TAMPA - At first glance, Darren Romeo may not look like a seasoned magician. However, one of the first rules you learn in Magic 101 is that looks can be deceiving.
His routine is full of head-scratching illusions that leave his audiences wondering, “How did he do that?” However, Romeo would be the first to admit that all of the tricks he performs on stage will never compare to the truly magical story of how he got to where he is today.
"I just really believe, almost to the point to where it's nauseating and it’s cheesy, that everything happens for a reason and one thing leads to another," Romeo admitted.
First Magical Experience
The story of how he was “bit by the magic bug” starts out in his home town of Long Island, New York. In his early childhood, before he was ever exposed to what would become his greatest passion, Darren had a hard time fitting in with the other kids in school. His kindergarten teacher took note of his behavior and grew more and more concerned as the school year went on.
"Believe it or not, she called a conference with my parents,” he explained. "She was worried about how insecure and how introverted I was."
No one involved in that parent-teacher conference had any idea that the issues they were discussing would soon vanish, much like the handkerchief in the first magic trick Darren ever learned.
“I had an uncle that came to visit. He walked into the house with a handkerchief like a real show man,” Darren remembered. “He kept saying, ‘I have to sneeze.’ The next thing I heard was ah-chew and the handkerchief was gone.”
Darren ran toward his uncle and started tugging on his sleeves in search for the missing handkerchief.
“Then he pointed to the other end of my house and said, ‘Move that pillow.’ I moved the pillow and there, of course, was the handkerchief,” Darren recounted. “It was a moment that was unbelievably magical to me.”
That night Darren's uncle taught him how to make the handkerchief disappear. He says that encounter is what ignited his life long passion for magic.
His First Magic Set
That experience turned Darren's world upside down. He became more outgoing and motivated at school - and says magic is the reason behind his sudden change.
“I think a lot of us have walls up around us and it takes one thing to make you click,” Darren explained. “Magic made me feel special. Many people play the piano, many people get a guitar. For me it was magic.”
On Christmas morning that year - there was only one present Darren cared about. It was a magic set he received from his parents. Instead of opening up the rest of his gifts and playing with all of his new toys - he sat down and read the instruction manual from cover to cover.
“What surprised my parents is that out of all the presents - all day, I read the manual and they knew how much I hated reading,” Darren said. “When you give somebody something special, it motivates them and it makes them do things they don’t want to do.”
Tannen's Magic Camp
Over the next couple of years Darren's devotion and interest grew even more intense. He started to make connections and build relationships with other magicians who lived near him. It was those friends who helped push him to the next level.
“Once I got past all of those magic sets and met some magicians - it was kind of like, what's the next step? A local magician said, ‘I think you should go to this magic camp,’” Darren said.
At the time, there weren't many camps that focused solely on the art of magic. In fact, there was only one in the entire country that catered to child-magicians - Tannen's Magic Camp.
“Coincidentally it was the only camp in the world and it was in Long Island,” said Darren. “But it wasn’t all Long Island kids. There were 100 to 125 kids from all over the world.”
This experience proved to be a vital part of Darren’s early career. Not only did the camp help him fine tune his techniques, it also taught him some important life lessons.
“It was this hodgepodge of nine year olds and 18 year olds and all of the sudden you’re in between wanting to show off and wanting to say, I’m nothing,” said Darren. “Everyone around has all this talent. We all have egos but within 24 hours your ego would be nothing because it was all about camaraderie and learning and sharing.”
The Big Jump
After his experience at Tannen’s Magic Camp, Darren's fate was sealed. He was going to be a magician when he grew up. By the age of 13, he was already regularly booked to perform at birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, and even some weddings.
He continued on the local circuit for quite some time, improving his technique with every trick he performed. Darren also added to his performance by applying what he was learning in his high school drama classes.
Things went on like this for quite a while until one fateful day when he started his big leap from small-town magician to Las Vegas star. A friend of Darren's found a newspaper ad seeking magicians for a huge magic show in Las Vegas.
"Nine days later
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