Brandon Thomas said getting pounced on by a tiger as a 4 year old is just the tip of the iceberg in his exciting childhood because his dad performs magic in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As a child, Thomas said he thought the magic in his home was normal. “As I think of the experiences I had, playing with tigers and the macaws [parrots] or going to my dad’s showroom and seeing him perform, I came to realize I didn’t live a ‘normal’ childhood.” Thomas said the older he gets, the more he appreciates how he grew up.
Becoming a “real” tiger
A BYU–Hawaii a junior studying computer science, Thomas said he started working for his dad when he was 14. He said his magic career included helping with the animals in the show, including cockatoos, macaws, doves and Great Pyrenees.
He said he did it all, other than working with his dad’s small army of 15 tigers. “No guy wants his kids with the tigers,” he said with a smile.
He said the 15 tigers living in his backyard were part of the family. He added when tigers are growing up, they don’t know they are tigers. “A tiger is really no different from a housecat,” he said. “Have you ever had a cat randomly come up to you and smack you? It’s the same with tigers.”
His dad, Rick Thomas, a world-renowned illusionist, explained until they are about 6 months old, the cats are harmless enough to play with and even sleep in a person’s bed. However, he said there comes a time when natural instincts kick in and the tiger isn’t so safe to play with anymore.
For example, Rick Thomas said one day “one of my [young] tigers grabbed [4-year-old] Brandon and pulled him to the ground. It started acting like a tiger.”
Brandon Thomas recalled the experience. “The tiger pinned me to the back of the couch. I was freaking out of course. It started smacking me in the head with its paw. My dad took it off me, and I went sprinting out of there.”
He said he sat in his room and cried afterwards because he thought he was in serious danger.
Rick Thomas explained the tiger’s pounce was simply a natural instinct. He said when he pulled the cat off his son, he realized it was time to put the tiger in its habitat.
“No matter what, there comes a moment in a tiger’s life that they figure out who they are, and once they do, they become a real tiger,” Rick Thomas said.
He likened the tiger to his son. “Brandon, in that same respect, is a person who is soon to find out who he is.”
He explained, “There will come a time in Brandon’s life where he’s going to know what to do. Whatever is in him will direct his life and show him what he needs to do to become someone of great strength,” he said. “Once he does, he’ll be a tiger.”
“I believed he could fly.”
Talking about growing up with a father who is a magician, Brandon Thomas shared “As a kid, you believe it all. I believed [my dad] could fly.”
He said he can’t remember exactly when he discovered his dad’s tricks were illusions and not genuine magic.
Watching how the tricks worked backstage just confused him, Brandon Thomas said. “I’d be backstage. I’d see it happen right in front of me, but then I’d be like, ‘Well, dad is magic, but what’s going on back here is weird.’”“There’s never a dull moment backstage.”
Even after working backstage and studying magic with his dad, Brandon Thomas said the magic show still enchants him. “When you learn how it’s done, you come to respect it. It’s impressive, and it leaves an impact. The magic’s still there, you just understand it now.”
He assisted his dad with the magic tricks, sets, sounds and lighting for the shows, he explained. It is an exciting challenge, he added, because one little mistake could reveal the trick.
“In a magic show, there’s no going back. If the trick is revealed, there’s not much you can do after that.” Brandon Thomas said he’s made his fair share of blunders, but he has never revealed so much that the trick couldn’t be done. Rick Thomas’ team of 10 to 12 people is smaller than most magic crews, Brandon Thomas explained. They work together in the fast-paced, time-bound entertainment environment where he said if they don’t do everything just right, the magic is lost.
“When something needs to be done, any of us could be called to do it on the spot,” he said. “And of course, in a magic show, there’s always a sense of urgency when something needs to be done right then.”
For example, he said sometimes one of the doves will fly into the audience. “You have to go into the audience and go get the dove and take it backstage.”
Brandon Thomas said he often oversaw big sets being moved on and off the stage. He explained it is a dangerous job because everything is dark, people are all around and everything is rushed. He added he has almost been crushed while working backstage. “You always have to be super aware of what goes on around you, especially when everyone is doing things so fast. You have to be able to think and work on the fly.”
“Girls like tricks.”
Rick Thomas said he never wanted to force his children into his magic show because he wanted them to find their career paths. He said when Brandon Thomas asked to learn magic, he asked him why.
He said his son responded with, “Well, because I can perform tricks for girls, and girls like tricks.”
Rick Thomas continued, “So I began teaching him my magic, and he began working backstage.”
He explained, “It was good for him to see what I do for a living, to be part of it, and to realize what it takes to pull it off. Many things you’d never imagine have to be done to make a show work on stage.”
Their work together strengthened their relationship to be “more than a father and son,” he said. When his son started working with him, Rick Thomas said their camaraderie became more solid.
He said although his son may get frustrated with his mistakes, Brandon Thomas’ determination to do things right is his biggest strength. “All of us fail. All of us have frustrations. All of us stumble,” said Rick Thomas. “It’s who gets back up and who tries again who becomes great. He’s always done that.”
“Performing runs in the family.”
Though Brandon Thomas said magic doesn’t necessarily run in the family, he added, “Performing runs in the family.”
A natural performer, Brandon Thomas said he is more interested in creating music than performing magic. With any performing career, he said, “It’s just a matter of jumping in the water and seeing how far you can swim.”
Roche Donato, an exercise and sport science alumnus from Qatar and a friend of Brandon Thomas, said his friend demonstrates his performing abilities with the way he is. “He’s a performer. He even walks a little differently than us.”
Donato said whenever he and Thomas meet girls on the beach, Thomas always speaks in a deep performance voice to introduce himself. Donato said people usually introduce their hometown in their natural voice, but when Thomas does it, he gives you a smirk, looks to the side and says in a low-pitched, spirited tone, “I’m from… Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Donato added with a laugh, “We always teased Brandon about that. It’s a real good voice.”
He said their friendship grew through dance. Brandon Thomas also explained his family has always had a strong background in teaching and performing dance. “My grandparents taught professional ballroom dancing, so we love to dance.”
Brandon Thomas has taught and choreographed dances for two Culture Nights in the Latin American Club, Donato said. Most of the club’s activities revolved around dancing, and Donato said Brandon Thomas showed off his dance moves, passion for Latin America and leadership skills as the club’s president.
“He’s very bold. He’s not shy. He’s got 100 percent confidence,” Donato said. Whenever he would ask Brandon how to do a certain dance move, he said he would demonstrate it right then, ready to turn the music on and get to work. •