I'm a magician and the looks on kids' faces make it so fulfilling
My dad, Pierre, always performed magic tricks for us when I was little – he'd entertain us for hours.
When I was about five or six he decided to hold a session every Tuesday night where he'd teach me one trick.
My dad wasn't a professional magician – he just did it for fun. After he started teaching me I'd entertain my friends with tricks at school.
One day when I was in Grade 10 one of my mom's friends asked me if I could perform at her kid's party. I actually didn't feel like doing it but I went and found I really enjoyed it. I realised people would pay to see these tricks. So I created an 'André the Magician' page on Facebook.
I did a lot of performances in grade 10 and grade 11, but it picked up in matric.
I did about 30 performances in one month during the June exams. I still don't know how I got through it.
I wrote my exams, gave performances, and studied in between.
When I was about six or seven my parents bought me a magician's hat and I still wear it today, even though it's quite worn now.
I got my costume in my matric year and I think I look just like a showman.
After I got the costume, I went and bought myself a few new tricks. I have about two hours' worth of tricks. I do tricks like disappearing cloths for the little kids but for older children I do cool card tricks. I enjoy seeing how excited they get and they always want to be picked to come up and help me.
These performances are a bonding experience for me and my dad because he comes with me to my performances. He helped me a lot when I was starting out – I'd perform for 20 minutes then he'd perform for another 20 minutes.
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I don't just do birthday parties; I also go to schools. The largest group I've ever performed for was a group of 800 children. I entertain kids and make balloon animals for them – a sword or a little dog.
I perform in many communities and I especially enjoy working with children in underprivileged communities. My grandfather works in underprivileged communities, handing out Bibles and helping at orphanages.
I go along with him and do tricks. These children have never seen anything like this and they love it. They always come and hug me and it's so special and rewarding to see how much they appreciate it.
I've also performed at a rehabilitation centre and the people couldn't believe their eyes.
I'm studying at Stellenbosch University to become an actuary and I'm living in the Dagbreek residence. Making a living from being a magician was never my Plan A – it's just my side hustle. My friends tell me I'm the world's first magician-actuary!
My res friends like it when I do tricks for them. I always do card tricks using other people's cards so they can see I'm not using a trick deck.
My actuary friends watch me closely to try to figure out how I do it. They don't like it when they don't know how something works but they haven't figured it out yet.
The Dagbreek people found out in my first year that I'm a magician. The house committee did background checks on us and came across my Facebook page. They told me to do a card trick immediately, so I did. They were very impressed.
Although I'm studying now, I still make time for my magic. I actually did five performances this week. Sometimes I miss class. But it's worth it when I see the children's little faces.
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