WMF Markus Bender

Weird, really weird, I am sure Markus Bender is a really nice German guy. But how come that even nice guys screw up regularly?

He has an online magic school. That is what he calls it, I call it ripping others off. None of the material Mr. Bender "teaches" is his. I went through all the items on his website and none (that's nothing) was his'. Seriously, no creativity and no unique angle. And of course he charges for his teachings. Average price of a simple sleight: Three Euros. And among those are great gems like the Chris Cross Force. See where I am heading to?

Markus Bender teaches the 10 count (that sponge ball thing) for 5 Euros in the "advanced" section of his really nice looking website. Is it his to teach? I think not, as he is not the originator, nor has he put any new touches on that.

Interestingly he always seems to choose the worst possible structure/patter for his "presentations". Like writing down the prediction after the choice is made or having one of eight cards selected, openly discarding seven wrong ones and then slowly revealing that the last card is the selection, while it should be clear that it has to be the selection.

Look at that:

Now here is my take on the same freaking effect: Free Magic Stuff

At least I put the twist to it of NOT finding the card.

Also, he is not really that good. In terms of skill that is. This is just a theory, but if you gonna teach some sleights, I expect you to be able to do them. Don't be a Ben Salinas. Watch the following video.


Great coin work right? You can tell that a lot of work went into small details and natural motions. No wait, you can't.

So let me recap: Markus Bender takes the magic creations of more talented magicians and sells it. He adds nothing to them and he calls his marketing scheme a school. Naturally this makes him a teacher. Great guy!

And now some German words: Markus, falls du das liest: Geht's noch? Anderer Leute Effekte nehmen und verkaufen zur persönlichen Bereicherung. Klappt's nicht so gut mit Auftritten, dass man nun auch noch die Zauberkunst selbst verkaufen muss? Schade, wirklich schade! Verscheuer doch noch das Münzverschwinden mit dem Glas wo ein Stück Papier rangeklebt ist. Zwei Euro Fünfzig lassen sich da wohl noch rausholen. Oder wie wäre es gleich noch mit einem Zauberkasten?

Markus Bender is this weeks Magic Failure, unless he has a really, really good excuse.