UAE: Meet the magician who made pop icon Adele disappear on stage

Khaleej Times

24-03-2025

In a world ruled by social media algorithms and instant gratification, where we've grown accustomed to skipping intros, double-tapping instead of feeling, and Googling explanations before surrendering to the mystery, wonder has become a rare concept to fathom.
It's not that we no longer believe in magic. It's that we no longer pause long enough to feel it.
But on a dimly lit stage, somewhere between illusion and reality, American magician Rob Lake has made it his life's mission to keep that wonder alive. A master illusionist best known for making global pop icon Adele disappear during her viral Las Vegas residency and for mesmerising millions on America's Got Talent (AGT), Lake is safeguarding something we all seem to have forgotten lately — the thrill of not knowing.
'I was 10 years old when I saw my first magic show,' says Lake, who recently made a grand return to Dubai with a string of live shows. 'It was like I got downloaded with a programme... I just knew it wasn't a momentary fascination. It was my life's path."
The boy who never grew out of magic
For most of us, childhood obsessions come and go like passing fads. Magic kits gather dust. Dreams shift with the wind. But Lake held on. Not because it was easy, but because he knew he had something worthwhile to hold on to.
While other kids traded card tricks for footballs, Lake was saving money from birthday party gigs to buy his next illusion. At 12, he had a business bank account and a debit card. By the time he was a teenager, he was skipping high school parties to perform at Rotary Clubs and church events.
Performing magic, in a way, became his identity, Lake recalls. 'My parents were the ones telling me to go outside and play,' he chuckles. 'And I was like, 'No, I've got this career.''
What started as backyard performances and school talent shows soon became a lifelong pursuit. And while most 20-year-olds were cramming for finals, Lake was standing at a different crossroads — one that would require him to risk it all.
'I was in college, studying health and exercise science, which was something I was genuinely interested in,' he adds. 'But deep down, I always knew I was going to do magic. One day, I told myself, if I don't go for it now, I never will. So I just left.'
While he doesn't recommend that path for everyone, a hopeful and somewhat naive 20-year-old believed success would come overnight. It didn't. Instead, it took years of relentless effort and commitment to a path few dared to follow.
'But I had to burn the lifeboat,' says Lake. 'I had to remove the fallback option. Magic had to work, there was no Plan B.'
Passion over probability
Ask any performer and they'll tell you: The stage is the easy part. The spotlight? That's the reward. But for Lake, every moment in the limelight is built on years of meticulous planning, sleepless nights, and a relentless pursuit of something bigger. 'There's no school for this,' he says. 'I taught myself everything: magic, illusion, logistics, PR, international shipping, lighting design, storytelling. The performance is just the tip of the iceberg. What people see is the illusion. What they don't see is everything else.'
Every prop in his shows is custom-engineered to not only dazzle but also to pack neatly into a shipping container. Every act is rehearsed not just for perfection, but for what could go wrong. From curtains jamming mid-show to full power outages in foreign theatres, Lake says he's experienced it all. 'We plan for everything,' he adds. 'Because if something goes wrong, I want the audience to still feel like it's all part of the magic.'
A million views later
In 2018, Lake appeared on America's Got Talent, instantly earning national fame. By then, he was already a seasoned performer and the show, he thought, would be a fun way to reach a few new fans. However, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.
'In my wildest dreams, I could possibly imagine we'd get a million YouTube views,' he says. 'We got 80 million.' For Lake, this was validation that his illusions were resonating with global audiences.
In fact, long before AGT, the industry had already begun to recognise Lake's artistry. At just 25, he bagged the prestigious Merlin Award — magic's highest honour, often regarded as the Oscar of the magic world.
Similarly, his viral illusion for Adele's Las Vegas residency — in which she seamlessly disappears in front of thousands — was just another showcase of his effortless talent. 'Adele is not the type to go 'ta-da!' So the illusion we crafted for her had to feel natural, organic to her show, to her voice, to her presence. And it worked because it felt like her, not like a magician crashing her concert.'
Why wonder matters
'Behind every illusion lies the discipline of an athlete,' says Lake, whose performances are physically demanding and require the kind of rigorous preparation expected of a professional sportsperson.From the moment the curtain rises, he's moving nonstop. No breaks. No shortcuts.
'I push myself to the physical limit every time. These illusions are intense. And I've always had this habit of biting off a little more than I can chew; just to see if I can.'
Each show is recorded (on low-res cameras meant only for him), re-watched, and dissected. 'How can I make this better? How can it be more magical, more emotional, more powerful?' These are the questions constantly running through his mind. 'Even when things go wrong — and they do — I just come out, talk to the audience, and we ride the moment together. It becomes its own kind of magic.'
Magic, in Lake's eyes, is not about deception. It's about disarming cynicism — if only for a moment. In an age where everyone wants to 'know how it's done', where YouTube thrives on exposure videos and viral breakdowns, Lake finds himself defending not just secrets, but the feeling it brings.
'Someone posted a video trying to expose my illusions recently,' he adds. 'It was laughable and totally wrong. But more than that, what disappoints me is that it tries to take the fun away. It robs people of joy.'
For Lake, the battle here isn't just against exposure, it's against erosion. The erosion of curiosity, of innocence, of believing that maybe, just maybe, something impossible can happen. 'Magic isn't about me being clever or fooling you,' he says. 'It's about giving you that feeling, even if just for a second, that anything is possible. That's what wonder really is. It's the thrill of not knowing.' And through shows like Lake's, one can only hope to keep it alive!