Hello everybody, thank you for joining us. My name is Josh Burch. I'm here with Eric Chen
He is the current world champion of magic the film 2018 Grand Prix winner
He just competed in Asia's Got Talent did very well. He won the entire thing and has auditioned for
The 2019 season of America's Got Talent. We are incredibly excited to have him come and talk with us today at penguin and
Yeah, how are you doing? Hey
Eric
I just got back
Traveling everywhere and I just got back last night. So I'm so really really tired. But you know doing pretty well for me
Yeah, Eric has been very kind to
set aside a little bit of time for us here penguin and to talk with us about
His experience on America's Got Talent and and some of his background
As I understand you've been performing for about 10 years and
In the last four or five years
You've really kind of gained a reputation as one of the best in the business
you've won some great awards and things and and actually any competition that you've gone into you've
You've done the best like yeah
What was your first experience in magic and wonder if we can go back to the beginning?
Yeah, so I started magic when I was 16. So that's 10 years ago and
I should my friends started magic first and then every single day in high school
he was showing me a kart track every single day and
you know to be honest, I thought he was really lame and
boring
but when he taught me the first trick like my first trick that he taught me a self working trick and you know
I thought to myself that you know, this is so stupid
It's so simple like this can't pull anyone
but when I performed it to my other friends
you know the reactions I got were amazing and I just fell in love with magic ever since because I
Didn't think something this simple can create such joy for other people and I've been performing magic ever since
But for the last two three years, I've been a consultant
so I wasn't really performing and I was just creating magic every single day for other people to perform and
I decided to be the performer since last
you're
Just lost your optimism actually
and it's it's been awesome you've
Really? So something that I've noticed with you is your technique is like the best out there
So I first saw I first heard of you from your retention vanish
There was kind of a buzz underground about this guy that could do this at this retention vanish
That was just like the greatest thing ever. It just dissolves. How do you go about?
Creating something like that. How do you go about what's your focus? How do you
How do you get so good at something like a retention vanish, which is just a classic magic
the retention bandage is actually
it's a really weird story because I was in the military for one year in 2015 to 2016 and
You know, we can't bring cards or other props into the camp. So
You know what? I could bring was coins and before that
I've never done any coin magic, so I didn't know how to do the retention and I just you know
I just try to learn it by myself without any other
DVDs her books to read on and that's what I came up with because that that's how I thought it was done and
after the military when I showed it to my friends, you know, they told me that it's like a completely new thing and
I thought to myself that maybe I can just release it and maybe I can
You know try to get my name out there
Yeah, it's pretty funny yeah
Yeah, it's awesome
that's a one thing that I
So you not only is your technique like the best that I the best out there the best that I've ever seen?
your your stories and the things that you the way that you present your magic as
You're kind of visual storytelling
Is is very unique and very and also some of the best
Out there that I've ever seen with
some of your your phys and material and then some of the other stuff that that's out there on YouTube and and
From Asia's Got Talent. How do you go about with a story?
How do you where do you start in the way that you're going to present your magic?
um, I
guess I was heavily influenced by the
Magician that I used to work for because I was a consultant for a magician called eath why I
know for him
He talks a lot and he talked he tells a story and he has a lot of motions in his act
But for me, I don't like to talk. I just like to perform and I'm not a very good a talker I guess and
so for me, I think of the story I think of what I want to
What I want to say in my in my act and
And then I started thinking about what effects should be in the act
So a lot of magicians they think about what tricks they want to do first, and then they put it together, but for me
I like to tell the story first and then think of what effects I need to be in it
So that way the story will be more complete and act will be more more complete
Awesome I'm
curious, what's your what's your
Practice. How do you practice how do you prepare for something big like America's Got Talent or Asia's Got Talent or
Physio, how do you prepare for something that that that's that demanding and that high-stress?
So forth isn't before fizzing. I had no stage
Experience at all, you know, I would do close-up magic to friends or add a bard
But then I would never go on stage and perform. So I was terrified and
I
want to get used to
being on stage, but then I didn't have to I
Didn't have to stage to perform on so I would set up my room like a stage so I would buy my own in spotlight
And our use my table use my chair and then just practice, you know
Being not able to see in front of me because when the spotlight is on you you can't see anything
offstage
So I need to get used to that feeling
So when I practice I turn on my spotlight
I cook clothes all my life and then I set up three cameras and three different angles
so that way I know that from all the angles that you know, people don't flash and
that's really how I practice for vision and
basically the same way for a just got talent America's Got Talent as well a
week or two before fizzle
I did hire a few
actors to come in and teach me how to act and teach me body movement stuff because I've never learned it before and
so
For the first few weeks. I guess I've been practicing just my performance my
facial expression my movements and then
For a week before prizm. I started practicing this the technical stuff. So
You know both sides. I need to practice a lot and I usually practice about five to eight hours every single day before phys 'im
Amazing awesome
so, uh
You have accomplished a ton in magic in just the like what was it in fizzle was that?
That was in 2018
you were your one fizzle and then
right back to back with that you started with Asia's Got Talent and then that finished then you went right back to back and
auditioned for America's Got Talent
You've done so much in that small period of time what else is there for you to do what?
What are there other goals that you have?
that that you have in mind or
What bucket lists are what accomplishments are you proud of and what do you want to accomplish in the future?
um
so actually right after fizz 'm
fashioned it just got telling I
didn't plan on doing that actually, um
Because the signup was during fizzing and I don't have time to fill out the form and everything
but then actually one of my friends signed up for me and
after fizzing
I got an email saying that I got into the auditions for Asia's Got Talent and I'm like wait
I didn't sign up and then I just did it anyways
because I thought it would be good experience because I've never been on TV before that and
I did it and it turned out great and
Because I just got Tony actually ended in April. So last one and
I was very fortunate to win
Yeah, and for a Mexican town though, it was always been my dream like I tried to audition in
2012
But I chickened out and I didn't do it
but I think this year is gonna be a good year and I signed up I
Don't know why I signed up for America's Got Talent. I
should I saw I saw Jim didn't win and
because a lot of people compare me with
gentleman
And I just wanted to prove to people that I am completely different from him and we have different styles and we do different magics
So I signed up for mexicana got telling just to prove myself I guess
yeah, I think I see you two as being as being very different shin limbs very
Showy and things and and he has his own style
That's very very effective. And he's very technically very good with that with that and um,
your style is more of I see it as like a dreamer and and
Humble and shit limbs them very well, and I think that you'll do very well on America's Got Talent as well. Thank you
After America's Got Talent. Do you have any goals or what's your big?
Do you have any big dreams of what you want to do with med with your magic in the future?
So far not really cuz I guess for me my biggest goal is just to share my magic with the world and
I've never I didn't really plan
For my videos to go viral for my vision Mac
I just put it on YouTube because I wanted to share my experience and my my act because I've worked really hard on it and
you know everything I
Didn't expect any everything to happen like this. So I'm really grateful for everything and
dream wise my goal my goal now is
Just to do my best on Memorex Got Talent and after that I don't know where it's gonna take me
Like hopefully all over the world. Yeah
Yeah, awesome. Awesome. I
This is something that's a little bit a little bit removed from
From America's Got Talent and things but uh something I like to ask
Other magicians is what are you working on now?
not specifically with magic
But what's a new habit or a behavior that you have adopted recently that has changed your magic for the better?
What's something that you're doing or that you're thinking about while you perform that's changed your magic for the better. I?
Guess for me when I create magic
There's gonna be really weird because a lot of magicians they like to read a lot of books
They they buy a lot of tutorials for DVDs to learn more but for me, I don't really buy any books
I don't really read any books. I don't buy any DVDs
Because I don't want to be influenced by their techniques there are their methods. So I like to create my own methods and my own
presentation into my own
Yeah, I guess my just my own methods
So every time I create something new I think about what?
how it would look like if I really had this power to do this thing, so
Everything I create
It's really unique and it's I like to I like to make it visual. Basically. My thought process for creating magic is
what would it look like if I really had this power and
That's how I create a lot of my acts especially for the Rubik's Cube act
I think I really like that act because it's so it's so play points. It's really it's really fun
And it's really cool as well. Yeah
Awesome. Awesome. Well, I just to close
Is there anything that you would like to tell everyone listening?
Which is there anything that we can do to help to support you on America's Got Talent?
Is there anything that you want our audience here at payment management to hear about?
Yeah, so my America's Got Talent audition will air on Tuesday, May the 28th
At 8 p.m. PST, and I hope people will watch and share my act and
Hopefully I can get my magic. I hope everyone in the world can see my magic and
I
Guess before me at the end. If I do make it to the next round, I guess just vote for me
Yeah
And before that called the producers and say that
Say the arocs got to take it and he's got to make it to the next round and all that. No
Right in and and send letters and things and no
Well, we want to say thank you to Eric Chen for for
Coming and in speaking with us a penguin magic. We hope that you do as well as possible
he'll do you win the whole thing with America's Got Talent and
um, we wish you we wish you as much luck as we can and
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you
See you later guys