Hi, i'm Steven Brundage. I'm the guy from the video of the Speeding Rubik's Cube Magician. Ask me anything!

How do you make your eyes vanish, and where do they go?

http://i.imgur.com/FsLK6IC.png

-_-

How do you go from "sir, do you know how fast you were going?" to "wanna see a magic trick?"

Here is excerpt from my Blog where I go into super detail: http://goo.gl/GLtyoH

"I just wanted to elaborate a bit!

This video was taken early in the morning while I was on my way back from a corporate event at Michael’s Restaurant in New York City. After driving for three hours to get home, you can imagine my disconcert when lights started flashing behind me only minutes away from my house.

Two policemen approached me, which unfortunately I didn’t get on video. They asked me where I was coming from and why; to which I told them I was a magician coming from an event. They asked why I had a ton of cards in the back of the car and wondering If I was a poker player.

I told them I was a Magician. They were a little surprised and asked if I could show them a trick! As soon as they asked I started recording. After a few seconds of me sitting down, you can see me get out of the car (after asking permission of course) and the second policeman begins recording with my cellphone.

These men were a pleasure to do tricks for, and I’m happy to say I left without a ticket! The Scotia police force is awesome, and I’m glad that they gave me permission to film this video.

This being said, I would also like to put it out there how happy I am that this video is going viral – thousands of views, featured on news websites, shared hundreds of times on facebook – what more could a magician ask for? Seeing my trick fly around the web is amazing, as well as the fact that this video shows how awesome our local policemen are. Thanks everybody!

One of my dreams for the past few years has been getting the chance to go on National TV! I am overwhelmed and excited at the support I’ve gotten! Keep sharing, liking, and even send the everyone possible!

Thank you so much for the Support, Steven Brundage"

Good to see you doing an AMA. I found your video over at /r/cubers (when it only had a couple hundred views) before I posted it to /r/videos and it is crazy to see the amount of views it has now. My questions for you:

• How many people think it was staged?
• Are people recognizing you on the street?
• If you had one ultimate goal as a magician, what would it be? (Your own TV show? A Vegas show?)

• A few trolls on Worldstar HipHop have said it was fake. The fact that the Police Department has made statements about the event speaks for itself.
• Yes, A few times last night people recognized me from the media attention. Also, All the magic events that I have been performing at they send the video around the office. So by the time I get to the event everyone there has seen me do something.
• Currently I am living the Ultimate Goal. All I have wanted to do was make a decent living performing magic. I have been able to make a very good living the past 2 years and support myself fully. This has been the biggest career boost I could ever ask for. Typically I stay mostly in NY state when performing.. but now I have gotten at least a dozen calls to travel across the globe and perform magic for private parties and corporate events. It's literally a dream come true. I owe it to all the places that have shared my story. (Including Reddit /r/Videos).

Have you tried the Perplexus, and if so, do you think it's a good Christmas gift?

Those are amazing! I remember about 3 years ago at a crazy party I found one and played with it for hours. Endless amounts of fun.

Another funny story from the party.... I was running around yelling at my friend asking him where my Rubik's Cube was... The entire time I had it in my hand. LOL. I was a bit drunk.. But I still managed to impressed all the people there with my Rubik's Cube skills. I might be able to find an old video.

What is your favorite solving method(I.e. CFOP, Roux)? We'd love you over at /r/cubers

I LOVE the support from /r/cubers and /r/magic. I currently avg. around 14-15 seconds. Currently haven't practiced in a few weeks.. so I might be high 15's now. I use CFOP. I do full F2L, Partial OLL (About 7 OLL's Left) and Full PLL.

I found his video when he posted it at cubers. He is there semiregularly it seems.

Thank You Ryan for the Share to /r/videos!

Will you come work with me again so you can blow me away with card tricks on my lunch break like you used to?

Congrats Steve, good to see you're doing well.

Hey Scott!

Absolutely! When things slow down a bit I will stop in the office and do some lunch magic!

What tricks challenge you?

I hate coin tricks. I can't do them to save my life. It might be because I have never practiced them. : )

Albany here. Glad you're representing the 518.

Do you do kid's parties?

LOL... If your willing to pay me $300. I will give you kid the best magic show he has ever seen! I recommend ages 8 and up... They will understand the magic and have a appreciation for it. Not that 5 year olds don't like magic... but they would rather see silly colors and someone be goofy on stage... Not my best trait.

Plus there are some GREAT local kids magician's how charge a lot less and do awesome parties!

What makes a color silly?

lol.. Very good Question. While I think Silly Billy is the Boss and one of the greatest Kids Magicians ever... I guess you could call this Silly Color Magic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLLYO4tJG0

If you ever come to Indiana, I'll happily pay you $300 to do my kid's party! Also, all the cake you can eat.

If you make that Sushi and Cake we have a deal!

I saw you on GMA the other day, some of the tricks you were doing were just mind boggling- especially for live TV! How long has it taken you to learn your craft and were you always into doing magic tricks? Also, how do you come up with the ideas for new tricks- like are you just sitting around in your garage one day and you go "eureka!" that'd be a cool trick...or do you draw inspiration from someone/somewhere?

Thank you! : ) I have been practicing magic for the past 12 years for friends and family and I have been performing magic full time for about 2 1/2 years.

Sometimes I will be taking a shower and an awesome idea for a trick pops into my head. Once I have an idea it then comes down to finding a way to make it possible. I also draw from all my past and present experiences like movies, other magic tricks, and life in general.

How long have you been practicing to pull that trick off?

I've been doing magic for over 12 years and cubing for over eight! But this particular trick i just made up a few years ago. A lot of people think it's a gimmick cube- but it's not! Just hours and hours of practice.

member of /r/cubers here. What's your main cube? Your PB?

My PB is around 8.5. Super lucky skip. I have gotten a handful of 9 and 10 second solves. My main right now is the Zhanchi.

Edit: Zanchi is spelled Zhanchi.

What is a gimmick cube?

It means a trick rubik's cube!

Your "magic" is very impressive and original! Do you have anymore rubik's cube tricks to share?

Thank you! I try my hardest to perform original material that no one in the world is doing. While I LOVE stock magic effects.. It feels good to add something different.

One of my favorite Rubik's Cube Magic effects is having a spectator mix up a Rubik's Cube. I then match his Rubik's cube with mine perfectly. I then solve one of those Rubik's Cubes completely blindfolded. You can watch that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvrpATAI9Gk&list=UUI3XS0pUrU3irkbwwDVVQRQ

Is it to gauche to ask "how the hell did you do that?"

(I actually don't want to know... but it was amazing)

Thank you! : }

Who do you prefer for your audience: children, teens, adults?

I love performing for adults. Especially fun adults who don't mind laughing and having a good time.

While I don't mind kids too much... I would feel more comfortable performing in a room full of Fortune 500 CEO's than a room full of kids. Plus the CEO's have money to pay me! : )

I don't really have any nerves when performing. Doing it for the past 12 years really helps. Also, Street performing has added a TON of confidence to my magic. If I can stop a bunch of strangers on the street, get them to watch a 20 minute magic show, and get everyone of them to reach into their wallet and drop money in my bucket... I feel like I can do anything!

1. What are your tips for someone who wants to start doing magic? Just recreational stuff nothing too serious.
2. Will you ever reveal any of your tricks?
3. Are there any magicians you look up to?

1. I first learned all my magic from this book. It covers all type of magic from cards, coins, rope, Misc objects, and gives you a wonderful history of magic at the beginning of the book. It has over 250 pages with awesome full color pictures for easy learning. Plus you can get it for less than 10 bucks! A great buy for anyone interested in learning some magic tricks.
2. Yes, But only to other magicians or to people actually interested in learning how to do the magic effects. I don't really care if people try to find out how the trick is done.. It means I have done my job and fooled their pants off. I believe magic is more than just a silly trick. I believe magic is a great way to make connections with the people around us. I have met some of the most amazing people in my life all due to magic.
3. Yes, I look up to a TON of magicians. Some of my idols in magic are: David Williamson, Lennart Green, John G, Garrett Thomas, and David Blaine (I really got into magic after watching his street magic specials).

Yeah, people always think they want the magician to reveal because it's a big secret, but usually it's just something very mundane. In the end, they're just disappointed. My girlfriend is always so frustrated when she doesn't know how a trick works, but the time or two she's been able to figure it out, it's a letdown for her. "Oh, that's all there is to it?"

Exactly.. Magic is so much more than just tricks. It's about presentation, originality, style, and the tricks. You combine all these things until you have something worth sharing.

Hi Steven, speedcuber here. When are you going to go to another competition? :p

I will try to make the next one in New York. I intended to go to National's but got booked up.

How do you feel about cock magic?

I thought it was the funniest South Park Episode I have ever seen! I can relate in one way or another to every single thing in that episode. And yes.... I have tried Cock Magic Before. My girlfriend just laughed. : (

Hey my roommate Dan says he knows you. Do you know him?

I know a LOT of Dans. Ask him where I know him from?

Can you make all this credit card debt disappear?

haha.... With 20,000 in school loans..... I'm going to have to take of those first.. Then I will look into the credit card debt problem.

is there a method to solving the rubik's cube?

Yes there is. The best place in the entire world to learn is here: http://badmephisto.com/.

He has amazing, easy to learn youtube tutorials. Also, the guides are extremely well laid out and fantastically done.

Your fame seems pretty sudden (granted, I didn't really research), is it as surreal as I'd expect? What's the biggest change to your life since the spotlight hit you?

When it first started happening it was pretty hard to believe it was actually having. To have a producer from GMA call you put tell you they want you on the show was a pretty epic point in my life.

Most of my efforts have been trying to keep up with everything. The first 3 days that the video started going viral I spend about 20-22 hours of the day working either doing phone interviews, skype interviews, social media, and trying to make this reach as many people as possible.

Over the past few days it has slowed down a LOT. Which is a relief because now I can keep up with everything. : ) My life has not changed a TON since it all happened but I have been talking to a lot more high profile clients who want to book me for some pretty significant events.

One of my close magic friends gave me some extremely good advice how to handle this situation: "Remember to Enjoy the ride Think about Row row row your boat. This is not the time to start paddling your head off. You want to roll gently with the stream." - Garrett Thomas.

I never get my questions answered in AMAs, but let's try it anyway.

How do feel about yourself after the sudden fame? Do you feel that this will change you? It must be really cool doing something one finds fun for a living. Do you feel that magic is fun or does it get old with copious amount of practice?

Great Question: When all this started happening I knew that would be one of my toughest challenges. My goal is to try to stay as grounded as possible and stay true to myself. It helps having a great support system of family, friends, and a wonderful Girlfriend who has been very helpful.

Magic has always been fun for me. Currently I don't practice as much and focus much more of my time on the business side. Meeting future clients, marketing, and booking shows. If I eventually feel bored of what I am performing now I will either have to learn or create some new magic effects.

Did he break your cube on GMA?

haha.. Yeah. I was a little shocked when Michael Strahan broke the cube on TV. Luckily it almost helps the magic trick.. because it shows people its a normal Rubik's Cube.

Steven, did you go to SCS? That name is ringing a bell. I think you were in a class below me.

haha... Yes that was me. You probably saw me walking around the high-school with a deck of cards or a Rubik's Cube.

I'm pretty sure I saw one of your street performances in Saratoga Springs a few years ago. You somehow put a playing card with my friends name on it in her bag. My mind was blown. Do you have any favorite places to go to in Saratoga? Also, will you still be performing there in the future, or are you just moving on to bigger things now?

I love Saratoga Springs and I love busking on the streets. I love performing in front of the New Washington Building. While my schedule will be busier since I am booking things out of state..... I absolutely plan to perform in Saratoga when I have free time!

Have you ever tried the rubik's revenge (or bigger cubes)?

A lady once called me up and asked me If I could solve her Rubik's Cube because it got too mixed up. She came by my house and dropped off a 5x5. So I had to learn how to solve a 5x5 before I could give it back.

Hi, i spend quite some time everyday playing with my cubes and i'd really like to learn this trick, any chance you'd tell me how it's done by pm/mail/anything ?

If not, i still have a question :
Do you HAVE TO throw it in the air ?

No.. I have versions where it rolls in the hands. I also have a version where it solves in slow-motion as you watch. I am teaching a magic dvd on how to do it. If you subscribe to /r/magic, I will post it there when it releases.

I saw your video on theory 11. What do you suggest for getting into magic, I've been going for about 4 months now, and I just bought a couple of de'vo's items. Do you recommend anything else beginner level?

I will recommend this book again and again: http://www.amazon.com/The-Practical-Encyclopedia-Magic-Incredible/dp/1780193297.

It allows you to learn all the basic sleights of hand for magic. It also is great for getting your own style when performing magic, because you are learning from a book.

If you learn first with video you will be more likely to imitate the performer.... That isn't a bad thing.. but sometimes it gets hard to break out and become your own performer.

Where would you recommend learning some of these effects? I'm also a cube nut and fan of magic, and learning some non-gimmcked routines would be an amazing thing. (Or also, feel free to share some instructional videos. :) )

Top Secret: I am releasing a DVD with Murphys Magic teaching how to perform a lot of my Rubik's Cube tricks. So if you are a magician feel free to buy that online.

If you are a normal person wanting to learn the secret.. You will waste 40 bucks and be severely disappointed.

Aren't you Mike's cousin?

Yes, I do have a cousin named Michael!