Flip Hallema — known by the stage name FL!P (Rotterdam, 3 June 1941) — is a Dutch magic artist who became internationally renowned for a sleight he devised himself: the FL!PSTICK move, with which long objects such as magic wands and fans appear to materialise and vanish.
Visual reference
The FL!PSTICK move
The sleight Flip developed is known worldwide as the FL!PSTICK move and is even listed in the Tarbell Course, the standard reference work for magicians. Countless magicians all over the world make use of it.
From this sleight he developed a stage act that earned him first prize for General Magic at the National Congress in Eindhoven in 1969, and later his silent Duplo-Magic act, which he presented in many countries.
From designer to magic artist
Flip was born the son of architect Guido Hallema. He learned his first tricks from his father at the age of nine and began inventing tricks himself at twelve. After art college he worked as a graphic and industrial designer, including at Fokker and Gero.
In 1972, after a tour of several months through the United States, he decided to become a professional magic artist. In the 1980s he lived for a time in Barcelona, where with his second wife he ran the oldest magic shop in Europe: El Rey de la Magia, dating from 1881.
Versatile and international
As a 'Wondertainer', FL!P works on stage as well as in parlour magic and close-up. He gave performances and lectures in many countries, in English, German, French or Spanish, and from 2009 to 2015 he was chairman of the Dutch Magic Union.
In his early years he appeared on Dutch television in 'Ren je rot', and he published in both national and international magic journals.
International recognition
In 1979 Flip was given his own chapter in the book 'The World's Greatest Magic', in which he and Richard Ross were the only two Europeans. In 2006 he was honoured in Hollywood with the Performing Fellowship Award of the Academy of Magical Arts.
That honour — a kind of 'Oscar' in the magic world — has been awarded to only three other Dutch magicians: Fred Kaps, Tommy Wonder and Richard Ross. This places Flip Hallema in a select company of Dutch grandmasters.
Flip Hallema proved that a single original invention can enrich the entire world of magic. That same creativity and the pursuit of something distinctive and unforgettable also characterise the work of Sudesh Roman.