Calder Way is the host of plenty of shenanigans on a late weekend night, and one amateur magician has seized the opportunity to create content around college students hopping bar-to-bar with their friends.

Jack Henney is a 21-year-old computer science student at Juniata College. Since the fall semester, Henney has roamed the streets of State College, recording card tricks with Ray-Ban Meta glasses and uploading clips of the intoxicated audience’s reactions to social media.

The former basketball player landed at Juniata College due to its proximity to his hometown. He got into magic and content creation this summer.

“I was sitting at home, watching some of [David Blaine’s] magic videos, and I got to thinking myself, if I could learn that, who’s going to turn down a magic trick?” Henney said.

That exact mindset has led many to create content with magic tricks. Although there are other magicians around college campuses creating content similar to Henney’s, their viral clips are not what inspired his passion for magic.

“I saw those [creators] after I started learning, so that’s where I got the idea to put the Ray-Bans on,” Henney said. “When I was younger, I used to watch America’s Got Talent all the time, and the magic acts were always my favorite acts.”

Before he took his talents to State College for weekend nights, Henney started out doing tricks at his own school. “I was doing it at Juniata, and then I found out real quickly that I’m running into the same people,” Henney said. Juniata College, with an undergraduate population of just over 1,000, did not appear to be an ideal market. All it took was one night out at State College for the computer science undergraduate to find his target market.

“My two friends from Juniata and I came up here for Raising Canes and there were so many people on the street,” Henney said. “I was thinking maybe I should do magic here on Calder Way.”

“That was the first night I did in State College, and the videos went way more viral. That’s the one everyone knows me for.”

@jack.henney

Switch up of the century from bro #magic #meta #statecollege #psu #magictrick

♬ original sound – Jack_Henessy

Since those first videos, Henney’s social channels have steadily climbed. His TikTok account is nearing 6,000 followers with over one million likes on his videos, and his Instagram breached 10,000 followers.

These numbers have encouraged Henney to visit Happy Valley more often. “There are 50,000 students here, and that’s 50,000 people who will like a video if they see a familiar place,” Henney said. “I’ve gotten hundreds of DMs asking ‘when will you come next’, so it’s turned into a community thing for me.”

While he may be limited in his travels, the Juniata undergrad pumps out content in his visits. “On Friday and Saturday, I’ll come here and get 40 to 50 videos a night… and drop one video a day until I can visit again.”

Like many creators, especially small ones, Henney has been offered a few brand deals that range from betting to AI companies. None of these appealed to him, but there were a few brands he would jump at to work with. “Any card companies, magic companies that make different tricks, like the one where the deck turns into a glass block.”

However, sponsorships were not something he imagined when he began his magic and content creation journey. “The main goal was to have fun with it. It’s been nice to have people recognize me here; they know my name, so that’s really sweet,” Henney said. “I’m just taking it one step at a time.”

Check out Henny’s content on his Instagram or TikTok.