Every year, during his AP U.S. History classes, social studies teacher Steve Klawiter tells the story of “Magic John Kinney” a student who attended Lafayette in the early 2000’s.
“The kids would talk about this kid in middle school named Magic John and how one day he would be at Lafayette. Finally, Magic John came to Lafayette as a freshman. I walked to the lunchroom one day and there was a big crowd around him. He did a card trick for 50 spectators and it was a really amazing trick,” Klawiter said.
Klawiter then pulled Kinney aside and asked him to perform a trick for another teacher.
“He ended up doing some quick, silly trick for this teacher, and I was like, ‘what’s going on?’ And he’s like, well, I got to go back to class, tell me what time it is, and he had stolen the teacher’s watch,” Klawiter said.
Class of 2007 graduate John Kinney’s love for magic began when he was young and got his first magic kit as a gift from his parents.
“It was filled with all sorts of magic tricks and props and I completely devoured that. Then it dawned on me to ask my parents where they got all of these curiosities, bits and pieces and tricks,” Kinney said. “They told me they got it from the magic shop, and my head exploded that there was a store filled with all of that.”
Kinney’s interest in performing magic tricks started out as a hobby, but soon he was able to find a way to make money out of it.
As a freshman in high school, Kinney began to work as a magician. He took a job performing at a formal ritz-style gala, fundraising for an education program by doing “tableside magic,” a form of performing that involves a magician moving from table to table performing tricks. He also had a 15-minute stage set. The gala was the catalyst that helped Kinney realize that he could actually make money from performing magic tricks.
“Since that night I did my performances, I had good shots at a young age with sleight of hand skills and techniques, and I could steal watches off of people’s wrists,” he said
Currently, Kinney owns a company called Imaginative Deceptions LLC, which offers a myriad of different performances for events. He also helps with theater performances, designing on-stage illusions and special effects.
“What my goal is with my company is I’m upgrading the way you see and feel the art of magic in general. I’m trying to touch all forms of how people experience it,” Kinney said.
Kinney’s advice for current LHS students is to be authentic and personable. In his own experience, doing so has been very helpful.
“Being curious, a good listener and a good person has been really helpful. I’ve been able to make a lot of relationships and perform for a lot of amazing people. I had a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time, he was getting married and his father hired me to perform at his rehearsal dinner for his wedding, and I hadn’t seen this friend in years,” Kinney said. “You don’t get things like that if you’re not a good person or striving to be. For growth, you have to be constantly curious and wanting to learn all the time. Don’t stop being a student.”
