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Many were surprised when Bearwin Meilly produced and starred in the QTV special Stealing Minds.
Many were surprised when Bearwin Meilly produced and starred in the QTV special ‘Stealing Minds.’ The viewers were amazed by what they saw and wondered how Bearwin learned to do magic. Text by Loretta G. Ramirez with interviews by Xylen A. Punelas. Photos by Jason S. Lim Bearwin Meilly is one of the country’s most prolific comedians. He has done movies and TV shows showcasing his talent in acting and comedic timing. But when his TV special on magic aired, he got mixed reactions. Stealing Minds Bearwin’s first magic show was televised last year. Entitled Stealing Minds, the special was shown in QTV and got top ratings. Performing magic in the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, Bearwin amazed the viewers with his skilful tricks and magical illusions. “Nung first two specials ko, ang ginawa ko nag-research talaga ako sa Internet. Meron mga magic websites na bibilin mo ‘yung mga tricks kung paano mag palutang ng mga bagay and kung paano ito papawalain,” shares the David Blaine of the Philippines. Bearwin studied and practiced almost 24 hours a day everyday to perfect the tricks. And with perserverance, all his efforts paid off. Stealing Minds was a success. Thou Shall Not Blink After the success of Stealing Minds, Bearwin immediately began to work on his second TV magic special, which also happened to be his birthday special. “It was successful! Everybody [was] happy—GMA, QTV, my sponsors, my celebrity guests,” Bearwin gushes. But unlike the first special, Thou Shall Not Blink met some negative comments. “Doon sa teleportation illusion na ginawa ko, maraming nag-comment na fake [siya], as it is edited [daw]. Number one, hindi talaga siya edited. Number two, I don’t have the power or the capability to teleport. It’s [an] illusion, guys! I don’t call it fake; it’s entertainment,” defends Bearwin. He further backed up his show by quoting a line from Chris Angel: “‘Magic is what you feel when you watch it. Illusion is what you think when you see it.’ Personally, nung nabasa ko ‘yun, ang sabi ko ‘Tama, ang galing talaga nito.’” And to prove that he hasn’t been put down by the negative comments, Bearwin intimated to iGMA that he is getting ready for the third installment of his magic show. “Siguro mga second week of May nasa Hollywood na ako to shoot the Halloween special,” he says. “Meron din sa probinsiya, Metro Manila, [every]where. This is Pinoy street magic! And it’s spooky, nakakatakot. Abangan ninyo ang finale act ko dito.” Confident that his fans will support his Halloween show, Bearwin concludes the interview with expressing his gratitude to all his fans—and detractors: “So again, doon sa mga mag-aabang nito at sa mga magbibigay ng negative comments, I love you pa rin! Salamat sa suporta ninyo dahil kung hindi dahil sa inyo, hindi mataas ang rating ko.” Also catch Bearwin weekdays on Camera Café, right before 24 Oras.