What you'll take away
- 01 How adults actually learn, the science of deliberate practice, results-based measurement, and why your analytical mind is an asset, not a handicap.
- 02 Why magic works on the brain, the cognitive science of perception, memory, attention, and the architecture of impossible experiences.
- 03 The craft of performance, scripting, voice, body, comedy, character, and the Grand Effect that turns a collection of tricks into a show that means something.
A strategy consultant. Two hundred hotel nights a year. A deck of cards bought on a whim.
Felix Lenhard had no childhood magic kit, no performing background, and no reason to believe any of it would work. Then, one evening in a hotel room, a deck of cards purchased to fill the void between room service and sleep opened a door into a four-thousand-year-old art form, and refused to close.
This is the story of what happened next, including the parts that led to co-founding Vulpine Creations with Adam Wilber and shipping twelve magic products into more than fifty countries with a 4.9-star average and zero returns.
In this first volume, Felix traces the arc from total beginner to competent performer: the rabbit hole that revealed magic’s ancient history, the practice revolution that overturned everything he thought he knew about learning, the neuroscience of why magic works on the human brain, and the painstaking craft of scripting, performing, and building routines that move an audience rather than merely fool one.
What you will find in these pages
- How adults actually learn, not the folklore version, but the science of deliberate practice, results-based measurement, and why your analytical mind is an asset, not a handicap.
- Why magic works on the brain, the cognitive science of perception, memory, attention, and the architecture of impossible experiences.
- The craft of performance, scripting, voice, body, comedy, character, and the Grand Effect that turns a collection of tricks into a show that means something.
- An honest account of starting from zero, the imposter syndrome, the comparison paralysis, the slow and humbling process of teaching your hands to do things your brain understood months ago.
This is not a book of tricks. If you have read Strong Magic, Designing Miracles, or Maximum Entertainment and wanted the narrative version told from the perspective of an adult who came in cold, this is that book.
This is a book about what the world’s oldest performing art knows about human attention, perception, and the pursuit of mastery, told by someone who arrived late, sat down, and discovered the table had room.
Volume Two, Back at the Table: Ancient Lessons in Meaning for Modern Performers, continues the journey from craft to art, from competence to meaning.
The table has room. Sit down.
Endorsements
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In an era where ideas are everywhere and everyone is chasing the next new trick, the magic world is actually missing two things: an obsession with quality and the execution to make it real. As a producer known for being notoriously picky, I'm strict about who I work with. A great idea without elite craftsmanship is just a distraction. Working with Adam Wilber and Felix Lenhard to produce Color Psychology and the W4 Wallet put me in the role of the uncompromising gatekeeper. Felix might call himself a 'latecomer,' but the twenty years of business logic he brings is exactly the kind of depth I look for when defining 'high-end magic.' These books tell it like it is: the real barrier in magic isn't about how fast your hands are; it's about how you design the experience. If you want to understand why some magic becomes art, Felix is your guide. I'm proud to have stood behind these products and helped define the modern aesthetic of magic alongside them.
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When Adam and Felix came together to form Vulpine Creations I knew this was something special. They immediately stood out in the magic marketplace as a company with vision and a real love for the art. Not only were their products of the highest quality but everything was infused with originality, clever methods and wicked humour. It is so difficult to carve out your own niche within an already niche industry, but Vulpine Creations certainly did that.
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Few people combine strategic thinking, technical expertise, and creative flair like Felix does. Coming from both the innovation and magic industries, he brings a unique mindset that helps translate abstract ideas into concrete, market-ready products. His leadership at Vulpine Creations helped shape some of the most successful magic effects on the international market. What impressed me most was his ability to bring structure into creative chaos without ever compromising the soul of the project.
Tell me when it ships
