We were lucky to catch up with Dustin Dean recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dustin, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I’ve been performing as a professional mentalist & magician for 12 years. I started learning magic at a really young age.. 5 or 6… When my mom gave me a magic kit for my birthday and I was obsessed with the feeling of performing ever since. In fact, since then I was in a punk rock band, I went to professional wrestling school, was in choir and theater, and of course, a mentalist.
I got my first “real” paying gig (for almost nothing at all) when I was 18. Throughout most of my career, I was part-time with my business while I had a full-time day job at a grocery store. It was decent pay, especially when I became a manager. But obviously, it wasn’t my passion or my dream.
It wasn’t until 5 years ago when my social media skyrocketed during COVID, and then I landed a spot on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us on national television 2 years ago.. That I realized, “okay.. this is happening. I need to pursue this full time.”
And that’s what I did. I took the leap and left my day job. I hired a business coach specifically in the magic business that helped me grow 10x faster. It’s been challenging, but I now make 6 figures as a mentalist pursuing my dreams and that makes the struggle worth it.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
In the beginning of my creative journey, what drove me was my passion and love for the art of magic.
Now that it is my full time job and only source of income.. It’s to support my family (my wife and my amazing 2 year old son, Rowan) so that we can live comfortably.
Sometimes it can be difficult to balance those two drives. If you focus too much on the money, you start to lose the love of what got you started to begin with. So I think it’s important to take time, take a step back, and rediscover the beauty within your art and your passion once in awhile.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Right before Covid hit, I was truly experiencing one of the best times of my career.
I had a residency in works, I had a ton of bookings, I was starting to really expand and grow as a performer.
But then obviously all of that got shut down. I had to find a new way to grow and perform. Reach a new audience while under lockdown.
So I began TikTok. I started with simple magic videos that were doing “okay.” I attribute to the lack of success in the beginning to me making content I wasn’t truly passionate about or prideful in.
It wasn’t until I made a video about debunking a simple “psychic” trick (bending silverware with your “mind”), that I went viral. This was content I was passionate about. I’ve always been a skeptic, and much like Houdini, I have an interest in debunking psychic claims.
So, my advice is to make content that actually interests you. If you aren’t passionate about it, your audience won’t be either.
Contact Info:
- Website: dustindeanmentalist.com
- Instagram: @dustindeanmentalist
- Facebook: @dustindeanmentalist
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dustindeanmentalist?si=-M-Vq3eZYZHSiQu2
- Other: TikTok.com/@dustindeanmentalist