Blink and you miss it: David Watters

What I am is more of a hobbyist magician. Like many kids, I had those childhood illusions of becoming a great magician. I started at eight when I did my first magic trick. I progressed over the years and then left it. I got back into it when we went to Las Vegas, which is the world’s stage for magic. I picked up a couple of tricks but almost left them on the shelf because of career aspirations and priorities.

Then my grandson had an accident in a pool. He was in the Sunnyhill Health Centre for Children for quite some time. Sunnyhill looks after a lot of brain-damaged kids, and I noticed when I was doing tricks for my grandson that every time I flashed a colour, it seemed to grasp the attention of a lot of the kids. From there I found the Vancouver Magic Circle, and I’ve sat on the board there for many years.
I think I have one of the biggest collections in the Lower Mainland for magic paraphernalia, and I converted one of my rooms downstairs into a 1940s magic theatre. It’s a place where I can go and sit and relax or practise some tricks. In the magic community, they’re certainly envious.

I do a lot of shows for seniors’ homes, and whenever I see kids I entertain them with tricks. They love it.