Cardistry Evolving

Sometimes I take things for granted. I started cardistry (with charlier cuts, basic fans) in January 2003, which is really what I consider very near the beginning for a lot of people and the communities as we know it today. In this time, a Flipback was the s**t. What the Hell Happened To Sybil was a staple flourish and one of the most complicated.

In 2003, Caps Casino came out with his crazy sybil-based moves. De’vo released Cradle To Grave (or was it 2004?). Dan and Dave were working on The System. And the community was just getting started.

Ever since I’ve been into cardistry, I’ve been doing my best to get really involved in the community, following what people are doing and helping them out. Soon I was a moderator on the Handlordz forum (this didn’t last long) which I believed at the time to be the best forums around.

I split from Handlordz mostly due to professional differences/disagreements but still look up to De’vo as a creative beast and can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in his Schattenreich and XB Vol II DVDs.

And then I created Decknique to produce what I thought would be best for the cardistry community, and I’m thrilled to say it became the most popular. I am really happy to have been able to create a good environment for people and that they would “flourish” in it. I saw countless (ok maybe hundreds of) videos that were submitted, some not so great, some amazing. Scott & Sean, Daren, among others (and boy were there others — check the Decknique SPOTLIGHT).

The community though was so young (and still is pretty young) — there are huge things in the future for cardistry and I still assert that we are still in the early stages. But I’m seeing cracks of light that are breaching past this stage.

Jam Time, created by members of the Decknique forum, was used as one of the reference footages for the famous Cingular Blackjack commercial.

Another DN member, Allan, was contacted to be interviewed on TV for the videos he has created/produced.

Virtuoso released slick videos which were actually well-produced. They are actually creating a real image and personas that are stepping blocks into “going big.”

Bone goes without saying. I look forward to his comeback. 

I just saw Andrei’s THE’ME. Not only is this guy slick with a deck of cards but he is built and a good-looking guy (you won’t notice in the video though). I think this video will really help propel him into the right places.

I am honored to be working & talking with these people who humble my skills every time I see something new from them. I’m really happy I could help them out with community and other things, and I’m blessed that they seem happy in return. I’m also honored to have the chance to work with theory11 and JB who is a great guy to help push cardistry even more.

I really expect big things from these people, and see them helping to take cardistry to the next level.

They’re growing up, and they will be forces to be reckoned with.

I’m not seeking to blow up their egos. And if they feel their egos are getting stroked by reading this message, shake it off. You aren’t famous YET. Don’t become douchebags, stay cool. It’s possible to be a pro without being a jackass to other people, or acting like you’re better than everybody at everything. The only thing that really pisses me off is that some people do get their egos blown too high and it really has a negative impact on them.

And we aren’t really just limited to these people. Another great video from some Germans “Just Flourish” was amazing as well. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Whoever thinks we’re in a “lull” is blind. Even in this long article I didn’t mention everything that’s going on.

2008 will be an AMAZING year for cardistry.