Who Is This Magician?
A magician in a bookshop is causing a stir online again, this time via a post on Threads. Let's figure out who he is, whether he's getting views intentionally, and why many believe his tricks are real magic.
For nearly fifteen years, a man named Arnold Drake World has sat almost every day at the cafe in Powell's Books, Portland. He's there to handcraft beautiful flowers out of napkins to give to those around him. And, to everyone's surprise, he also makes the napkins float.
You've likely seen his work on social media: videos of him levitating napkins have gone viral online, and recently, he started recording and sharing these videos himself under the name @portlandflowerguy. His story caught our attention, and we think there are valuable lessons for every magician in what he does.
In his unique way, World has become a genuine attraction at Powell's Books. He uses magic to grab people's attention and then sells his napkin flowers for small donations. In a video interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, he recalled how it all began:
"I was working at a car lot, and a lady came in looking for a car, and she gave me a gift, a paper flower. And at that point, I was intrigued, because I've never seen anything like that before."
Inspired, he began making flowers and quickly honed his skills. Before long, he realized he could make a living from this craft.
All he needed was a place to capture people's attention—and Powell's, with its steady flow of curious visitors, was the perfect choice.
Then comes the magic. When he carefully creates his "botanically accurate flowers," he also makes napkins levitate in an elegant and mesmerizing way.
Picture this: you walk into the cafe, and in a quiet corner, you spot a man fully immersed in the music he's listening to, vibing like a jazz musician while napkins levitate around him, only to be then transformed into stunning flowers.
It's no surprise that people began filming him.
Arnold Drake World is one of those rare individuals who became viral through other people's posts. Only recently has he started producing his own content, but for over fifteen years, he has been making napkins levitate and transform into pretty flowers. People from all over the globe have watched videos of his work.
Many of the viral videos of the flower magician were captured by casual onlookers—some even attempted to record him secretly before posting them online. This kind of virality feels authentic, genuine, and unexpected because it feels beyond the control of the performer featured.
Most short-form magic content is performed directly to the camera – or at least with a camera's view in mind. The magician knows they're being recorded, and the performance is tailored for the lens.
While there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, something is striking about seeing videos of a man levitating napkins for his own satisfaction, with people spontaneously recording him in awe. It feels akin to stumbling upon a brilliant street musician and capturing a moment of their genius.
In some ways, it's refreshing. And different.
In several interviews, World has explained that he uses magic to grab people's attention and make himself approachable. As he put it in the interview from 2019:
"I see people, and after doing this for eleven years, I can actually feel when they're looking. It's a fine line between approaching the stranger, and approaching the artist, and so I gotta make myself the artist."
Social media has provided him with a new venue for people to approach him. After others shared countless videos of his work, he began recording and sharing his own. Interestingly, these videos, often filmed at Powell's, mimic the perspective of a casual onlooker. They are raw and unedited, preserving the same casual, spontaneous magic that has defined his live performances.
There are some insights magicians can take from his story:
- Authenticity. World's laid-back approach, the fact that he performs even when no one is watching, and his initial virality through other people's videos all contribute to an aura of authenticity. As magicians, we can aim to create an experience that feels just as real and unscripted.
- Magic as a tool. World doesn't call himself a magician, and his main thing is not magic: he makes flowers. However, he's found a brilliant way to weave magic into his work, using it to serve his purpose.
- Third-party storytelling. World's success highlights the power of third-party storytelling. Simply being a magician doesn't guarantee that people will love what we do; we need to give them a good reason to care.
- More than tricks. The internet is overflowing with levitation videos—some great, others not. But why does this man resonate more than others? It's about the character he embodies, the context he's chosen, his artistry, and the fact that he gifts beautiful flowers to those who pause to experience his magic.
These aren't just "magic videos" in the strict sense. They're compelling and authentic glimpses of something and someone extraordinary. And that's why they resonate. Closing with World's own words,
"You gotta bring beauty to the world that the world wanna see".
