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#699: Apollo Robbins, The World’s Most Famous Pickpocket — Pickpocketing the Secret Service, Manipulating Attention, Famous Con Artists, The Psychology of Deception, Self-Defense Techniques, The Secret Language of Thieves, and More

The Tim Ferriss Show

Thu Oct 19 2023



Magic as an Escape and a Journey:

  • Started off as religious, deeply entrenched in the world of religion from a young age
  • Developed an interest in magic as a way to escape and find something different
  • Found a plastic thumb and called a magic shop to learn how to use it
  • Met Ben Stone, who introduced him to the world of magic and mentored him
  • Read books on magic and learned various tricks and techniques
  • Experimented with coin manipulation and mentalism
  • Joined a magic club where he could learn from other magicians and gain more knowledge and skills

The Influence of Animation:

  • Learned about animation through books like "The Illusion of Life" by Disney's nine men
  • Applied principles of animation, such as secondary actions and slowing in/out, to his performances
  • Blended concepts from animation, martial arts, jazz, dance, and sleight of hand to create his own unique style

Critical Moments and Influential People:

  • Meeting Daryl Martinez, a touring magician from Las Vegas who encouraged him to pursue magic professionally in Vegas
  • Recognizing that many magicians had exceptional skill but lacked business sense or ambition; decided to bring those elements together himself
  • Moving to Las Vegas with the goal of becoming a professional magician
  • Working freelance design jobs while performing on the side
  • Encouragement from hypnotist Justin Trans led him to quit his job as an artist and pursue magic full-time

Impact of wife:

  • Influenced career and life, broadening perspective beyond entertainment
  • Encouraged involvement in research and academia, providing support and guidance

Significance of silver ring:

  • Made from a silver coin, symbolizing connection to magic and coin manipulation
  • Reminder of where he came from in his craft

Attention and perception in the field vs. scientific circles:

  • Practitioners often ahead of scientific research in their field
  • Believes more exploration is needed on tolerance for uncertainty
  • Interested in how people engage with uncertainty in politics and society

Coin levitation trick:

  • Figured it out through practice and experimentation, requires unusual muscles and training to make something animate

Recovery when things don't work:

  • Different social contract allows for improvisation and adaptation during performances
  • Turns failures into opportunities for new tricks or surprises
  • Ability to adapt based on audience reactions and feedback loop

Loading items on people:

  • Adds flair, surprise, and playfulness to performances
  • Creates memorable experiences for the audience members involved

Connection with scientists:

  • Introduced by Teller, recognized potential collaboration between Apollo Robbins' skills and neuroscience research

Pickpocketing and Deception Techniques:

  • The concept of confirmation bias in pickpocketing, using a baseline piece to create an assumption that there is only one valuable item.
  • Importance of curiosity and questioning success in deception, avoiding overconfidence and remaining open to different perspectives.
  • Role of confidence in deception, using low status or humility to manipulate attention and miss important details.
  • Differentiating Apollo Robbins' style from traditional magic, focusing on misdirection, strategic thinking, decision-making, and enhancing awareness.

Personal Experiences with Pickpocketing:

  • Apollo Robbins' encounter with Jamal, successfully stealing his pen while distracting him through misdirection techniques.
  • Utilizing personal experiences with pickpocketing incidents to gain insights into thief behavior and develop countermeasures.
  • Exploring the world of Wismob (traveling teams of thieves) and studying their language and tactics for understanding theft methods.

Preventing Theft:

  • Advice for individuals in crowded areas or events: minimize carrying unnecessary items, hide valuables or secure them creatively (e.g., coffee cups).
  • Importance of situational awareness and avoiding distractions like excessive phone usage or wearing headphones in public spaces.
  • Significance of satisfaction-of-search during theft prevention by giving potential thieves inconspicuous items to find rather than leaving valuable items exposed.

The Illusion of Knowledge Project:

  • A new venture creating content focused on deception awareness, personal data protection, and critical thinking skills.
  • Repackaging shows/experiences to engage people in learning about these topics.
  • Raising awareness about the illusion of knowledge's impact on decision-making.

Notable Figures and Groups:

  • Titanic Thompson: Famous con artist skilled in gambling and proposition bets.
  • The 40 Elephants: UK criminal group specializing in theft through clothing alteration and boosting techniques.

Con artists and pickpocketing:

  • Mention of con artists like Titanic Thompson, Joseph Wheel, the yellow kid, and Count Victor Lustig.
  • Examples of their cons, such as selling the Eiffel Tower twice and performing intricate scams.
  • Description of unsinkable Titanic Thompson's skills in card hustling and cheating.
  • Personal encounter with Rod, a former con artist who invited Apollo to join his team.

Learning through deception:

  • Apollo's approach to parenting by using covert learning strategies.
  • Teaching his daughter to think creatively instead of using the word "boring."
  • Encouraging her to use her imagination and find something to do when she feels bored.
  • Repackaging hard lessons as other activities or concepts to foster learning without resistance.

Apollo Robbins' online presence:

  • His presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter under the handle @ApolloRobbins.
  • Discussion about different social media platforms he engages with or avoids (e.g., TikTok).
  • Websites where people can find him: apollorobbins.com or isteelstuff.com.

Apollo's future projects:

  • Introduction of Equivoke, a new website combining an entertainment blog with video content.
  • Collaboration with individuals like Simon Henderson, Anthony Perkanis, and Ava Doe for interviews and educational content related to cons and deception techniques.