Vivek Desai

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vivek Desai

• Vivek Desai was born in Pune and raised in Fremont, California, where his parents often went to play at casinos.

• Since he was not allowed in, his parents would leave him at kid-friendly casinos, similar to big game areas in malls.

• These places also had workshops for kids, and one day he joined a magic workshop, which sparked his interest in magic.

• Vivek Desai was amazed by the tricks and frequently asked magicians to teach him basic tricks, which he then started practising.

• He learnt the basics of magic while attending school in the western USA and started studying books and other resources when he was 10 years old.

• Vivek Desai started learning gambling and playing card games when he was 12 years old because it made him popular and helped him make friends.

• When he was 16 years old, he started performing magic, mentalism, and illusions as a hobby.

• Vivek Desai then began working as a consultant with casinos, helping them catch card cheaters, training security staff, and working with casino insurance companies to verify claims involving cheating.

• He practised magic at family functions, birthday parties, and even in the streets.

• During his visits to Pune, Vivek Desai would perform near Fergusson College to get feedback and improve.

• When he was 22 years old, he became a famous performer in Pune and Mumbai.

• After that, Vivek Desai began getting requests for paid shows at private parties and corporate events, which led him to consider magic as a full-time career.

• He has performed for Bollywood celebrities like Shikhar Dhawan, Irrfan Khan, Sunny Leone, Yuvraj Singh, and Govinda, as well as international artists like Sean Paul and ALT-J.

  

• Apart from being a magician, Vivek Desai also works as a card-cheating consultant for games like Poker and Blackjack for some private security firms.

• In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and watching films.

• Vivek Desai has written articles for various well-known Indian publications including ’10 Questions for a Guy Who Catches Card Cheaters at Casinos,’ ‘I Feel Magic Has a Huge Potential Audience: Vivek Desai,’ and ‘Professional Illusionist Vivek Desai Still Enjoys Performing in the Street.’

• In March 2017, he founded the Pune Comedy Festival in Pune.

• In 2019, Vivek Desai started working as a standup comedian at The Habitat – Comedy and Music Cafe.

  

• In 2023, he co-founded the Bluesky Comedy Festival in Delhi and Pune.

• Vivek Desai enjoys doing street performances, where he often meets young people interested in learning magic.

• He frequently advises aspiring magicians to learn from books rather than videos, as videos can cause issues with depth perception and books provide detailed instructions on posture and technique.

• Vivek Desai follows magicians like David Blaine, who made street magic popular.

• He is often invited as a guest by various news media channels for live performances on television.

  

• In May 2024, Vivek Desai received a silver YouTube button.

  

• He is an animal lover and has a pet dog. He often shares pictures of his pet on social media.