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Brandon Love: Brainsprouting and Beyond!

Brandon is a local magician and motivational speaker who apparently trained on some side of a mountain in Tibet where he was taught how to read minds and control space and time. He probably walks through walls when I'm not looking.

By Mackenzie Kristjon Jenkyns
Published February 24, 2017

A lot of times I'm walking down James Street North or King Street East and I feel like there's something magical in the air here in Hamilton. And then I turn around the corner into Mills Hardware and there I find Brandon Love performing his "Wonder & Awe" magic show.

Brandon is a local magician and motivational speaker who - as I witnessed - apparently trained on some side of a mountain in Tibet where he was taught how to read minds and control space and time. He probably walks through walls when I'm not looking.

I've seen his close magic and now this final show and was more than impressed. He also has a new book coming out called Brainsprouting. The following is my peek behind the curtain.

Brainspouting
Brainspouting

Mac: What was your earliest inspiration to get into magic? Also are there any kinds of illusions or styles of magic that you like but do not do?

Brandon: I got started in magic after watching Copperfield on TV as a kid. In those days he did a televised special every year, and I looked forward to those performances like it was my birthday.

My parents clued in to my love affair with the mysteries on the screen and bought me a magic kit for a gift. I was hooked immediately, and just sort of kept roaming down the rabbit hole.

Thankfully, when I was in high school David Blaine was sort of reviving close-up magic, and watching his work opened my mind to the kind of every day performances I've devoted my adult life to studying.

Once I felt I'd learned as much as I could through books and self-teaching, I opted to find a mentor, and went to Vegas to be with a teacher.

I love to perform close-up and parlour-style illusions. I have a lot of respect for those who perform the grand illusion shows, but I've never really been interested in trying that style of show myself, mostly because the props seem like a logistical nightmare.

I also think dove magic can be beautiful and poetic, but I've never been too keen on keeping birds in cages.

Mac: Since this was the final performance of this particular show, what direction are you taking in a future show? Have these sorts of creative ideas been thought out already or is this in process?

Brandon: Wonder & Awe was an opportunity for me to develop a parlour performance for a mid-sized crowd, and gain regular practice from that platform. I loved the venue, the location, and the opportunity to share the stage with my comedic pal Ellen (Scott). But I knew that once I had finished ten shows I'd be ready to "retire" it and move on to something else.

My next project is a close-up show that I can perform anywhere, for audiences of two to 30 people. I would like to have a show that people could host in their living rooms. There's a lot of extra magic to be found in the intimacy of a close-up performance, especially when it's happening in your own home.

Mac: Tell me all about the book and the other speaking you do. As a sidebar, do you find your skills as a hypnotist and mentalist work to your favour in those other crowds?

Brandon: I do have a bunch of projects on the go. In addition to being an entertainer, I'm an educator by passion (and by training). I feel like I've been fortunate to have many wonderful teachers and mentors who saw potential in me and helped me mine it out.

I am of the mind that good fortune must be shared, so I devote a lot of my work to helping others discover and create more success in their lives. I like to say I help people achieve the impossible.

Between students, teachers, entrepreneurs and executives, we all have things we consider impossible. I aim to use magic to remind us that our beliefs are based on assumptions, including what we think about ourselves.

My presentations are focused on revealing the possibilities that lurk just beyond our self-doubt, and aim to encourage and empower audience members to tap into their creative potential.

The book, Brainsprouting, is a collaborative project between my pal and fellow speaker Joel Hilchey and myself. We ran a few conferences for high school students that were designed to help students identify possibilities for community contribution.

We discovered that most people had come to doubt their creative abilities, and as a result were leading lives they weren't totally fulfilled by. The book aims to awaken the creative spirit we all possess by outlining the very things that stifled it in the first place.

To that end, we also share our favourite facilitation tips and tricks, that enable the reader to not only unleash their own creativity, but learn how to create the spaces for others to do the same.


The book launch is happening on Thursday, March 2. The workshop is happening at 4:30 - 5:30, and for $20 participants get to see Brainsprouting in action, and get a copy of the book. Tickets for the workshop are available here: [https://www.bruha.com/event/671](https://www.bruha.com/event/671). The official book launch party is at 5:30 PM, and it is free and open to everyone.

Mackenzie Kristjon is an Icelandic-Canadian singer-songwriter and all around creative force. He has published numerous books including the award-winning Culinary Saga of New Iceland. He also has roots in community radio at CFRU 93.3 FM in Guelph. To hear/see/download his music, you can visit thismaddesire.bandcamp.com.

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