We were lucky to catch up with Richard Darshwood recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Richard thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

My first experience witnessing magic was watching my Uncle (a professional stage illusionist) perform sleight of hand mysteries in our kitchen when I was just 7 years old. Later that year, I was so inspired by magic that my family got me a magic kit for Christmas which allowed me to learn tons of tricks all on my own.

Since then, I’ve had a number of mentors and teachers who have taken me under their wing to share a great many secrets of magic.

Often times I tell people that learning sleight of hand is a lot like learning a musical instrument. You acquire the knowledge and dexterity to play certain chords and strumming techniques and then you begin to learn simple and subsequently more complex songs until eventually you are able to take all of those foundational skills to create your own music. Certain techniques are fundamental to performing sleight of hand and learning full routines that other magicians have created over the many hundreds of years of legerdemain’s history becomes the next step in customizing your own take and eventually your very own creative versions or brand new magical effects.

When I became a teenager, I began a long hiatus from magic that I didn’t pick back up until I was in my mid-twenties. I often wonder what would have become of me had I maintained my passion during those formative years.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Richard Darshwood but my friends call me “Darsh.” You can call me Darsh because, if you’re reading my story, then you are clearly a friend of mine now… Whether you like it or not!

My professional career began at the age of 12 when I was hanging out at a bar. For the record, my dad was a drummer in the band that was playing at the venue that night and I was only drinking cranberry juice with soda. Nevertheless, when it came time for the musical guest to take an intermission break, Dad asked me if I’d be interested in grabbing my little magic kit that I got for Christmas the previous year out of the car and do a little show for the people. So 12 year old Darsh eagerly and probably quite nervously did exactly that. I grabbed my box of tricks, put on a tailcoat jacked, stepped out on stage in front of the bright lights and I performed every routine I had been working on and – as I remember it – the drunkened, roudy audiende absolutely LOVED it! As amazing as that experience was for a pre-teen performer, the best part was when Dad slipped me twenty bucks and congratulated me on officially becoming a Professional Magician. May have only been twenty bucks but it was my first bit of revenue and that was when my career truly began.

Since then, I have astounded audiences countless Birthday parties, festivals, school and corporate functions, industry conferences, private events and I still find time to hit the bars as well. You can currently catch me every Thursday night at Hauck’s Corner in Louisville, KY.

Of all the amazing moments I’ve created for amazing people (including a number of celebrities) the most memorable experience I’ve ever enjoyed was being brought to India as a foral delegate of the United States at the 2011 annual international festival of magic; India Jaal. It was such an incredibly opportunity to meet and share magic with so many unique people from across the globe. Many of the tricks I learned from them I still perform in my show today.

I also furthered my study of magic by learning the art of hypnosis which has not only allowed me to develop a super fun comedy hypnosis show but has provided me with some valuable insight into the human mind and how we interpret the world and also how influential the power of suggestion can be which has only made my performances as a magician even more impactful.

In addition to being one of the most frequently booked variey entertainers in the area, I have now created a thrilling and inspiring presentation specifically about the experience of witnessing magic to help students and professionals in a wide variety of fields to master the potential of their own imaginations to create positive outcomes in many of their personal endeavors.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The one thing that keeps pushing me to continue my career in magic is the gratification I get in showing people something that they have never seen before and most likely never will again. The most common thing I hear from clients and spectators is how unique it is being in my presence becasue magicians are so few in this world and even fewer of themt perform as often as I do. But what’s even more fulfilling is being able to use the attention my audience grants me to reveal to them just how easily our perspectives can be manipulated. It’s a fair warning and also an empowering message that I deliver because once you understand how easily fooled we are it also provides us with the silver lining that we can alter our own perceptions to control our thoughts and emotions in a way that can benefit the people around us and the our very own lives.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As a youngster, magic was a way for me to connect with people and impress them. It was a wonderful ego boost everytime someone expressed amazement when they saw one of my tricks. It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned how to connect with people on a deeper level; spiritually and emotionally. In my early thirties, I attended a men’s lifestyle program called The Art of Charm Academy. On the face of the operation, it appears to be a workshop for guys who want to learn how to pick up women or be better networkers but during the weeklong bootcamp it became even more clear that the key to being an attractive person is being genuinely confident on one hand but on the other being authentically caring about other people.

You see, the instructors at The Art of Charm Academy are not just successful at being social. They are successful in life because the connections they build with people often blossoms into a mutually beneficial relationship due to their message to do be good and do good. In a simple phrase, they instructed us how to leave everyone we encounter better than when we found them. That is something very similar to what my great-grandmother used to say; “Give a good time and you’ll have a good time.” I didn’t truly learn to harness that idea until my experience with AOC.

In other words, the true meaning of success to me is not how much money I make but how much I can enrich the lives of everyone I have the opportunity to encounter.

Contact Info:

• Website: darshwood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darshwoodmagic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richard.darshwood
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/richard-e-darshwood-4a929925
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharmingTricks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DARSHWOOD/