At age 11, Kostya Kimlat 鈥10 became a student of his craft, learning magic techniques and sharing them everywhere, including online magic forums. After years of practice, he is now a master magician, motivational speaker and CEO of See Magic Live 鈥 as well as husband and business partner to former kid magician Amy Schwartz Kimlat 鈥06. Kostya鈥檚 magic show brought them together in 2013. After their first date, they realized he had actually answered one of her magic forum posts years earlier.
Seemingly a magical match, their shared interest has since evolved into creating incredible entertainment.
For Kostya, a Ukrainian immigrant, that interest was sparked by an episode of The World鈥檚 Greatest Magic TV series. Soon after, he spent his time flipping through the pages of an eight-volume book set that his father gifted him, eager to learn the tricks of the trade.
鈥淲hen I was 18 years old, I wrote my first book of card tricks. Then I got on a Greyhound bus and did a five-city tour to magic clubs, teaching [magicians] the tricks I came up with,鈥 says Kostya, who earned a philosophy degree at 果冻传媒 in 2010.
While working on his degree, he spent 10 years traveling to 200 cities across five continents, teaching magicians various techniques and magic psychology.
Talented magicians were out there, but most lacked the necessary business skills to reach their full potential. So in 2010, Kostya launched See Magic Live, an Orlando-based network of magicians whom he trains for live events and coordinates national bookings. He also uses magic to teach perception principles to business audiences 鈥 a more fun way of challenging people鈥檚 brains, like philosophy. Every performance empowers corporate teams to 鈥渢hink like a magician鈥 by seeing themselves through the eyes of their audiences.
While making a name for himself as 鈥淭he Business Magician,鈥 Kostya met 鈥 and fell in love with 鈥 Amy, a UCF advertising and public relations graduate. After marrying, they started working and traveling together, with Amy bringing more than a decade of marketing experience to help amplify See Magic Live as a premier source for entertainment.
Today, the couple brings extraordinary shows to corporate and social audiences with acts like theatrical mentalism, where Kostya presents the entertaining illusion of reading audience members鈥 minds. Still, the role of perception remains at the core of it all.
鈥淚 tell my clients that they can have the best reality (service or product) in the world, but unless the perception (the presentation and communication) of it matches the reality, you鈥檙e going to be at a loss,鈥 Kostya says.
This unique take on magic has captured the attention of Fortune 500 companies, led to performances on the basketball court for thousands of Orlando Magic fans and even fooled legendary magicians Penn and Teller on their hit TV show Fool Us 鈥 Kostya鈥檚 first nationally televised performance that went viral on YouTube and earned him the closing act of the duo鈥檚 Las Vegas show. Even as the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple managed to pivot their business and reinvent magic entertainment by launching virtual magic shows that engaged thousands of professionals globally.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the new business we built at the time in a totally new domain,鈥 Amy says.
For their next trick, they鈥檒l serve even more organizations and bring the message of perception to more business groups, both virtually and in person.
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Who:
- Kostya Kimlat 鈥10 and Amy Schwartz Kimlat 鈥06
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The Pitch:
- Orlando鈥檚 top magic entertainment company offering global magic shows and keynote presentations on magicians鈥 perception principles.
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The Goal:
- To inspire professionals and enhance communication through unforgettable experiences.
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Find Him:
- kostyakimlat.com, seemagiclive.com