Discover Lafayette Devon Faul – Bringing Magic to Acadiana
We welcome Lafayette’s own master of illusion, Devon Faul, one of Acadiana’s most captivating magicians. Devon is known for blending sleight of hand with a deep sense of showmanship to create experiences that leave audiences spellbound. From close-up moments to full stage performances, Devon brings a unique blend of creativity, humor, and heart to his craft.
We explore his journey into magic, the discipline required to master illusion, and the universal connection he creates through wonder and surprise.
The Universal Language of Wonder
Devon says that people of all ages speak the universal language of wonder and awe. In today’s world, he believes many people don’t get that feeling as often as they used to because everyone’s kind of in survival mode. Magic, for him, is a way to reach out to people in a universal way and give them a feeling that they haven’t had before, one that reaches you on a deeper level. Magic for Devon is “the human condition, psychology, philosophy, struggles, triumph.”
Day Job at Stuller
Devon’s day job is work at Stuller, the largest jewelry manufacturer and distributor in North America headquartered in Lafayette. He calls it “kind of a dream,” explaining that they take people seriously and foster an environment where employees “feel like you can be a person. I’m super lucky to be working with them.”
How Magic Began: “A Place of Vulnerability”
Devon began devoloping his magic craft at age ten years of age, but not in the traditional way. He didn’t get hooked by a magic kit or a grandparent pulling a coin from behind his ear. Instead, he says “it actually started because my dad was in the oil field, so we moved a lot”—Wyoming, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas.”
“I was always the weird, quiet, out-of-state kid. You know, Wyoming people are very different than Louisiana people, who are very different from Virginia people. It’s like their own countries. Each state is its own territory.” Frequent moves and feeling out of place led to bullying: “People want to tear down that which they do not understand.”
As a ten-year-old, he imagined that maybe people wouldn’t bully him “if I had superpowers, if I could become Superman.” Magic became “the closest thing to superpowers,” a way to bridge gaps, build confidence, and connect.
Early Magic: Cards, Psychology, and Possibilities
Devon started with card tricks, “kind of everyone’s entry point.” He explained that card magic involves numbers, memory, psychology, and timing. “It’s getting used to handling a deck of cards just like any tool.”
He shares one of the mathematical realities that inspired him: If you shuffle a 52-card deck, “no deck has ever been in that exact order, and statistically, no deck in the future ever will be.” The concept mesmerized him: “It’s math, science and statistics and psychology.”
“You get into, like, this weird area of random knowledge. For example, if you have a deck of 52 cards, figure out numerically how many possibilities are on a deck of cards. It is mathematically 52 factorial, which is 52 times 51 times 50, all the way down to one. Which means if you shuffle a deck of cards in the history of a deck of cards, no deck has ever been in that exact order. And statistically, no deck in the future ever will be in that exact order. It is a deck of cards and magic, but it’s also math, science and statistics. So, you start off with card tricks and then you branch into anything and everything from there.”
Rejecting Gimmicks: “I Pride Myself on My Sleight of Hand”
While some magicians use trick decks, Devon says, “I pride myself on my sleight of hand. I don’t ever want to be reliant on any kind of apparatus. That’s not magic.” He wants spectators to be able to inspect anything he uses.
“Magic will come for those who seek it. I’ve always told people I don’t have any special capabilities that anyone else can’t develop. I just put in the time, the energy and the effort. Everyone wants the view from the top of the mountain, but very few people want to actually climb the mountain. And so it’s the destination, but it’s also more so the journey. So once you get the knack for cards and you develop that dexterity, then you see other things that are maybe more visual.”
Learning Through YouTube and Persistence
Devon began learning magic through YouTube “when I was like 9 or 10.” Some tricks came easily; others took relentless practice. “The cool thing about magic is that it kind of compounds a little bit… it builds the dexterity in your hand to then be able to do something totally different.”
Beyond Cards: Ropes, Coins, Rings, and Mentalism
Devon performs with cards, coins, rings, ropes, and also does mentalism—“reading minds.” He studied reading systems and even tarot, not spiritually, but “as a way to understand it for what it is.”
He notes that ancient magicians, including shamans and the oracle at Delphi, used magic to bring people spiritual well-being and peace of mind, much like the psychological effects we recognize today.
Magic as a Fine Art
Devon believes magic belongs alongside poetry, storytelling, and painting. “Magic is so pervasive through human history,” he says, describing innovators like Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin and the famed Light and Heavy Chest illusion. “The effect would be that the magician might be able to lift the box. But when the box is set back down, no other spectator could lift it. Or maybe a child could lift it, but no adult could.“ This magician has been rumored to have stopped a violent revolt in Algeria that threatened to erupt into a full-scale war with France. In 1856, the French government commissioned him to perform his magic for Algerian tribal chiefs, who were being incited to rebellion by religious leaders claiming magical powers. Houdin’s show of superior illusion, including catching a bullet and the light and heavy chest trick, demoralized the rival magicians and quelled the uprising.
Defining Magic: “Perception Is Reality”
Devon sees magic as the art of altering perception: “Magic is about perception… because perception is reality.”
While science says matter cannot be created or destroyed, “a magician pulls a coin out of thin air.” The illusion forces us to confront the gap between what is real and what seems real.
Close-Up, Parlor, Stage, and Specialization
Devon explains that magicians often specialize in:
- Close-Up — his specialty
- Parlor
- Stage magic (Criss Angel, David Copperfield)
- Escapism
- Mentalism
He prefers close-up and parlor for the “intimacy” they create.
Silent Magic: Lessons from Teller
Devon admires Penn & Teller. Teller doesn’t speak because “he found that the magic would speak for itself.” Devon notes that magicians unconsciously build misdirection into speech patterns, but Teller proves that “you could say absolutely nothing and let the magic speak for itself.”
At 28: “Overwhelming, but in the Best Way”
Devon loves connecting with people: “We all have stories… we’re like screaming, this is me, this is who I am.”
Magic allows him to meet people and share meaningful experiences, because “none of us make it out alive… we’re all in the same playing field.”
His signature maroon velvet suit and handlebar mustache? It’s intentional: “I love the vaudeville style of magic.”
And yes—he wears velvet suit to work: “Oh, absolutely.”
“Being a Magician Is a Mindset”
Devon says: “Being a magician is not necessarily just a career choice… It’s a mindset.”
A magician is “someone who creates their universe,” seeks knowledge, solves problems from new angles, and explores what is “possible versus impossible.”
Magic teaches him to “tear open the fabric of reality for just a split second.”
Magic in the Workplace: Connecting People
Devon explains that magic at corporate events can make “two people who have been working together for ten years and just never seen each other” suddenly bond. Magic creates conversations that lead to genuine connection. “Magic speaks to everyone… it’s arguably unmatched in that regard.”
Hypnosis: A Surprising First Attempt
Devon once hypnotized his cousin after practicing from YouTube tutorials. Her hand stuck to the wall—so convincingly that “the genuine look of concern in her eyes told me, oh wait, this might be real.”
When he released her, “you could hear the sound of her hand coming off the wall.” She told him, “my brain was telling my hand to move and it wouldn’t respond.”
He explains that hypnosis is misunderstood but real, sharing examples like highway hypnosis while driving and gut-level decisions.
Magic’s Origins in Misdirection and Thievery
Devon discusses how the same psychological tools magicians use were once used by pickpockets and con artists. He references a historic painting depicting the cups and balls trick—“the oldest trick in the book”—where someone is performing magic while a thief steals a nearby spectator’s purse.”
“In the ancient times of the Pharaoh, slaves would do magic tricks to distract the Pharaoh while others would sneak in and steal food. Some of the oldest magic tricks were removing the head of a goose and then reattaching it. And then the goose would walk or fly away.”
Devon also discussed a modern day master of deception, Apollo Robbins, who is one of the world’s leading experts on pickpockets and confidence crimes. Robbins made national news as the man who pick-pocketed the Secret Service while entertaining former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He uses pick-pocketing and sleight-of-hand to demonstrate proximity manipulation, diversion techniques and attention control. Devon explained the science behind misdirection used by magicians: “There’s this little guy in your head and he’s running the security cameras and he sees everything, but he still has blind spots. You can only take in so much information at one time, and you don’t know what you don’t know. You can’t see what you can’t see. So there are times where if you’re looking here, something is happening elsewhere, or I’m setting something up in ten minutes, but because you don’t know what’s happening, you don’t know that me rubbing my nose is going to be something that helps me in like ten minutes. So there is like a core tool set, psychology.”
Visit https://devonfaul.com/ or call 337-366-2014 to contact Devon Faul.