Meet Apollo Riego | Magician Unlimited

We had the good fortune of connecting with Apollo Riego and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Apollo, why did you pursue a creative career?
Growing up, I saw the likes of David Blaine and David Copperfield on television and thought to myself, “hey I can do that!” I’d be able to add my own flavor on stage since I have a dance, mime, and martial arts background. This made me stand out from the rest of the pack back in those days. It allowed me take a performance art and make it my own…there were no rules and I liked that. If there was one thing I hated, it was to be bound to limitations.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Magic is the art of suspending your audience’s disbelief and entrancing them into a world that they’ve never seen before. What makes me unique is that I have every intention of entertaining them on top of fooling them which makes the trivial parts of magic such as “how it’s done” or the method secondary. Adding storytelling, dance, and, mime to my shows definitely make me stand out and also adds that extra entertainment value that I mentioned before. I am most proud of the fact that I was able to perform one of my creations for Penn & Teller on their tv show “Fool Us!” along with being able to publish my original tricks to the magic community and on top of that, being able to support myself with doing what I love. Im excited for an upcoming show that ive been working on for the past few years. It’s finally coming into fruition this year and I can’t wait to do it!

Now getting here wasn’t easy. With my struggle of finding my niche in the art of magic, it took me a while to discover myself as Apollo Riego, the magician and not an imitator of past greats. It took a lot of trial and error along with tons of performances (paid and pro bono) to be able to overcome that struggle and I eventually was able to find the real me as a performer. If anything, I want the world to know that I was never born into privilege and that one does not need to be while in pursuit of a dream. Talent is nothing without commitment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In NYC, my favorite hangout spot has always been the Lower East Side! If I had to show someone a good time it would be there! Hands down! First, we go to my favorite restaurant, Kenka. It’s an authentic Japanese bar/restaurant which has the best prices in town. For dessert, we’ll walk over next door to Mango, Mango which serve some of my favorite Asian style sweets. After that, we’ll walk over to Orchard Street where my favorite karaoke bar is located known as Boho Karaoke. That’s my typical night out on the town in NYC.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Parents, Rudy and Dolly for buying me all of my magic props when I was a kid and Rogue the owner of Rogue’s Magic and Funshop for allowing me to make all those mistakes on stage week after week until I perfected my craft.

Website: http://www.apolloriego.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apolloriegomagic?igsh=cjQwd3ptaTlqMmk3&utm_source=qr

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/apolloriegomagic

Image Credits
CW (Penn & Teller: Fool Us!) – Main Photo