American 'Magic Man' Lawrence Sullivan was born in the Netherlands, the son of a banker who moved to Bahrain and then to Hong Kong. He grew up here and recalls learning his first card trick at the age of seven. He attended university in the United States, at Kenyon College, Ohio, and spent his holidays at his aunt and uncle's winery in the Napa Valley. Fisher Vineyards celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and in addition to working as a corporate entertainer - performing dexterous tricks with cards, coins, banknotes and occasionally wine bottles - Sullivan acts as an ambassador for the wines in Hong Kong and around Asia.
Did you get your introduction to wine through Fisher Vineyards?
Yes. I'd go to California and work in the winery and I learned a little about that side of things. I was always curious about how the process worked. It's an amazingly complex product. The whole process of fermenting is pretty magical. It was very relaxing there. The air is clean, and it has the atmosphere of the kind of old winery you might find in Europe. Almost all the wine is estate grown and the whole family now works there. Whitney, my cousin, is the winemaker so that's where the real personality of the wine now comes from.
What got you into magic?
Growing up in Hong Kong, I was quite fortunate that there weren't many other local magicians. I didn't have a mentor, so I read a lot of books and learned that way. That meant I was able to develop my own style. My magic is based on direction. It's about focusing attention in a particular place. What interests me is the close-up stuff. Stage magic is cool, but when it's right in front of you, it's a different dynamic. More personal, I guess - more intimate. How did you start out professionally? When I started I would work for really low fees at restaurants and clubs and bars, sometimes just for tips. For a few years I worked at Dragon-i on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that's where I started to build a client base, and learned to develop the social side of it. Magic is not about me at the end of the day. It's about getting people together and letting them enjoy the experience. At corporate events it's an ice breaker. It gives people who haven't met each other something to talk about. In restaurants I learned to work with the waiters to do tricks - always get the staff on your side. I don't really do table-hopping, as they call it, so much now. It's a slightly awkward environment. You can't interrupt people when they're eating. You're standing and they're sitting, and it's better if you are all on the same level. It worked well at Dragon-i because I would come and sit with people and show them 10 minutes of magic - working with them rather than at them.
You make it look very easy. Is it actually hard work?