Feature Story: David Gichner

In a sea of fraternity brothers dressed for a casual hibachi date night at the Zeta Beta Tau house
last year, David Gichner sported a tuxedo. Instead of a beer can, he held only a microphone and a
deck of cards.

Gichner stood in the middle of the fraternity house's main room surrounded by a semicircle of
wooden chairs, none left empty. Tipsy and excited to show off their new member’s skills, the
fraternity brothers chanted Gichner’s name, their song soon silenced by a shriek from Gichner’s
microphone.

Soon enough, the fraternity house transformed into an arena, and Gichner into a performer. With
acute slights of hand and a charismatic stage presence, Gichner accurately predicted a three-
pronged event that I’d planned in my head: Justin Bieber, May 1st, Australia.

In another show earlier this year, he had one of the audience members – public relations junior
Sydney Merves – who sat on the couch in her pajamas – sign a card, a six of clubs. She etched
“Sydney” into the playing card in black Sharpie and held it tightly in her hand. That was, until,
Gichner pulled out a wallet, noting that his favorite autographed card was inside. The six of clubs
in his pocket revealed Sydney’s signature.

Gichner’s skills aren’t just merely a party trick. He’s now a radio-television-film sophomore at
UT while also taking magic courses elsewhere. Gichner has created a business around his magic
abilities and has even amassed over 100,000 followers on TikTok.
Gichner was first exposed to magic when he was 8 years old.

“I was in Colorado and I was at a restaurant, and there was a magician walking around
performing tableside magic and I saw him perform a trick and I’m like, ‘I want to be a
magician,’” Gichner said.

His fifth grade yearbook is evidence enough of his longstanding desire – under a photo of a
young Gichner is the phrase, “When I grow up, I want to be... a magician.”
Gichner recognized that most youngsters have a magic phase at some point but said that he
“never fell out of the phase.” He is now a professional magician who performs at events all over
the country, in states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas and Colorado.

Gichner began his career by learning from YouTube and performing for a bunch of people close
to him.

“I did some birthday parties for some friends, siblings, stuff like that. I’d show up, make a little
appearance, do a few tricks for fun, and that was a lot of fun. People enjoyed that. And then, I
just kind of grew. Word of mouth got out,” he said.

Gichner continues to practice his magic skills, learning from other magicians, magic sites, and
magic dealers. He even enrolled in some magic business courses to aid his growth on the
corporate side of the field.

“I’m a very passionate person. I’ve always been a passionate person. Everything I do, I give it
100%. So I’ve always just not cared what people think of me,” he said. “People might think
magic’s weird, but I don’t care. I'm going to go out there, I’m going to be myself. And if people
don’t like me for who I am, that’s on them.”

While he says COVID-19 was a huge challenge in his magic career, as in-person interactions
were limited, an even bigger obstacle stems from the social aspect of being a magician and a frat
boy simultaneously.

Some people treat him differently after finding out about his talent, Gichner said.

“I think there’s some people who are like, ‘Oh my god, you’re a magician. You’re the magician.’
And I love that. But at the same time, I am more than just the magic,” he said. “Magic is a part of
me, so I get that, but I have some people that are like, oh my god, you got to come perform for
my friend, but that same exact person never comes to support me or see my shows or anything
like that,” he said.

Other times though, he said magic has served as a catalyst in meeting new people, making great
connections, and doing things he’d never done before.

“It’s really nice to know that I have the power to genuinely make some of these events super
special. They remember this event and it’s because I got to be a part of it,” he said.
Gichner’s mother, Jackie, said, one event from his childhood stands out.

“I think I knew David’s magic was more than just a hobby when he was in junior high and really
started performing for larger groups, but it was the variety show his freshman year in high school
when he performed for 1,000 people and killed it that I knew this was serious,” she said.

“I love that he’s in a fraternity and love his fraternity,” she added. “He’s always gotten very
active in anything he’s involved in, so I knew he’d be able to balance it all.”

Both on and off the stage, Gichner’s sense of performance never shuts off.

“I’m performing every day. I’m performing right now. I’m performing everywhere I go, It’s just
kind of something that I do,” he said. “I heard a story, it’s called a lollipop moment. You never
know when somebody is having a bad day. It's like when you’re a kid and someone gives you a
lollipop, it makes you feel so good. I just love giving people lollipop moments day to day.”

In terms of balancing his life as a fraternity boy and a professional magician, Gichner has found
a middle ground.

“People would not necessarily think of a frat boy as a magician. So I just try to stay true to
myself. I’m not going to try and change who I am because of the communities I’m a part of. I am
me, and if the communities are going to accept me, then they accept me. And if not, it’s really on
the community, right? I’m not going to change who I am for somebody else.”

Gichner said he uses his platform to influence his audience on a larger scale.

“I think there’s something super unique about having an audience have their full attention on
you. I love using the stage as a platform for change,” he said.

While his magic is impressive on its own, his strong work ethic is what keeps his career afloat.

“It’s 90% business, and 10% of the actual magic,” he explained. “A lot of it is getting the
bookings, prepping the show, putting together the material, and then 10% is the actual
performing of it. It’s a lot of behind the scenes work that people don’t see that goes into it.”

When a casting producer from “America’s Got Talent” reached out to Gichner via Instagram
direct message, Gichner had a surprising response.

“Truthfully going on AGT has always been a huge dream of mine, but l've always thought if I
have one chance, l'd prefer to take as much time to get even better before I go on the show,” he
replied.

Eli Greenstein, Gichner’s roommate, fraternity brother and self-proclaimed best friend, said
Gichner’s enthusiasm for magic translates into other aspects of his life.

“He’s such a perfectionist and technical with his magic, but it’s with everything he does in his
life. He does everything 100%, and he won’t stop until it’s perfect,” Greenstein said. “I feel like
him having such high standards and such strong morals have just made me a better person just by
being around him.”

The first time the two met was in Gichner’s basement in Chicago, where only Greenstein and
Gichner’s family were present for a dress rehearsal for Gichner’s upcoming show.

“You can tell from the second you meet him that he’s just 100% his best and most authentic
version of himself. It’s so cool to see. It’s inspiring,” he said.

As a member of the same fraternity as Gichner, Greenstein has seen first hand how the group has
reacted to Gichner’s magic.

“To fit into our fraternity, all you need to do is be your true self. David is 100% of the time
himself,” Greenstein said. “They see that, and his passion and the love he has for it. It’s
awesome, and not what you’d expect, it’s a bunch of frat guys and a magician, but it works.”

Greenstein has also seen Gichner in a professional setting, attending most of his shows.

“(On stage) is the happiest you’ll ever see David,” Greenstein said. When he’s performing and
you take your eyes off him for a second and look around at the crowd, it's amazing to see how
people are laser focused on him and they love it. You can see it in their eyes.”

While Gichner has come far, he’s continuing to improve his skills.

“I’m always trying to be better, do the next thing, and create things that people have never seen
before. That’s what gets me to keep learning,” he said. “People are going to see me perform, and
it’s going to be different than any other magician they’ve seen perform.”