There's Magic in Hollywood

For Jack Maxwell the hand is quicker than the eye.

Maxwell, 30, owns and operates Wizard’s Apprentice, a magic shop in the heart of downtown Hollywood. He touts the store as South Florida’s largest and finest with the nearest magic shop hundreds of miles away in Daytona.

Maxwell acquired his magic shop five years ago and supplements his business by performing at corporate events; he even has a DVD. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he ran a store in Plantation and performed magic in clubs.

During his apprentice days, Maxwell shuffled through Broward high schools, never grounded but through his magic. However, this Broward born magician was not practicing escape illusions in those days - according to Maxwell he graduated in jail. Maxwell went to four different high schools before getting his diploma.

Magic was his reprieve from the drugs and bad company he found himself consorting with in his youth.

“Magic was always there to get me out of a jam,” Said Maxwell.

He turned pro at the age of 14 after two years of working behind the counter of his family’s magic shop. Now with the acquisition of his own shop he says his ‘pranksterness’ has subdued somewhat.

He has even acquired his most precious wizard’s apprentice, his five-year-old daughter Dynasty, a name he has tattooed in graffiti lettering on the inside of his arm.

Classic magic is not this magician’s forte. He won’t be found wearing a top hat with peeping rabbit feet or collapsible cane. Instead, he could be mistaken for an average Joe, complete with t-shirt and jeans, until he pulls a half dollar from your ear.

Maxwell’s quaint store is an illusion of itself. With more than a thousand magic tricks, books and instructional DVD’s neatly packed into a store the size of a one car garage, but with all the warmth and comfort of home, extended by the resident magician.

Once a month Maxwell hosts workshops and classes for magicians in training.

Maxwell’s face is now recognized by people who see him online performing tricks or in commercial spots promoting the show. His name headlines corporate events and parties.

Years after getting his life in order, Maxwell enjoys the success of Wizard’s Apprentice and is hoping to explode his website into something new and exciting in the world of magicians. It wasn’t smoke and mirrors that got him to where he is today, but hard work, determination and what he calls “pimping his magic.”

The Wizard’s Apprentice Magic Shop is located at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and W. Dixie Hwy. You can also visit his store online by clicking on the puppets or you can call 1-866-940-1475.

Below is one of the many tricks Maxwell performs