Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Frankie Foti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Frankie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?

Performing Magic has been my only full-time job! My father passed away a month after High School and my mother was out of Work. I had to get a job as soon as I graduated High School and Magic became my Career. I started off teaching Magic At Summer Camps while building a client base in Los Angeles. Then I started performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Performing there completely changed my life. I was able to perform there twice a month and gain valuable performance experience and perform in front of potential clients.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started to get interested in Magic when I was 15. At the same time I met my Mentor in Magic, Dean Dill. He owned a barbershop in Glendale, CA where all of the local magicians and visiting magicians would come hang out. I lived a block away from the barbershop, so I would walk down there every Friday to hang out and learn from all of the people there.

Thanks to Dean, I now make a full-time living traveling around the country performing at various corporate events and private events. Companies will bring me into events to break the ice during the Cocktail hour. I walk around the event, performing highly interactive magic shows for each group of people. I perform Magic with objects like cards, coins, and rings. I gather a crowd around, involve the audience and walk away turning people that were strangers moments before, into friends that are now talking, laughing and bonding. I help turn standard work events into magical memories. Close-Up Magic is the perfect ice-breaker for any event!

I also specialize in creating custom Magic for events. One of my favorite events I got to create Magic for was the car company McLaren. They hired me to create Magic routines to unveil their newest cars. I also got to work behind the scenes for Americas Got Talent Winner Shin Lim.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think that most people find my services from seeing me perform live or through social media. When people share my work on social media it helps expand my potential client reach and lead to potential gigs. Simply sharing a post or commenting on a post is free and helps support creatives survive.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The freedom of being a creative is one of the most difficult parts of the job and the best. When you’re your own boss, if you don’t work no one is going to stop you. People think that just because you’re making a living doing what you love it’s easy. It’s definitely fun and rewarding but requires immense effort. As a creative I have to be my own event coordinator, website creator, marketing and social media director and performer. It can get overwhelming with the amount of tasks there are to stay in business.

Contact Info:

• Website: FrankieFoti.com
• Instagram: @FotiMagic
• Facebook: @FotiMagic
• Youtube: @FotiMagic

Image Credits
Main Photo credit goes to Pop Media LA