Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘It’s been a goal for me to connect people because it’s a been a year where people felt so disconnected.’

Levittown

“I got into magic because I was terrible at sports as a kid. I remember playing with cards and coins and reading books about the history of magic. I was one of those kids who didn’t want to be fooled, I needed to know how it was done. It was a hobby that I parlayed into income. It really started developing when I transitioned into mentalism, which is my specialty. People are intrigued when I can get inside of their head and create some magical moments from some thoughts and random ideas and psychological experiments and that is what people were drawn to.

“Magic is sleight of hand and mentalism is more psychological experiments. Everyone loves a good card trick but feeling like you’re experiencing mind control or what seems like mind reading is a whole new experience for most people. It’s been over 15 years that I’ve been doing this, and I have been busier the last year doing Zoom shows than I was before the pandemic with live shows. It’s been a goal for me to connect people because it’s a been a year where people felt so disconnected. It’s great that people can connect, feed off of each other’s energy and enjoy this unique and entertaining setting. Seeing friends, family and coworkers clapping for each other has been the best. It’s actually enhanced my own appreciation in cherishing these connections.

It doesn’t make a difference if it’s for a Fortune 500 company or a small family, we just all want to do more than stare at each other through screens, we want to have a shared experience that we can talk about for months to come.

“There’s so much Zoom fatigue out there and this is the perfect way to get around that. I just booked in-person gigs right after I get my second vaccine shot. I expect Zoom shows to last just as much as in-person shows, as long as people are working remotely or families are not living near each other. They found this new way to connect in a safe and fun and affordable way that they never knew existed before. It doesn’t make a difference if it’s for a Fortune 500 company or a small family, we just all want to do more than stare at each other through screens, we want to have a shared experience that we can talk about for months to come.”

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Faces of Long Island is produced by Newsday Consumer Marketing. This content does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday’s Editorial Department.