Ryan Lam (born May 28, 1973) known professionally as Ryan Hayashi, is a

Chinese Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

magician, mentalist and performer (while his stage name "Hayashi" is Japanese, Ryan himself has no Japanese ancestry). Hayashi focuses on

coin magic Coin magic is the manipulating of coins to entertain audiences. Money Magic, pp. 175-221. Because coins are small, most coin tricks are considered close-up magic or table magic, as the audience must be close to the performer to see the effects. Th ...

and is known for his coin matrix. He also works in other forms of magic including cards, mentalism and displays of skill such as blindfolded performances with a samurai sword. Hayashi has performed magic in 18 different countries. He is a self-described "samurai entertainer" and has performed on multiple talent contests including '' Germany's Got Talent'', ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' and ''Czechoslovakia's Got Talent''.

Career

Hayashi began pursuing magic at the age of eight and began training in martial arts when he was nine. After high school, he studied French and linguistics at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in 1992. He began training in traditional Shotokan and worked as an English lecturer in Tokyo. In 2000, he moved to

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where he made a name for himself as a magician. Hayashi took part in his first magic championship in 2001. His second championship was the Deutsche Meisterschaften Der Zauberkunst where he placed 4th which was not enough to qualify for the FISM World Championships. From 2003 to 2005 he participated in 16 competitions worldwide, including the SAM European Championships of Magic. Hayashi won the MacMillan International Magic Competition in 2003 and gained the unofficial title "European Champion of Magic" in 2005. He won first place in

card magic Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some ...

during the 2005 German Championships and second place in

micromagic Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, also known as pres ...

qualifying him for the 2006 FISM World Championships in Stockholm. In 2007, Hayashi won the audience award at the IBM Gold Cups National Championships in the United States. He has made various appearances at

Magic Circle A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be mark ...

in London, the Wizard's Inn in Tokyo, the 4F Convention in Batavia, New York, the British IBM in Eastbourne and the

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...

in Hollywood. In 2018, Hayashi appeared on the 5th season of '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' where he successfully fooled Penn and Teller with his over-the-top coin matrix performance. Hayashi's performance has been listed by Geek.com as one of the "11 Best Tricks From 'Penn & Teller: Fool Us'". He appeared again on the show's seventh season in April 2021, teaming up with his son Johnny. In November and December 2019, Hayashi worked with the charity, "Help for Heroes", where he performed with magicians Edward Askham-Spencer, Etienne Pradier, Ole Gold and Steel Johnson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Ryan 1973 births Canadian magicians Living people

Career

See also

References

External links