He will be paired with his brother Checco. The bullying he suffered as a child, then the success thanks to a video on TikTok and the turning point on TV thanks to Paolo Bonolis (met at the restaurant) and Amadeus
«Magic saved my life, I transformed what the road taught me into art». If we look at him today at 27 years old, from his highly followed social profiles to his TV appearances enchanting Paolo Bonolis and Amadeus, <a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/beijing-express-2025-the-official-list-of-competitors-of-the-new-edition/" title="Beijing Express 2025, the official list of competitors of the new edition”>Jey Lillo appears bold and confidentbut behind him he had a difficult childhood which however shaped his character.
Gennaro, this was his name at the registry office, was a chubby boy from Pallonetto of Naples and «this brought me a lot of problems with others, I was bullied, marginalizedthen after a serious accident at 13 when I broke my jaw everything changed.” Unable to eat due to the fracture, he lost weight all at once, but had to deal with bouts of anxiety and panic. «I started frequenting the streets more and more, with its many dark sides, but without ever getting dragged into trouble. Experiences that made me grow quickly, I learned to be one step ahead of others, to generate that cunning that has served me in magic today. Skills that my classmates used for shady things, I used them for entertainment.”
And by magic now Jey will find himself among the contestants in the next edition of Beijing Express, a Sky Original show produced by Banijay Italia, in tandem with his brother Checco. Surely to earn a living in the arduous adventure between the Philippines, Thailand and Nepal he will make use of his “superpowers”. A passion born as a child. «The inspiration came when I was 9 years old when on the sofa with my father we saw a magician’s show on TV, Criss Angel. I liked it because he wasn’t the classic magician dressed in a jacket, tie and top hat, he did magic in the street, stopping people. I saw him do absurd things, he walked on water, he made everyday objects fly, things different from what we were used to seeing. From there I completely lost my mind and started studying on my own.”
The turning point came when he published a video on Tik Tok with one of his performances. «I reached more than a million views, there I began to understand that I had to show as many people what I could do, that type of magic that didn’t exist in Italy. I invented a format called “if I surprise you, give me a gift”: I went into shops and asked the clerks this question. It was a success.” From there he gained an incredible number of followers and even managed to deceive the famous magician Dynamo, receiving his approval and “blessing”, earning himself the nickname of the most famous modern magician in Italy.
A magnetism that not even television gurus like Paolo Bonolis and Amadeus could resist. The first one we met by chance in a restaurant. «With great awe I approached him, surprising him with a number that he said he had never seen. Then with the help of Fabrizio Scippa, friend and manager, and the precious advice of the journalist and author Gabriele Parpiglia, I gained his trust so much so that he invited me as a special guest on his show “Ciao Darwin” on Canale 5. A dream.” While he gave the former Sanremo host a note where he had predicted the name of the winner of the festival. Illusions that also amazed Caterina Balivo live on Rai1, and also Geolier, Mahmood, Annalisa, Angelina Mango and many others.
All the energy he puts into his mission: bringing serious magic back to television. «Now in the shows magic is only ridiculed to a certain extent, we are left with Giucas Casella’s tricks, my technique is far from the most influential of the past like Silvan, I brought something new, street style here». Between magic tricks with any object he comes across and mentalism tricks, with the dream of conquering the United States. And if he really had superpowers he has no doubts: “I would bring back to life the loved ones I lost too soon.” Abracadabra: that bullied teenager is now a successful boy.
October 29, 2024 (modified October 29, 2024 | 11:37)
