The Blind Card Magician Phenom Who Will Blow Your Mind — Richard Turner

Sign up for my free "5-Bullet Friday" newsletter: https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Every Friday, I send out an exclusive email with the five coolest things I’ve found (or explored) that week. It could include exclusive giveaways or chances to interact with me, books, gadgets, albums, articles, new hacks/tricks, and — of course — all sorts of weird stuff I dig up around the world. I am very, very excited to introduce this interview, as I've been wanting to meet today's guest, Richard Turner, for almost two years now. I first came across Richard Turner (richardturner52.com, youtube.com/richardturner52) in the documentary Dealt, directed by Luke Korem. I can't remember the last time I finished a documentary, only to want to watch it again immediately afterward. I also can't remember a doc that made me as emotional as Dealt did, pushing me from laughter to tears. It has 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and won the 2017 Documentary Feature Audience Choice Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Everyone should watch it. But back to my guest: Richard Turner is regarded as the best card mechanic and among the best up-close magicians in the world. He has entertained millions of people, including notables like Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Secretary of State Colin Powell, actor Brad Pitt, sports legend Muhammad Ali, and many more. His skill with a deck of cards has been featured on television shows around the world, including a performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, in which Penn Jillette admitted, "Richard Turner is one of the finest sleight-of-hand artists who has ever lived. He fooled us with every single move he did!" Oh, and did I mention that Richard is completely blind? That's right. You're in for a ride, my friends. Start [00:00] What is The Magic Castle? [00:52] Dai Vernon, “the man who fooled Houdini" [02:25] Finagling a free suit to meet a legend [06:25] Sleight-of-hand smack-talk [09:53] Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. [13:08] Discipline breeds discipline. [16:21] Richard hasn’t missed a workout in 49 years. [17:45] Charles Bonnet Syndrome and how Richard "sees" [25:04] Richard's eidetic memory [35:29] Sight loss leads to a streak of rebellion. [37:02] Anger [41:43] Richard's introduction to martial arts [44:40] Richard’s specialty fitness drink: Liquid Hell [53:13] Mr. Universe, refusing an honorary black belt, and the Tijuana sweatbox [54:50] Richard’s insane training workout to prepare for his black belt trial [1:02:49] The mind as a superpower [1:05:13] Richard vs. yours truly—a test of strength [1:09:07] Harnessing his CBS for high-intensity card training [1:11:23] Pulling off the impossible [1:13:07] Fighting 10 fresh fighters but being bruised by the LA Times [1:15:51] Dreaming and visualizations [1:18:55] Richard’s favorite colors [1:21:05] Richard's experience of wind and going underwater [1:22:22] When relaxation isn't relaxing, what charges Richard's batteries? [1:24:26] An in-studio card mechanic demonstration [1:28:19] Richard blows Dai Vernon's mind [1:35:47] Auditing cards for card manufacturers [1:37:22] What would Richard’s billboard say? [1:41:32] Richard denies anesthetic during surgery. Shuffles cards instead. [1:42:18] Fooling Penn & Teller [1:47:22] A former antagonist becomes a very dear friend. [1:50:22] Parting thoughts [1:54:57] About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 400 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/

Tim FerrisshostRichard Turnerguest

Feb 20, 20201h 58mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 20, 2020
Duration: 1h 58m
Channel: Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Sign up for my free "5-Bullet Friday" newsletter: https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Every Friday, I send out an exclusive email with the five coolest things I’ve found (or explored) that week. It could include exclusive giveaways or chances to interact with me, books, gadgets, albums, articles, new hacks/tricks, and — of course — all sorts of weird stuff I dig up around the world. I am very, very excited to introduce this interview, as I've been wanting to meet today's guest, Richard Turner, for almost two years now. I first came across Richard Turner (richardturner52.com, youtube.com/richardturner52) in the documentary Dealt, directed by Luke Korem. I can't remember the last time I finished a documentary, only to want to watch it again immediately afterward. I also can't remember a doc that made me as emotional as Dealt did, pushing me from laughter to tears. It has 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and won the 2017 Documentary Feature Audience Choice Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Everyone should watch it. But back to my guest: Richard Turner is regarded as the best card mechanic and among the best up-close magicians in the world. He has entertained millions of people, including notables like Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Secretary of State Colin Powell, actor Brad Pitt, sports legend Muhammad Ali, and many more. His skill with a deck of cards has been featured on television shows around the world, including a performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, in which Penn Jillette admitted, "Richard Turner is one of the finest sleight-of-hand artists who has ever lived. He fooled us with every single move he did!" Oh, and did I mention that Richard is completely blind? That's right. You're in for a ride, my friends. Start [00:00] What is The Magic Castle? [00:52] Dai Vernon, “the man who fooled Houdini" [02:25] Finagling a free suit to meet a legend [06:25] Sleight-of-hand smack-talk [09:53] Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. [13:08] Discipline breeds discipline. [16:21] Richard hasn’t missed a workout in 49 years. [17:45] Charles Bonnet Syndrome and how Richard "sees" [25:04] Richard's eidetic memory [35:29] Sight loss leads to a streak of rebellion. [37:02] Anger [41:43] Richard's introduction to martial arts [44:40] Richard’s specialty fitness drink: Liquid Hell [53:13] Mr. Universe, refusing an honorary black belt, and the Tijuana sweatbox [54:50] Richard’s insane training workout to prepare for his black belt trial [1:02:49] The mind as a superpower [1:05:13] Richard vs. yours truly—a test of strength [1:09:07] Harnessing his CBS for high-intensity card training [1:11:23] Pulling off the impossible [1:13:07] Fighting 10 fresh fighters but being bruised by the LA Times [1:15:51] Dreaming and visualizations [1:18:55] Richard’s favorite colors [1:21:05] Richard's experience of wind and going underwater [1:22:22] When relaxation isn't relaxing, what charges Richard's batteries? [1:24:26] An in-studio card mechanic demonstration [1:28:19] Richard blows Dai Vernon's mind [1:35:47] Auditing cards for card manufacturers [1:37:22] What would Richard’s billboard say? [1:41:32] Richard denies anesthetic during surgery. Shuffles cards instead. [1:42:18] Fooling Penn & Teller [1:47:22] A former antagonist becomes a very dear friend. [1:50:22] Parting thoughts [1:54:57] About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 400 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/

SPEAKERS

Tim Ferriss
host
Entrepreneur, author, and host of The Tim Ferriss Show.
Richard Turner
guest
Blind card magician and gambling-sleight-of-hand expert featured in the documentary Dealt.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Tim Ferriss and Richard Turner, The Blind Card Magician Phenom Who Will Blow Your Mind — Richard Turner explores richard Turner on naturalness, obsession, and impossible-level card mastery Richard Turner explains the Magic Castle’s role as a premier venue for magicians and uses it to introduce Dai Vernon’s influence and the culture of guarded “card table” gambling techniques.

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