For His Next Trick …

West Ashley teenager Caleb Alexander could very well be the next big thing in the world of magic. At the age of 16, Alexander spends countless hours creating his tricks, practicing his routine, and booking his own shows. He is also quite the entrepreneur. Alexander recently competed in the Yes Carolina Business Competition and won first place.
According to Eva Rutiri his Entrepreneurship teacher at West Ashley High School, Alexander represents the classic definition of an entrepreneur. “He is passionate about delivering and crafting a new generation of magic, intensely focused on setting and achieving goals for his business, and is an extremely talented performer with stage presence way beyond his 16 years of age,” says Rutiri. “He is an inspiration to me as his ntrepreneurship teacher and reminds us all at West Ashley High School how to be successful in life. He’s a go-getter.”
Alexander says his love of magic started 13 years ago. At just 3 years old, Alexander obtained his first magic kit and couldn’t put it down. One day at his pre-school, they hired a magician to perform but he never showed. Not one to leave an opportunity wasted, little 3-year-old Caleb Alexander took the spotlight and performed for his class and he’s been performing ever since. But it wasn’t until the end of his 8th grade year when Alexander realized that performing magic was actually a career for him.
“I’ve loved performing all my life. And that’s what magic is: a performance,” says Alexander. “It combines all these different art forms and it lets me be myself when I get up on stage and perform.”
On Tuesday, March 10, Alexander fulfilled one of his greatest accomplishments to date, performing at the North Charleston Coliseum during halftime of the Harlem Globetrotters’ game. During his act, Alexander performed several tricks that kept the audience on the edge of their seat. One of the tricks performed was one he stayed up until 5:30 a.m. the night before to complete. Alexander came to school the entire day and didn’t actually finish assembling the “empty box” trick until he got to the Coliseum that evening.
Alexander’s determination and dedication to put on a great show is powerful and grows stronger with each event that he books. Alexander is wise beyond his years, knowing exactly what it takes to put on a good show. For example, when he chose his assistant for the show he knew he wanted someone that would help promote his show as family-friendly. That is why he chose a 2nd grader. He says he did this because there would be lots of kids watching the Harlem Globetrotters and he wanted to get someone with which those kids could relate.
When asked how he got the gig, Alexander says, “All I did was ask. You’d be surprised how easy some things can be. We just make them harder. If you want something you just gotta go for it.”
Alexander says his favorite magician is Rudy Coby (Criss Angel and David Blaine are not the only magicians out there). Coby was a famous magician in the early 1990s and had his own TV show on FOX for a spell. He was considered to be one of the most creative magicians of the time. In January, Alexander met Coby at a magic convention in Myrtle Beach. When Coby asked for his name, Alexander responded with, “Caleb Alexander.” In reply, Coby said, “Caleb Alexander is way cooler than me.”
“If the coolest magician on Earth says that I’m way cooler than him, does that make me the coolest magician on Earth?” asks Alexander with a sly magician’s grin.