Meet Tetro | Magician & Mentalist

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

Hi Tetro, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting my own business was about reconnecting with my first love, magic. I spent years working a variety of jobs to make ends meet but none of them were fulfilling. I had a lot of hobbies I loved, but couldn’t decide what to focus on. There is a process that helped me decide to start my own business as a magician and mentalist, called Ikigai. It’s a Japanese philosophy that means “a reason for being”. It helps you find your purpose. Your Ikigai is the intersection of four pivotal things: What You Love, What You’re Good At, What the World Needs, and What You Can Be Paid For. After working out the answers it became clear that magic was my true calling. So, I embraced this and began to transition from my life as an executive and co-founder of a tech startup. As soon as I found a mentor I gained the courage to go full time. Sometimes I wished I found my passion sooner, but I now believe that my experience as a tech entrepreneur helped prepare me to be even more successful in pursuing a career in art and entertainment.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Well, tonight I’m heading to perform at Harry Houdini’s old mansion in Hollywood Hills where I’ll be doing a roaming style of performing, called strolling. While I perform on stage a lot, I do love working with people in close up environments as well. People seem to have a stronger and more memorable magic experience when they get to participate directly. It’s hard to forget when the magic happens in your hands! Lately I’ve been keeping busy performing for corporate events and high end private events. While traveling the world, I get to meet so many incredible people. Being an entertainer keeps things exciting since there are always new events to experience.

One of the things that sets me apart is that I do both magic and mentalism. Mentalism is a performing art in which the artist demonstrates advanced cognitive abilities like mindreading, telepathy, and predicting the future. Traditionally, people would tend to focus on one or the other. I started with magic, but after an injury to my wrist I started to practice the more cerebral domain of the mystery arts. I think that by making the magic as visual as possible and the mentalism as intellectual as possible I can connect with more people and provide more opportunities for experiencing impossible moments.

One of the skills that I’m most proud of is my sleight of hand style of magic. I’ve won several gold medals in this area and it’s a favorite of mine. It’s also really challenging. It often takes many years of practice before something is show ready, but magic is an incredible investment for me. After I put in the work, it pays back over and over again and the more I do it, the better it gets. Another type of magic I’m known for is fire magic. Specifically, I levitate fire. On a TV show called Masters of Illusion on the CW Network, I made a fireball float through the air and passed a metal ring around it. I also danced with and floated two fire staves. I got this idea from my background as a fire dancer. I’m always looking for new ways to blend my previous artistic pursuits with magic.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m honored to host them! First, I take them somewhere that they don’t immediately think of when they picture LA: the nature! There are so many great hikes with amazing views, and it’s a beautiful way to start the day. Runyon Canyon, Topanga Canyon, and Malibu are a few of my favorites. After we work up an appetite, I take them to brunch at Blu Jam Cafe on Melrose or Nat’s Early Bite in Van Nuys. For an iconic LA experience, I take them to the Santa Monica Pier or Venice Beach, which both have an array of fun and interactive things to do. We snap some photos of the epic west coast sunset and find dinner. If they like sushi we go to Sugarfish, if they like Thai food I take them to Natalee Thai which has my favorite pad thai in LA. Later in the week we visit the Getty Center and Griffith Observatory, both of which offer much to explore. We wrap up their stay with me hosting them at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. The food there is wonderful with Victorian style dining, and the magic shows are the best in the world. I close out our night by performing a private magic show for our group, leaving them with a magical night full of surprises to always remember!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I love that we get to focus on this because I attribute so much of my success to the support of those close to me. There are many important influences, but the most influential person I have to mention is my good friend and mentor, Jeff McBride. I first discovered him when I was a kid. His magic was so amazing that it made me want to be a magician too, so I began studying his work. Years later, I was celebrating my birthday at Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle, and McBride was the headlining performer that week. I had the opportunity to tell him how much he inspired me and soon after, he invited me to come study with him at the Magic and Mystery School which he founded in Las Vegas. I took every class available to me and began helping out at the school. When I decided to go full-time in 2018, McBride offered to coach me, and I’m thrilled to share that he’s been my mentor ever since.

Larry Hass, the Dean of the Magic and Mystery school, was also a tremendous influence in helping me grow as a performer. And of course, I have to give a shout out to the Magic Castle because the community there has been really supportive and inspiring. I was incredibly honored when they awarded me first place at the Strolling Magic Competition earlier this year. What an amazing venue to share my magic and mentalism in!

Website: https://tetromagic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tetromagic

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tetromagic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tetromagic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tetromagic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tetromagic

Other: Google Business: https://g.page/tetromagic

Image Credits
Jamie Fisher, Jonathan Stoddard, Michael Messing, Sasha Shemirani, Rodin Eckenroth