Stranded with a Stranger: Tim Ambrose

A single moment can reboot your creativity and for Tim Ambrose, it happened in a Las Vegas hotel mall while everyone else went out for the night. He wandered into a magic shop, watched the free demos again and again and felt the same rush he’d had as a kid seeing his brother perform. That spark turned into years of collecting, performing for friends and building friendships through local magic shops, the kind of brick and mortar spaces that feel like a clubhouse for close-up magicians. 

We walk through Tim’s desert island list of eight tricks, packed with practical, high-impact effects that lean into prediction magic and mentalism. From the classic “magician in trouble” charm of an Insurance Policy reveal to movie prediction routines, photo-based predictions and clean, brain-melting card mysteries, this is a blueprint for powerful reactions without complicated handling. Along the way we talk about why tactile reveals feel more “real,” how presentation does the heavy lifting and what makes an effect strong enough to become part of your core set. 

Then the conversation turns to something bigger than methods: Tim’s banishment is magic egos and attitude. We dig into why the best magic communities are generous, why hands-on help matters and we challenge you with a question: what’s your reputation maker trick, the one people talk about after you leave? If you enjoy magic storytelling, practical close-up advice and thoughtful takes on the culture of magic, subscribe, share this with a friend and leave us a review.

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Transcript

Welcome And How To Submit Lists

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Hello and welcome to another episode of Stranded with a Stranger. This, of course, is our spin-off of our main podcast, Desert Island Tricks, where you get to send in your list to us. Now, if you want to be a part of one of these, please send in your list of eight tricks one book, one item, one banishment. And of course, don't forget your new welcome package with your deck of cards to sales at alakazam.co.uk. Please include a little bit of a bio about yourself so we get to know you, of course, your eight tricks and why you chose them. In the subject, put my desert island list. That way it comes through to me. And of course, the more of these we get, the more episodes we can do. So please send them through. Today's is a really exciting one because this is the first list I was ever handed. So today's guest actually came into the shop in Ashford and he handed me this printout. So I'll be reading this from his actual printo. He is actually from the States, but he was over here visiting. In fact, I'm not going to tell you any more about that because he does have a little bit of a bio. So I'm going to read out what he

Tim’s Origin Story In Magic

SPEAKER_01 1:38

says. He says, My name is Tim Ambrose. I'm 60 years old and I'm from the United States of America, from a little town in Pennsylvania called Perkesy, I hope I've said that right, which is about 45 minutes away from Philadelphia. I'm more hobbyist than a performing magician, however, I do a few little shows for a small number of my customers. I'm a salesperson that designs ad campaigns in a free weekly shopper called Penny Power, as well as doing tricks for friends and family. So maybe I'm a little bit more than a hobbyist. My magic interest started when I saw my older brother do a trick from the Houdini magic sets that they sold in the 70s. I still remember the feeling I got when I saw that first piece of paper that was picked out of a bag by me, which had the name of Lincoln. It was a name a US president trick where the audience shouted out various presidents' names and the magician, my brother, wrote the names on pieces of paper and threw them into a paper bag. And lo and behold, the little frame on the table that was blank now had a picture of Abraham Lincoln in it. After witnessing that, I brought a through a few tricks for myself and did my first magic show for my little brother's friend's birthday party. I made $2 for a 10-minute show. That was my first and last paying show. Not that it was bad, quite the opposite. But other things came up, so much is out there. Bike riding, sports, music, filmmaking, etc. Magic took a backseat for many, many years. In 1996 I was running 38 video stores, wow, for a grocery market chain. Dream job as I love movies, and had to go to Las Vegas for an overnight trip to see a movie preview of the movie The Arrival with Charlie Sheen. If the movie studio was paying for our trip, hotel popcorn and movie as well as spending money, I am in. We stayed at the Stratosphere, now just the strat. After the movie, we all went back to the hotel. I stayed at the hotel while everyone else went out. There was a mall at the hotel and I thought I would look for something for my girlfriend, Holly, now my wife, as a souvenir. Walking through the mall, I passed by, well, stopped by, Magic Masters. They were doing free shows, so I watched them. I think they did free shows every 20 minutes or so. I watched them a bunch of times. The magic bug sleeping inside of me since the 70s suddenly woke up in me when I saw the shows. At the end of each show there was a pitch to sell what you just saw, and the more you bought, the more you saved. I brought it all and couldn't wait to get back to the room to look at what I just purchased. When I got home, our local mall had a little cart, Kurt's Magic World, that sold magic tricks. I passed this place many, many times and never stopped there. After returning from the Las Vegas trip, the next time we went to the mall, it was my first stop whilst my girlfriend was shopping. I was at the magic cart. I remember being blown away by the first trick I brought there. It is number one on my list coming up. Kurt's Magic World at the mall became my weekly visit for many years. It changed my life. The owner of Kurtz and I became good friends and still hang out to this day. The shop eventually moved to a real store for a few years and then Kurt had to sell it because of his real job. Their shop was purchased by someone else, and I too became friends with the new owner, Rich, at Main Street. Main Street Magic lasted for about two years and then the pandemic hit. Main Street Magic only opened for a few weeks after it was allowed to reopen, only to have a going out of business sale. The pandemic took another victim. I'm sad now I have no more local magic shop. So without a brick and mortar store, buying magic tricks became harder, but the bug inside you made you find ways to purchase new tricks. Magic now became buying tricks from websites, magic dealers, and conventions. Gone was the brick and mortar store that was so much more than just a store. If you know, you know. There is talk that another magic shop will be opening soon in my area, and fingers across that it happens. As I look around my magic room, which is filled with boxes, filled with wonders, it's so hard to pick only eight. But the criteria I used to pick the eight were when they were done to me the impact they had on me, and when I do them, the reactions I get. The tricks are usually easy to do as I like to concentrate on the presentation. I can pick eight, so here goes. Okay, so let's not get on to his late uh eight tricks first.

Why Magic Shops Build Community

SPEAKER_01 6:17

So this just shows the power of bricks and mortar shops, and the sad truth is there's gonna be some magicians, probably younger magicians out there, who have never experienced and may never experience a brick and mortar magic shop. I mean, different places around the world probably have their own magic shops which create an impact, but certainly in London, and I know you would have heard it a lot on this podcast, we talk about Davenports, and Davenports was just a hidden gem in the middle of London, and certainly we still have international. We're very, very lucky to still have international, but we also had the magic cave, which was in Covent Garden in London, and a lot of magicians you talk to will have the same kind of memories, they brought the same first tricks in there, they remember seeing the same people demonstrating, and it really became a small community of people inside these brick and mortar shops. You know, you got to see the staff, you got to know the staff, some of the staff become your friends. So I think it's really sad that we don't have brick and mortar shops, and that's why if you have a brick and mortar shop, even if it's half an hour, 45 minutes, an hour away from you, just try and visit it once a month, once every couple of months, because that's the only way we're gonna keep these shops open. So I think it's really important, and I think we're really lucky to have those memories, the magicians who had the opportunity to go to those bricks and mortar shops. And as Tim says there, it really informed his magic going forward because one of these is one of the tricks that he would take to his desert island. So let's go then, let's find out what Tim has put in position number one.

Trick Picks One Through Four

SPEAKER_01 8:02

He's put the insurance policy. This was the first trick I bought at Kurt's Magic World. I remember being forward so badly. How could that card that I chose be printed on that jumbo piece of paper? I love doing this to others and see the same reaction that I had. I don't know who came up with this, and I know there are different versions of this trick. I have several, but I still love the basic and first one I brought the best. A great choice, and I'll be entirely honest, this was one of the ones when we first started the podcast. I did think the insurance policy, magician's insurance policy, would come up more because it's such a classic of magic, and it's one of those ones where you know it's it's effectively just a reveal of a playing card, but it's done in such a quirky, interesting way. You have that magician in trouble moment, you have the the funny thing, you know, you have the funny line of I've got a magician's insurance policy in case something goes wrong, and then of course you have that kicker ending. So I think that's great. And the fact that you remember enjoying this your first time, and now you love doing it to other people, I think that's really important, and I'm sure we all have one of those tricks that we perform now because we enjoyed watching other people's reactions to it. So that's a great one in at number one. Let's go to number two Cinema Verti by Jim Cleafi. I have a lot of movie prediction tricks, and I love movies. I feel that Cinema Verte is the strongest and most easy one to master as there's no memorization, no clues from another title or word. This one is pure magic, and no one could ever figure this out. I believe we've had this on the podcast before, um, and anyone who's ever performed a movie trick or uh a movie prediction trick will understand the power of that as a concept. People always have comments and suggestions to make about films. There are some funny ones that you can put in there as well if you you want to go down the comic route, but movies are just so incredibly relatable. So putting them into a prediction effect is such a great idea. So that's a great one in at number two. Let's go to number three, Fast Forward by Victor Sanza and Jiao Miranda. This is another trick that, when performed, makes people go nuts. This is so easy, and all you need to do is work on a presentation and you're good to go. I love that it has options if table hopping or repeating the trick, and someone saw you do this and it ends differently. Yeah, this is great. This is a fairly recent effect as well. And anyone that does anything with the baby gag, I think that this is a brilliant way to turn it into a magical moment. Normally, with the baby gag, it is literally a gag. You say, think of a celebrity, then you say, I've got a picture of that celebrity in here, and when you take it out, it's a picture of a baby, and you get a laugh. And then normally there's an additional revelation, but it's not normally a magic revelation. What's great here is they've turned that into a magical moment. Um, and the fact that it can be done close up, Harla. I think they may even do different sizes, but don't um quote me on that. So it's a great one in at number three. Let's go to number four, Trilogy Extreme by Pete Nardi and Brian Caswell. This is a stunning three-way prediction that you get three people involved and it crushes. I love the way people look when the photo is turned over and it matches everything that's on the table that they selected. Another great choice, I remember seeing this when it was released many years ago now, and the having a photo prediction is always phenomenal. Um, and I remember as well, just a side note, there was a great trick years ago by Dave Forrest. I think it was called The Man Who Paints the Future. And basically a load of choices are made, and he had a painting, and everything that had happened on the table was reflected in the painting. And I remember I loved that premise, the idea that these choices were selected and they were caught in this picture that was taken however long before, and it's still this phenomenal revelation. And there's just something really strong about having a photo, it's such a tactile reveal. It feels even more impossible because it's a moment that was caught in time that that is impossible to backtrack. It's such a wonderful trick. If you've never seen Trilogy Extreme, go and check out the trailer for it because it's a phenomenal, phenomenal effect.

Trick Picks Five Through Eight

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Number five is Polarity by Pablo Amira. One of my all-time favorite tricks to do because it's again so easy and very impactful. Great for a one-on-one presentation or a group. You fan through the cards and have a spectator see all the cards and their locations. You tell them that the subconscious mind remembers everything. You name a card and ask them where it is in the deck. They look at you like, how do I know? And you tell them again, your subconscious knows, and you start flipping the cards face up, one by one, until they say stop. When they do, you put the next card to one side and fan through the cards left in your hand. Then you put the cards on top and spread. Then they see their card is the only one face up. Knocks them to the ground and again, so easy. Great. This isn't one that I've seen, so I'm gonna have a look at this one after I finish recording, but it sounds really, really great. Any super clean selection process, it just absolutely melts the brain. Again, one of the most classic effects that we've had is the invisible deck, and knowing from 15 years plus gigging the invisible deck, the reactions that it gets is phenomenal, and this feels like it's super super clean. This almost feels like one of those routines where if you were doing a stage show and you had the aid of a camera, uh, it would be a really nice stage piece where the momentum slows down, it feels really deliberate and very clear and concise what's happening. So I think that sounds like a great trick, and I can't wait to check it out. Let's go to number six, the Starving Monkey. I think this is Vincenzo Di Fatta, and it's just a little packet trick that is so cute. And when the reveal happens, it's magical and funny. It's fun to do and just so cute. Again, not one that I've heard of, so I'm gonna research this one as well. There are some really great packet tricks out there, and I remember when I first got into Magic, packet tricks were everywhere. I mentioned earlier on going to Davinport's, one of the first ones that anyone brought from Davinport's was Colour Cascade, which was a brilliant, brilliant packet trick, and they kind of fell out of favour. And I'm not sure why packet tricks fell out of favour, but they did, and as of the past maybe five years or so, there's been a huge resurgence in them, and we're getting some killer, killer packet tricks. Uh, not that I'm supposed to tease stuff, but we are currently working on a brilliant selection of packet tricks. One of them in particular, it's probably one of the best uh prediction packet tricks that I've ever seen. I think it's phenomenal. So I love a packet trick, just keeping a little packet of cards in your wallet, ready to go. And the Starving Monkey, I'm presuming, sounds quite quirky and silly, which I quite like. And it kind of, you say it's magical and funny, so I'm guessing it is as well. So I'm gonna check that one out as well. Number seven, we have Right Now by Paul Richards. This is a prediction trick that creates a story using three people and a bunch of cards. The spectators choose the words, and the prediction, which is a page from a torn book, has their selected words. So cool. Great. Another really interesting one. And looking at your list, we've got a good varied amount of tricks, but quite a lot of them are mentalism. Uh, I would say insurance policy is kind of a prediction effect, I guess. Um, Cinema Verte sounds like it's a mentalism piece. Fast forward, probably I guess it's kind of mentalism, but not because you have the prediction, but you've also got the magic moment in there. Trilogy Extreme is a mentalism effect. Polarity is probably not one of your mentalism tricks. Starving Monkey is not, but then we've got right now, which is a prediction effect as well. So we've got a good amount of mentalism pieces going on here, which leads me to say we've got one more. Oh no, I've just seen we've got two, but I'm not sure why. Uh we'll we'll go for number eight. Do you think it's gonna be mentalism or non? Looking at Tim's list so far, so we had insurance policy, cinema verti, fast forward, trilogy extreme, polarity, the starving monkey, and right now, do we think the last one's gonna be mentalism or not? I've just read it so I know I'm gonna give you two more seconds to think what you think it's gonna be. The answer is Mind Reading Deck by Ted Leslie. This is one of the tricks included in the Magic Masters collection in Vegas. It served me well in all these years, and I still have it and use it when I can. I like the Spectator as a mind reader presentation where the spectator does all the work and keeps the cards in their hand the whole time and the magician never touches it. A reputation maker, as they say. Ted Leslie, an absolute genius. I've seen so many Ted Leslie tricks that blow my mind. And you said that this was one of the ones from Magic Masters, which I'm guessing means that you've done this one for quite a long time as well. And everyone needs that reputation maker. Uh, Tim says it's a reputation maker. So here's my little question if you are listening to this. Think about your set. Which trick do you think is your reputation maker? Out of all of the tricks, for me, it would have to be PK Touches, which I've spoken about in length many times to many guests. But what do you think would be yours? I'd be interested to know. If you're on YouTube, let me know by putting in the comments. Um, we

The Reputation Maker Question

SPEAKER_01 18:41

do have a number nine, which is interesting. Uh, I think oh, okay. So I think this is an honorable mention. So it says a runner-up on my list, because I just got it and haven't done it too much yet, is Spirit by Jamie Dawes. And not because you host this show. It is simple and very impactful. I will have it ready for Halloween season, and it will be a blast. Well, very nice. I will allow you to have nine options then. Um, he hasn't even put this as an honourable mention. He has put a number nine, which is cheeky, but I'm gonna allow you to have it because it's uh not just because it's my trick, but it's a a great one to have for Halloween. So thank you very much, Tim. I'm very honoured that you said that. But Tim, we gave you eight tricks. We're only gonna give you one each of these. I want you to imagine that you're about to dig a big sandy hole. We're gonna banish something on your island. What should we banish? Here's what Tim says. My magic banishment would be magic egos and attitude. Most of the magic community that I've ever met are really nice people. So many

Bonus Pick And Desert Island Banishment

SPEAKER_01 19:50

are willing to help you with anything magic. Explain a slide, teach you how to do something that you are having trouble with, and I'm fine with that. There are, however, some magicians that won't give you the time of day or think that you are beneath them. They could be selling their tricks at a convention, but as soon as you buy it, you're you're on your own. But as soon as you buy it, you're on your own. If you ask something about it, it's in the instructions, you'll figure it out. We don't need that kind of attitude in magic. It's a great hobby and meant to be fun, and you shouldn't have to be put off by someone's attitude. Magic egos is the number one banishment that we've had on the podcast. I think that you are absolutely right. And I do believe that we should all give each other a little bit more time. It's something that I know Alakazam have always done, I would argue, above and beyond most other companies. For so many years they've kept their phone lines. I can't think of another magic major magic company where you can just pick up the phone and talk to people there. It just doesn't really happen now. So that is one of the things that I think we we should do more. And if we all gave each other a little bit more time, I reckon we would all grow a little bit more. And I think it's really interesting that some creators may treat you like that. And I'm sorry if you've ever received that. Magic's kind of a hands-on profession and hobby, much like carpentry or being a mechanic, you know, one of those tactile professions where it's easier to be shown something. You know, you can read a technical manual, brilliant, that's fine, but until someone's showing it to you and helping you to understand, sometimes it's really difficult. So I absolutely agree. That is gone on your island. Everyone is giving a little bit more time to each other on your island, Tim. So I think I'm gonna have to join you on your island. Let's

One Book One Item And Farewell

SPEAKER_01 21:50

go to your book, though. So, my one book would be Paul Harris's Art of Astonishment Volume 2. I could choose any of the three volumes, but I'll pick volume two since I Only pick one and it's the middle one. Again, only picking one book is hard since I have a large magic book library, but the Art of Astonishment books have so many tricks. I think you're absolutely right. We've had Art of Astonishment so many times, and I think that's a testament to just how good the material is. I also think that it's because it's quirky material, and I don't think we have a lot of quirky magic books. I certainly read uh Nick Defat's book a few years ago. I think it was called Offbeat, and that was very quirky. Ben Hart's book, uh Darkest Corners, was very quirky, has some kind of out there ideas, and I think that's what people really liked about Paul Harris's work, uh, and still to this day love his work clearly by picking his book often is the fact that it's just different. You know, it feels ambitious, it feels strange, it feels magical, it feels more like what a magician would do. So I think that's a great choice, Tim. Your one non-magical item would be a guitar. I always wanted to learn, and being on an island, I can definitely learn to play and maybe come up with a trick with the guitar. Thank you for letting me come to the desert island where I had a great time here. So so long for now, and thanks for letting me do this. Well, thank you so much, Tim. I think that's a great one. And what I really like about that is when you say you're a magician and someone says musician, it's fine. You are then both of them. I think that is a great, great choice for your island. So let's go over your list one more time. We had the insurance policy, Cinema Verte, we had Fast Forward, Trilogy, Extreme Polarity, The Starving Monkey. Right now, mind reading deck, uh, my runner up was Spirit. You had your banishment was egos and attitude. Your one book would be Paul Harris, The Art of Astonishment Volume 2, and your one non-magical item would be a guitar. Thank you so much, Tim, and thank you for coming to the shop as well. It was so lovely to meet you. And if anyone has one of these lists, I love that this was on paper and it was nice and tactile. I normally have to read it off a screen. So if you ever want to print it, come to the shop, drop it off at the shop if I'm not there. Uh, I would absolutely love that too. It was great meeting you, and of course, you guys can all come to the shop. The shop is there, it's only half an hour or so away from central London on the train. It's only a five-minute car journey from the train station, so it's very accessible. There's always someone there. But we also have so many incredible magicians just popping in, so you never know who you are gonna see at the shop, and that's why it's so exciting to come to a magic shop. So if you're ever in London or in the UK or in the area, please come to the shop. Come and say hello. It would be great to see you. And again, thank you so much, Tim, for your list. If any of you want your list read out, then please send it to sales at alakazam.co.uk. Put your name, a little bit about you, the tricks, and the reasons for the tricks. And don't forget, we are in season three, so if you do want to do your welcome pack, you do get a free deck of cards in there as well. Just to remind you. So we're gonna be back next week. We've got some more great guests, but until then, have a great week. Goodbye.

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SPEAKER_00 25:28

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