Minnesota lawyer-turned-magician shows it's never too late to pursue your passions
BLOOMINGTON -- A gasp. A chuckle of disbelief. A look of shock. A set of applause. All reactions that make a magician's job worth while.
"We just have so much fun," Chris Harristhal said. "Meeting these people and leaving a room full of folks who have been amazed and entertained and laughed. We just have a gas."
It wasn't long ago Harristhal was on a different stage and performing for quite a different audience.
"The best trial lawyers are great storytellers," he said. "You have to relate to the jury or the fact finder and that's generally done through telling stories. And good magic effects involve storytelling too."
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Harristhal spent decades in a courtroom before realizing his call to do something else: magic.
"I decided I didn't want it to be just a backroom hobby that I did for clients when we were out to dinner," he said "I wanted to actually do it for paying audiences again."
So, he changed his title from Chris Harristhal the attorney to Kristoff the Magician.
"I don't know that I would say it was a tough decision. It was a big decision, but I was ready," he said. "I was just ready. In that sense, it was easy."
He officially retired from law in 2019, passing his work to his fellow lawyers at Larkin Hoffman.
"I kept one case," Harristhal said. "Because it was still headed for trial. And we just tried that case about two weeks ago and so now I'm completely done. And it's all magic, all the time."
He'll incorporate that fact into his comedy magic shows, always inciting a laugh. But, all magic all the time is exactly how he wants it.
"I'm just having so much fun. I don't go to work anymore. Whether it's rehearsing or performing, none of it is work," Harristhal said. "It's just a blast."
His wife, Colleen, doubles as his assistant. From slight of hand card tricks, to cutting Colleen in half, the couple is getting used to life on the road.
"it's been our reality, but when I tell someone about it, it all of a sudden sounds kind of strange," she said. "But I never dissuaded him. In fact, I was very encouraging when he decided he wanted to do this full time. I thought, 'Go for it! It's what you've always loved. Why not get paid for it?'"
As Harristhal jokes, not everyone had the same response.
"It depends on who the person is. My wife was pretty cool about it. My mother-in-law, not so much," he said with a laugh. "But generally the person on the street is just shocked and thrilled for me. Everybody is so happy when they hear about somebody leaving their regular job to go and chase, you know, a dream. An aspirational avocation."
Harristhal started doing magic as a hobby at the age of 6. At that time, he would always tell his mother the secret behind his tricks – these days, Colleen gets to know some of the behind-the-scenes surprises, but only if it's necessary.
"Sometimes I have to learn how they're done because I have to help and it always disappoints me because I like to be amazed," Colleen said. "I know a lot of people want to know but I don't want to know I just want to be amazed I love it."
Maybe it's an unconventional path, but it's one Harristhal would do all over again.
"I don't have a end of game picture. I just intend to do it until I can't," he said.
Catch Kristoff the Magician live in action in "Get Your Magic On!" He'll be performing with Colleen at the Hopkins Center for the Arts Theater on June 24.
