One Day With Troy the Magician
Troy the Magician — Lewisham-born to German and Jamaican parents; real name Troy von Scheibner — started practising magic when he got his first pack of cards aged 12. By his twenties, he was already the star of his own E4 TV series, Troy, which brought in about 600,000 viewers per episode. “It blew up, sold around the world and changed my life,” he says. “It allowed me to be a magician full time.”
“It’s been a huge benefit that I don’t fit the archetype of what a magician is”
Here’s what a typical day in the life of Troy the Magician looks like.
10am. It’s eggs or pancakes for breakfast, always with orange juice or some coconut water. Every few weeks, he’ll go for a fry-up at his local south east London caff.
11.30am. Throughout the day, von Scheibner works on his videos and brand deals, coming up with new ideas for tricks. “Without social media you’re dead,” he says. Alongside the occasional photo dump, von Scheibner’s Instagram is decorated with the brands he has worked with: Nike, Formula 1, HSBC and Aston Martin. TikTok is more for fun.
1pm. Lunch, and more carb loading. Von Scheibner aims to eat 3,000 calories a day. It’s all about the macros — sometimes he’ll have ground mince with no sauce. But he will treat himself to a doughnut or some sweets. “My food is generally not exciting, [so] I give myself a cheat every day.” Because he performs for a living, how he looks is of utmost importance. “It’s been a huge benefit that I don’t fit the archetype of what a magician is ... a geeky white guy,” he says.
5pm. Von Scheibner hits the gym up to five times a week. His philosophy towards working out and his magic align: determination leads to incremental growth. “I have developed muscle memory,” he says. With almost three decades of practice under his belt, he’s confident he could go two years without performing live magic and still put on a show that would blow people’s minds.
8pm. In the evenings, von Scheibner suits up for events and bookings. He has a manager and works with several booking agents to fill his calendar.
Looking forwards, von Scheibner is currently pitching a TV series with a production company, picking up where he left off last time. He’s also about to become a father — and he has an idea for a children’s magic book in mind.