At loose ends one night during the pandemic, Tyler Gigbot picked up a deck of cards. The energetic teenager quickly taught himself a basic trick. His first audience consisted of his surprised parents. “They had to kind of pretend like they were amazed,” he laughs.
But it was more than a simple illusion for Gigbot, who has a rare eye condition called aniridia, meaning he was born without irises. He sees the world through a constant haze of light, “like living in an impressionist painting.” Flipping through the deck, he realized that “for the first time ever, I can see things that other people can’t see,” he says.
Enthralled, he sought out old magic books and haunted online forums, trying out his new skills on strangers via his webcam. Often, his audience never realized he couldn’t see the cards.
