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Wian van den Berg is a self-taught 26-year-old magician pulling off some impressive tricks on social media.

He is currently South Africa’s most-followed TikToker, with over 13 million followers on the video-sharing platform.

Wian was born in Frankfort, Free State, and initially wanted to be a WWE wrestler until he realised that he was not the “biggest guy”, he told News24.

Although, it does look like he has some strength based on a few of the tricks that he manages to pull off.

From the age of 16, Wian honed his craft, and now his magic has entertained, shocked, and inspired audiences all over:

“For years, I saw people performing magic on TV, YouTube and I truly believed I could do better. Initially, it began as a hobby, but when people started actively wanting to see me do tricks, I started to love performing for them,” he said.

Wian first became a social media sensation when he used his savings to book a bus ticket to Durban, filming himself shocking bystanders on the Umhlanga and Durban beachfront.

Now he spends a lot of time in popular fast-food restaurants:

@wianDoughnut magic 🤯🍩 ##magic ##trick♬ Beggin’ – Måneskin

@wianHis reaction was priceless 🤣🍟 ##magic ##foryou ##fyp ##tiktoksa ##tiktok♬ original sound – 几卂乙|尺🧏🏾‍♂️

Or enthralling random women:

@wianWhat?! 😳 ##magic ##foryou♬ original sound – Wian

@wianBeach magic 🏖 ##magic ##foryou♬ Ain’t Over You – Aaron Taos & Hadji Gaviota

And even scaring family members:

@wianFake tongue prank 👅♬ original sound – Wian

Despite performing less in recent times, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his TikTok presence has really taken off:

“More people joined the app because of the extra time that they had being at home, I firmly believe that it has been the greatest time of my career,” van den Berg added.

The magic tricks are cool, but the various reactions are what makes his content just that much more enjoyable:

He said that when he performs his magic tricks, it is amazing how different people react. “Some people laugh, some scream and some even “run away”.

“There is nothing like magic. It seems almost like a superpower! To be able to amaze people and make them garner a sense of wonder and surprise is an amazing feeling,” he gushed.

The reactions in this video are priceless:

Likewise in this video shared on his Instagram account:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Wian (@wianmagic)

Wian, along with being nominated at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards at Santa Monica, California this year, is also the first South African magician to sell his tricks as NFTs.

I would totally buy the NFT for the invisible chair trick if I had better core strength.

For now, I’ll just leave it up to Wian.

[source:news24]