An ace at 18

Landon Swank was living every 7-year-old's dream -- he got called up in front of the crowd at a show by famous magician Harry Blackstone Jr. But as the show progressed, Swank acted like many 7-year-old kids would -- he was embarrassed to be in front of the crowd, and the jokes made him feel even more uncomfortable.

He left the stage that minute. Blackstone pulled a rabbit out of his coat and gave it to Swank, who was sitting back in the crowd.

Isn't it funny how careers are born?

Swank is now 18 and totally immersed in the art of magic. How many 18-year-olds do you know who can put a bunch of needles in their mouth and pull them out on a string? One of the biggest magic tricks Swank has in his arsenal is that of maturity, and he is using it to turn heads, raise eyebrows and astonish crowds at professional shows he has been performing at for the last few months.

Self-taught sleight of hand

A few years after the Blackstone incident, Swank got a couple of books about magic and started playing with cards. Even at that young age, he knew he wanted to do something with magic when he got older.

"I started doing little tricks at home, and by the time I was a freshman, it was really a passion of mine," Swank said. "I knew I wanted to turn my hobby into something more."

That means practice, practice, practice -- like between eight and 10 hours of practice a day. Swank, a senior at Colony High School, has turned a bedroom in his parent's house into a makeshift stage, with black curtains. He can be found turning cards or training doves all evening.

"Everything I do is self-taught," Swank said. "I had never even met another magician until two or three months ago, when I got to meet a gentleman from Anchorage. I stay in contact with him now, but other than that, I've picked everything up as I've gone."

Some of the tricks he performs he has practiced thousands of times before doing it for others. Some tricks only take 20 to 30 practice sessions for Swank.

"I'm a perfectionist. The hardest part for me is that when I do mess something up, I try to turn it into humor during the show. I hate messing up, though," Swank said.

Bag of tricks

All that practice means Swank has a trick for every occasion. He said in a stage show, he'll include 25 to 30 tricks, but he can do well more than 100 tricks. He is so good with cards that he said he can invent a trick involving cards right on the spot.

"I did cards for years and years, so I'm pretty good with coming up with new things with them," Swank said.

Another popular trick Swank performs is the needles in the mouth trick. He also does tricks with billiard balls, ropes, coins, linking rings and about every other thing you'd expect a magician to have.

Some of the people he has performed for mentioned that among their favorite tricks are one in which Swank makes a paper ball float in midair and then turns it into a rose, as well as many of the card tricks he performs.

The latest hurdle for Swank's magic act is that of training doves. He hasn't used doves in his public performances yet because he is still trying to train -- both himself and the doves -- but is hoping to add them to his repertoire soon.

As a magician, you must always be coming up with new tricks. For Swank, it's as easy as watching others and then spending time practicing it.

"Once you have the knowledge of the art of magic, you can watch a trick and figure it out and come up with it, using the principles you already know," Swank said.

Professional act

After doing tricks in the bedroom for years and years, Swank "turned professional" last summer. He has started doing shows for the public, and he is in the process of refining his act. That stage fright he experienced as a 7-year-old is long gone, although he said he does get a little nervous.

"The first couple of shows, you could see my hand shaking," Swank said. "The last few shows I have been fine."

As he does more and more performances for people, his reputation is growing. A few fans were amazed at his talents -- his friends, who had no idea about his hobby-turned-profession.

"I did a show for a friend's dad recently, and that was the first time a lot of my friends found out that I do magic," Swank said. "They are always asking me to do little tricks now."

The best magic trick of all would be to add a few more hours in the day for Swank. He is a senior in high school, and he plays basketball and soccer, leaving little time for the hobby he hopes to turn into a career.

"I'm only practicing about four or five hours a day now that basketball is going on," Swank admitted.

When asked to compare his act to others, he hesitates.

"I've always been told to just be myself and not to try to match your act to someone else's. It's harder to succeed doing that," Swank said. "In terms of magic skills, I really like Lance Burton. And I like David Copperfield's grand illusions."

Perhaps the hardest part of becoming a professional magician isn't the magic at all. It's coming up with a routine on stage. You have to be one-part entertainer, one-part comic and one-part magician.

"That's where I can really improve I think," Swank said.

Heading to Vegas

Recently, Swank was accepted to participate in a world teen magic seminar in Las Vegas, the Mecca of magic. He will leave Jan. 10 for the seminar, and he is genuinely excited about the trip, if for no other reason than he gets to meet other magicians for the first time.

"It'll give me a chance to see where I'm at against other top magicians, and I'll get to meet a ton of other people interested in the same things I'm interested in," Swank said. "I'll get to see where I am competitively."

Swank had to submit a video of his act, and he was chosen to participate based on his tricks.

While the seminar is exciting enough, Swank will be going there with even more anticipation, because he is going to perform the trick he is most proud of in front of people for the first time ever. At the seminar, Swank said he will be doing a trick involving "billiard balls and canes between my fingers."

The future

Most 18-year-olds have a hard time figuring out what they are going to do next weekend, let alone next year. But Swank has a definite plan for his life.

Swank wants to perform magic in Vegas, on a cruise ship or at Universal Studios, where he could perform in front of people and fine-tune his routine. He has family friends there, and so he is hoping that pans out for the future.

"I want to get my MBA while I'm doing magic, because with magic, you make it or you don't make it," he said. "I'll have something to fall back on then."

Choosing magic as a career path may make some high school counselors cringe, but Swank is trying to make a go of it.

He said the job market is competitive for quality magicians, but it isn't going to deter him from reaching his goal.

"It's a lot more competitive than some people would think," Swank said. "There is definitely a ton of people interested in magic, and a lot of those people want to do it professionally."