Matt the Knife

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Matt the Knife (born 1981, also called MTK) was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Boston, but now resides in Rhode Island. He is a highly regarded magician and mentalist as well as the breaker of a multitude of Guinness World Records.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]} but began his career as a professional Con Man. ^[1][3][8][9]

Early years

From the ages of approximately 14 through 21 he worked as a con artist, ran a card cheating ring, a shoplifting ring and a pick-pocketing ring who famously bilked dozens of casinos, corporations and even at least one Mafia family (in spite of, or possibly due to, being tied to at least two criminal families himself) out of untold sums.^[1][3][8][9]

Transition into the magical arts

Sometime around 2000 he began to adapt his talents from that of a criminal to the skills of a conjurer and slowly transitioned out of an illegal lifestyle over the next couple of years. Since then his magic has taken him on to perform in 10 countries across 3 continents (including television shows in the United States, China, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom and several others).^{[1][3][4][5][8][9][10][11]}

He’s probably best known for his feats of mentalism but also often mixes sword swallowing, stunts, escapes, magic and his irreverent brand of humor in to his stage shows. ^{[1][2][3][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Guinness World Records

As of 2009^[update] he broke 12 Guinness records. They include records for things such as escapes, sword swallowing, fire manipulation, feats of strength, and card manipulation. He usually performs these stunts either for publicity or for the climax of his various television specials. ^{[1][2][3][5][8][9][10][11][14][16][17][18][19][20][21]} Most of his records were improved by other magicians.

Lecturing

Since his transition from a grifter to a performer he's also gone on to be an anti-fraud expert. The stories from his early years along with tips on how to protect yourself, information about fraudulent activities, and demonstrations of many of these feats were put together for his keynote speaking engagements. The lecture has been featured at theaters, colleges and corporate events.^[1][2][7][8]

Consulting

In 2003 he went on to found a successful consulting firm that specializes in fraud and the prevention of cheating within the gaming industry. It supplies knowledge to corporations, casino personnel, as well as security & police forces. He also works with the film industry, the literary industry, theaters and the television industry to create realistic characters and help develop more accurate depictions of topics involving criminal activity, the occult, the allied arts, the magical arts and mentalism. ^{[1][3][4][5][8]}

Spiritualism and séances

Sometime between 2001 to 2004 he began to occasionally perform a very different style show than what he'd become known for. It's a séance based performance entitled "Epitaph". It debuted somewhere in Rhode Island and it's toured in several major cities including Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC and New Orleans. ^[1][6][22]

But in spite of his claims that it was only intended for entertainment and that the theatrical community and critics gave very strong reviews it has come under fire by some right-wing religious groups in the US. This hasn't seemed to stop him from touring with it. But he only seems to do so on occasion and remains being known mostly for his work in con-games and magic. ^[1][22]

Media credits

Matt The Knife has been featured in The New York Post ^[19], The New York Times, ESPN Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper ^[2], PLAY Magazine ^[8], The "METRO" Paper, Road King Magazine, Escape Masters Magazine, Amusement Business Magazine ^[14], and The Wall Street Journal; as well as being on The Discovery Channel ^[11], NBC, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, CNN, The History Channel, Adult Swim on The Cartoon Network, Guinness World Records, Sirius Satellite Radio ^[1], CCTV (China), Rai Tre^[10] (Italy) and The BBC (United Kingdom).

He was also a question on the American game show Jeopardy!. ^[23]

References

• Living Sword Swallowers
• Guinness World Record for "The Fastest Underwater Handcuff Escape"
• MTK on dating advice from an impalement artist's perspective
• Sword Swallower’s Association press release on record attempt
• Sideshow World Interview
• Review of MTK’s past show “Art On The Side: A Midway Menagerie”
• “Alternative Book of Records” online notation
• Detroit show review

External links

• The Official Matt the Knife Website
• The Official Matt the Knife Facebook Page
• The Official Matt the Knife MySpace Page
• The Official Matt the Knife YouTube Page