Known as “Zappo the Magician” to thousands of Kiwi kids, Wairarapa entertainer Paul Bates is a third-generation entertainer who proudly follows in the footsteps of his father Ken and grandfather Fred.
“Magic has been good to my family and Mum has a huge pile of scrapbooks full of stories about everything we’ve done, which means there are a lot of scrapbooks in the Bates household!” laughs Paul, 61.
And with the magician now starring on Three’s new balloon-art reality show Blow Up, Paul’s spritely 87-year-old mum is bound to be kept busy with her scissors and glue stick!
But this story starts much further back, when the Bates family moved to New Zealand from Leicester in 1972, when Paul was just 11. He recalls, “Before we left England, my teacher told me that no one wore shoes in New Zealand, which I thought was very funny as I’d never heard of jandals.”
After travelling by boat for six weeks, the whānau settled in Whangānui, where they opened a fruit and flower shop. But they were soon known around town for their side-splitting double act.
Paul explains, “Dad specialised in comedy magic, while Mum, who Dad called ‘Shirl the Pearl’, would take the role of his bored assistant, so it was always a laugh a minute in our house.”
Meanwhile, Paul got into the act at age 13, when he styled himself as Radar the Magician. He recalls, “Radar was Dad’s nickname for me because I was always earwigging on everyone’s conversations. I did my first paid show aged 14.”
But Whangānui couldn’t hold the young entertainer forever and, at 22, Paul flew the coop and became a flight attendant with Air New Zealand.
“That was the ’80s and ’90s, when travel was glamorous,” he grins. “We stayed in the best hotels and met all sorts of people, but I still found time to perform. Dad and also I flew to magic conventions all over the world, where we’d meet big stars like David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy.”
After 15 years of the high life, in 1994, Paul decided he was ready to devote himself to magic. “I spent a few years creating Zappo. In those early days, I also worked at a Wellington café six nights a week and taught aerobics at Les Mills during the day. I even did hand modelling!”
But magic was always top of mind and Paul was a full-time entertainer by 1997, teaching aerobics only occasionally.
“I was living in Wairarapa by then and I was taking a community class at the local school, when one day a very handsome man appeared in the back row,” recalls Paul. “Darryl and I hit it off. What started with us going out for a coffee has led to us being together for 14 years and married for six.”
The sought-after performer is delighted to be taking part in Blow Up, although he admits to being a late bloomer in the world of balloon twisting.
“I did dabble as early as 13, doing things like the classic sausage dog,” says Paul, although he didn’t get serious until meeting fellow Blow Up contestant Pip Milford-Hughes at the Palmerston North Magic Convention in 2009.
“Pip opened up a whole new world for me. Today, we’re the best of friends and work together a lot, including a six-week stint training twisters in Australia.”
As well as cherishing his friendship with Pip, Paul is eternally grateful to his father Ken, who was named New Zealand Grand Master of Magic in 2009, an honour Paul received 10 years later.
“Because Dad always wanted to improve, he instilled that sense in me – that there’s always room to learn and grow. Even though he passed away in 2020, he’d be so proud of me now.”
Now taking balloon art to dizzying new heights, Paul delights most in working for children. He says, “Young people’s imaginations know no bounds and they blow my mind with the creations they ask for. Although it’s a challenge when balloons pop at awkward moments – I’ll never forget the show I did on the Arahura ferry in three-metre swells!”
Encouraged by his parents to always work hard, have fun and follow his dreams, Paul’s new-found fame will surely fill a few more family scrapbooks, but this magician’s motivation is simply to spread joy.
“When you make someone a balloon sculpture, they always smile. Because in spite of the sadness and hardship in the world, as a magician and a balloon twister, it’s so very rewarding to make people happy by doing a trick or handing them a creation. I call that the magic of balloons!”
Blow Up screens 7.30pm Mondays & Tuesdays on Three.