We were lucky to catch up with Jake Schwartz recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jake, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?
As a performer, I’ve experienced failure a LOT. One particular time, I was performing with a buddy of mine and we wrote this whole routine over the course of an entire summer. We finally get to perform it, and the routine builds to this impossible crescendo. The audience is audibly saying “no way, no way” as we build to the ending. I finally get to reveal the card that came from an impossible location under an impossible set of circumstances, and the spectator says “that’s not my card.” I can still feel the wind getting knocked out of me. Absolutely brutal, but not because I messed it up for me, mostly because I messed it up for my friend. But this is how you learn as a performer. You have to bomb on stage so that you can learn how to be entertaining.
Jake, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I performed my first magic trick at the ripe old age of two years old, and I was instantly hooked on magic. I never grew out of the magic within the tricks, and I am now one of the fastest-rising stars of magic in the country. I made the decision to devote my life to magic at the age of 10 and officially started my business at the age of 16. I remember going around my neighborhood and shoveling the snow off of people’s driveways to pay for my first website.
Now, I am an international award-winning magician who has been called “The New Face Of Magic” by media outlets around the world. I perform regularly all over the country for universities, fortune-500 companies, pro sports teams, sold-out theaters, and TV shows (In fact, I am one of the few magicians in the country with over 40 television appearances).
I specialize in doing magic in a way that is inclusive, fun, and outside-the-box!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to bring joy and magic to as many people across the world as I can. I have always felt that there was an unspoken “right” way of doing magic. There were expectations of what a magician was supposed to be and how he/she was supposed to perform. I never subscribed to the idea that there is “one right way” of doing magic. I have always felt like magicians limited themselves based on what the past has said was possible for them. It is my goal to redefine what it means to be a magician. When everyone else goes right, I want to explore going left. I recently started a podcast called “Sponsors Pending” where I talk about the ups and downs of life as a rising magician in the entertainment industry. The show is crazy, wacky, funny, and goofy. It is a show where anything can happen and anything goes. I love being able to give listeners an experience they would NEVER expect to hear from a magician (or any performer for that matter).
Have you ever had to pivot?
I am in the process of pivoting right now. I am at a point in my business where I cannot continue to do everything myself, and I need to learn the hard lesson that every business owner hopes he/she will have to learn: how to delegate. I am in the process of building a team of agents, managers, and specialists who can help me grow my brand and take over the things I am not good at. This is a really good problem to have, and I am excited to be able to focus my efforts on the things I am best at as my name and career continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jakeofspades.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themagicofjakeschwartz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Magic-Of-Jake-Schwartz-623819367720414/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-schwartz-a24a85158/
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/tmojakeschwartz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdnp_K0NV9a26atZioSCtSw?app=desktop
- Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themagicofjakeschwartz LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/TheMagicOfJakeSchwartz
Image Credits
Robby Zacharias, Daniel Flood, The Q (FOX), All Indiana (WISH-TV), The Magic Of Jake Schwartz