Stop freshman Yash Menon in the hallways of Central and you’ll soon learn he has something most other students don’t: the power of magic.
“I can be anywhere in the school, if you just ask me to do a trick, I will,” Menon said.
Word of Menon’s magic is spreading fast. His alien hitchhiker balloon animal and extensive array of card tricks entertain birthday parties when he is out of school.
“I’m basically a part-time student, full-time clown,” Menon said.
Menon even approaches strangers on the street, like police officers, with the prospect of showing them a trick.
“My favorite trick is where my spectator gets to pick a card, and I’ll show them different cards asking if it’s their card, and none of them will be their card,” Menon said. “I’ll slap the cards out of their hand and only one card will remain, and that will be their card.”
Menon doesn’t just want to be a one-man show for a birthday party or a random hallway passerby, though.
“I want to [start] a magic club,” Menon said. “I want to start a new club and teach people card tricks.”
Menon only began his seemingly spell-born career last year following winter break, and yet already he has earned the attention of longtime magician and Central Spanish teacher Eric Kaisling.
“He shows me a trick every single day,” Kaisling said.
Menon is in Kaisling’s fourth period Spanish 2 class. During a get-to-know-you activity, Kaisling brought up his past in magic and performing stunts, something Menon shared.
“I can juggle knives, and I did a magic show in front of like 400 people at UIC hospital when I was in college,” Kaisling said. “Ever since [the get-to-know-you activity], we do a lot of talking about magic, and he shows me tricks, and I’ll show him a thing or two.”
Menon hasn’t learned exclusively from senior magicians, though.
“Magicians don’t want to share their secrets,” Menon said. “Which is why the only thing you can get them from is really old textbooks. I have to go to the library and ask them to get it transferred there.”
There are videos online, but the books have the original sleights that Menon learns. He wants to use his time to share these sleights with other people on the YouTube channel he created, dubbed The Card Hound.
Even if magicians don’t share their secrets, they do share appreciation and praise with each other.
“He knows so many different sleight of hand tricks, and he knows different card manipulation tricks where if you don’t know what he’s doing, it’s incredible,” Kaisling said. “There have been times where he’s gotten tricks that I had no idea how he did it, and then there are times where I’m like ‘you actually did a really nice job’ because I know how to do those tricks.”
For Yash, the reason behind pursuing magic isn’t as complex as seeking admiration from peers, though.
“The best thing about doing magic is it feels like you’re Harry Potter,” Menon said.
This passion, especially, is important to be a magician.
“I think [his card tricks] are fantastic, I think it’s super cool,” Kaisling said. “I think his enthusiasm for it is tremendous and I’m glad he found something that he really, really likes.”
