Magic & Street Culture

DYNAMO is a major creative force in magic today. His approach combines elements of music, street culture and jaw dropping close up illusion in a way never seen before. But it has been his ability to transcend the magic scene that has made him one of the most relevant magicians of his generation.

From appearing in the latest global Adidas commercial alongside the likes of David Beckham and Missy Elliott to amazing superstars such as Will Smith, Sir Paul McCartney and Jay-Z, it’s been a long journey for Bradford’s favorite son.

Growing up on the rundown Delph Hill housing estate in the north of England with a father more often in prison than out of it and a debilitating form of Crones disease, a young Steven Frayne was able to amaze his local community with his unique brand of close up magic.

At an early age he was inspired by the impact of hip hop culture, local break-dancers who fused many styles to create something new, and MC’s who promoted themselves through the use of the mix tape circuit. Having been introduced to magic by his Granddad, Steven made a plan to modernize the magic scene by combining his skills with dance elements and promoting himself like his hip-hop contemporaries.

The plan worked and word soon spread about the teenage magician with unbelievable abilities. Local performances turned into national bookings and eventually saw him performing across Europe and the U.S. He performed for celebrities such as Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, realizing that his association with celebrity only added to the appeal.

During his travels he saw the amazing response his magic created, from pulling a skipping rope through his body on the streets of Harlem to levitating in front of Prince Charles at Clarence house – magic was the great leveler.

It was at the New York Hilton during Houdini’s centenary celebrations that Steven finally had the opportunity to perform in front of his peers including acclaimed magicians Aaron Fisher and David Blaine. After a stunning display someone in the audience shouted “this Kid’s a f***ing DYNAMO!” the name stuck and a new era in magic was born.


In 2004, after moving to London, Dynamo set out to fulfill stage one of his plan, the creation of the first ever magic ‘mix-tape’. Along with a small team he filmed his performances on the streets of London and backstage at events.

Although it was filmed on a cheap hand held camera the results were better than he could have imagined. Within a year he had footage with the likes of Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ian Brown, Mike Skinner, Lil Jon and Snoop.

In 2005 Underground Magic was released through Dynamo’s website
dynamoworld.com. Within 2 months it was sold out and the media frenzy had started with articles in The Sun, The Observer, NME, the Sunday Times, Metro and the cover page of the Guardian guide along with appearances on ITN news, TRL and Richard and Judy.

By the end of the year Dynamo had shows in production for MTV worldwide and Channel 4 and was fast becoming the hottest performer on the party circuit. His appearances included backstage magic at the Coldplay tour
at Crystal palace, The Gorillaz shows at the Harlem Apollo in New York, and a performance on stage at the TED conference in California on the same bill as Matt Groaning (creator of the Simpsons) and ex vice president Al Gore.

The corporate bookers were also hot on his tale with work flooding in from the likes of Sony Ericcson, Motorola, Adidas, Vauxhall, Myspace and Google. He was made the face of the Big Smile Day campaign alongside French International footballer Theirry Henry and Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

In 2006 Dynamo became one of the few British magicians who could demand a five-figure performance fee when a Canadian millionaire booked him to perform at a private function in Montreal. This was followed by other lucrative bookings in New York and California for some of America’s business elite.

Dynamo’s TV show aired on Channel 4 in May and doubled the ratings for its slot beating all other channels during it’s broadcast. At the star studded launch party, Manchester Rock legend Ian Brown performed a specially written track aptly titled “Magic Man” to a packed audience at the Café Royal in London.

The following month Dynamo was flown to Oslo to star alongside
Jack White’s new band ‘The Raconteurs’ in the video for their single,
‘Hands’. He played the part of an escapee from a juvenile detention
centre who seeks refuge in a school for deaf girls by performing magic to them.

Dynamo subsequently founded his own film company ‘Inner
Circle Films’ and signed a deal with Warner Vision International for the release of a street magic DVD ‘Concrete Playground’.

2007 started with a bang. Actor Will Smith presented Dynamo with an award on behalf of the Princes Trust for his success after receiving a start up loan from the Charity. During his acceptance speech Dynamo started to choke on a polo mint and without warning pulled a chain through his neck with the Polo attached. The audience where amazed including Will Smith who gave Dynamo a ringing endorsement, “That man just pulled a lifesaver out of his neck! You scared my son with your magic tricks but that was absolutely stunning!”
The year continued as it started with a guest appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross and a performance on MTV’s EMA’s where he amazed the likes of The Foo Fighters, Nelly Furtado and Joss Stone in front of a worldwide audience of 1.5 Billion people.
Dynamo continued an ongoing relationship with sportswear brand Adidas, appearing in a short viral film, Dynamo’s Superstar Magic, shot on location in Miami. The film was directed by Rob Bruce, director hit U.S series ‘The Hill’s’ and followed Dynamo as he performed incredible feats of magic with his Superstar trainers.
In 2008 the work kept rolling in and Dynamo kept diversifying. He appeared on the Catwalk for Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief and flew to LA to shoot an episode of Snoop Dogg’s hit show ‘ Fatherhood’. He amazed guests at a private dinner for Jay-Z and performed at his friend Lewis Hamilton’s birthday party.
The Year ended with a second trip to L.A to film the Adidas House Party commercial alongside the likes of David Beckham, Kevin Garnett, Russell Simmons, Missy Elliott and Estelle. The campaign was a global hit and a spin off featuring Dynamo performing sneaker magic to Redman and Method man proved an online sensation with thousands of hits in it’s first week.
2009 is set to be a defining year for Dynamo with work as far afield as Singapore and the far-east and several TV shows in development.
The magic continues…

Press / PR
Johanna Whitehead || Press Office
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