“Spread The Magic”
A Story of Love
Meet Chad Juros
No, “Spread the Magic” is not another Disney advertisement
or a margarine commercial. It is not another cliché in the magic
world. And it is not the title of a new magic trick. “Spread
the Magic” is all about Love. A pure and powerful love a father
has for his son and a son for his father. “Spread the Magic” is
about dedication to helping others. “Spread the Magic” is
about easing pain, worry, sadness. “Spread the Magic” is Chad Juros’ personal
quest.
Chad Juros’ created a foundation called, “Spread the Magic". His
goal was to help give children with cancer and their families hope. Hope
that through magic, they can find some joy and laughter in their lives. Chad
is driven to achieve this by helping to fund research to find a cure for childhood
cancer. Chad says, “When we ‘Spread the Magic’, we hope to
add the abracadabra to their lives.”
Why is a teenage magician so driven, so passionate to found an organization
and dedicate a great deal of his life to this organization? Because
of a father’s dying wish, “Chad, keep spreading the magic,” Dr.
Don Juros said to his son. In that moment, Chad Juros decided to devote
his life to making choices his father would be proud of and to fully develop
his magic, in all forms, in his life.
But the story didn’t start there.
In 1991, at the age of three, Chad was diagnosed with leukemia. In
1995, at the age of seven, he relapsed. Throughout Chad’s treatment,
he and his mother, Penny, lived at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
for 17 months. Chad had to learn how to walk and talk again because of the
devastating side effects of the drugs that were intended to cure him. Tubes
were attached to him so he could breathe and eat. Through the ordeal, Chad
experienced cardiac arrest and coma, and underwent numerous surgeries and multiple
blood transfusions.
During the hospital stay, Chad’s father would teach Chad new
magic tricks helping to take the focus off of the needles, medicines, and hospital
surroundings. Chad would lie in his hospital bed and practice making magic
for hours a day. Chad was released from the hospital in 1998. That was the
year, Chad's father collapsed and was subsequently diagnosed with a malignant
brain tumor and died on January 17, 2000, leaving behind Penny, his wife, and
his children, Faith and Chad.
Then, in January 2003, Chad began experiencing severe headaches. Doctors
determined that Chad was bleeding from the brain and he underwent emergency
brain surgery. When Chad awoke from his surgery, deficit free, he decided to
make his father's ‘dying’ wish his ‘living’ wish. That
wish was for "Chad to be considered cured and continue to spread the magic." Chad’s
foundation was formed and is dedicated to the memory and wishes of Chad's father.
Well, this eighteen-year-old, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey magician,
has certainly “Spread some Magic.” From the White House to television.
Chad Juros was personally invited by The President of the United States, George
W. Bush and our First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush to perform at the Easter Egg Roll
on the White House lawn in 2004 and once again in 2006. Chad has opened
for Lance Burton at the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas and received a standing
ovation. He has “spread his magic” at The Magic Castle
in Hollywood, California, and is considered an official magician for the Philadelphia
76ers. Chad was awarded the Philadelphia 76ers Hometown Hero Award and
a college scholarship from the Philadelphia Eagles. Chad was personally asked
by Richard Petty to perform at his Victory Junction camp for critically ill
children. Other performances include: Epcot/Disney World, CureSearch/The
National Childhood Cancer Foundation, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,
American Cancer Society and Children's Miracle Network. Chad has also appeared
on Japanese television as a young David Copperfield. In July 2006, Chad
appeared on national television when Criss Angel dedicated an episode of Mindfreak
to him. Chad has even made his own 90 minute DVD, teaching simple magic.
Chad’s fortitude, determination, and passion for the magic profession
clearly shows in his performances. Inspiring is a word that might make
him blush, but his perseverance is equal to his talent. He says, “I
love stage magic. I have a different personality on stage. I like responding
with the audience and feel I interact very well on stage. I like the fact that
the audience is there to see a show and you don't have to go to them to try
to get their attention. They are there because they want to see you.
Plus, I like the instant feedback I get on stage. I'm stronger on stage and
a more powerful performer. Although, I love stage magic, I also like close
up, walk around, parlor and balloon sculpting.”
Chad says he practices twenty four/seven. “Except when
I’m sleeping. I keep magic everywhere and anywhere, its all over the
house and car. I always have something in my hands, I always am thinking of
a trick no matter what happens in life. I apply whatever happens on day-to-day
basis on how I can turn it into a magic trick.”
Chad has been blessed to train with the best in the business. He is
proud to call Johnny Thompson, Lance Burton, Criss Angel, Banachek,
Luke, Dexter, Jeff McBride, Lee Asher, Chris Kenner, Julianna Chen and his
mentor, Joe Holiday, his friends and calls upon them for guidance and advice.
Chad says, “I met Joe Holiday right after my dad died. I was 11 and Joe
took over magically where my dad left off. First he was my teacher but immediately
he said I didn't have to pay him as he felt I had something special. He's a
fantastic entertainer, really teaches me everything, stage presence, magic,
the essentials for making a career. He's been performing since he was a little
boy so has been in the business over 30 years. He's not only my mentor but
a best friend.
www.Joeholiday.com.
We feed off each other beautifully and work great together.”
“I owe a lot to my Mom, Penny, also. She is my agent/manager. She
works relentlessly on helping my dreams come true. My sister, Faith, age 20,
helps me with schoolwork so I can devote more time to magic. I wouldn’t
be able to do what I do if it weren’t for the love and support of my
family.”
Magic to me is life. If it wasn't for magic I do not believe I would
be alive. It became my focus when I was sick for 17 months in ICU in critical
condition fighting a cancer relapse and emergency brain surgery. Magic is my
coping mechanism, my link to my father, my world. Life doesn't exist to me
without magic. My goal is to be able to make a living out of my passion.
Chad Juros is a magician of character. He has a firm, seasoned
substance of soul. An unconquerable resolve. Chad Juros has a strength
of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage. Chad continues
to add the abracadabra to all our lives, as his father did for his, in the
hopes that everyone can find the magic in their lives as he did.
