by Jill Duff-Hoppes, Republished with permission of J Life Magazine

Kostya Kimlat’s in-person magic events disappeared during the lockdown faster than you can say, “abracadabra.”

However, it wasn’t long before the magician and motivational speaker was back in front of audiences, delighting them with sleight-of-hand card tricks, like he has done at venues around the world for 20 years. The difference is, now Kostya is performing virtually – doing magic shows via Zoom for folks watching from their laptops.

Even before social distancing and stay-at-home rules, Kostya knew he would one day perform his magic virtually. But he expected that shift to come 10 to 15 years down the line, not overnight.

“I thought I would be a hologram in somebody’s living room,” Kostya says with a laugh.

Yet when a client asked Kostya to put together a virtual magic show in March, he decided it was imperative to embrace the digital realm now. To test out the online format, he did several free shows for clients and friends, which led to a bunch of gigs from attendees who turned around and gifted Kostya’s joy of magic to their own customers and employees.

And in the spirit of giving back to his community, he also performed gratis for the Jewish Academy of Orlando’s graduation celebration. Even when Kostya is able to resume live shows, he plans to keep digital performances in his bag of tricks.

“I did not expect myself to pivot so quickly,” Kostya says. “But I was able to do it by filling a surprising niche — giving small businesses a tool to bring joy to their customers and teams during a difficult time.”