FHS senior Satvik Balakrishnan has captivated the FHS community and more with his magic performances. Balakrishnan’s TikTok account, @satvikmagic, has recently generated over a million views on videos explaining short tricks and close-up magic.
Balakrishnan’s interest in magic sparked in kindergarten after seeing a magician perform live, and he started to take magic more seriously during the pandemic. Since then, he has performed over 50 professional shows at many events, including weddings and birthday parties. His favorite tricks to perform vary, as his main goal is to initiate laughter amongst the crowd.
“My favorite thing about magic is the emotions I’m able to create,” Balakrishnan said. “I think it’s a big accomplishment when you’re able to give a sense of astonishment or awe in somebody. One moment that really sticks out is when I was performing at a wedding. It was cool that you were not able to just entertain people, but like, touch something deeper because the trick I was doing was something to represent [the couple’s] bond.”
Even in some of his classes, Balakrishnan has been known to execute different tricks. FHS World History and ASB teacher Jeffrey Kakes reflected on the first time he saw Balakrishnan perform.
“It was a card trick of some sort, and it just blew a bunch of the [students’] minds,” Kakes said. “At first people [think], okay, that kid’s doing magic. Is that going to be cool? It was like ‘Whoa, he really knows what he’s doing.’ It was pretty neat to see.”
Balakrishnan’s current US government teacher, Geoff Beckstrom, witnessed a short performance during an introductory presentation that Balakrishnan gave towards the beginning of the year. Beckstrom believes that as people grow older, their belief in magic dwindles, but magic tricks have a certain allure that suspends one’s better judgment.
“Things like [magic] allow us to step into a world that’s a little bit less mundane and a little bit more fun,” Beckstrom said. “I think people like to appreciate just the craft of the sleight of hand and trying to figure it out like ‘well, how did you do that?’”
While it can be challenging for aspiring magicians to know where to start, Satvik found inspiration through YouTuber David Blaine, alongside his mentor, Robert Strong, who he credits for helping start his business.
“YouTube is where everyone started, so go to YouTube first, and if you have any questions contact me,” Balakrishnan said. “I’d be more than happy to help.”
Balakrishnan’s Instagram handle is @satvikmagic and can be contacted for shows through www.satvikmagic.com.
