Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Rosenthal. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Mark Allen Rosenthal was born June 4, 1962, in Detroit, Michigan, and spent the majority of his school years in Oak Park, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and he minored in Organic Chemistry. Mark’s father introduced him to magic when Mark was eight years old. Mark practiced for many years and loved performing for his family. He became proficient enough to help pay his way through college. He acquired a job as a magician in 1984 at B’Zar, a very popular East Lansing nightclub, where he was discovered by a talent agent. He was then hired to perform at the Detroit Tigers 1984 Christmas party, the year they won the World Series.
Mark was asked to perform at a cousin’s birthday party in 1980, and he brought along some of his exotic “pets.” The rest, as they say, is history!
Mark started The Reptile Source, a reptile wholesale company, and quickly became one of the largest reptile dealers in the United States. He supplied over 1600 pet stores in the early 1990’s.
Mark decided to stop wholesaling to pet shops and entertain/educate full-time when he saw too many stores selling exotic animals to anyone who could afford them, whether or not they knew what they were doing.
Mark is now in his 43rd year of owning and operating Animal Magic, one of the most sought-after exotic animal acts and exotic animal rescues in the country. He lives in Belleville, Michigan, with his amazing wife, Misty, and they entertain/educate people with their award-winning Animal Magic shows all over the United States.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
What I do is extremely challenging and requires a lot of experience, knowledge, and knowing how to deal with people and animals. There’s a lot of potential liability in what I do, and I’m proud to say I’ve never had anyone get injured at one of my shows in over 43 years!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Animal Magic has been in business since 1980, making us the longest-running exotic animal program in the United States! Our award-winning show involves seldom-seen exotic animals combined with magic and humor. It’s a show for all ages, not just a little kids. I’ve been voted entertainer of the year multiple times, and I love what I do. This is not a job to me. Unlike other animal programs, the money we get goes into our licensed, nonprofit, no-kill exotic animal rescue.
What matters most to you?
I learned many years ago that you can’t make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. We do our best to educate and entertain, and almost always perform way longer than what the scheduled time is. Most animal acts go 35 minutes… 45 minutes tops. Our shows average around one and a half hours each. I love when people tell me I inspired them to follow their dreams of working with animals. Also, it’s pretty cool to have people come up to you out of nowhere and say they remember your shows from over 30 and 40 years ago!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iwantanimalmagic.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkandMistyRosenthal?mibextid=LQQJ4d
