Kainoa was born and raised in Honolulu, HI and began performing magic after spending a good deal of his youth doing local drama. By high school, he was performing semi-professionally, including weekly tablehopping at Curtis Kam’s showroom in Waikiki, as well as in restaurants and private shows for both the business sector and the tourist industry.

After attending college in Los Angeles where he was a Junior Member at the Magic Castle, Kainoa headed east, earning a Ph.D. in English from the University of Delaware. His research is on Victorian performance magic and the connections between the works of Professor Hoffmann and John Nevil Maskelyne with the popular literature and periodicals of the period.

 

As an educator, Kainoa spent a decade teaching English literature and Theatre History and Production at the university level. There he developed a course where students analyzed magic from fantasy fiction and popular culture--and even the performances of guest magicians, like Larry Haas, Kostya Kimlat, Marc DeSouza, and Garrett Thomas. Recently, he has taught at Punahou School in Honolulu, HI, helping to develop a magic curriculum for grades 6-8 where performing is used to develop poise and public speaking skills.

For the magic community, Kainoa has written extensively on coin manipulation as well as how to apply practical theatrical techniques to increase the quality of the audience’s experience.