done” Guy
Every magician knows him.
He’s in every crowd. He’s been in every crowd since 1842.
He stands there, arms crossed, smirking like he’s cracked the Da Vinci Code because he once watched a YouTube video called “How to Expose Magicians.”
I pull out a deck of cards, and his eyes light up with that smug glow that says,
“I’ve seen this one.”
Oh, really, Jeff? You’ve seen this one? The one where I pretend to like you?
Exhibit B: The Drunk Philosopher
Then there’s the guy who’s had just enough cocktails to start questioning reality itself.
You do a trick, he stares at you for a full ten seconds, and then he whispers,
“Bro… do you believe in free will?”
No, Todd. I believe in practice and disappointment. Please put your drink down before you vanish your dignity.
Exhibit C: The Overly Supportive Lady
Every magician loves audience energy… but sometimes, it’s a little too much.
You make a coin disappear and suddenly you’ve got Brenda in the front row losing her mind like she’s at a Beyoncé concert.
“OH MY GOD! HE’S A WIZARD! HE’S AN ACTUAL WIZARD!”
Thank you, Brenda, but calm down — it’s a Tuesday, and we’re in a Chili’s.
Exhibit D: The Silent Stare
And then there’s the worst one of all: the deadpan adult.
You make a card appear in their shoe, and they just stare at you like you’ve interrupted their taxes.
“Huh.”
That’s it. That’s the whole reaction.
Meanwhile, I’ve spent 12 years learning to do that and almost dislocated a thumb in the process.
The Truth
Children are brutally honest.
Adults are emotionally numb.
You can’t win either way.
The truth is, magic isn’t for adults — it’s for the part of them that still remembers being a kid. The part that still believes something impossible might happen, even if just for a second.
That’s what magic is really about: giving grown-ups permission to stop pretending they’ve got it all figured out.
So yeah — magic isn’t for adults. But it’s for the little kid still buried under the bills, emails, and general existential dread.
And that, my friends, is why I’ll keep doing it anyway.
✨ Alexander the OK — mildly restoring wonder to the overworked and under-impressed since forever. ✨
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