Brian Brushwood#Current

Brushwood was born in Fountain Valley, California.{{cite book |last= Junior |first= Ed| title=Variety Acts: Gaining Respect |year= 2005 |publisher =AuthorHouse |location= Bloomington, Illinois |isbn=1-4208-4598-5|pages=15–19}} As a child, Brushwood received a magic kit on Christmas Day one year.{{cite web| title= Brian Brushwood Live Video Q&A with Full Circle Magic| publisher= Full Circle Magic| last= Brushwood | first= Brian | date= October 29, 2014 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6HVXhCDMl8 |via= YouTube|access-date=October 2, 2015}} During his time as a student at the University of Texas at Austin, Brushwood rediscovered his interest in magic, performing his first paid shows by filling in for another magician whose schedule was too full. This interest in magic led Brushwood to perform a 45-minute magic show as his senior thesis.

As an undergraduate, Brushwood attended Rory Coker's pseudoscience class which introduced him to scientific skepticism.{{cite web|title=Scam School |url= http://www.skepticality.com/scam-school/ |website= Skepticality.com |access-date=July 28, 2014|date=June 30, 2009}} Coker mentored Brushwood for his senior thesis and has invited Brushwood back as an alumnus to help demonstrate concepts in his class.

Brushwood graduated from the Arts degree Plan II honors program at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. After graduation, Brushwood married his wife, Bonnie, and began testing video games for Rockwell Semiconductors, followed by a career at Dell where he designed high-end computer systems. During his time at Dell, Brushwood moonlighted as a magician on Wednesday nights at The Electric Lounge in Austin, Texas, while The Asylum Street Spankers took their break. In 1999 Brushwood was offered a raise at Dell and realized he wasn't following his passion, so he made the decision to quit working at Dell and to start performing his Bizarre Magic show full-time.{{cite web|last=Stanton |first=Mike |url= http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2012/08/29/brian-brushwoods-bizarre-magic-wows-audience/ |title=Brian Brushwood's bizarre magic wows audience |work= KStateCollegian.com |date=August 29, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2013}}{{cite web |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-becknell/brian-brushwood-scam-school_b_1418475.html |last=Becknell | first=Vanessa| title=Between the Pages With Author and 'Bizarre Magician' Brian Brushwood |work= Huffingtonpost.com |date= April 12, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2013}}

When a television deal fell through, Brushwood decided to look into Internet broadcasting where he would be able to have more control over the product and process. After filming several episodes of Brian Brushwood: On The Road, Brushwood got the idea for Scam School. He originally intended to produce it independently but eventually sold the idea to Revision 3 and the first episode aired on April 6, 2008. Revision 3's location in San Francisco required Brushwood to travel to California to shoot episodes of Scam School, usually a dozen at a time due to travel expenses. In October 2008, one of Brushwood's childhood heroes, Richard Garriott, performed a magic trick he learned from Scam School while he was aboard the International Space Station.{{cite web|title=Magic Tricks in Space| publisher= Scam School| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_f_RzqZ2Q| via= YouTube|access-date=July 29, 2014}} When Discovery Digital Networks purchased Revision 3 Brushwood used it as an opportunity to move production of Scam School from the San Francisco Bay Area to Austin, Texas, where he currently lives with his wife and three children.{{cite web |url= http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2015/10/19/ut-alumnus-shares-secrets-behind-magic-tricks-on-youtube-channel |last= Walsh |first= Katie |title= UT alumnus shares secrets behind magic tricks on YouTube channel |website= dailytexanonline.com |date= October 20, 2015 |access-date= January 7, 2018 |archive-date= December 5, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181205135533/http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2015/10/19/ut-alumnus-shares-secrets-behind-magic-tricks-on-youtube-channel |url-status= dead }}

Brushwood is friends with fellow Austin residents Korey Coleman and Martin Thomas of Double Toasted. Urging them not to abandon the audience they had built with its predecessor Spill.com, he assisted them in setting up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the launch of Double Toasted.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOXvJZTgWt4&t=116s

File:Brian Brushwood eating fire at TWiT's Grand Opening party.webm at TWiT's Grand Opening party]]

File:Brian Brushwood and Evan Bernstein at Dragon*Con 2011.jpg during a live recording of The Geologic Podcast at Dragon*Con 2011 in Atlanta, GA]]

File:Veronica Belmont and Brian Brushwood.jpg and Brushwood preparing for the Game On! internet show November 13, 2011]]

Brushwood started his professional stage show in 1999{{cite web|last1=Whitney|first1=Daisy|title=On the Horizon: Brian Brushwood|url=http://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/06/on-the-horizon-brian-brushwood/|website=TVWeek|publisher=Crain Communications Inc.|date=June 22, 2009|access-date=August 7, 2014}} and now performs 100–200 live shows each year on college campuses across the United States.{{cite web|last1=Saunders|author-link=Richard Saunders (skeptic)|first1=Richard|title=Episode #100|url=http://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-100-17-sep-2010|website=The Skeptic Zone|access-date=July 27, 2014|date=September 17, 2010}} His Bizarre Magic show combines old sideshow stunts, mind reading, traditional magic and comedy.{{cite web|last1=Tran|first1=Quan|title=Bizarre Magic: Brian Brushwood|website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2HVYEveOBw|access-date=July 27, 2014}} Conversations with audience members after performances inspired Brushwood to develop his Scams, Sasquatch, and the Supernatural lecture in 2004.{{cite web|title=Podcast #205 – June 16th, 2009|url=http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/205|website=The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe|access-date=August 1, 2014|date=June 16, 2009}}{{cite web|title=Scams, Sasquatch, and the Supernatural Full Lecture|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUxFRcTpfA|website=YouTube|access-date=August 11, 2014|date=October 29, 2012}} Its content was derived from the pseudoscience course Brushwood took as an undergraduate and covers paranormal topics and how to detect fakes. Brushwood's Social Engineering: Scam Your Way Into Anything Or From Anybody lecture{{cite web |title=Brian Brushwood |url=https://www.secularstudents.org/speakers/BrianBrushwood |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810164008/https://www.secularstudents.org/speakers/BrianBrushwood |archive-date=August 10, 2014 |access-date=July 28, 2014 |website=Secular Student Alliance}} was initially developed for the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive panel with the same name.{{cite web|title=Scam your way into anything! (Brian's SXSW panel part 1)|url=http://testtube.com/scamschool/anything/|website=TestTube|publisher=Discovery Communications, LLC|date=May 27, 2009|access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014100325/http://testtube.com/scamschool/anything/|archive-date=October 14, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Scam your way into anything panel (part 2), plus bonus Q&A!|url=http://testtube.com/scamschool/anything2/|website=TestTube|publisher=Discovery Communications, LLC|date=June 4, 2009|access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014100328/http://testtube.com/scamschool/anything2/|archive-date=October 14, 2014|url-status=dead}}

In the September 3, 2010, episode of the Point of Inquiry podcast, host Karen Stollznow asked Brushwood about myth debunking in his various shows. Brushwood responded,

{{blockquote|Part of the reason I love educating the masses as how to deceive is from my experience, because I got into magic before I took this pseudoscience and paranormal course, so I had these tools on how to fool people and I just had this vague understanding that people are really easy to fool, and it's not that we are broken, or dumb, or bad, or whatever. It's that the brain is built a certain way and magicians take advantage of that. And, it was only after taking the pseudoscience class that it crystallized everything and I realized that that's exactly what scam artists do as well. So, if I can get more people familiar with the tools and familiar with how easy it is to deceive other people, maybe more people will begin to question their own experiences.{{cite web|title=Brian Brushwood – Scams, Swindles and Skepticism|url=http://www.pointofinquiry.org/brian_brushwood_scams_swindles_and_skepticism/|website=Point of Inquiry|publisher=Center for Inquiry|access-date=10 January 2017|date=3 September 2010}}}}

Brushwood's signature hairstyle was modeled after Guile from Street Fighter II{{cite web|title=Too Long; Didn't Listen Episode 68 – Character Genders and Death|url=http://mmoreporter.com/2013/10/03/too-long-didnt-listen-episode-68/|website=MMO Reporter|access-date=August 1, 2014|date=October 3, 2013}} and took nine minutes to set up. It was maintained with pomade and beeswax. Brushwood stated he could sleep on it without the style being disturbed, and that it was low maintenance. Episode 23 of Brushwood's web series Brian Brushwood on the Road is a demonstration of how the style is created.{{cite web|title=Crazy Videogame Hair in 9 Minutes – Ep 23 BBOTR|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arTvveslU0Q|website=YouTube|access-date=July 29, 2014}} Brushwood retired the hairstyle in 2012, citing his age and television projects as reasons for its discontinuation. As of March 7, 2018, Brushwood sports a short fringe parted to one side, complemented by a neatly trimmed beard of modest length.{{cite web|title=Magical Miracle Dice!|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd8MY1RnQiM|website=YouTube|access-date=March 8, 2018}}

Mr. Happypants is a voodoo puppet that makes appearances in Brushwood's stage show and podcasts. Brushwood thought it would be fun if the character had a cute name but turned out to be mean, intending to come up with a better name later. While Mr. Happypants started off as a mean character he eventually evolved into pure evil and speaks through Brushwood with the assistance of a voice distorter.{{cite web|title=Episode 1|url=http://bbliveshow.com/episodes/episode.shtml?1|website=BBLiveShow|access-date=July 29, 2014|date=January 1, 2009}} The first reported appearance of Mr. Happypants' evil incarnation during a stage show was in the comedy competition at a Texas Association of Magicians conference.{{cite web|title=Episode 6 – Brian Brushwood on the Road|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzkpi4sn4JU|website=YouTube|access-date=July 29, 2014|date=October 16, 2006}} Mr. Happypants' podcast debut was in Episode 6 of Brushwood's web series Brian Brushwood on the Road.

Brushwood's first national television appearance was on the April 18, 2000, episode of The Roseanne Show talk show where he performed the trick of shoving a nail in one eye and having it pop out the other.{{Cite episode | series = The Roseanne Show | network = CBS | date = April 18, 2000}} Brushwood has appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he performed the "human crazy straw"{{Cite episode | series = The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | network = NBC | date = November 26, 2001}} and his "spinning cups" routine.{{Cite episode | series = The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | network = NBC | date = March 26, 2009}} Brushwood appeared in a segment on Anderson Cooper 360° where he taught Sanjay Gupta "the human blockhead".{{Cite episode | series = Anderson Cooper 360° | network = CNN | date = May 5, 2004}} In CNN's Life Beyond Limits Brushwood taught Gupta how to eat fire.{{Cite episode | series = Life Beyond Limits | network = CNN | date = May 9, 2004}} Brushwood also discussed eating fire on Food Network's Unwrapped,{{Cite episode | title = Atomic | series = Unwrapped | network = Food Network | date = February 27, 2006}} and appeared on Paula's Party where he ate fire and helped make a s'more brûlée.{{Cite episode | title = Fire and Ice | series = Paula's Party | network = Food Network | date = September 14, 2007}} Brushwood has also appeared on Debra Duncan,{{Cite episode | series = Debra Duncan | network = ABC | date = June 21, 2001}} The Jenny Jones Show,{{Cite episode | series = Jenny Jones | network = NBC | date = October 15, 2002}} Unscrewed with Martin Sargent,{{Cite episode | series = Unscrewed with Martin Sargent | network = Tech TV | date = August 18, 2003}} Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge,{{Cite episode | series = Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge | network = WB | date = October 12, 2003}} and Ricki Lake.{{Cite episode | series = Ricki Lake | network = Sony Pictures Television Distribution | date = November 19, 2003}}

Brushwood starred, with co-host Jason Murphy, in Hacking the System that premiered on February 27, 2014, on the National Geographic Channel.{{cite web|last1=Neill|first1=Johnny|title=Interview with Brian Brushwood from 'Hacking the System'|url=http://thetvdudes.com/index.php/features/misc/100-featured/interviews/195-interview-with-brian-brushwood-from-hacking-the-system|website=The TV Dudes|access-date=July 29, 2014|date=February 26, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111161043/http://thetvdudes.com/index.php/features/misc/100-featured/interviews/195-interview-with-brian-brushwood-from-hacking-the-system|archive-date=January 11, 2015}}

• {{Citation

| last1 = Brushwood

| first1 = Brian

| last2 = Johnson

| first2 = C.J.

| title = Pack the House! The Ultimate, Ever-Growing Guide to Increasing Attendance at YOUR Campus Events

| publisher = Bizarre Magic, Inc.

| year = 2000

| isbn = 978-0971364615

}}

• {{Citation

| last = Brushwood

| first = Brian

| title = Cheats, Cons, Swindles, and Tricks: 57 Ways to Scam a Free Drink

| publisher = Bizarre Magic, Inc.

| year = 2000

| asin = B005D38QQO

}}

• {{Citation

| last = Brushwood

| first = Brian

| title = The Professional's Guide to Fire Eating

| publisher = Bizarre Magic, Inc.

| year = 2002

| isbn = 978-0971364608

| oclc = 224122749 }}

• {{Citation

| last1 = Brushwood

| first1 = Brian

| last2 = Tilton

| first2 = Jon

| title = Scam School Book 1: Smoke

| publisher = Bizarre Magic, Inc.

| year = 2012

| asin = B007FRUNK8

}}

• {{Citation

| last1 = Brushwood

| first1 = Brian

| last2 = Tilton

| first2 = Jon

| title = Scam School Book 2: Fire

| publisher = Bizarre Magic, Inc.

| year = 2012

| asin = B008B8L6YM

}}

• {{Citation

| last1 = Brushwood

| first1 = Brian

| last2 = Tilton

| first2 = Jon

| last3 = Hughes

| first3 = Brandt

| title = Scam School: Your Guide to Scoring Free Drinks, Doing Magic & Becoming the Life of the Party

| publisher = Skyhorse Publishing

| year = 2013

| isbn = 978-1620878545

| oclc = 816030432 }}

File:Justin Robert Young and Brian Brushwood DragonCon 2013.jpg

Brushwood has released three comedy albums. Night Attack was released on September 28, 2011, and charted at number four on the Billboard Comedy Albums.{{cite magazine|title=Comedy Albums|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/2011-10-29/comedy-albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 28, 2014}} Night Attack 2: Enjoy the Garden was released on April 20, 2013, and charted at number one on the Billboard Comedy Albums.{{cite magazine|title=Comedy Albums|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/2013-05-04/comedy-albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 28, 2014}}{{cite magazine|title=Comedy Albums|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/2013-05-11/comedy-albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 28, 2014}} Night Attack (Live) was released on October 22, 2013, and charted at number one on the Billboard Comedy Albums.{{cite magazine|title=Comedy Albums|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/2013-11-16/comedy-albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-date=2014-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826054401/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2013-11-16/comedy-albums|url-status=dead}}

• 1995 – Winner – Best Comedy Magic – Texas Association of Magicians{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
• 1998 – Winner – Best Club Magic – Texas Association of Magicians{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
• 2002 – Winner – Best Stage Magic – Texas Association of Magicians{{cite web|title=2002 Convention Fort Worth|url=http://www.taom.org/2002-convention-fort-worth/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016151144/http://www.taom.org/2002-convention-fort-worth/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 16, 2014|publisher=Texas Association of Magicians|access-date=August 2, 2014}}
• 2003 – Voted – Variety Entertainer of the Year – campusawards.com{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
• 2015 – People's Choice Podcast Award for Mature – Night Attack{{cite web|title=Podcast Award Winners 2005–2014|url=http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option=pastwinners|access-date=July 7, 2016|archive-date=December 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210230028/http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option=pastwinners|url-status=dead}}
• 2015 – People's Choice Podcast Award for Best Video – Night Attack
• 2016 – People's Choice Podcast Award for Education – Scam School{{cite web|title=11th Podcast Awards Winner Announcement |url=http://www.podcastawards.com/ |access-date=July 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527093834/http://www.podcastawards.com/ |archive-date=May 27, 2014 }}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://shwood.com/ Brian Brushwood: Bizarre Magic]
• [https://www.youtube.com/@scamschool Scam Nation]
• [https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRogue The Modern Rogue]
• [https://www.greatnight.tv Great Night]
• [https://www.cordkillers.tv Cordillers]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [https://www.weirdthings.com Weird Things]
• [https://worldsgreatestcon.fireside.fm World's Greatest Con]
• {{IMDb name|id=5476051|name=Brian Brushwood}}

{{TWiT podcasts}}

{{Revision3}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brushwood, Brian}}

Category:Living people

Category:American magicians

Category:1975 births

Category:Revision3

Category:American skeptics

Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni

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Category:Articles containing video clips