By Roxanne Brown
Local Talent: Magic from the heart
Scott Humston uses his magical abilities to connect with people.
Scott Humston knew that magic was in the cards for him the moment he stepped through the glass door of a little shop he spotted on the side of the road.
He was in downtown Auburndale on his way to Walmart with his grandfather more than 30 years ago.
“I saw a sign that said VIP Magic and I said ‘Grandad, stop, stop,’ and he pulled over and turned around,” Scott says. “I tell people today that I’m thankful for grandparents that make U-turns.”
To this day, Scott, now 46, remembers the heavy scent of cardboard, cigarettes and paint inside the shop, but also the thrill he felt from all the props, tricks, cards, costumes and other cool things he noticed.
“As I looked around, I got bit by the magic bug. I was actually pretty consumed by it,” he says.
Today, Scott, a longtime Mount Dora resident, is a dad, evangelist, award-winning magician, pseudo-mind reader and storyteller all wrapped into one. He travels the world wowing audiences large and small and has performed at the White House, a high-end resort by the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey and at an outside stage near the Guatemalan border.
He also performs monthly Mind, Myth and Magic shows at the Donnelly House in Mount Dora and has a book coming out called “Share Wonder” featuring stories about his life on the road.
Scott’s shows include a variety of amazing card tricks, items appearing and disappearing out of thin air illusions and other tricks involving people from the audience.
In between, he tells jokes, shares life lessons, and does an extra-special trick and story using the very ball and cup set his grandfather bought him at the shop that started it all.
“I want people to be entertained, but it’s the connection with them I love most. I put the people first, before the tricks,” Scott says.
Additionally, Scott says he hopes his magic boosts people’s spirits like it did his own, explaining that magic upped his confidence and vanquished insecurities following years of surgeries and speech therapy sessions to correct the cleft lip and palate he was born with.
“I want people to walk out of my show and realize that for the last two hours they’ve forgotten everything else in their lives and simply experienced wonder and laughter and joy,” he says.
For information about Scott and his upcoming shows, go to scotthumston.com.
Originally from Nogales, Arizona, Roxanne worked in the customer service industry while writing independently for years. After moving to Florida in 1999, Roxanne eventually switched her career path to focus more on writing and went on to become an award-winning reporter for The Daily Commercial/South Lake Press newspapers for 16 years prior to coming on board with Akers Media as a staff writer in July 2020 – her dream job come true.
