For 18-year-old Travis Schack, making money is like magic. That's because what was once his hobby is now his livelihood.
Schack became the youngest member of the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce last week when he opened The Magic Schack in the University Mall. He is an accomplished magician. "This is not just a hobby, this is what I want to do to make a living."Schack became interested in magic at the age of 6 after watching the movie "Magic," where a ventriloquist performed magic with a dummy. That encouraged Schack to teach his dummy to do magic.
"But it didn't work so well, so I tossed the dummy aside and started doing my own magic," he said.
He read as many books on magic as he could find, and after much practice he had mastered dozens of tricks. By the time he was 15 years old he was president of the Society of Young Magicians.
Schack appeared on the Jerry Lewis telethon and had a half-hour special on a cable television channel in Denver, where he worked for two years in a magic store. He continues to perform at school and church functions and various parties.
The Magic Schack features products that Schack said will teach people the easy-to-do tricks. Besides selling the product, Schack will give demonstrations to make sure customers know how to use what they are buying.
"I show people something that they are able to do, not something that's not worth their money," he said.
Besides providing the basic magic products, Schack said, he plans to offer the props needed for tricky and complicated magic acts. He sells juggling pins, trick handkerchiefs and other popular magic props but said that if a customer wants something more he will find it.
"My plan is to import the hard-to-find items so this is the No. 1 magic store in the state," Schack said. "So if I don't have it, I can get it."
Selling magic products is not Schack's only desire. He wants to create a local magic club and hold a state convention for magicians, clowns and jugglers. He offers performers a discount and serves as an agent for local magicians, at no charge.
"I want magic to become a big thing in Utah," he said.
If time allows, Schack said, he will teach others how to perform magic. He plans to attend Brigham Young University to study film in hopes of someday becoming an expert in special effects in movies. But he said The Magic Schack will be his main focus.