What Working in a Magic Store Taught Me About People

From 1991 to 1998, Tres worked at the legendary Orem magic store known as MAGIZMOS. It was not just a place where people bought tricks. It was a doorway into the world of magic.

Working in a magic store teaches you quickly that people do not really buy secrets. They buy possibility. A child sees a trick and imagines becoming magical. A parent sees a smile on their child's face. A beginner sees a path into a new skill. A serious magician sees a tool that might become part of a performance.

At MAGIZMOS, Tres was hired to help promote the magic store brand by demonstrating effects, entertaining customers, and helping people understand what made each piece of magic work. During those years, he was already a working magician, but the store gave him something rare: daily practice in reading people.

Some customers wanted to be fooled. Some wanted to learn. Some wanted to impress friends. Some simply wanted to feel wonder again. A good demonstrator had to adjust quickly, entertain clearly, and make the magic feel alive.

That experience sharpened more than sleight of hand. It strengthened timing, showmanship, audience awareness, and the ability to teach magic in a way people could understand.

It also taught an important lesson that still applies today: magic is never just about the trick. It is about the person experiencing it. The same effect can land differently depending on the audience, the timing, the volunteer, and the way the moment is framed.

Today, that background still shapes Tres the Great Magic Shows. Whether performing for children, schools, libraries, corporate groups, civic events, or private students, the same lesson applies. Magic works best when it creates wonder, laughter, and connection.