Project 365 (240/365): Leodini

.:240/365: Leodini:.

One of the trinity among mentalists in the country, a comedic genius, also a very active presence for magic online, and a dead ringer for Nur Misuari, the great Leodini attracts quite a crowd wherever he goes by sheer strength of personality and a look nobody could ever forget.

It’s a bit sad that I rarely cross paths with the Great Leodini, because I couldn’t quite tell him often enough how excellent his blog happens to be, as it is an excellent resource for magicians looking to improve their craft. The site is chock full of tips, ideas, and even funny anecdotes, all designed to push magicians into stepping up and becoming better performers overall.

The one time I’ve managed to really observe Leodini in action wasn’t even at one of his many shows. Instead, I caught him during a particular series of lectures about performances for the benefit of The Story Circle, and he discussed how to mix comedy with magic without inadvertently putting down magic along the way. Oh, if only we managed to get Bearwin Meily to sit in on that particular lecture, but that’s wishful thinking on our end.

Nonetheless, despite my lack of exposure to his performances, I have more than a few laymen friends who swear by him. Aileen Apolo, the recent birthday celebrant lady who took the video above, told me how entertaining and exciting Leodini was, and how nobody expected him to be so good because they let his looks fool them, which, in my opinion, should be a great compliment to the man, because it only means that the persona he projects onstage is one that is built upon breaking stereotypes or expectations.

I can’t get into his career in much detail, mainly because all the necessary biographical information can be found here. Nonetheless, I have to mention how important Leodini’s contributions to magic are, not only in being a community leader, having been the president of the IMC; but also in being a very audible voice for the Filipino magicians in the online community. What I try to do in terms of encyclopaedic knowledge about magic, he has been doing for practical applications of magic. Let’s not forget the fact that he also has quite a lot of facts and figures about magic over the many years he has been maintaining his blog as well, and my project lasts for all of only 365 days before I wind down my churning out of magic-related articles.

Personally, I enjoy his very different scripts for mentalism. The way he mixes comedy and mentalism works for him so well because of the character he has successfully mastered to a tee. Whether or not this is a mere extension of the real Leodini, the onstage Leodini’s stage presence and charisma never fails to make people chuckle at every joke and gesture that he makes, all the while casually and deliberately building to a stunning finish, as he catches his audience unawares.

If only for his being a great voice and ambassador for the Philippines in the online world long before I even so much as thought of going professional in magic, Leodini would certainly earn my greatest respect. The fact that he is also a multi-awarded performer who is more than willing to share his wealth of knowledge and experience for the betterment of Philippine (and even international) magic just puts him at a level that very few magicians, Filipino or otherwise, can ever hope to achieve.

In fact, he reminds me of a younger Aldo Colombini. If you've seen Aldo during his younger years, they have very similar hair, and even to this day, Aldo is still incredibly funny but his magic is so good that's not the first thing that comes to mind about him.

Anyways, his blog will be featured again sometime next month here, when we get to “Recommended Reading” month. Still, go ahead and get a leg up on checking out his blog, because there’s just so much useful stuff to find there.

I know you may not know me much, sir Leodini, but I was, and always will be, a huge fan of your work and more so your writing.