Motivational

The age of 13 was a big year in David’s life. He was introduced to the games of squash and golf and the art of sleight of hand and magic by a childhood friend. With his addictive personality and his quest to conquer whatever he tackled, he became absolutely hooked on magic. Wanting to become the best act in his magic club he re-invested most of his earnings back into the act and took lessons from several of the world’s best magicians. At the age of 18 he set off for Las Vegas to attend the Desert Magic Seminar hosted by Siegfried and Roy. After watching the event and always dreaming of bigger things he vowed to return one day good enough to perform for his peers at the world’s most prestigious magic convention. The call came through a few short years later when he was asked to host the closing gala with David Copperfield being the surprise guest headliner. Soon after, doors began to open; David began performing in New York, Chicago, LA, he started working on the world’s best cruise ships, and became a regular in Hollywood at the Magic Castle and in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Constantly performing in gaming Meccas, peeked his interest with gambling. With his connections in the sleight of hand world he was introduced to a York University professor who invented the modern day system for beating blackjack called hi-opt 1. He tirelessly studied and practised the system, soon becoming proficient enough to land a spot on a professional blackjack team in Las Vegas in 1981.

After hearing about an anomaly on the roulette layout from a dealer friend, David studied that game for 2 years and eventually wrote a book on the subject called Re-inventing the Wheel, which is currently in its second printing. With the popularity of poker on TV, it was just a matter of time until David tried his hand at Texas Hold-em which he now plays semi professionally.

By his late teens David had become quite accomplished at both golf and squash. In 1979 he played in Canada’s under 18 squash championships then after going to golf’s Q school in his 20’s received his pro card and has played in events on the Canadian, North Atlantic and Great Lakes golf tours. In 1999 he formed “Gekko Golf”, a shoe company that is currently developing an innovative colour changing golf shoe after being granted a US patent for it’s unique design. In 2000 he hosted Global TV’s golf magazine style show “Get a Grip on Golf” but it was the following year (and where most people recognize him from) when he hosted Global TV’s hit sports trivia show “GAME ON”. He recently opened “Home Invasion” a customized comedy catering company that supplies unique comedic characters to corporate and private events.

David has played many of the world biggest stages opening for the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Howie Mandel and The Smothers Brothers, In 2011 he bought a dinner theatre in Whitby on. From a young wide eyed teen doing magic shows in church basements to performing alongside some of the world’s best entertainers and now owning several businesses and managing employees, let David show you and your team how to focus on the now, accomplish more by setting realistic goals and the steps he has used to become one of Canada’s most sought after and unique personalities.

Listen to the strategies he has learned, the formulas he’s used, inside stories with Seinfeld, Dangerfield and other celebrities and how he still finds the time to fit in writing his third screenplay, a sitcom and now develops film and TV properties through his newest company True Gravity Productions.

Typically qualities like quiet, shy and stuttering do not create the perfect backbone to become one of Canada’s premiere comedians, magicians, speakers and television hosts. As a child David Merry had lots of friends, was confident around them but like other kids was reserved, quiet and shy when taken out of his natural surroundings. After seeing Bob Hope on TV at the age of 10 and then being introduced to magic by a friend at 12, he set his sights on entering the world of entertainment. In a fascinating and hilarious journey he relates how his love of performing outweighed his limitations, anxieties and what he did to overcome stage fright, panic attacks and stuttering to excel in a range of occupations most people wouldn’t even consider.

His presentation is both enlightening and informative as he shows people the secrets he’s learned in order to work within the confines of nerves both mentally and physically. Tricks you can use to feel comfortable in front of others. While researching his distresses and the feelings that accompanied them, he learned so much about their makeup and how to deal with them directly. Most people with these anxieties only have to conquer them occasionally throughout life; it’s an entirely different issue wanting to confront them weekly. The concept of this presentation from the beginning was to entertain, inform and ultimately pass on ways to help people actually embrace pressure so they can excel in public speaking, business seminars, pitches, performing, sports and other facets of everyday life.

Having worked in front of audiences from 4 people in a board room to 16,000 at the Corel Centre, he shares personal stories of how to overcome nerves when put into nerve wracking situations when you absolutely have no choice but to deliver.

The presentation contains superb close up magic using multi-media projection and he relates with his honed comedic timing inside stories with Seinfeld, Dangerfield and many other stars on how he learned how to manage himself under pressure.