PodcastsArtsThe Steve Faulkner Podcast

The Steve Faulkner Podcast

Steve Faulkner
The Steve Faulkner Podcast
Latest episode

45 episodes

  • The Steve Faulkner Podcast

    Jack Rhodes | The Tour, The Special, The Opera House.

    25/06/2026 | 1h 29 mins.
    Every time Jack Rhodes sits down with me, something seismic has happened. First podcast he was on a career break wondering if he should quit his engineering job. Second time he'd just done BGT and was about to become a dad. This time he's a dad, he's finished a full UK tour, he's headlined the Opera House at Blackpool in front of 3,000 people twice in one night, and he's independently written, performed, directed and edited his own special, which comes out on YouTube on the 17th of July.

     

    Thank you to my sponsor Abracircle. They create amazing websites for magicians. I'm very grateful for their support, so please click on the link and have a look.

    https://www.abracircle.website/steve-faulkner-podcast-promo

     

    We talk about all of it. What it actually felt like to do the Opera House after the Circle Hall went so well the year before, and why it landed differently. The nightmare 30 minutes before the Leeds show when the sound didn't work and he was screaming internally. Cutting 20 minutes out of a show he'd spent two years writing. The rule he's set for the next show: nothing where he dies a little inside while doing it. And why the cups and balls routine that magicians loved didn't work for normal people at all.

    We also get into using editing as a tool to develop live material, the sound wave trick for finding dead spots in a show, work-life balance when your studio is at home and you've got a one-year-old, and what the come-down after BGT actually felt like.

    And yes, David Blaine was at Blackpool specifically to see his show. That's not a small thing.

    Jack's special: Out 17th July on YouTube. Search Jack Rhodes or find him at jackrodes.net
    The book (few copies left): jackrodes.net/book

    Newsletter: https://stevefaulkner.com/newsletter
    Online Magic membership: https://onlinemagic.co
    Steve on Instagram: @stevefaulkner
    Real Magic Review on Instagram: @realmagicreview

    Thanks to Stuart Davis for editing.
  • The Steve Faulkner Podcast

    Jason Bird on Getting Close-Up Gigs, Strolling for Dollars and Making a Living from Magic

    19/06/2026 | 1h 40 mins.
    Jason Bird has been doing close-up magic professionally for a long time. He's worked cruise ships, corporates, walk-around events, and now he's building a parlour show on the east coast. And somewhere in between all of that, he sat down and wrote a book.

    Thank you to my sponsor Abracircle. They create amazing websites for magicians. I'm very grateful for their support, so please click on the link and have a look.

    https://www.abracircle.website/steve-faulkner-podcast-promo

     

    Strolling for Dollars kept popping up on my Facebook feed and I'll be honest, I nearly dismissed it as just another ad. Then a couple of people I respect told me to actually read it. So I did. And it's a proper book. Well written, genuinely useful, and honest in a way that a lot of magic business advice simply isn't.

    We talk about all of it. The first table nerves that never quite go away no matter how long you've been doing this. Why the last five minutes of a gig matter as much as the first. How to reset your energy mid-event and why most magicians don't. The business side, contracts, email scripts, what to say when you walk in, what to do when it goes wrong. And his favourite line from the whole book, good magic leads to more magic, which is worth the price of admission on its own.

    We also get into the drone trick, which completely fooled me, cruise ships versus corporate work, and why he eventually decided to write everything he knew down rather than keep it to himself.

    If you do close-up work at any level, this is worth your time.

    Get the book: https://jasonbird.store
    Pro Gig Toolkit: https://jasonbird.store
    Jason's main site: https://jasonbirdproductions.com
    Walk Around Warriors Facebook group: search Walk Around Warriors on Facebook

    Newsletter: https://stevefaulkner.com/newsletter
    Online Magic membership: https://onlinemagic.co
    Steve on Instagram: @stevefaulkner
    Real Magic Review on Instagram: @realmagicreview
  • The Steve Faulkner Podcast

    Dave Loosley on Creativity, and Making Magic Your Own

    12/06/2026 | 1h 23 mins.
    This one was a real treat. I sat down with Dave Loosley, the mind behind The Creative Compendium, and we got stuck into one of my favourite subjects: creativity, and how you actually turn a vague idea in your head into something that works in the real world and is a joy to perform.

    Thank you to my sponsor Abracircle. They create amazing websites for magicians. I'm very grateful for their support, so please click on the link and have a look.

    https://www.abracircle.website/steve-faulkner-podcast-promo

    Dave's one of those people who'll tell you he isn't the most creative person in the room, then quietly explain a way of thinking that completely reframes how you make magic your own. We get into the difference between creativity and originality, why a deadline unlocks more than it kills, sitting on an idea for months until it suddenly clicks, and that maddening thing where the answer only arrives the second you give up. From there it wanders off into paper balls over the head, Slydini, Armando Lucero, the eight ball routine he won the Magic Circle with, his Blackpool book launch, and the daft little rituals we both use to get our heads on before a gig. The Gladys moment alone is worth the listen.

    If you're a magician, get the book. It's slim, and there's more in it than books five times the size. And if you ever get the chance to see Dave lecture, take it.

    Links

    The Creative Compendium: https://www.daveloosleymagic.co.uk/shop

    Dave's new trick, Mystique: https://alakazam.co.uk/products/mystique-pro-by-dave-loosley

    Dave online: https://www.daveloosleymagic.co.uk/

    Newsletter (where I let you know when things drop):

    https://stevefaulkner.com/newsletter

    Online Magic membership: https://onlinemagic.co

    Steve on Instagram:

    @stevefaulkner

    Real Magic Review on Instagram: @realmagicreview

    YouTube https://youtube.com/realmagicreview

    Steve Faulkner Podcast 

    https://stevefaulkner.podbean.com

    Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-steve-faulkner-podcast/id1484648736

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cyct7IuLFX9JWysXzlMj3?si=dbIwKjY1Ta-d2gPBjMjk_Q
  • The Steve Faulkner Podcast

    WafflePod #1: The Rolex System and the $1000 Backlash

    09/06/2026 | 43 mins.
    This week it's me and Toby Davis getting stuck into the most talked-about release in magic right now: Shay Kahn's Rolex System.

    A thousand dollars for a PDF, no trailer, no performance to watch, and a wave of online backlash that got pretty heated. So we sat down and actually talked about it properly, instead of joining the pile-on. Is it a scam, or a serious professional tool that just got marketed badly? We take the price out of it and look at what you're really paying for when you buy a method, why a PDF feels cheap when a book doesn't, and whether any of us should be weighing in on things we haven't even seen.

    From there it wanders, as these things do, into getting outraged online, undervaluing your own work, and a few stories from Toby's years editing behind the scenes for some big names.

    Honest, unscripted, no hype. Two people who love this stuff talking it out.

    Have a listen and let us know what you reckon. We'll be answering comments and emails on the next one.

    Links

    Newsletter (everything goes live here first): https://stevefaulkner.com/newsletter 

    Online Magic membership: https://onlinemagic.co

    Watch on YouTube: https://YouTube.com.realmagicreview

    Steve on Instagram: @stevefaulkner

    Real Magic Review on Instagram: @realmagicreview

    Toby on Instagram: @toby__davis
  • The Steve Faulkner Podcast

    Henry Harrius. Remembering Real Magic

    25/05/2026 | 1h 29 mins.
    Henry Harrius joins me for one of my favourite conversations in a long time.

    We talk about creativity, burnout, exposure culture, social media magic, performing casually vs professionally, Rubik’s Cubes, Shin Lim, Juan Tamariz, David Copperfield, and what “real magic” actually feels like.

    Thank you to my sponsor Abracircle. They create amazing websites for magicians. I'm very grateful for their support, so please click on the link and have a look.

    https://www.abracircle.website/steve-faulkner-podcast-promo

    Henry opens up about the pressure of running HH Presents, having dozens of projects in development at once, and why he believes magicians often forget the feeling that made them fall in love with magic in the first place.

    This one goes far beyond tricks and releases. It’s really a conversation about artistry, identity, performance and reconnecting with wonder.

    I loved this chat, and I think you will too.

    Check out Henry’s work:
    https://www.hhpresents.com

    Join my newsletter:
    https://www.stevefaulkner.com/newsletter

    My membership:
    https://www.onlinemagic.co

    Instagram:
    https://www.instagram.com/stevefaulkner

    Real Magic Review:
    https://www.youtube.com/@RealMagicReview

    Thanks to Stuart Davies for editing.
    If you enjoy the podcast, please consider sharing it or leaving a 5-star review. It genuinely helps.
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About The Steve Faulkner Podcast
Discussion, Interviews, and Waffle for Performers and creatives.  Steve's Site: https://stevefaulkner.com Steve's Magic Training https://www.onlinemagic.co Follow Steve Insta: @stevefaulkner Insta for Magicians: @realmagicreview TikTok: @stefaulkner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevefaulknermagic/ Facebook for Magicians: https://www.facebook.com/cardmagiccourse/
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