UT alumnus shares secrets behind magic tricks on YouTube channel..
UT alumnus Brian Brushwood closes his eyes, leans his head back and lowers a flaming metal skewer down his throat. A few seconds later, he pulls it out, ready for his next trick.
Brushwood is an entertainer known for his “punk-rock-blood-and-guts magic show” in which viewers watch him eat fire, hammer nails into his nose, read minds and stick skewers through his tongue.
“Some of [my stunts] are totally real, and some are totally fake,” Brushwood said. “But my favorite part is that middle ground when you’re not really sure what’s what. I want people constantly guessing what’s real.”
Until 2014, Brushwood toured colleges across the country with his magic show and has since settled down in Austin, producing three podcasts, running a YouTube series and occasionally performing live. Last month he starred in “Dance Showdown,” a YouTube spin-off of “Dancing With The Stars.”
“I did it because it terrified me,” Brushwood said. “There is something great about the abject terror of stepping outside your comfort zone.” Read more..