“If you dream it, you can twist it,” is the philosophy of local entertainer Niko Magnifiko. As both a magician and “balloon artist,” Magnifiko takes a lot of pride inflating and creating each child’s unique balloon desires into reality. Bizarre requests are commonplace as children dream up their most fanciful possibilities while waiting in line for the squeaky and swollen rubber versions of them.
Recently one girl, who was currently infatuated with studying Russian history and culture, asked for a “Cossack hat” (an oblong visor-less folding cap made of fur, traditionally worn in the Ukraine and Russia). The rubber balloon version soon decorated her head as she made her way out of line.
A young boy, whose dreams were filled with flying, requested a jet pack, which he was soon equipped with. The pack even featured billowing fire balloons shooting out of rubber rocket engines.
“When people see balloons, they sometimes don't know the extent of what can be possible with them,” Magnifiko said.
Recently, he drove to Orlando to attend the Florida Super Jam, a three-day convention for balloon artists and connoisseurs from around the world. The Super Jam is the “longest running educational balloon twisting decorating and entertainment event,” according to the website.
“People ask me, 'how long did it take you to learn this?' Well, you never end,” Magnifiko said. “You keep learning and you keep getting better. Being at Florida Super Jam is a lot like being at Lego Land. When you go, there are things you couldn’t even imagine that could be made from balloons. On a grand scale, they do it.”
Getting a start as a magician and balloonist, “specializing in corporate close up, strolling magic, family magic shows and birthday parties,” seems like a difficult niche to break into. Magnifiko, however, didn’t start out looking for a career, just a hobby. While his friends in high school were playing sports and in band, he started learning a basic “slight of hand.”
Today, Magnifiko works weekends doing birthday parties and events. During the weekdays he still maintains what he calls his “real job,” which is a clinical therapist assistant at a nursing facility. Not that his side gig doesn’t creep in from time to time.
“I use what I’ve learned as a magician to entertain my patients when they get let down,” Magnifiko said. “Pain is not always pretty. I try to redirect with magic a lot of times or bring some balloons in from work. It’s something different for them and they really get a kick out of it.”
Being both a balloon artist and a magician is a rare skillset to have. Magnifiko believes, however, that it’s his ability to combine the two hobbies that really makes him stand out.
“Making incredible balloons is an art,” Magnifiko said. “The hard part is also making it entertaining. You can learn the technique and the artist’s mindset but once you get that down you’ve got to go out and have fun. That’s where being a magician really helps. Being interactive and being able to entertain at the same time is really the most important thing.”
To book Niko Magnifiko for a party go to facebook.com/magnifikomagic or email him at niko.magnifiko@yahoo.com.
