Scott Wells

Scott Wells
Cover of M.U.M. (2021)
Born	Scott Rhea Wells November 21 1951 Salem, Illinois
Resting place	Lakeside Cemetery, Colon, MI
Known for	Host of The Magic Word Podcast
Awards	Four Time Winner of Houston's Magician of the Year; Blackstone Award; S.A.M. Presidential Citation

Scott Wells is a full time professional magician who features "conversations with conjurors" in his weekly podcast, The Magic Word Podcast. He and his partner, Banachek, market original effects and published books through their company, Magic Inspirations.

Biography

Having a background in magic that spans over 45 years, Scott Wells is a performer, publisher, author, teacher, consultant, lecturer, collector, designer, artist and friend to magicians the world over. Scott has taught magic to neophytes in continuing education classes and lectured to professional magicians from Aberdeen, Scotland to The Magic Castle. He has a three and a half hour “At The Table” lecture available from Murphy’s Magic Supplies. He is a co-founder of two International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) Rings (Lincoln, NE and Midland, TX) and currently the Territorial Vice President for Texas for the I.B.M. He has served on the I.B.M. Board of Trustees for a three-year term from July 2004-07. He also served as the Convention, Facilities and Site Selection Chairman for the I.B.M. and later as Co-Chairman of the Convention Committee as well as other committees for the I.B.M. He also wrote the Job Description Manual for the I.B.M. which is still in use decades later. Scott is a member of several organizations including a life member of the I.B.M., the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) and a life member of London’s Magic Circle where he holds the highest degree of membership, Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star.

He has served on many committees on the local and international level of many magic organizations over the years. He was the President of the Texas Association of Magicians (T.A.O.M.) in 2000 when he chaired the annual convention in Dallas, TX and he is a four time recipient of the “Magician of the Year” award from the Society of American Magicians Assembly 19 and the Houston Association of Magicians. As the Vice President of the World Alliance of Magicians (W.A.M.) his focus within W.A.M. was toward "Unethical Magic Manufacturers and Dealers" which was directed at exposing those in our fraternity who manufacture and sell unauthorized versions of proprietary illusions or illegally duplicate and sell copyrighted material.

For over 10 years he wrote a syndicated monthly column (“Scott’s Thoughts”) of advice, theory and business for magicians. He was a contributing columnist and feature writer for Genii, The Minotaur, M.U.M. and The Linking Ring (from whom he received an “Honorable Mention” for a trick plus contributed a One Man Parade) among others with tricks contributed to The Trapdoor and Harry Lorayne’s The Himber Wallet Book and other publications. He was a regular contributor to The Magic Menu in its early years and even rendered the logo for the magazine’s banner. He was also the convention editor for MAGIC Magazine for nearly a decade.

More than just a theorist and hobbyist, Scott is a magic dealer and a seasoned performer who understands the professional side of the magic business. He was in the corporate world for over 25 years working in the natural gas business as a financial trader. He has proven business acumen having received his Bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and then proceeded to work on his M.B.A. at the University of Tulsa. In 2005 he left the daily grind of futures trading to pursue his passion as a full-time professional magician. Upon making that decision, he booked three trade shows and four cruise ship contracts within the first two weeks of turning pro. Today he regularly entertains for corporate functions with close-up and stand-up comedy magic at trade shows and company meetings in venues from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to New York City.

Recognized for his accomplishments, his professionalism and contacts, Scott was hired as the Entertainment Director at Magic Island (Houston) before its failed reopening, so he never got to serve in that capacity. Scott was a house magician at Houston’s Magic Island for 20 years before its closure in 2008 and still regularly performs at Hollywood’s Magic Castle. He also holds a Doctorate Degree from Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic (F.F.F.F.) having performed before his peers in an exclusive environment nearly a dozen times. He is the managing partner of Magic Inspirations, a partnership with the world-renown mentalist, Banachek, specializing in the manufacture and marketing of an exclusive line of mentalism props, books, videos and CD’s.

Scott was one of the voices heard regularly on www.MagicNewswire.com as part of the “This Week in Magic” team plus a regular contributor of audio convention reports. That led to him going out on his own and being a solo Podcaster who hosts a regular program on The Magic Word Podcast where, since August 2011 and approaching 1,000 episodes, he talks with and interviews magicians around the world and provides magic convention reports. The Magic Word Podcast has over 10,000 subscribers to his weekly podcast and is heard in every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. He also provides current daily updates and news from magic conventions he attends.

During quarantine in 2020-2021, Scott hosted "Magic and Martinis Thursday Virtual Happy Hour" with 52 weekly episodes on Facebook and YouTube that is viewed by thousands of magicians every week. And for 15 weeks, he co-hosted with Tom Blomquist an online film/television broadcast called "Mincing Movie Magic" on Facebook and YouTube that delved deep into what makes movies magical with interviews with producers, screen writers, directors, casting agents, actors, and others behind the scenes.

He designed and currently hosts several websites including www.houstonmagic.com which regularly updates the magic community on magic happenings in and around Houston, TX.

He is also a part owner in a new vodka company, “Illusion Vodka” which is currently licensed in Texas, Illinois, Florida and Tennessee.

Quotes

• A magician who is not working is only fooling himself.

References

• M.U.M. Cover, Vol. 111, No. 4, November 2021, The Three Degrees of Scott Wells, by Tom Vorjohan, pages 36-43
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 66, No. 4, April 1986, On Teaching the Art of Magic BY SCOTT R. WELLS, pages 50, 51
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 86, No. 4, April 2006, HOCUS POCUS PARADE Scott Wells, Edited by Jon Racherbaumer, page 91
• http://www.ScottWells.com

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