From terrified child to world-renowned magician: The incredible journey of Sossam Chazi

That was the question a nine-year-old boy asked one evening in 2006 while watching TV. Onscreen, a magician was slicing himself in half and levitating objects.

A nine-year-old boy asked one evening in 2006 while watching TV with his family. On screen, a magician was slicing himself in half and levitating objects. Terrified, the child thought he was witnessing a jinn—the invisible spirits from Moroccan folklore he had often heard about. But his parents reassured him: “It’s not magic—it’s an optical illusion”.

That phrase stuck with Oussama Chazi, now known as “Sossam”, and sparked his curiosity. He typed “optical illusion” into Google and discovered a parallel universe—one where reality could be transformed into art. In his small room in Inezgane, young Oussama started practicing simple tricks using a coin. Day by day, he improved. One day, he made the coin vanish in front of his family—then amazed neighborhood kids with the same trick.

“That was the moment I realized I had the power to captivate and deceive. It felt incredible—like real magic”, he says.

But at the time, Morocco had no magic schools or formal training. All he had to go on were TV clips and scattered advice from friends abroad. So he taught himself, learning through videos and lessons sent from overseas.

In 2012, his journey took a major leap forward. He competed in the Moroccan Magic Championship in Essaouira, co-organized by the French Federation of Optical Illusion Artists, and won second place. That same year, he won first prize at the International Magic Festival in Agadir.

After getting his baccalaureate, Oussama spent a summer in France—and by chance discovered the French Magic Cup was taking place. He emailed the organizers: “I’m a Moroccan magician and I want to participate”. The next day, they replied: “Welcome, the competition is still open”.

His mother accompanied him to the Senate hall, where the event was held. He was the only foreigner in the competition—the rest were magicians he had only seen on TV. When he won second prize, his mother cried with joy. That moment changed everything.

“The most magical part of magic isn’t the show—it’s everything that comes before it: the idea, the design, the preparation”, he noted.

A love for street magic

Although he briefly enrolled at the École Supérieure des Arts in Brittany, Oussama quickly realized that academic art wasn’t his path. He was an artist in action. While his classmates stayed in lecture halls, he performed in the streets, eventually earning money from his craft.

He later moved to Paris, studied cinema at the «Laboratoire de l’Acteur», and continued performing in public spaces and comedy clubs. Despite fierce competition from magicians around the world, he stayed focused on refining his style.

In 2018, he headed to Dubai and began filming street magic videos in English, which he shared on social media. But when he returned to France, COVID-19 had shut down weddings and private events, putting his career on pause.

Once the second lockdown eased, he traveled south to the beaches of Argeles and nearby towns, filming new content. His videos went viral—racking up millions of views in just hours.

In 2022, he debuted Sossam: A Magical Dream at Les Enfants du Paradis, a unique stage show blending magic and hypnosis. After his success in France, he returned to Morocco during Ramadan to perform intimate shows in family homes across the country. “It was my mother’s idea”, he says. “And it was a huge success”.

Back in Paris, he took up regular Saturday performances at Théâtre Beaulieu. His first show, A Magical Dream, drew a large Moroccan audience. “The French and Moroccan audiences aren’t so different”, he says. “Magic is a universal language”.

“One day, I got a call from Prince Moulay Rachid. He personally congratulated me. It was a huge honor and meant the world to me”, he recalled.

Crafting illusions

As for his inspirations, he cites greats like David Copperfield and Harry Houdini—but says his biggest influence is David Blaine, the pioneer of street magic. During the pandemic, he trained in Ericksonian hypnosis, convinced that magic can also be a powerful therapeutic and communicative tool.

Today, his illusions rely on speed, language, and psychology. One of his favorite tricks? Making a banknote appear out of nowhere. “People think we print money”, he says. “But believe me, it’s my own cash. It’s just the illusion that makes it feel real”.

Each trick, he says, is the product of weeks or even months of work. “For example, the show I first performed three years ago isn’t the same show today. It’s constantly evolving”.

Sossam is currently on a world tour, which kicked off on April 5 and runs through October 2