Name: Seth Kramer.

Occupation / Title: Magician. Businessman. Magical Tutor. Ardent New York Fan. Polymath.

Brief Summary: Seth is a highly successful and creative magician who specialises in close-up work and trade shows. I also find him to be something of a very good-natured and helpful polymath. He knows a lot about a lot of different things, and is always willing to share what he knows.

Let me add a little detail. The first time we met, we happened to drift on to the subject of health, fitness and weight loss. Seth himself had recently achieved a substantial weight loss, and he put me on to a remarkable book called Body For Life by Bill Philipps. I subsequently purchased a copy, and it really did change my life.

Then we happened to talk about shoes. I'd been walking around New York a lot, and not in the most comfortable footwear. "Ah, I know just the type you should try," said Seth. Sure enough, he took me to a nearby store and introduced me to the 'Ecco' range of footwear. Great shoes, supremely comfortable, and I use them a lot on my travels.

Next, we got talking about music. "Ah!" exclaimed Seth, "I know a place you should visit." He took me a few blocks down to a massive store selling what seemed to be the sheet music for every piece of music ever written (Colony Music, on 49th and Broadway).

You get the picture? Seth is one amazingly well-informed guy to know. He also loves New York so much that, even though that's where he lives, he often takes his wife and children on vacation in the city. He even books into a hotel, just like a regular tourist.

He's also a great magician, by the way. Very successful in the trade show and corporate market, very well-connected, knowledgeable, and with a very healthy and positive outlook which I admire. It was Seth who, at a much later date, introduced me to Brad Henderson,   author of The Dance. Seth knew that Brad and I had slightly different outlooks on the 'ethics' of cold reading, and he also knew that neither of us would have a problem with this (and we don't). Brad's book is now the only other book on cold reading that I ever recommend.

World Records Held:
Best Source Of Information On New York (and almost anything else)
Expert Practitioner And Teacher Of The Pass (a sleight used in magic)

Other Notable Achievements & Honours: Managed to teach me the Riffle Pass. Fifteen minutes tuition from Seth was more useful than everything else I'd ever learned about this move in over 20 years of magic.

Best Party Trick: Seth is the sort of person who is really good at figuring out that person A ought to meet person B, even though they don't know it yet, because they'd both benefit from the introduction, and then making it happen.

Special Powers: He's a great magician, so he's got lots of them.

Known Weaknesses: None yet detected.

Catchphrase: "Yes, I can help you with that..."