International Award Winning Magician, Mike D’Urzo.

[00:00:17] Speaker A: Hey there and welcome to Awareness, the podcast fostering a more compassionate, empathetic and excited accepting society. Your host, yours truly, Rob Daniels. Welcoming you back for episode number six. And thank you so much for being on the other end and liking and subscribing to this podcast. That certainly means a lot. I am, I'm so fortunate to have people on the other end that are engaging in this podcast and liking it thus far. And any comments you have, feel free to. Feel free to chime in via YouTube or any of the social media sites and podcast platforms that you may be watching or listening to this podcast. But again, subscribing, that would certainly mean a lot. Do so wherever you get your podcasts and hope you enjoy episode number six. And I think you certainly will. I am welcoming from one entertainer to another, just a little bit of a different industry, so to speak. I'd like to introduce to you today my special guest, international award winning magician, Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Durzo. Welcome to Awareness. [00:01:32] Speaker B: Thanks for having me, Rob. So good to be here today. [00:01:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm so, so great to be with you here on the pod and thanks so much for taking the time to chat. So with that being said, you know, right off the top, you are an international award winning magician. I've seen you in person before and you are incredible at your craft. So why don't we kick off this podcast episode the best way we certainly know how and at least you would for sure know how to, and that's to stun us with an incredible magic trick. Why don't you take it from here? [00:02:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. I love it already. Listen, Rob, I'm going to get you up. I want to try to do a little bit of mind reading and mentalism with you here over the screen. Screen. What I'm going to get you to do right now is I want you to, if you have a phone with you, take out your phone and I want you to Google something for all of us here. I want you to google how many articles. So how many articles are there on Wikipedia? [00:02:27] Speaker A: How many articles are there on Wikipedia? Go with that. [00:02:31] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. Okay, you're going to go ahead and it's going to tell you a number of how many articles. It gives you like a live up to date number. The number increases every day as more articles are added. But does it say how many articles there are there? [00:02:48] Speaker A: Let me see here. How many articles, how many articles are there on Wikipedia? Okay, I have an approximate number. Well, numbers, yeah. [00:03:01] Speaker B: Okay, what's that number? [00:03:03] Speaker A: Should I give you what it is? [00:03:05] Speaker B: Yeah, tell us. [00:03:06] Speaker A: So, on Wikipedia, There are approximately 6,975,860 articles. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Okay, so the number has gone up since the last time I checked. And does it also tell you the approximate number of words in each article. [00:03:26] Speaker A: With an average of approximately. Yeah, per article. Words per article. You want to know that number? [00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, tell us. [00:03:34] Speaker A: Okay, so it's 2,461 words per article. [00:03:39] Speaker B: Look, I'm gonna get my calculator out here. So 2461 times, you said about 6.9 million articles, which gives you about 16 billion articles on Wikipedia. Listen, that's so many words that if you were to write a book, it would reach all the way from Toronto to the moon. Okay, I made that up. I don't know. But listen, Rob, where it says visit Wikipedia, click on Visit Wikipedia. [00:04:06] Speaker A: Visit Wikipedia. Yes, I will click on Visit Wikipedia. [00:04:10] Speaker B: Then what I want you to do is search any article or any word that you would search on Wikipedia. Whatever you'd like. It doesn't matter what it is. Type it in. Once you've done that, hit Go or Enter. Where the magnifying glasses. [00:04:24] Speaker A: Okay, so just click. Click whatever word I want. Okay, Hit Enter or Go. [00:04:30] Speaker B: And it's going to bring up the article on Wikipedia. [00:04:33] Speaker A: Okay. One word. I've. I've searched and pressed enter. [00:04:36] Speaker B: Yeah, and now I want you to. It brings up the article on Wikipedia, correct? [00:04:41] Speaker A: Right. [00:04:42] Speaker B: Scroll down the article and listen, Rob, I want you to look at one word. Just look at one word, but make it a more difficult word. More than six or seven letters. Let's say just. Okay, once you've done that, put your phone down. [00:04:56] Speaker A: Okay, I'm scrolling all the way to the bottom of the article. You said wherever. [00:04:59] Speaker B: No, it could be anywhere in the article. The middle. Just, like, look at one word, but make it a longer wor. [00:05:05] Speaker A: Okay, what it is. [00:05:06] Speaker B: Just think of it and put your phone down. [00:05:09] Speaker A: Okay. More than seven letters. Okay. Okay, let me see here. Let's go with. Okay, I'm gonna go with. [00:05:25] Speaker B: Just look, it doesn't matter. Just. [00:05:27] Speaker A: It doesn't matter. Okay, I'm gonna go with. Okay, I found it. So what, do I just put my phone down? [00:05:32] Speaker B: That's right. Okay, I'm going to try to read your mind here over the screen. Now, listen, Rob, we're going to start with the first letter of the word. Okay? I want you to think of it. Just think of that letter in your mind right now. Okay, I think I got it here. What was the first letter of the word? [00:05:49] Speaker A: First letter of the word was T. T? Yep. Sorry. [00:05:55] Speaker B: I mean, the first letter of the. The initial article that you searched. [00:05:59] Speaker A: Oh, the first letter of the initial article I searched was B, as in Bob. [00:06:04] Speaker B: Oh, good, because that's exactly what I got. Also the letter B here. So now we're on the same page. We're gonna start with the. The word. The article that you searched on Wikipedia. I want you to just think of it. Don't say it. Think of it in your mind. Rob, I'm gonna try to get this right here and now. I think that this is something that's searched quite a bit on Wikipedia, to be honest with you. I think there's a lot of information about this. But that being said, I've written down one word here. You said 6 million words or articles on Wikipedia. 6.9 million for the first time. Robbie, what is the article that you searched on Wikipedia? [00:06:45] Speaker A: Baseball. [00:06:46] Speaker B: Ooh, baseball. [00:06:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:49] Speaker B: You see, I. I also wrote something down. I got the same thing right there. [00:06:57] Speaker A: No. How did you do that? Okay, I want to take this one. [00:07:00] Speaker B: Step further with you. O. Because then I got you to look at a word. You just looked at a word. You didn't touch it, you didn't highlight it. You've looked at one, correct? [00:07:10] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:10] Speaker B: Think of that word in your mind right now. Think of it. [00:07:13] Speaker A: Wait, wait, wait. Say that again. The word that I thought of in the article. [00:07:17] Speaker B: You looked for a longer word. [00:07:19] Speaker A: Right, right, right. So what am I supposed to do with that? [00:07:21] Speaker B: Just think of it. [00:07:22] Speaker A: Think of it. Yeah. Okay. My mind is just still blown on this. Okay, all right. I'm thinking of it. Okay. [00:07:27] Speaker B: I think that this is also. I. I might be totally off with you here. I don't know if this is going to be right, but listen, we said, like, 9 billion words on Wikipedia. That's so many words. You scrolled through the article on baseball, you looked at a word, you didn't touch it, you didn't highlight it. You just saw one, you put your phone down, and that was it. Right, Right. Say it out loud. What was the word in your mind? What word were you thinking of throughout? Ooh, throughout. Yeah, I also wrote something down. No, yours. Mind control. [00:08:08] Speaker A: What are you doing? [00:08:10] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. And I think the context was, throughout the years, there have been many different World Series games or something like that. [00:08:18] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Mega Magic Mike. How on earth did you. Okay, you got it. So for those. If you're on Spotify, Apple podcasts, I encourage you to watch that part of the podcast on YouTube. If you can. That was absolutely brilliant. I don't know how you do it. Like, literally read my mind. I'm scared. I'm honestly scared, because, like, why do you know what you're thinking? I don't know. [00:08:44] Speaker B: Jeez. Wow. [00:08:47] Speaker A: That was incredible. Yeah. How do I even. Okay. What an introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, Mike. Mike Durzo. So you still go by Mega Magic Mike, right? [00:08:59] Speaker B: That's right. Yeah. [00:09:01] Speaker A: Okay. [00:09:03] Speaker B: Magic Mike came out. I had to change my name a little bit. [00:09:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Mega Magic Mike. Oh, my gosh. I am. I am just. I cannot believe what you did right there. But that is. If you want to see more tricks like that, you got to go see Mega Magic or book him for your next event. He is fantastic and can totally entertain all kinds of audiences out there. So thanks again for joining me, though. I am. What a way to kick off the show. Thank you. Are you there? Can you hear me? [00:09:36] Speaker B: I'm here, Rob. Yeah, thanks. Thanks again for having me. I'm excited to be a part of this. [00:09:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that was a great way to kick it off. And I won't ask you about your secrets and give us awareness on how the heck you did that. That's. That's something. That is a magic magician's top secret. They're never gonna. What's. What's the phrase again? Reveal. They're not gonna. A magician. Never. What is it? [00:09:58] Speaker B: Reveals secrets. [00:10:00] Speaker A: That's it. Yeah. Never, never. Yeah. Reveals the secrets. Hand is quicker than the eye. All that kind of stuff. So you have been doing this for numerous years, and it's been your craft, like, I mean, you have been at this, I want to say, for. What is it now? 25 years. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I've been interested in magic for many, many years. I've been doing it now professionally for 21 years. [00:10:25] Speaker A: 21 years, which is incredible. So you've probably. After following you on social media and your website, you've probably built up quite the clientele, I would imagine, with seeing your travels all over North America. I mean, you're international as well, so I just want to say congratulations on that. And really something that you should be proud of, because this is. This is not something that everyone can do. And you're an entertainer. You get to see the world, man. I mean, you get to. You get to go hiking in Colorado. I've seen that. I've seen your. You're performing on a train. You get to see the desert in. In Phoenix. So there. There are so many positives that come with the career path that you've chosen. And of course, it's fantastic for people of all ages to witness you in person and you know, talk to me a little bit about exactly all those years back, if you can remember, like what inspired you exactly to, to become a magician, you know, of course. [00:11:32] Speaker B: So I was always interested in magic. I loved magic growing up. I loved watching magic shows. I went to see David Copperfield when I was a kid and it was really though it's not that I grew up and said, hey, I'm gonna become a magician. It was something that kind of happened by coincidence. One day I was at Wonderland and there was a magician selling magic tricks, simple little card tricks. And I remember spending my last dollar, I bought a few tricks from him. And that was literally the day that changed my life. And then this was in high school. Throughout high school I started doing small shows and then I went to university, studied communications. I was still doing shows. And then once I graduated, it was like, now what? So I kept with the magic and here I am today, like 21 years later, still doing it. [00:12:20] Speaker A: It's incredible. It really is. And I mean it's not something that someone can really just say, hey, you can be a magician. But I guess you like, did someone have to teach you those tricks? YouTube wasn't around back then. Like how did you teach yourself those tricks that you got from Wonderland and onwards? Like how did you learn? [00:12:44] Speaker B: A lot of magicians, including myself, especially growing up when I did, we were self taught. We had to read books, go to the library, take out books on magic. I used to watch a VHS tapes, you know, with instructional videos on how to do magic tricks. That's how I learned. And then the real practice was doing it in front of live audiences. The more and more I started doing shows and being in front of people and actually performing magic in front of people, that's when I started to become better and better as I went along. [00:13:17] Speaker A: So audiences 100% is what, is what helped you out along the way too. You need an audience. I feel like when you're a performer or someone that's doing some sort of something in the arts, you appreciate your audiences that much more, right? [00:13:32] Speaker B: Of course it's one thing to do a trick in the mirror, it's another thing doing it in real life in front of people, right? [00:13:39] Speaker A: Yeah. And then you get fans and followers and that's what you need in order to build a career and you know, to, to help support one another. Like I've. You and I have gone way back. For those that don't know, I've actually went to secondary school with Mike Durzo and, and we have kept in touch on and off throughout the years. And just to see him living his dream is like, just makes me smile. I just want to see Mike Durzo happy, doing what he's meant to be doing in this life. And it seems like magic is what that is for sure. And so, I mean, touching back on the wonderland mo like that, like instantly in that moment, do you think that was your aha moment? Like this is what I have to do with the rest of my life is be a magician. [00:14:27] Speaker B: No, to be honest with you, it was more at that time just a really cool hobby of mine. Honestly, I didn't think magic was even a career. Like, who grows up thinking, hey, I'm gonna become a magician? It's not like your typical career path, right? So, yeah, this is not something that I thought was even possible. I just thought it was fun to do. But, you know, as I started doing more and more shows then I started saying, hey, you know, maybe I can really turn my hobby into a passion or my passion into a career. And that's exactly what happened. [00:14:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm so happy for you, man, that it just from a hobby into a career and you've done fantastic for yourself. I mean, we know that being a magician, because you're an entertainer, typically your hours of work are not like an everyday nine to five kind of job. So, you know, the hours, the days of your work, they can certainly vary, especially since you run your own business with this. What would you find are, say, some of the challenges for you personally of being a full time entertainer? [00:15:36] Speaker B: Well, you know, there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that people just don't see. I mean, it really is a full time job between the, the traveling, the going to shows. I mean, the shows are the fun part. That's what I love doing. But there's so much more that goes on behind the scenes, like running a business, your everyday work that you have to do. I mean, it's, you got to get your clients, you got to send proposals, you got to practice your craft, you got to organize tours, you have to in terms of, you know, getting out there and doing all of your travel. I mean, it, it does take a toll and it really is demanding at times, especially when you're hopping from city to city. But if you truly like what you're doing, it's the best thing in the world right now. [00:16:20] Speaker A: Do you have like a, like a personal assistant or are you doing everything yourself when it comes to booking your shows and getting back to clients and such. [00:16:29] Speaker B: Yeah, so I have assistance on stage but not behind the scenes. So I kind of coordinate everything on my own. So really like a typical day for me would be, you know, I'll spend the whole day getting back to emails or sending requests and you know, arranging all of this stuff for the show. And really it's the point when I get out in front of an audience, that's what makes it all worthwhile. When I'm actually doing the show, I say, you know, the show is free. You're paying me for everything else that I have to do. [00:16:57] Speaker A: Right. And in terms of your travel, like how is that taken care of for yourself? Like if you got to go do a show one night and Minneapolis, Minnesota and then the next night you're in Florida, like how does that, is it similar to like a musician that you have representation that they're taking care of your travel or you have to expense that yourself as a, as an award winning magician and has to travel internationally? [00:17:24] Speaker B: Usually the clients will take care of the travel or they'll just include it in the fee and I can book my flights because usually they don't know where I'm going to be or where I'm coming from from because it's always a different place. But yeah, so I mean, I take care of that end of things. But it's, it's demanding. Like imagine, you know, most people are kind of in the nine to five and you know, they live sort of a structured, normal life, whereas mine, it's all over the place. I'm working evenings, weekends, holidays. So you know, you kind of miss out on a lot of things too. You miss being with the family or just know, hanging out at Christmas with your, your family because you're on the road somewhere or you know, hopping from airport to airport. And that's a whole other thing on its own. Right. There's so many challenges, especially when you're with equipment and everything for the show that it's just like it, it, it is challenging and it does, it definitely has its challenges but it, it's also rewarding at the same time. [00:18:24] Speaker A: Yeah. How do you manage that? Like in the moment when you're in the airport and they're giving you a hard time about all your big, the luggage, the things you' around and explaining that you're an entertainer. Do you have to, do you sometimes do you do woo. What do you do? Do you meditate to try and figure out how you're going to calm yourself when you run into these issues in the airports. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Yeah. So you never know. Every airport is different, and you just gotta kind of go with it and, you know, explain. I remember we did a tour in China, and we had to ship our equipment, like, a week in advance. And by the time I got there, the equipment, of course, never arrived. And we had shows lined up at the time, and it's like, oh, my gosh, how am I gonna go in front of a thousand people, do a show without any equipment? And then we had to explain to the Chinese immigration officials, you know, why are you carrying swords with you? Well, it's part of an illusion. I, you know, I'm a magician, so all of these, like, it's wild, some of the stories, you know? [00:19:23] Speaker A: I know. I mean, that. Listen. Yeah, it's. It's a lot. So, like, they don't. So in that moment, did they take you, like, to the side somewhere and have to, like. I don't know, what is it, interrogation? They gotta say, hey, like, what are you doing with the sword situation? What happened with that? [00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah, so everything, obviously, you know, once they realize it's part of a theatrical illusion, it's. It's fine. But it's the explaining of everything, especially when there's language barriers, it makes it even more difficult. [00:19:51] Speaker A: But you have to. You have to show them proof, obviously. Right. That you're. [00:19:54] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. Which was fine because I also had people who were there on the other side who booked me for the shows. That explained everything, which helped. But. [00:20:04] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, well, hey, I mean, look, and you've become a. Not just an expert magician, but now you're an expert traveler. I mean, anybody that wants to go on holiday with you, they. He would. You would know exactly what to do with all the rules and regulations, right? For sure. Yeah, for sure. So, I mean, you're. You're an entertainer at heart here, and you do quite a few shows. How many are we talking? Like, let's say, do you have booked in a week as a magician? What. How many would you say, weekly, roughly, that you do? [00:20:37] Speaker B: Honestly, it depends on the week and how we've structured the shows for the month. But on average, every year, we're doing about 250 shows a year. And that's all across Canada, the U.S. we do some stuff internationally. I've done shows, like I mentioned, in China and Qatar, the Middle east and all over the place. And it's interesting because magic truly is like that universal language, you know, like, you can appreciate magic even if you don't speak the Same language. Because it's visual. A lot of it's visual. And people understand when something disappears or you can make something float. It's. That's what I love about magic. It really does appeal to everyone. [00:21:17] Speaker A: Right. Do you personally have a favorite trick that you perform at your shows that is like, yeah, you love to do this one more than any of them that you perform. [00:21:29] Speaker B: So I, I love, honestly a lot of what I do. Obviously I love the big, like, a lot of my work is on stage. I love the stage illusions and the visual stuff. But I think there's also something really cool about doing close up magic. I think magicians like David Blaine have really popularized the art of like street magic and close up magic and even like what we just did now at the beginning of your show here, you know, that mentalism and mind reading, I think it's really powerful and you can connect with people even more so when you do that kind of magic. So I can't say I have a favorite trick or anything, but I love doing the close up stuff. [00:22:06] Speaker A: The close up illusion. Illusion stuff. Yeah. That's fantastic. Let's. I want to talk to you about, like, what the audience at your magic shows don't see. Okay. So I'm not, I'm not talking about like, the hand is quicker than the eye here. I'm talking about how much preparation goes into a magic show behind the scenes. And. And do you change up the material from show to show at all? [00:22:33] Speaker B: Yeah. So there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that people really don't see. Most of it being the travel. I remember this past New Year's Eve, I was doing a two week run of shows in Niagara Falls. We had New Year's Eve off, but that was the night that I got called from another event in Seattle, which is like across the country. And I had to make it work. So I had to fly into right after my show in Niagara on the 30th, drove to the airport, took the first flight out to Vancouver, then took a flight from Vancouver to Seattle, drove an hour to the event, made it there just in the nick of time. Did that show. Had to go back to the airport just to make it to Niagara for the next night. So it's like this craziness, you know, I was literally sleepless in Seattle for 48 hours getting this show done. But it's like this is all the stuff that people don't see. Yeah. [00:23:30] Speaker A: I mean, and it's. And it's. And it can be tough on the mind because you have to be, you have to be the one that is upbeat and entertaining and people don't necessarily know what you had just been through, right? Like, you know, they're, they're walking around Clifton Hill and Niagara Falls, going about their day. They're going to a magic show at nighttime. They're like, yeah, we're going to go see this award winning musician, international award winning musician. And. But they don't know what he's just been through for the last 24 hours. And maybe it's, you know, and, and you have to be like at the top of your game, or at least you try to. But I feel like this is what, you know, this is exactly why I'm doing this podcast all walks of life. I want to, you know, bring some compassion. Maybe the audience, they love what you do, but they think maybe they start becoming constructive with you with criticism and, but they don't realize where his mind has been the last 24 hours. Just give him a little bit of a break. But he's incredible at what he does. But, you know, it's hard to be 150% when you're traveling across the country with 24 hours to do that and to perform in, in two different venues, right? Like, you're only human, but you are a superstar at the same time. I think you're a superstar, but just saying that you're, you're human, right? And that's what this is all about, is to build compassion. And, and I think that's really brave of you to do that. It's not every day that people travel across the country and have to work like that back and forth so quickly. [00:24:50] Speaker B: And the show must go on, right? And I remember there, there's been times where even you're not feeling well, maybe you're sick. I remember, you know, I, I think I got food poisoning before a show and I'm sitting in my hotel room and a, the, the audience is already coming into the theater and I'm just there sweating and just like, you've never felt so bad in your life. And imagine knowing that you have to be on stage in like 15 minutes and you're there with a fever, sweating in your room. You know, you just got to make it work. And I feel like, you know, it's that mindset just knowing like, hey, this is going to be okay. You've done this a million times. You'll get through this Mic. You just, you know, take it one trick at a time, one step at a time. And you know, you do your best that's, that's all you can do. Like you said, we're human and whatever we can do to, to get through things, you know, humans are resilient. We, we can make it work. [00:25:48] Speaker A: That's a good mindset, good outlook, for sure. I want to know from you, who does Mike Durzo, who does Mike Durzo look up to in the business that is magic? What's, who's your, like, you know, if you're a hockey player and you're playing on your driveway at 9, 10 years old, you're pretending to be Wayne Gretzky or at this stage, Sidney crosby or Connor McDavid, who, who is Mike Durzo looking up to 20ish years back and saying, I want to be that guy in magic. [00:26:19] Speaker B: So honestly, I find my, when I was growing up, I grew up watching David Copperfield. David Blaine was a huge inspiration. Lance Burton, some of the Vegas magicians. But I also found I got a lot of inspiration even just hanging out with local magicians who are so creative and can think creatively outside of the box. I mean, there's some local guys that have really inspired me and I also try to get inspiration outside of magic. There's so many great people out there who can change your perspective on life and the way you think of things. So to me, you know, inspiration is all around us. It doesn't have to necessarily be within your field of work. There's literally it could be a family member that inspires you. My brother, he's autistic and he functions at a two year old level. He's non verbal, but you know, growing up with him, it made me feel more compassionate towards people, more understanding, being able to, you know, take things a little bit slower. Life is not a rush. You don't have to rush through everything. So to me, that, that's, that's the real magic, really finding. [00:27:23] Speaker A: You know what, I'm just going to Google, Google that a quick second because I think. Hold on a second. You said you made a good point. Just a second. [00:27:31] Speaker B: Sure. [00:27:32] Speaker A: Okay. We are recording this podcast, by the way, on Wednesday, April 2. Today is Wednesday, April 2. Today is World Autism Awareness Day and we are on awareness. The podcast. [00:27:45] Speaker B: I, I didn't even realize. [00:27:48] Speaker A: So tell them I'm thinking of them, not just today, every day, and want to spread more awareness and maybe that'll be a separate discussion for another day. But that is, that's certainly something. So today's World Autism Awareness. So have you had, you know, why don't you explain some of the challenges you've had with that, growing up with a brother that's been autistic and that is autistic. And what are some of those challenges that you have faced being his sibling? And I mean, you want to be compassionate. Is there any specific scenarios that come to mind for challenges? [00:28:23] Speaker B: I mean, it was like, honestly, he was like my best friend growing up. But it's tough when your brother is non verbal. He's unable to communicate things. Right. Like just stuff as simple as, hey, you know what, what do you want to eat? And he can't articulate what he wants. That was really challenging. And obviously it puts a strain on the family. You know, he's like, it's like taking care of a big baby, essentially. But to be honest, it's the best thing because, you know, he changed my outlook on life. And just like I said before, being compassionate towards people, everyone goes through different things. We all have our own struggles. Right. But. [00:29:02] Speaker A: Right. [00:29:03] Speaker B: It's how you, it's how you handle it. It's how you make the most of things that will change your perspective on life. [00:29:08] Speaker A: Exactly. Good for you, man. Switching the subject away from. I know we were talking about magic a few moments ago and that's the main thing. You know, you're an international award winning magician. We'll get back to that in a moment. But just you were on a television show a couple of years back and I remember this thing was blowing up all over your Instagram, all over. National television, I believe it was national. Yeah, yeah, national television. And I mean, you were on this show with Rick Campanelli who is currently on CHFI in Toronto. And this show, the Traitors Canada, you won this show. And I was like so happy when I found that I like my high school buddy that, that, that won this and it was incredible. I mean, for those that don't know, why don't you explain what that show was all about? [00:30:05] Speaker B: Yeah. So the Traders Canada was probably my best trick yet today to winning that show. But it's essentially a show that's a cross between Big Brother, Survivor. It's kind of like a social, social strategy manipulation game where it's all about deception, manipulation. And you know, it's. People have to find the traitors and you get voted out. It was really interesting being a part of such a production. [00:30:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, that must have been a whole bunch of fun. And it takes you a little bit away from magic, but certainly a great thing to add to your resume for sure. From my understanding, there were weeks of intense emotional, mental and physical challenges on this show. Can you speak to those specific challenges? And. And what did you win exactly? [00:31:04] Speaker B: Yeah. So the challenge of being on a show like this is you are secluded from the world. You go there, there is no Internet, they take away your phone, no television, there's no communication with the outside world. So you are in this game and you're constantly being filmed. There are cameras everywhere in the house. You're living with strangers, and you have to kind of get through day by day. And each day has its own challenge. You're. You're given different challenges each day that you have to do, both physical, mental, emotional, and, you know, it starts to become really difficult, I guess, as the game goes on, because every day people are being kicked off the show until you're down to just a few. But somehow, I don't know, I slipped through the cross. I managed to pull it off. [00:31:58] Speaker A: How many. How much time did you have to give this show? Like, was it. You had to book a few weeks off for you to be on this? Was it a couple months? [00:32:08] Speaker B: No. So it was only a couple weeks, but we were literally filming, like, close to 18 hours a day. So it's really. You are in this game. [00:32:17] Speaker A: You. [00:32:17] Speaker B: You don't have time to reset. It's just like every day is the same and you're just constantly on knowing that what you say is going to be on national television. And you know, you want to. You know, the way the game puts you. It's like, I had to be the bad guy being a traitor on the show. But you also want to be compassionate towards people. But it's hard because in such a game like this, you're put into these scenarios where you have to backstab your friends. And it's really tough. But, I mean, it's a game at the end of the day. [00:32:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think it's public now. I've. I've seen it online. But, yeah, you. You won quite a bit of money being on this show, right? Think so. [00:33:01] Speaker B: I did, yeah. [00:33:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Which is good. You. You can Google. You can Google it. You don't have to. You don't have to get into specifics if you don't want, but I'm. I'm happy for you that you. That you won. And I, you know, I got to think to myself, after all that time being spent there, like, the 18 hours and the being so secluded, was it, like a relief to finally get back to magic after that happened, or were you kind of like, no, I needed to do that experience. What Was your heart feeling like when you got back to magic, were you ready for it again? [00:33:33] Speaker B: I mean, I was ready, but I did need some downtime after being on that show in such a. Such an intense kind of production. It was. It really was like, I remember going to the airport, and I just kind of sat there and, like, all of these emotions just start hitting you. You know, like, after what you just went through, it didn't even feel like real life anymore being, you know, in society after playing such a thing. But it was. It was a great experience. I'm so happy I did it. I remember, you know, being there at the beginning. I was like, why did I do this? I was asking myself, because it was really tough for me because I'm not a confrontational person. I don't like conflict. I don't like this stuff. And it was all around me everywhere, you know, people, you know, talking crap about other people. And it was just like, oh, my gosh, this is. This is not me. But it was. It was interesting to be a part of it, nonetheless. [00:34:36] Speaker A: Yeah, well, yeah, you certainly. I'm sure, you know, it paid off for you in the end in. In more ways than one, I would imagine. And in terms of your, like, you know, when you got back to magic and. And just magic in general over the. The years that you've been a part of it, I. I have to think that one of the most exciting parts of your job is getting to travel the world. I mean, who doesn't want to travel the world, see as many parts as possible? So for you, performing in different cities, different countries, for you personally, what has been your favorite city to perform in? And. And why would you say so? [00:35:16] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, there are so many amazing cities out there. I wouldn't even know where to start. But, yeah, to me, China was amazing just because it was so different than North America. People really appreciate magic there. It's. It's very popular in the U.S. there's a few of my favorite spots. Hawaii. I got to do shows out there, which was phenomenal. One of my favorite places in the world, if not my favorite. I also loved Denver, Colorado, and Aspen and the mountains there. I think it's, like a really, really cool place. I remember doing an event in the middle of the summer. It rained the night before, but then I had to drive back to the airport, and I drive two hours to find out the highway's closed. I'm like, oh, this is weird. And I couldn't get on anywhere. So I pull over. The person asks, I Say, you know, is there any way to get on the highway? And they're like, no, no, the highway is not going to open today. It rained last night. Like, what do you mean it rained? I didn't realize there's mudslides right in the mountains. So now I had to go to this like very rural road called Independence Pass. You got to Google it. This took 10 years off my life doing that drive. I went like 15,000ft up in my car on this crazy mountain with no guardrails. Like you're literally inches from cliffs. But what an experience. You know, like I said, the, the shows must go on. So. Wow. But nonetheless so beautiful out there. It's absolutely amazing. There's some great spots. [00:36:48] Speaker A: Yeah. So you gave me your, your top three and I, I couldn't argue with those. Those sound like some incredible spots in the globe for sure. And, and very diverse and unique. So it's great that your travels took you there for sure. Speaking of travels locally, a little more. You, you. I've seen you perform before in Niagara Falls. You typically are there on the March break and, and on the Christmas holidays. This is on the, of course the, the Canada side. You've done some shows in Niagara, New York from my understanding too. And, and I gotta say you were, you were outstanding in those, in those shows. So the March break is done. We're into April now. What's, what's going on with your, your magic shows that you'd, that you're, you got, you know, eyeing in the near future that you would say you'd, you know, be completely honest. What do you want to plug here? What do you think is, you know, you want to go see Mike, Mega Magic Mike in the future? Where's the best spot to see any upcoming shows? [00:37:48] Speaker B: Absolutely. So now it's my, it's my busy corporate season so I don't have any public shows in the Toronto or Ontario region. But next stop is going to be Phoenix again. I'm back in Phoenix for some events out there and then Edmonton later on. But all over the place. You can stay tuned to, to all of our upcoming dates on our website, Mega Magic. [00:38:13] Speaker A: Yeah, very good. And you're. So your website is Mega Magic megamagic Ca. And they can get details on where you can, on where you're performing and even on your Instagram too sometimes. Right at Mike Durzo. [00:38:28] Speaker B: That's right. [00:38:29] Speaker A: Yeah. Like I sometimes wonder, you know, would you ever consider like hiring like a social media person that take like that does your, that gets you on film during your shows or you would rather keep that for, you know, hey, you got to show up to the show or we're giving away too many details here. Is that. How do you feel about that? [00:38:49] Speaker B: I try to keep that side of things. More, more to the the show itself, not so much on social media, but you can definitely follow my travels and adventures on social media. [00:39:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Fantastic. So Ikedurzo on Instagram and you're Mike Durzo on Facebook, right? [00:39:06] Speaker B: That's right. [00:39:07] Speaker A: All right, International award winning magician Mike Durzo, thank you so much for bringing things into awareness with us today. I am. I. It's fantastic to have talked to you and wish you all the best, of course, with your magic career and look forward to continuing to follow your travels with it. [00:39:26] Speaker B: Oh, thanks so much for having me on the show. So good seeing you again, Rob. [00:39:30] Speaker A: Yep. Great to see you. That's Mike Durzo. I'm Rob Daniels. This has been episode six of Awareness the fod, the podcast fostering a more compassionate, empathetic and accepting society. Thanks so much for being here. Don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and I'll see you in the next episode. [00:39:56] Speaker B: Sa.