Five types of magicians

I was chatting with Sean Taylor the other day about the different types of people who get into the magic game. I'm not judging them or putting anyone down, but I think there are five character types of magicians, though you might know of others:

 

COLLEAGUES

People share their knowledge and others share with them. A "colleague" shares in and celebrates the success others have because he or she knows it benefits everyone in the long run.

 

COMPETITORS

These people see every other performer as a threat. They are very insecure in themselves and will either try to make their act better by stealing from others ("researching") or by criticising others to make themselves seem bigger by putting the others down.

 

MAAAATES

Some, I think, have the Aussie 'smart alec mate' personality which feeds on the constant ribbing of colleagues. There's nothing wrong with this, but in an ego-based industry such as ours it can often be misinterpreted and, even when understood, can be very wearing on the recipient.

 

TRICK MONKEYS

Many magicians are just in it for the secrets. They want to know, and either perform or just collect, every secret they can and they don't care who they come from - books, lectures, DVDs, YouTube or Bazooka Joe Wrappers! They're not about colleagues or competitors, just tricks.

 

POLITICIANS

There are just a few who you meet at the big conventions who seem to have forgotten about the word "magic" in the phrase "magic club". They embrace their title whether it be Secretary, Treasurer or maybe even something fancy like International Continental Territorial Assistant Vice President. They're easy to spot because they're usually wearing regalia and rarely perform.