There are very few magicians and mentalists whose work I respect more than Wayne Houchin, both his magic and his work in film production. When I heard that he was going to be featured on the cover of Genii Magazine. I was really looking forward to it. Wayne is someone I really look to as someone who is not only a smart marketer of himself but also a person who has some very well put together effects. I loved the interview and I think it bests demonstrates the huge difference between magician of old and the YouTube magi that we have today.

First I would like to say that I think that Wayne handled the interview very well and gave some of the smartest answers that I have seen in the pages of genii in a long time. The interviewer who was Richard Kaufman could have used some coaching before he interviewed one of the most loved magicians in the industry. Let me give a few examples. Genii started the article with a little background info on Wayne declaring him one of the hottest magicians on the planet-the internet planet. What? The internet planet? Please tell me the name of a magician that would be considered one of the hottest on the planet who does not have a big internet fan base. After reading this line I became very suspicious of how much Mr. Kaufman knew about Wayne and his thousands of fans from all age groups around the world. I am sure Kaufman has a great level of respect for Wayne or he would not be on the cover. It should also be noted that Kaufman had great things to say about Wayne’s magic and career. I think the real issue is that Richard doesn’t seem to respect the way Wayne achieved his popularity. Particularly in the area of so called single trick DVDs. I love Wayne’s answer about single effect DVDs while quoting David Alexander “why would magicians put two decades of their life and sell it for thirty bucks”. It makes sense right?

Kaufman later in my opinion devalues Wayne’s work by suggesting that he sells a small amount of information for a lot of money. As someone who came up in the modern era of magic I was a little insulted that Richard would make the assumption that someone like me or even magicians much younger than me would not buy his magazine. To be honest I think his magazine is by far the best when compared to Magic and Reel Magic and I never miss a month. I would have to assume many young readers buy his magazine or else certain companies would spend their advertising money on a different publication, one that will reach a younger audience. I can cite several other examples of Mr. Kaufman’s sometimes obliviousness to the “MTV” generation but why I like Kaufman and I can’t blame him for not understanding the popularity of a guy like Wayne. The main issue I have with the interview is the repeated way that Kaufman’s magazine and many others in the over forty age group disrespect the way kids are moving magic into a new direction. Instead of exploring old ideas, the young guys are breaking new ground. Personally I think magic will become more and more radical and less traditional which how it should be. Magic is finally mimicking pop culture and if we’re lucky maybe it can change it.