I've been an entertainer pretty much all my life. I got my start playing the lead in my second grade production of "Paddington Bear." My mom still has the video. As I got older, my dad got me interested in music, particularly jazz. Wanting to learn saxophone, my parents convinced me to take piano first, from our neighbor across the street. It grew to be a true labor of love for me. I even auditioned for the jazz program at the University of Michigan!

I played jazz piano and saxophone all through high school, while hosting a jazz program, "Jazz Central Station" on our high school radio station, WSDP 88.1 FM. While there, I served as news director, when my interest in politics and government finally took hold on me.

Then I came to Michigan State University, where I earned degrees in Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy and Journalism. I've done internships in Lansing and Washington D.C., while working as a magician on the side. I've always said that politics and magic have a lot in common: misdirection, subterfuge, etc.

I took up magic as a sophomore, when a chance encounter at the Michigan Historical Museum brought me to the doorstep of the Lansing Guild of Magicians, Ring 54 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. And the rest, they say, is history.

Now based in Chicago, I continue to perform as I work my day job at FUN Incorporated, America's largest magic manufacturer. What a better way to channel my passion for the conjuring arts than to take a direct role in the production and development of new magic?