From card magic to taekwondo, to instruments,North Penn senior Ethan Zorilla has many tricks up his sleeve. But after looking into his crystal ball, he sees his future lying in a more business-oriented field.

Zorilla has been doing card magic tricks since the ninth grade. Throughout his life he has been enraptured by the concept, but never had the opportunity to learn until a fellow classmate, later turned good friend, taught him the basics one day in class.

After that fateful day, he found more people in his life to help him turn into the next Houdini.

“My friend’s dad was super into magic too, so he loaned me a couple books and that’s how I got started,” revealed Zorilla.

Slowly but surely Zorilla learned how to effectively trick people with his card magic, but not without a little bump along the way: hand cramps. He recalled how difficult it was to force his hands to move with his mind and prey on people’s perceptions.

“Your fingers don’t want to listen to you when flipping the card,” stated Zorilla.

Zorilla can often be found performing these tricks against his fellow classmates; especially during the days before winter break, spring break, and last days of school. He has a charming air about him when he performs, often committing to the bit by feigning failure only to pull out the desired card and shock the crowd.

Additionally, during his senior year, Zorilla finally had the opportunity to achieve a lifelong goal of learning mixed martial arts. Similar to his start in card magic, he met a friend in school who knew Taekwondo, and immediately started taking classes.

“I’m pretty sure she was joking but I took that literally so like the next day I joined and did a class with the master and I was hooked,” recalled Zorilla.

His interest in mixed martial arts began as a child, through the Asian action movies he watched with his mother. Already in a short span of time Zorilla has seen success by gaining his white belt a few weeks ago. He views Taekwondo as one of his many hobbies, not necessarily exercise, yet Zorilla finds himself much more flexible and strong with the stretches and kicks that encapsulate the sport.

Zorilla also has a passion for music through the saxophone and clarinet. At his private school prior to  transferring to North Penn, he started out with the saxophone then switched to the clarinet after a couple of years. 

“I always felt like Squidward while playing clarinet and practicing loud enough for my family to get annoyed. But I loved playing the saxophone… I could play some super jazzy stuff and it is just so much more fun,” Zorilla warmly recalled.

Zorilla no longer plays these instruments, but he still appreciates the smooth sounds of the saxophone and the clarinet.

Despite Zorilla’s wide range of interests he could choose from to create a future for himself, this senior will be attending college in hopes of becoming a realtor. The main goal: flipping houses. 

“I’ve been obsessed with real estate since sixth grade because when my step dad got into it, I got into it too because I would watch him. If you get the process down, it’ll take you maybe a couple months to make a lot of money. Also I can get my own work schedule,” Zorilla stated.

To facilitate his success, Zorilla plans to major in marketing in college, but which specific school is yet to be revealed. His calling for flipping houses stems from the desire to make big bucks while doing something he is passionate about.

Zorilla’s future gift in real estate will be drawn from the mystery box that hides his talents, and the poise of a performer Houdini wishes he could match. And who knows, maybe one day in Lansdale there will be a house of cards built with martial arts and jazz music galore.