 And she worked multiple jobs to give me the best of everything, education, anything that she could. And I would carry a deck of cards everywhere that I went. She had given it to me when I was about five years old. And for me, this deck of cards, it just felt, it wasn't like a toy. It felt like something incredible, like something that only parents would use or grownups. And I would carry it everywhere that I went. And one day, while I was waiting for her to finish work, I was at the New York Public Library. And in the library, this librarian just said, oh, we got this little book of self-working card tricks. Do you want to try to learn one? And I was like, yeah. You were how old? I was like five or something like that. And so she walked me through this very simple mathematical trick. And when my mother showed up to come get me, I did it to her. And because she's a loving mother, she was like, ah, oh, it's amazing. So it was not amazing, but I believed it was amazing. So I wanted to continue to impress her, so I would just try to learn more and more magic. And then I started just, if I would be at her restaurant that she was working at, I would stand up on the chair and I would perform to everybody. So, you know, I just started to get that love and the impulse of just always trying to perform. I didn't realize at the point in time that that's just repetition, which is practice. So it's not that, you know, I'm good at what I do necessarily by default. It's like I've spent a lot of time practicing performing. How much time? Exact. You can assume every day for about, you know, almost 39 years, probably hours a day. The last 20 years, probably most of the time like six hours a day with a deck of cards. Or even just thinking, now at the same time, I would go to the YMCA and sometimes I'd wait for her to pick me up there. And I was on the swim team and I did karate. And on the swim team, because I was born with my feet turned in, I couldn't swim like the other kids. And in Brooklyn, a kid without a dad, it's not good to be the last, you know, you get picked on. So what I started to do is while I was swimming, I realized that if I didn't have to turn my head to breathe, I could actually swim further and faster. So I was able to keep up with the fastest of them. The coach would say, stop doing that, but I just didn't listen. I just keep going and doing laps. And then what started to happen was people were like, whoa, he just did three laps without breathing. And then, no, and then what would happen is the older kids would come to watch. And then I would compete against the older kids not doing laps. I would just go underwater all by breath and they would hold with me. But then they'd go up and down, up and down like five times while I held them one breath. I didn't even realize at the time that by staying still and not doing anything, that's way more effective than going up quickly, taking a breath and coming back down. So that was the beginning of my first experience with what I call endurance. The ability to use your mind to control your body. And then I had a karate teacher named Prince at the YMCA around the same time. And in the winter, in the snow, he would make us run barefoot. And all the kids hated doing it because it was so like, ah, this is too much. I don't want to do this, but I loved it because it made me a kid with the legs turned in. I felt like tougher than the circumstance. So that was the beginning of me loving to do these things where I used my mind to override the body and what it says. And I realized it's pretty effective that way. You can really do things that scientists and doctors would normally say, oh, that's not possible. So when did you first think actually I want to make a living out of magic? What started the magic? I haven't thought about that yet and that's why this is a weird place for me to be. I'm not good at that part of it. When do you start, you think actually instead of focusing on the magician, I want to do street magic and focus on the reactions of the people? No, that was a constant because I used to always love doing magic to my mother and her friends. And back in the late 70s, my mother was like macrobiotic and a health nut. We had seaweed in the cabinets and stuff like that, which was weird. So her friends were obviously really into that whole health nutrition or they say health nut back then. So they were all very spiritual and things like that. So when a five-year-old is doing magic to them, it seems like I'm doing something real. I would like stare off and then stare back at them and do a trick and they'd all go crazy because they thought I was doing something really bizarre. But it really was just a card trick so I realized it was all how you present it. Okay, so remind me or tell me what your first favorite stint was, your first endurance. Your first or your favorite actually? Okay, well I'll tell you what my first one was, my first public one. I started fasting when I was younger. I read Sid Artha and he talks about standing, fasting, waiting and how that's so important to override your body and all that stuff. So I read that at age 11 or something. So I started to just see how long I could go with just water and things like that. So I was already curious about that. Then my first public stunt was 1999 and I buried myself alive in a coffin for seven days and seven nights. It was a stunt that Houdini wanted to do but he had died before he had the chance to do it. Although he I think was going to do a version that was a short version, not a long version. I started to think the Indian fakirs that would do it would go underground. You wouldn't be able to see them and then they get pulled out of the coffin about a month later and suddenly they re-emerged but they had secretly hidden away. So I thought well why not just really do it? Like why not just laying in a coffin for a week it seems very doable. And you were never scared? Well what I did is I put a coffin in my living room at the house I was staying at and I would just practice sleeping. And staying in it and not getting out of it so eventually I got up to like four days. I learned that if you fast and you don't need the toilet and things like that. And I would use a trucker's tube meaning you urinate into a little bag or what not to talk about that. And then what happened was I said oh well then yeah if I could do four days I'm certain I can do seven. So usually I don't go to the full distance I usually estimate just over half. And then once I get to the halfway mark I count backwards and push to the end. Are there people around you telling you actually no David stop this is crazy? Yeah everybody. And you just block them out or you say no no I can do this. Do you reassure them? I listened to all the doctors all my friends and then just try to override their theories on why it can't be done. Which is very easy to do. I have a friend that was a physiologist up at NASA and he would look into records of how long people survive starvation. How long people could survive without oxygen. And so I already knew that there was when I did the breath hold I did 20 minutes and two seconds with a bunch of scientists and doctors around. I was underwater my heart rate dropped to eight beats per minute and they freaked out and pulled me up. I could have kept going by the way. Yeah but so I look into what has been done and then I realized oh if you breathe pure oxygen first you flush out the CO2. The reason that we have to breathe is not because of the O2 deprivations because of the CO2 buildup in the bloodstream which makes the pain. So if you can override the pain then you can actually push yourself and not black out. But what's the process. So you think you're at dinner and you think actually you know what I really want to do for my next endurance or what's the process. Well okay so the process on that specific one was I remembered I always loved holding my breath and I used to win bets when I was like a teenager. I would do like seven laps in a pool and collect hundreds of dollars and stuff like that. So I was thinking like why not do something where I hold my breath. But I didn't understand what it was so I just I think I started just fantasizing about the water tank. And I started thinking well what if I made a sphere shaped water tank like a marble and then put it in the middle of New York City like Lincoln Center which is where we ended up putting it. And then that marble was there and then I could live there for as long as possible. Then I found out the longest a human was submerged completely under water was five days and five nights. So I said okay I'm going to go seven days and seven nights. And I spoke to him and he told me all about it and what you have to do which is just mental preparation. And I remained there for a week which actually allowed me to get familiar with the situation. And then at the end I went for the world record hold of my breath and failed but it was still fun. Is it always fun how much so from the moment you think about it to your moment you actually realize it. Is it years is it months. Yeah usually it's years yeah. Okay is there one stunt that you would do again. I would do them all again except for the one in London where I did 44 days in a box with just water. And the reason I wouldn't do that again is because I started to have like minor organ problems so failure. Not complete failure which is like stuff started worrying and I lost 33 percent of my B.M. my bone mass index and everything had shrunk. And I think I was very close to going past the threshold where there would be no return. And I think if I did that one again I don't know if the body would survive that. So therefore I wouldn't do it again but that was my favorite one to do. Because you saw the audience. No the reason it was my favorite one to do is because when you remove everything like all temptations taste any impulse that you have to fulfill some sort of endorphin in the brain. Anything when you take all the dopamine's out I think you build the serotonin level in the brain which is very meditative and incredible. So while I was there I started to look around and I was like whoa I noticed how beautiful the color blue was which they say during starvate fasting you see colors differently. And then I would it's like I got I would watch the sun go up and down the entire day for almost 44 days and there's nothing equal to that. So it was like ironically by doing something so extreme it was one of the most beautiful experiences that I've ever had other than everything related to my daughter. Do people believe you. I mean do they think it's I think there's a lot of people that think because I'm a magician that there must be a trick to it. And that makes sense because if I saw a magician do any of these things I'd like OK like I wouldn't believe any of it. But I think it's actually ironically it's actually easier to do it than to fake it. So it's it's it's the real version of it is is more more plausible in most cases. And also at the end of it if you fake it it doesn't feel right. It feels like you pulled an illusion over the over the audience. So I like to really do things. And then what I do for my own personal and I don't really put this out there but we had like an article published in the New England Journal Medicine where they explain the effects of fasting on prolonged fasting which is called the refeeding syndrome of people even my doctor who is a top starvation expert one of the top guys in the world. Jeremy Peltuck but he he didn't think that I was really doing it until the end. He thought I must have been cheating somehow. But if I was cheating my body wouldn't have done what it had to do to survive. It would have kept probably burning as opposed to going into starvation mode and I would have went through everything quicker. So because I really did it it was much better but when I went to the hospital he thought they assumed I was doing something when he put the IV into me. The phosphate levels shot through the roof which is how many people have died that were in starvation mode. So then he used all that information and it was pretty you know that that's kind of like the believable part afterwards. But I think very few people get to see that. I mean so when you do one of these and you have to go to hospital to check you're OK. But also I mean you do it for medical research to get blood test always. Yeah. And I give every I give all my blood I give all the tests you're in everything so they can just see and study everything because in most cases when people push themselves to that level of an extreme. Deprivation to the body it's not usually you know it's usually like a protest or stun anti government but when I do it it's the opposite. So I let everybody have whatever they want. Would you do the same if you didn't have an audience. I would probably cheat. But do you feed off the reaction. Yeah I'm going to do 44 days and then I'll look at me now. I look like I'm doing it with 50 pounds out of the last three months which I have to lose in three months. Is there anything you're planning. Oh yeah. We can't. I have the best one that I've been dreaming of forever and it's it's I'm working on it diligently now. I think it's a good one. What can you tell us what's what city. Nope. Nope. No but you know that in this day and age it doesn't matter what city because everything is online. And I haven't done anything like that since the day of Instagram and the end you know it was all pre as a matter of fact when I was doing my first TV special. YouTube had just come out afterwards and people started to put my secrets out there and suddenly non magicians were walking up to me and doing tricks from my first show Street Magic. And I started that's when I started to think maybe I should do things that are real that are almost impossible or at least look impossible and combine that with magic because by doing that. If they do research or pass the secrets around in their right. It's actually more interesting than the trick itself so that. So I started to reverse engineer after my first TV show and that is when I buried myself alive was right after the first show because I wanted to do things that I thought looked impossible but could actually be done. Is the audience different in London to New York. Or does everyone react the same way. I you know I think the audience is the same but I think the media is very different which is interesting. So I think I think in London there's just much more media. So there I think there it's the stories are much faster. But now it's different because with Instagram and everything going viral it doesn't matter. But yeah the London media made the stunt because otherwise it's a guy doing nothing for 44 days. But because they said oh he's getting bomb this and that he's going to exit. So suddenly people would come to see all this insanity. I mean it was very rare that it happened but it made it exciting. Hypothetically talk to us about so we talked about your favorite one the one that you wouldn't do again. Is there one that you would have done different with hindsight. All of them. Yeah if I could go back and redo all of them there'd be much they'd be smaller and more difficult. Why more difficult like the box in London would have been much tighter. I don't know I just because I think I could have pushed it that much more. But do you think you'll come back to them. Not the one in London but the others. Well the breath hold I was thinking I could have gone longer and then I would have blacked out and they could have pulled me out. But that's not really good for the audience. What does the audience want. Do you know do you ever ask them. No I don't ask I usually just think about what I want to do and then try to figure out how to do it. And I think every decision that I make is usually based on just you know dreaming thinking tweaking figuring it out. But if you start asking everybody what they want then you'll never get anywhere. OK magic endurance what do you prefer. Do you ever combine them. Yeah yeah I always put the two together and I think that's kind of. I think that I think what it does is it adds to the trick because the believability goes up because they see something that they aren't sure. Like how could this be an illusion. Then when you combine it with something real I think it becomes really you know it becomes something more. More engaging to the audience. And when did you start combining them. Do you guys do you guys want to see an example of that. Yeah but like the combination. But it's a little it's a little like it's a little graphic. It's like. Are you sure. Yeah OK. A little bit scared. Maybe is it possible. Can somebody help me that hasn't seen me do anything before is there anybody in the room that hasn't seen me do anything. You've not seen anything. Do you want to help as well. Can we will you help also. Yeah. If you could if you could come up on stage and what's your name. Avantika. Nice to meet you Avantika. Great. And could I. My notes. No. Can I put this on. Can I use camera mode. Put it on video. And actually I'm going to reverse this so I can see. Oh great. And if you could hold that about here. That's perfect. So this is the this is the needle and thread trick. Come a little closer. So here's what happens. Yeah. I need exactly. I need exactly this much. Let's say. Watch your step. I just need I just need a second to clean up. Sorry. This is for TV. This part would be edited out. But it's live. A little speck of blood there. That's why I have some alcohol pads. The blood looks pretty real too. Right. Thank you. I'm not sure whether we can continue the interview. Is it okay. Yeah. Yeah. You're fine. It's fine. More alcohol pads just in case. How many times a week do you do these kind of. How much do you have to practice for something like that. Well before I flew here I actually did this illusion where. Frogs start jumping out of my mouth. I had all these frogs with me. I didn't bring them. Very. But you practice. I mean are you obsessed when you think about something new. Is it all you do all day long. Yeah. Think about it all the time. Right. Think. Play. Hang out with magicians before I was here I was with a big group of magicians that are gathering just watching these incredible geniuses. Doing these amazing acts. So. I study work with things. Alone with others. And there's guys out there that are. Mind-blowing. That are just incredible artists are not. You can't really see them anywhere they're not public but they're they're just they're my favorites. And so you kind of is it like a forum of magicians how many times a year do you meet up. Do you exchange. Most of my best friends are magicians. So I spend lots of time with these guys and that's all we do is. Brainstorm thing discuss old ideas look at new new concepts pamphlets lithographs from 100 200 years ago etc. You don't do this for money do you. This is like. Passion. Well it is a passion and what I do to never cloud my decisions is whenever I make a decision I always try to decide like would I do this for one dollar. So the idea is like if I'm offered some some gig or something if the answer is no then I won't do it for any amount of money. And if the answer is yes then I'll do it for whatever the deal is. So so in order to never be clouded by the wrong decision I always ask myself would I do this it was for one dollar. So that keeps my head clear it's not financially rewarding but it's it's it keeps me focused on what I want to achieve and do. Do you do magic for your daughter. She does magic to me all the time. It's way better than I'll ever be. Already she's turning eight. At cards. Yeah she's better at everything. Yeah it's crazy. Are you doing anything. So we can't know what you're doing next. Do you know when. Maybe the alcohol in the blood is all just to make you think it was real. I think I think it'll be in 2019 or 2020 or 2021 or somewhere in there. How big is your team. My team is small but they're but they're incredible. Yeah my team is small but they're they're my favorite team that you could ask for some lucky. How many magic tricks do you do overall. Is there a number. Do you know like 200. I think I could go on for days nonstop. Just really. 500 way more than that. Yeah yeah and always I'm inventing them as I'm doing them quite often. So it's like all day and night I'm jamming like on the airplane coming here I'm doing magic to the people on my right my left. And then you know the whole crew and I always do that. And it's fun for me to do it but it's also practice like the more you do it the more you learn because you say oh what if I do this what if I do that. So it's always it's nonstop practice is how I look at some people say oh you don't have to work. I'm like no I'm not working. I'm doing what I love but I'm practicing continuously and it helps me become better and better which is the only thing that matters is to try to be the best that you can be what you love doing. I think. Do we need more magic. I mean the reaction was amazing actually do we need a little bit. You know is it escapism. Do you think I think magic is important. Not just in this day and age but always I think magic helps people think about things that they may think about as impossible and then suddenly think well if this is possible maybe this is possible so I think that the magicians have been historically important because of that. I know we need to wrap up because we're almost out of time. I could speak to you for another three hours but what is the one thing that you hope to give back. Is it is it is it pushing the limits. No telling people actually. No when I was a kid like I said I grew up without a dad. So like one of my heroes was Houdini. I'd look at this book of all these incredible images and designs and things that he had done the artistic interpretation of his ideas that he worked really hard on and I would dream about. Oh maybe I could like do my own version of that. So ultimately I just like the idea of like inspiring somebody to think that they can do whatever they want in whatever it is even if it's weird or outside of the box or whatever. Okay just a curiosity how many pack of cards do you own at home at any one time. Warehouses full. When I was a kid and I had one deck of cards it was so hard to use and I kept it over and over all the time for years. I was like one day I'm going to have as many cards as I need and yeah now I have that. Not much else but that I have. David Blaine thank you so much. Thank you.