In recent years, the now-45 year old has focused his career in China — he has not made an appearance on Hongkong TV for almost five years — and is taking part in a new reality talent search there called Shine! Super Brothers. According to reports, the show’s concept is similar to Sisters Who Make Waves, where celebs compete with each other for a chance to be part of a pop group. Daniel, who is the second oldest contestant, is competing against other 31 stars including Ming Dao and former Little Tigers member Julian Chen. Chan said that it was not his left leg amputation or the 20 major operations he had in the space of three days that caused him anguish; it was not being able to visualise a positive future that took him to a dark place. Re-envisioning your business won’t work like magic, but it will work if you have the courage to throw yourself into it. During this crisis, that’s what every entrepreneur who wants to succeed will have to do.” He faced a challenge of having acquired his disability later in life, and being surrounded by stories of resilience and success in sport helped him massively. Chan’s son (far right) and daughter (far left) are magicians-in-training, and his wife is a balloon artist (Alexis Cuarezma)

When you arrive, you feel like you are carrying so many of Hong Kong people’s hopes on your shoulders,” said the 36-year-old, who went into the Games ranked second in the WH2 category. “And especially with me given I had the highest world ranking in badminton and in all sports for (Hong Kong) athletes.” Chan has no memory of the car accident that changed the course of his life, and what came next took him a long time to recover from, both physically and mentally. When all my competitors were practicing magic, I was learning SEO,” he says. “I studied how guys like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs created these monopolies. I read Principles by [hedge fund manager] Ray Dalio. I tried to understand their world.”Over the next few years, Chan performed hundreds of these shows. And soon, he began to attract the attention of a different demographic: Tech millionaires.

There’s a lot of R&D in magic,” he says. “I buy a lot of things just to see how they work but never end up using them.” I still remember when I first woke up. I was in the ICU (intensive care unit) and then I saw my doctor. I asked him in English, ‘Have I lost my legs?’ and he told me that I had lost one leg. Then I joked, ‘But I’m still alive, right?’ and he said yes.” Following a 2016 BuzzFeed story on his act, Chan rebranded himself from the kid-friendly “Dan Chan the Magic Man” to “ The Billionaire’s Magician.” But now, with offices closed and most in-person gatherings prohibited, he’s had to pivot to a virtual stage — and, in the process, re-tailor his approach to magic. Magic as escapism Full transcript of Daniel Chan's interview on 'A Winning Mindset: Lessons from the Paralympics' is available online, along with the audio .As for his movie career, he took part in many films since 1994. In 1996, he played the character Wang Wen Jun from the movie " Hu-Du-Men" which helped him receive the best newcomer nomination in the 16th Hong Kong film awards. In 1997, he played teenager Shum Chi Hong (Shen Zhi Kang) in " First love unlimited". I performed for Elon for around 12 minutes, and at the time, no one came toward him. It was almost like there was an invisible barrier around him and people felt they shouldn't bother him because he's a celebrity. The first few Zoom shows were rough. I felt uncomfortable and awkward, and everything about my art seemed new again,” he says. “But I’ve realized that it’s the most scalable thing ever. I can reach people from all over the globe.”

Hong Kong’s Daniel Chan Ho-yuen said the resounding emotion he has felt since winning bronze in wheelchair badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics is relief. Alas, it was not to be and Daniel never reached the stratospheric heights showbiz pundits predicted he would. Performing on Zoom presents some challenges. For starters, there are attendance caps and occasional latency issues. Then, there are Zoombombers, who dip in uninvited on video calls. But the biggest hurdle for Chan has been figuring out how to reimagine magic — a craft built on physical interaction and trust — with the intermediary of technology. On a recent Thursday night, Daniel Chan — one of Silicon Valley’s top corporate magicians — was Zoombombed during a test run of his online show.Everyone in Silicon Valley talks,” he says. “People who’d seen me at a library started recommending me for birthday parties. They didn’t want some old clown; they wanted a young guy who juggled fire.”