We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephen Gervais a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Unlike most Magicians when you ask how old they were when they got into magic, I did not get a magic set when I was five. I was actually twenty-one years old when I started. Me and my friend Brent Young were working on getting an apartment together and out of the blue he did a magic trick where he made a red silk handkerchief disappear. This blew my mind! The next day he did a card trick, and I think something snapped in my head, because I was hooked.

Lucky enough, a month later a magic shop opened in Rivergate Mall and I was there every day. The owner, Rick Moore was the best! He would show me some easy tricks to work on and occasionally give me a trick or a nice discount on something I was really wanting. A short time went by and I started working at the shop six days a week, eleven hours a day while he went on tour. In doing this I got in a lot of practice time and befriended some of the best close-up card Magicians in Nashville. This definitely help me along the way.

So, to answer your question, no I don’t wish I got into it sooner. I think it happened when it was supposed to, and everything happens for a reason.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been into magic for about twenty-eight years now and I’ve always specialized in sleight-of-hand close-up magic. I’ve always liked creating my own tricks, especially with cards and that’s led to me being published in multiple magic magazines, books and periodicals which led to me winning an award for a couple of my original tricks. I’ve always felt that if you needed a new trick, just create one.

Being a professional Magician isn’t easy. Theres so much work that goes into being able to sustain yourself on just a career in magic. On top of the countless hours of practice and performing there the business part of “Show Business” that often gets overlooked by a lot of aspiring performers. Marketing, networking, advertising, building your brand, these are just a small part of what it takes to even have a chance at being successful.

Before moving back to Tennessee I was only performing part-time for restaurants, weddings Bar Mitzvahs, and other random gigs here and there in Florida. For thirteen years I was a full-time night club DJ and then covid happened. Unfortunately, my father didn’t make it through the epidemic. Receiving an inheritance, not a lot but it was enough for me to leave a job I was growing to hate and a state that’s miserable to live in, I moved back to Tennessee to pursue my dream of being a full-time Magician.

Since I’ve been back in Tennessee for almost four years now, I have worked with some amazing clients, venues and productions that I would have only dreamed about if I didn’t take a chance and come back. I even won the Sumner County Main Street Award for Best Entertainer in 2024 and was a finalist in 2025. The people voted and I was really happy with the results. This took time and effort, getting my name out there and working every day to try and move up the ladder of success. It’s not an easy climb!

When I’m hired for a party or event, people can expect to see some world-class, highly visual, and original close-up magic they won’t see anywhere else. Above all I provide a professional and dependable service to every client no matter what the event is or what I’m being paid. I feel that I owe it to myself and others to bring a sense of excellence to my services.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the best thing about being a professional performance artist is that I’m my own boss. I make all the decisions, work on my own schedule and only have myself to blame if things go wrong. It’s actually a bigger responsibility working for yourself than working a normal job with guaranteed hours, pay and benefits.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is simple. Provide anyone who sees me perform with amazing magic that’s rarely seen anywhere else and leave them with some incredible lifetime memories and stories. Oh, and to pay my bills. LOL

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Theinfamousmagicsteve.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.gervais.790
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinfamousmagicsteve1417