I'd always wanted to do these types of things - pieces of magic I could put out not as illusions, but really doing it.

Whether you're shuffling a deck of cards or holding your breath, magic is pretty simple: It comes down to training, practice, and experimentation , followed up by ridiculous pursuit and relentless perseverance.

I thought instead of burying myself under dirt, I'd bury myself under water so everybody could see that you're there.

Basically, I was a kid growing up with a single mother in Brooklyn.

I think everything I do is normal, not paranormal but normal. Its using the power of the mind to achieve whatever we can endure.

As a magician, I try to show things to people that seem impossible. And I think magic, whether I'm holding my breath or shuffling a deck of cards, is pretty simple. It's practice, it's training, and It's practice, it's training and experimenting, while pushing through the pain to be the best that I can be. And that's what magic is to me.

In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds.