On the night of March 20, 2026, many friends gathered to watch the opening night of the men’s NCAA Tournament, but at Tony Metze’s house, IBM Ring 105 was celebrating a different sort of madness: March Mentalism.
Short for International Brotherhood of Magicians, IBM Ring 105 has been around since the 1960s. It is one small piece of a magic community that spans more than 700 individual clubs and 80 countries. It meets at a different member’s home each month to catch up, eat and drink, educate each other, sometimes coordinate trips to conventions, and share carefully crafted new tricks.
Mentalism is famously performed by magicians like David Copperfield and David Blaine, and it focuses on presenting the illusion of otherworldly mental and intuitive abilities. Mentalism is just one of the several forms of magic that members practice at meetings, using cards, coins and countless other tools. Metze said the specific type of trick isn’t what defines the performance.
“All magicians can do the same trick, but it’s going to be different,” Metze said. “They’re going to add their own personality, their own flavor.”
In defining magic, club member Christian Tillison said audience participation and investment is critical.
“Magic is an art that exists mostly in the spectator's mind,” Tillison said. “What we do physically is not the same as what a person experiences. When a great painter paints, you can look at the canvas later, but magic is an art in which the primary focus is the experience of the person witnessing it.”
The group does not require dues. Though there are leadership positions, current president Jay Altemus said, much like meeting location, it’s just a rotation.
“We trade around the responsibilities,” Altemus said. “Being president of the club simply means I try and organize some things so that our meetings have content and meaningful content, rather than just us getting together and talking about old stories and new tricks.”
Tony Campbell is in his early twenties and the youngest illusionist in the ring. He joined a few years ago after his parents saw Altemus perform and put the two in touch. Campbell first picked up a kit in elementary school, and his passion has continued to grow since.
“I was basically the kid that everyone made fun of. I basically learned magic so they would like me, but that has since changed,” Campbell said. “I enjoy doing magic just because I love entertaining people, making them smile and giving them the wonder that magic can give.”
Known for bringing something new to each meeting, Rick Soos is a recently retired Air Force veteran and vice president of the state IBM. He became interested in magic at 10 years old, when someone turned a stack of nickels into dimes. Soos went to the library, checked out a book of tricks and has been performing professionally for 47 years and coming to club meetings for 33 years.
Soos said that like any other performing art, magic requires hours of practice and the ability to keep moving in the face of mistakes. He said that to nail a trick, a magician must buy into the illusion the way they want their audience to.
“Splitting the mind is the most powerful thing in magic. You have to believe what you’re not doing,” Soos said. “You've got to be aware of what they’re thinking and what you’re thinking because that’s two minds splitting both ways.”
While they try to learn about as many disciplines of magic as they can, member John Tudor said he’ll never know everything.
“Magic and the literature is enormous,” Tudor said. “You couldn’t in a lifetime read all the magic books, right? Several lifetimes, all the different things that people have added, that’s what always fascinates me, all the diversity and all the different combinations.”
In 1996, Altemus performed for gold medalists at the Olympic Village in Atlanta. Altemus said that moment was the pinnacle of his performing career. In the face of the language barrier, he had to make his performance universal.
“I knew the athletes did not all speak English, so I had to choose magic tricks that didn't require an explanation in the English language,” Altemus said. “It could be explained or understood in any language, and that was a nice challenge.”
Soos said he occasionally gets some pushback from audience members, with someone once attributing his magical skills to the devil, but he said he is happy to teach magic to anyone that’s interested.
Altemus said he encourages young people to try magic by performing for their friends and reaching out to groups like their club for mentorship. His only condition is that they’re committed to earning other magicians' respect, truly wanting to learn the art of magic rather than just figuring out the secrets.
Altemus said he knows not everyone likes or understands the appeal of magic, and he’s perfectly fine with that. He said whether they want to learn or just enjoy, the people who love magic seek it out.
“I like the feeling of being amazed and the wonder it brings,” Altemus said. “There are people who don’t go to magic shows because they’re frustrated by it. But the people who go to the magic shows, well, they’re going to get entertained because, after all, they wanted to come and be amazed.”
More information about IBM Ring 105, including meeting and event information, can be found on its Facebook page.