International Brotherhood of Magicians

The plaque, located outside of the old Union Bank building in the Exchange District, recently went missing.

It was originally placed in 1986 and highlighted Winnipeg as the birthplace of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

The organization was founded by magician Len Ventis in 1922 when he was 19 years old.

Local escape artist Dean Gunnarsson is leading efforts to try and find the plaque and restore it to ensure his friend and mentor's legacy is upheld.

In 19...

In 1980, the IBM started a contest called the Gold Medal Competition.

So Europe had FISM and they had, you know, the guys would go over there and compete for the Grand Prix.

Well, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, they wanted to start their own competition.

and make it really truly international and at a very high level.

So they announced they were gonna have the inaugural gold medal competition.

Mac and I were working at a little theme park during the summer, doing three shows a day.

So the act was tight, you know, three shows a day.

And I think that's something, you know, something worth really supporting.

And I did another podcast on the IBM as well, you know, why you should join it because of all the back issues.

And you can scan through them and come up with so many great ideas, you know.

And as I said, there's old gold in there and you can come up with a new handling for something which, you know, You know, it might be for like a cigarette trick from like 1975 and, you know, cigarettes are no longer really that cool anymore.

I'll be honest with you.

What, uh, there's a fella named Jason in, uh, the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

And he hosted a podcast, and his name is really well-known, and he got elected as the president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Is that because he was the only one who said, "Not I"?

No.

Welcome, everybody.

Welcome to the International Brotherhood of Magicians official podcast.

My name is Jason Michaels, joined today by Ben Young, Scott Cantrell.

Hello, fellas.

Let us know if we're completely off base or if you've got a better idea than we do.

For Scott Cantrell, Ben Young, my name is Jason Michaels.

This has been the official podcast of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and we will see you next time.

Thanks so much.

Yeah.

Uh, and, uh, and then for, like, the s- you know, there were Society of Young Magicians meetings, Society of American Magicians, International Brotherhood of Magicians, the lesser-known IBM, uh, in St. Louis.

And I would go to these meetings, and, you know, there'll be other professionals and hobbyists and, you know...

Often I was the youngest person there, and it's men in their 60s, 70s, 80s who are eager to share their, you know, knowledge.

So please, please, please do support them.

You know, the last podcast was supporting the IBM, support the lecturer, support the dealer, support these little conventions, because we really, if we don't do it, there's not going to be any, you know, and that's it.

Support the big ones as well, like Blackpool and stuff.

But these little conventions are where you can really find the hidden gems and, you know, find real value.

I'm not going to talk about one of my latest and greatest magic tricks, a new game, or even how I come up with ideas.

Instead, I want to talk about something that I think is incredibly important to the future of magic, and that's the International Brotherhood of Magicians, or the IBM.

And if you're in the UK, British ring number 25.

And I'm a member myself, and I wanted to dedicate this episode to explain why I think more magicians should seriously consider joining.

Hi guys, I'm Vinnie Sagu and welcome back to the Mind Burp Podcast.

If you're new here, I'm the creator of NeoMagic and Mind Burp Games.

And in this podcast, I like to talk about magic, games, ideas, creativity, and those wonderful little moments that make you stop and think, hmm, wait, what? So in this episode, I'm going to be talking about, well, the IBM International Brotherhood of Magicians.

And, you know, Let me ask you something first.

... everyone started going, "This guy stole Ferrentino's bar stool," blah blah blah.

So the IBM, which is the International Brotherhood of Magicians-

Well, the IBM

... has an, has an ethics committee.

So they-

I agreed to it.

I never got a dime.

He continued to sell them, and the IBM ran his ad every month without, without it saying, "Made famous by John Ferrentino."