Meet Brady Glen | Magician & Mentalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brady Glen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brady, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started with magic as a hobby, that then turned into a passion. I started meeting some great magicians and my love for the art continued to grow. I didn’t intend on performing professionally at the beginning but as I grew as a performer so did my desire to do more. I started performing at small parties and restaurants and quickly realized I was making money doing my favorite thing. It really was not a conscious decision. I was doing the magic because I loved it, if I could make money doing it, well that was a no brainer. I hold a B.S. in Business Administration and a Masters in Management. The education has been helpful in starting up the business and establishing processes to keep things running smoothly. The reality is I absolutely love doing this! Think of your favorite thing that you do, now imagine getting paid to do it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

I believe for magic to be effective, it needs to be interactive and you really need the audience to engage quickly. I try to make a personal connection as soon as I can. I want each show to be meaningful and personal to every person in attendance. My success and the success of my brand without question ties to connection. I’m doing what I love with the intention of connecting with people and entertaining them in a way they have never experienced. That truly is my goal. The magic needs to be about the audience, not about the magician. I’m the facilitator to their amazement, not the center of it. The audience is the hero, they make the magic happen. That’s the feeling I want. I’m just along for the ride.

We are living in a crazy time, Covid, political and social unrest, lots going on. People need entertainment, they need an escape. They need magic! I try to involve as many people as I can and make it personal to them. If I can bring them into my world of amazement, even for a few minutes, I believe I can create a moment like they have never experienced before. How often does that happen in your life? It’s really special, for me and for them. My tagline is “Your connection to magic”. Everything I perform relates to connection. Genuine connection in a world of disconnect. I think that is tremendously important. I also do some volunteer work, I engage with neighbors and friends, I do what I can to spread wonder to all! There is one effect that I perform and I ask the participant to think back to first grade. Picture yourself playing with your best friend. At the end of the routine I tell them the name of the friend they are thinking of. It’s a fun routine, but it’s so much deeper than that. The really special part is the comments I get later. I can’t even tell you how many people have said to me “I’m going to call him / her tomorrow. We have not talked in 30 years”. It happens a lot. The stupid little magic trick I did may have a profound effect on their lives. Obviously that’s a rare occurrence, but it’s cool to think I made that happen. Is it helping the community? On some level I like to think it is.

When we talked earlier, you asked about how I handle risk. I have learned many lessons along the way. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to take some risks. I am a risk taker for sure, but I make sure it’s controlled risk. As I developed as a performer, I quickly realized that, what I consider “real magic” is very risky. Not risky physically, but there is plenty of room for failure. That’s what makes it amazing, but it’s also scary performing something that may fail. I believe that having the confidence to take those risks is what set’s the true professionals apart. Eventually, you learn to mitigate when the inevitable failure comes along. That’s how you grow. Once I learned that important lesson, it became part of my work life as well as my home life. One of my favorite quotes is from Wayne Gretzky “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Take the risk… take the shot. I am happily married and a parent to three of the most amazing (young adult) children in the world. I think the most important thing I’ve taught them goes back to “take the shot”. There is nothing in life you can’t do. Don’t be afraid of risk. Prepare, practice, and learn about what it is that you want and then go for it. If it doesn’t work out, try harder, work longer and network, then try it again. There is nothing you can’t do. Don’t settle, chase your dreams until you catch them. Catch the magic! I am a dream chaser. I always have been. My bucket list has a lot of checked off goals and I’m very driven. I like to think I’ve been a good example. I hope that they see me swinging for the fences and that they learn to do the same on their own. My kids have such great attitudes, dreams and work ethic. I’m so proud of the young adults they have grown into and I can’t wait to see where life takes them.

Magic is such an important part of who I am. I am working on some kind of magic every day. I’m either performing at a gig, I’m reading or practicing in a mirror, I’m walking over to the neighbor to show them something cool, I’m volunteering for some event, etc. I always find a way to perform because I love it and it makes me better. It makes me a better speaker, a better business man, a better magician, and ultimately I believe a better person. This is much deeper than a job or a business. I can say in the 30 years of performing magic, I’ve never had a bad day of entertaining. I’ve had frustrating situations and performances that have gone wrong, but all of those lead to moments of growth and separation from those that do give up. Any performing art is difficult and you really need resilience and thick skin to make it. That said, I know so many that have developed the thick skin and I don’t see them throwing in the towel often.

It sounds like this can be very time consuming, do you have a hard time maintaining a balance of work and personal time?

I try to maintain a good balance in all aspects of my life. Work life balance is crucial, but also can be difficult in the magic industry. Magic gigs can be somewhat seasonal and workload can vary significantly with the type of gig. Strolling magic at several parties throughout the week is a very different workload than performing at The Magic Castle for a week. Different prep, different stress level, etc. I do my best to do my practice and prep work later at night so that it doesn’t interrupt my home / family life. That’s not always possible but it works for the most part. I have an amazing family that helps me in any way they can. They know how much I love what I do and they are all so supportive. It’s fun performing for their co-workers and friends too. I think it’s a win for all! The hours are pretty flexible for this type of work (at least the paperwork, scheduling, rehearsing part). The workload has changed over the years. Early on, all my time was spent learning and practicing. Once I started getting gigs, the business side was a lot. Creating paperwork templates, learning where and how to file things, etc. Now I have a pretty efficient workflow and I have a good inventory of magic. I find having an efficient workflow really makes things flow nicely and encourages work / life balance.

I’m a pretty happy guy. I enjoy life. I love spending time with my family. I enjoy good food, sports and walks with my wife and the dogs. I am very blessed to have such great family and friends. We truly have a wonderful life. Magic makes me happy as well. I love watching magic, performing magic and most of all, watching others enjoy my magic. I like inventing and improving routines. I am proud of my many accomplishments and I’m happy that so many people follow my magic and enjoy my performances.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well the most obvious place at this point would have to be The Magic Castle. I go there regularly and I really enjoy bringing others to experience it with me. Aside from the world class magic, there is so much history and it’s such a unique place. We would also have to stop by Pink’s in Hollywood and grab a hot dog. It’s nothing fancy but I love that place. Another favorite of mine Is Philippe’s for French Dip. A stop at the Griffith Observatory is something fun to show an out of towner and, if we are being adventurous maybe a drive through Venice Beach.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This one is tough because I’ve met so many people that have helped me along the way. The Academy of Magical Arts (and their clubhouse: The Magic Castle) has inspired me and helped drive my growth. I have spent countless hours in the “dungeon” honing my skills. I engage with the many other magicians as we all critique, support and challenge each other to succeed. I don’t know any other place that I can find an immediate captive audience to test out new material and work on timing and effect. I have met so many inspirational people along the way that I could mention, but I want to mention a couple that I see regularly “in the trenches”. Nader Hanna just performed with me for a week in The Peller Theater at the Magic Castle in a show called experi-MENTAL. It was a very successful show and we both learned from each other and grew so much throughout the creative process. Nader is an amazing mentalist that you all need to see! Another that flys under the radar is Rich Freeman. Rich does mostly private shows and events but that guy performs more than anybody I know. What a fun, happy, energetic person with an amazing work ethic and outstanding magic skills.

Website: www.magicbrady.com

Instagram: MAGIC_BRADY

Linkedin: Brady Glen

Facebook: BRADYGLENMAGIC

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-magic-of-brady-glen-anaheim

Youtube: Brady Gutekunst

Other: https://www.gigsalad.com/the_magic_of_brady_glen_anaheim https://www.thebash.com/magician/the-magic-of-brady-glen

Image Credits
Taylor Wong (The Academy of Magical Arts)