EMIRATI MAGICIAN AND mentalist, Moein Al Bastaki, has been aiming to dazzle audiences with his illusions since he was a child. An insatiable desire to perform and amaze with new and interesting tricks has led to a career on stage and screen including performances on channels ranging from OSN, to MBC, to Dubai One. Shows for celebrities such as John Travolta and John Cena followed, as well as numerous corporate gigs. With a daily programme on MBC Action called Wal3ooha, we spoke to Al Bastaki about his magical career and to find what the difference is between an illusionist and a mental magician.

At what point did you want to become a magician?

I was six when I was home and playing with some games that my dad got me and all of a sudden I heard my grandfather calling my name. My first instinct was to ignore him, as I was busy playing. However he kept calling my name and then I started thinking what I may have done wrong, so I ran to his room. When I reached there I saw him standing in the middle of the room holding a one dirham coin. He asked me to watch him. He put the coin to his mouth, bit it, and when he brought the coin out, it was half bitten and he was chewing on the other half! He then focused on the half bitten coin in his hand, shook it and it transformed to a full coin again. I was stunned by the trick coin. It was the beginning of something. My grandfather saw an apprentice in me and started teaching me all the magic tricks that he knew. He had learned them from street magicians in India when he used to travel there in the 1950s for trade.

Also, when I was young, my dad had one of the few stores selling cassettes, VHS and Betamax tapes in Dubai. He used to get the master tapes from the USA and some of the tapes he received were the David Copperfield TV specials. One of the illusions that David Copperfield performed was making the Statue of Liberty vanish. I performed a similar illusion with the Burj Khalifa a couple of years ago! So, David Copperfield was another influence on me and then Derren Brown, when he came on TV, I knew I wanted to be able and do what he does too.

Do you still perform your first trick, the coin bite?

A couple of years ago I launched my line of products teaching magic to influence the new generation. I launched the cookie bite, which is a similar product to the coin bite and I just performed it on my last TV appearance.

What is the difference between a magician and a mentalist?

Do you prefer one over the other?A magician is a person that shows magical powers through the use of a trick or a gimmick. Mentalism is a branch of magic, where the person must show mental powers by either reading somebody's thoughts or predicting what might happen in the future. I am known to be the first person in the Arab world to perform pure mentalism. I started my path into magic with illusions and and then transitioned into mentalism.

What is the best type of audience on which to perform illusions?

Does magic work better on a bigger or smaller scale?I have performed magic for audiences ranging from 300 to 5000 or more and my best shows were the ones where I was representing the UAE. In my opinion well-educated audiences, people that want to challenge the performer, are the best. Moreover, I also enjoy performing for children. The reactions that they give are amazing; their imagination goes through the roof. They are the reason behind me getting the magic teaching product lines together to encourage them into the magical world.

How does it feel performing magic for celebrities?

I am very pleased to get a chance to perform for big celebrity names from both the Arab world and beyond. Performing for John Cena and John Travolta was nerve-wracking; however the videos of their reactions and their enjoyment of the magic I performed for them went viral. The clips showed them going from performer to becoming an audience member and taking a break from their craft.

What is the magic scene like in the UAE?

I started performing magic on TV from 2011 and the first couple of years were very difficult. I was always attacked for my performances by some people online, but my aim was to change their mentality and to educate the audience about what constitutes a magic trick. I was very worried before my first TV appearances about how my family and society would perceive what I do, but to my surprise the admirers were more than the attackers. You will always have people that will have their doubts, but the acceptance from then to now has increased. I have been approached by lots of people from all over the Arab world to teach them my skills and I have taught people either through a classroom style of training or online. In December 2015 I decided to launch my Magic Kit. At this stage we have around 30 products in the stores.

What is it like performing on TV? Is it more difficult?

Some amateur magicians think that performing magic on TV is only about the trick, so they either go and purchase the most expensive trick on the market or learn the most difficult trick to perform on camera. For performing magic on TV, the secret is only 20 percent is the trick. What is more important is camera awareness, presentation skills, audience control, storytelling, looking presentable and your identity. When you have all the angles almost covered, performing magic on TV becomes easy. My first TV appearance was not really good. However, after lots of appearances on different kind of programmes I learned how to fix the errors and make my performance better. Lots of TV spots have now gone viral.

What would your words of advice be for any aspiring magicians?

I think the magician should go beyond the trick and try to become an artist and create an identity for themselves that is unique. They shouldn't go and copy other magicians like David Copperfield and Criss Angel. They should learn from them, but take it to another level so the trick is unique to them.

Where can the public next see you perform and what are your plans for 2019 and beyond?

We are always performing somewhere in either the UAE or the Arab world. They can follow me through social media. We always keep it updated with the upcoming events. They can also find me on a daily basis on my MBC Action programme, Wal3ooha.