Mo follows his dream

FROM qualified engineer to magician, Durban’s Mo Magic epitomises a person who is following his passion in life.

His recent TV debut was a dream come true for the magician who will entertain Durban audiences in a stage performance at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre this week.

Mo’s interest in ‘the art of magic’ started 14 years ago when he was a university student studying towards his engineering degree.

“I started thinking ‘is this what life is for me?’ The traditional ideal to get a good matric, go to university, get a degree and a job, become stable, and get married is noble, but at 21, I felt something was missing. I’m an old soul and I questioned my path and purpose,” he said.

Mo said he started going to personal development classes on the weekend as he was intent on finding his purpose and passion, and a while later when he was working on an electrical design project with his best friend, he decided to take a break and turn on the television.

“I remember it vividly as if it was last night. I sat down to watch TV and David Blaine was on SABC doing street magic. Three years before I had dismissed his magic as camera tricks, but while I was watching him, I felt something shift inside. I knew I wanted to astonish and entertain,” he said.

Mo said this type of magic entertainment was new to him. His knowledge of magic at the time extended to a few card tricks he had learnt at school.

“I told my friend that this was what I wanted to do, and as the Zen proverb says, ‘when the student is ready, the master will appear.’ My life changed that night. My older brother had magic books which I pulled out, and I visited the library and browsed the Internet to read up on magic. I studied engineering during the day, and the art of magic at night. It grew from a hobby to a passion!” he said.

In Mo’s final year of engineering, he attended recruiting interviews for jobs, and said he was most excited to show them his hobby!

“On my first day in the workplace, I knew I had minimum experience as an entertainer and magician, but that I’d rather be doing that! But I had a degree and decided to work until the time was right to make the transition,” he said.

Mo said during his first year as a graduate engineer at Toyota SA, he was shown a snippet from the Dead Poet’s Society during a team building session.

“In the film it showed how students were taught uniformity, but Robin Williams taught the students to express themselves. The line that spoke to me was ‘and the powerful play of life continues, and you may be allowed to contribute a verse. What will yours be’. This spoke to me. I had the gift of life and the ability to contribute to society in my own way, and this sparked my desire even more,” he said.

Mo gained experience in entertaining from 2005 to 2007, which he said gave him regular experience with different people and enabled him to hone his magic skills and people skills.

“I was at Mugg and Bean in Musgrave having coffee before a movie and showed the waiter some card tricks. He called the manager, who told me to come back after the movie. He hired me for two hours on the weekends to entertain patrons while they waited for their meals, which I did for two years,” he said.

In 2010, Mo made the decision to resign from Toyota, where he was the project and customer manager for international motor manufacturing plants, to focus on entertainment.

“I knew I wanted to do theatre shows, and my dream was TV, a dream which recently came true with my show on SABC 3, Magic with Mo. The experience has been exciting and enlightening to say the least! Everything has fallen into place and my vision for myself has come true,” he said.

Mo has also been featured on TV shows, which he said gave him an understanding of how TV works, adding that he must be the most media featured magician in South Africa. He has studied magic with magicians from abroad who have mentored him, and he is extremely proud of how his TV show was received.

“I always wanted to share magic with people in their homes, via their TV, introducing myself as a South African, a magician and an entertainer. I also aimed to promote local celebrities and promote tourism in the country, and chose areas to film in Durban and Johannesburg, such as the Natural Science Museum, the beachfront and Gateway,” he said.

He said he had received feedback that his show was world class and no different in calibre than international acts.

“I strive to be world class so people can enjoy magic. It’s about the ‘wow’ experience, inspiring people through performance of magic. My show rose to the second most watched show on SABC 3 by the end of the season. It was quite an emotional moment for me,” he said.

He said people attending his show, entitled Mo Magic, at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from 11 to 14 February, can expect 90 minutes of magic, mentalism and clean comedy, with the intention to astonish, entertain and amaze.

“My advice to others on the way to approach things in life, is to do the best that you can with what you have, where you are, and trust the universe to handle the rest!” he said.