About us
Ellusionist was founded on January 1st, 2001 by Brad Christian.
On January 1st, 2021 Ellusionist celebrated its 20th year of teaching magic.
His goal was simple — to create the best online training environment for people who want to learn high-impact, effective magic tricks. Ellusionist's growth has been unprecedented. To date, over 60,000 members worldwide participate in our discussion forums — the largest online magic forums on the net.
At Ellusionist, we have one goal: to give you the power to perform magic beyond belief. We want to make you the life of any party. We want to make you into a performer. To achieve that goal, we built this site with YOU in mind.
We Believe in the Power of a Great Team
Composed of several key individuals, our staff is what gives Ellusionist its soul. Our customer service is bar none. And our creative division is restless — we barely sleep, and we will do anything necessary to bring you the best magic, the best talent, the best training possible. We live on the cutting edge.
And we love what we do.
Brad Christian
Founder
Brad Christian, founder of Ellusionist, began his magic career with a kit he got for Christmas as a boy of 6. Gathering all his courage and calling on the mysterious powers he got from the kit, he put on a magic show for his first grade class which was unrivaled at the time. Christian finished the show and stood back to take his applause, and that's when things went abruptly... wrong. The entire class rushed him like Children of The Corn, examined his props and discovered the intense secrets behind his dazzling sleight of hand. He immediately quit magic forever, vowing never to get up in front of his class at show-and-tell again.
Fast forward to age 16 when one evening friends insisted Brad watch the "Doug Henning NBC Magic Special" with them. Uninterested, Brad finally acquiesced. He went in planning to pick apart Doug's tricks and show how easy it was to figure these silly things out. This might have been left over resentment from 10 years ago. Instead, Brad was transported to an land of magic and wonderment, as Doug would say, and vowed to study magic seriously from that moment.
Brad went down to the Arcade Magic and Novelty shop and stood around for 14 hours every Saturday, open to close, until someone finally noticed him. He was asked about his intentions, and then taught an effect or two that he could go home and practice. He practiced for hours, went back and showed them next Saturday, got the approval that was required, and was on his way. The shop was old school and Brad got his education that way. He was taught that magic needed to be simple. He was taught never to work on more than three things at a time, until he could do them in his sleep. He was taught that books were a good thing. Small tips and techniques were learned from pros who frequented the shop which made a huge difference during Brad's performance. Brad put an ad in the paper "Have rabbit, will travel" for kids parties and started to work professionally.
Let's speed this up.
Brad moved to New York to study acting, was on As The World Turns (small regular part as Clinton the Card Shark Gambler). Hit the comedy clubs after hours, performing. Was hired for a Billy Joel video during a street performance. Had four agents booking him in clubs and for acting auditions. People started getting pick pocketed during his street performances, and Brad was told by the police if they ever saw him on the street again he'd be locked up. Decided to move back to Toronto. Went on vacation to San Francisco for two weeks and never went back to Toronto. Sent for his stuff. Did shows and worked as a waiter for some years, knowing that he could do more if given the chance. Watched his little nephew playing with a toy car at Thanksgiving dinner one night, made the car disappear. When Brad saw his little nephew's reaction, he thought Dad's should be able to do magic for their kids! Brad thought he might be a good teacher. He got some investors, made a video, bought a computer, taught himself html and Flash, built the site, went live and that is history. Ellusionist.
Jennifer Riordan
General ManagerHi! I’m Jennifer Riordan. I work in customer service, inventory control, purchasing as well as managing the warehouse and wholesale division. I may not be a magician but I wear a lot of hats!
Oban Jones
Creative DirectorHere’s some things you may not know about our designer, Oban Jones. His first illustrative claim to fame came at the tender age of 3, having been credited as the first child in his school to add eyebrows, ears and teeth to his stickmen.
David Mitchell
Ellusionist Webmaster and Go-to GuyWorking with Ellusionist for 16 years has an effect on a persons hairline. Kidding aside, the discovery of magic has been one of the best things to happen to me besides getting married and getting to experience parenthood.
Duane Williams
Creative Team / Product DevelopmentDuane Williams, from the roaring mountains of North Wales is one of the best kept secrets in magic. His unique ability to blend unusual and unseen solutions to creative plots in magic has placed him right into the heart of the Ellusionist team.
This is where we eat, sleep, drink, and breathe magic. It's also where we work. Notice that we have not one, but FOUR clocks on the wall. The internet never closes, so we're open 24 hours. Ellusionist's main ware-house is located in Petaluma, California, and our corporate offices are located just outside of San Francisco. You can see the Bay right out our front door!
We are Selective. We Only Offer the Best.
We only teach high impact, explosive magic, and we cut out the tricks that don't make that cut. Remember that trick that your uncle did that time at your 8th grade graduation? We don't teach stuff like that. We teach you how to perform miracles.
Our goal is to constantly expand and increase the beauty and efficiency of the site. It doesn't matter if you are brand new or deep into magic already.
We Will Be There for You.
We Will Stand by Your Side.
We Will Teach You.
And We Will Not Let You Fail.
Jennifer Riordan
General ManagerHi! I’m Jennifer Riordan. I work in customer service, inventory control, purchasing as well as managing the warehouse and wholesale division. I may not be a magician but I wear a lot of hats! I have been with Ellusionist for over 6 years with my primary back ground being in manufacturing and logistics. Working for Ellusionist has been the highlight of my career. I love the energy of this company and the creativity I am surrounded with on a daily basis.
Oban Jones
Creative DirectorHere’s some things you may not know about our designer, Oban Jones. His first illustrative claim to fame came at the tender age of 3, having been credited as the first child in his school to add eyebrows, ears and teeth to his stickmen. If you type his full name with no space in the middle it autocorrects to banjoes, and finally he has, for as long as he can remember, been obsessed with art.
After drawing through every lesson for over a decade he discovered he had only two options, drop out of school and become the most creative bum in the local area, or steer into the skid and become a artist for real.
A few years of working his way up through the ranks of different design studios in Manchester, North Wales, London and Oxford, he’d developed a very real love for the practicality of design, a combination of beauty and function. That’s when, in early 2014 Ellusionist stumbled over his designs and put him to work on the Prohibition Series at first, and later the Sleepers and Bee Series before formally joining Ellusionsit team in late 2015.
In playing cards he has an ideal medium for combining art and function, and although his style may vary from deck to deck, at it’s core that lifelong passion and honest love of creating is what burns through. That authenticity is the consistent style that he brings to his work.
David Mitchell
WebMaster / Jack of all tradesWorking with Ellusionist for since almost the beginning has an effect on a persons hairline. Kidding aside, the discovery of magic has been one of the best things to happen to me besides getting married and getting to experience parenthood. I'm proud to say that I've been part of one of the best groups of people a person could ever hope to work for. Magic has been great to me. I've met the people I look up to, been able to go to Magic Camp and call some of the most amazing people my friends.
I was introduced to serious sleight of hand by Brad and I've never stopped learning. I've performed on stage and did walk-around in restaurants for almost 6 years. Some of my favorite effects include Carp Warp, Psychokinetic Silverware and The Linking Rings (the small ones, not the large ones)
Duane Williams
Creative Team / Product DevelopmentDuane Williams, from the roaring mountains of North Wales is one of the best kept secrets in magic. His unique ability to blend unusual and unseen solutions to creative plots in magic has placed him right into the heart of the Ellusionist team.
Focusing his time as the lead videographer for Ellusionist, when he’s not crafting some of your fan favorite trailers he’s busy brainstorming and prototyping the next set of best selling Ellusionist products.
About Us
Meet the Ellusionist Team
Modestly composed of several key individuals, our team is what gives Ellusionist its soul. Our customer service is second to none. And our creative division barely sleeps. We will do anything necessary to bring you the best magic, the best talent & the best training possible.
Brad Christian, Founder
Brad Christian began his magic career with a kit he got for Christmas as a boy of 6. He put on a magic show for his first grade class which was unrivaled at the time. Christian finished the show and stood back to take his applause.
Fast forward to the year 2000, when Brad was watching his little nephew playing with a toy car at Thanksgiving dinner one night & made the car disappear. When Brad saw his little nephew's reaction, he thought Dad's should be able to do magic for their kids!
He got some investors (including his Mom), made a video, bought a computer, taught himself html and Flash, built the site, went live and that is history.
He now enjoys legendary status as one of the men who helped to shape the direction of modern magic.
Geraint Clarke, CEO
Sick of working in an office, Geraint took a risk and quit his safe job, with no backup, to try and work for Ellusionist.
He started in the Marketing Department and quickly rose through the ranks with his unique strategy and approach to business.
It didn't hurt that he was ridiculously talented with cards & coins too.
Not being one to enjoy the limelight, Geraint prefered to be the secret idea-man behind many of Ellusionist's best-selling products of all time.
Including... How to be a Magician, How to Read Minds, MagicStream, Cohorts Playing Cards, Killer Bees etc.
Oban Jones, Creative Director
This guy has the talent of 10 men. He is, without doubt, the most diverse designer we’ve met in over 20 years of business.
He wears different styles like a second skin. One day it’s a 50’s-esque illustration, the next day it’s a renaissance-era painting, the next day it’s a tattoo-style deck that speaks to us on a level we can’t express.
If we can think it, he can draw it.
Every color, every line, every icon on this site is his physical representation of our vision for magic.
If you have any Ellusionist deck of cards, or a trick from the last 6 years, it was Oban who designed it, each and every time.
David Mitchell, Webmaster
Dave is Ellusionist’s longest-serving team member. And as a proud Canadian, serves as our team litmus test for decency. If he doesn’t laugh, we probably went too far.
His experience is unquestionable. He knows every inch of the business. When things go wrong, he’s there to fix it. And if some Shopify code stops working, he’s there to re-write it.
What Dave doesn’t know about Ellusionist could be written on a postage stamp, because not only is he a valued member of the team, but he’s a fan too. Holding more first edition Black Tiger & Ghost decks than founder Brad Christian himself.
Jennifer Riordan, Operations Manager
Jennifer has been with Ellusionist over 20 years. She wears the most hats of anyone in the company, touching every area of the business.
From manufacturing, to purchasing, to warehouse management. She does it all.
She’s been there through thick and thin and once drove a U-Haul from California to Texas, to collect some stock that was stolen from us. How badass is that? She turned up and took back our decks like a female Tom Cruise. Zero f**ks given.
That’s loyalty that any business would kill for.
Romy Meermans, Customer Service
A gentle soul is rare. A gentle soul who knows magic is rarer. A gentle soul, who knows magic with an incredible ability to communicate with people. That’s so scarce that it’s precious.
Based in the Netherlands, Romy is one of the few women shaping magic today. She has the chops to be in front of the camera, but is more valuable to us behind the scenes.
If your order is lost by the postal service, or you need some help buying your next trick, Romy will be there to help.
Jenna Schmidt, Head of Finance
Artists who work with Ellusionist know one thing.
We pay and we pay on time.
That reputation has been garnered for us by Jenna Schmidt, our Head of Finance.
She’s organized, fast and an absolute demon with a spreadsheet.
Unfortunately, she's wanted in 5 countries for tax evasion, so wouldn't let us use a real photo of her.
... Just kidding, that is her.