Profile

Name: Darren Crusoe
Date of Birth: May 5, 1979
Likeness/ PB: Jamie Bamber
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Languages: English, French, and Japanese.

Darren is a ‘retired’ Illusionist who gave up the art after his wife, Katsumi and 6-year-old daughter, Anna-Mai was lost to the tsunami caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. They were caught by the wave while visiting family on the northeast coast, while he was away in Singapore on tour. He watched the Tsunami live on CNN International and desperately tried to call and text his wife on the phone. She never answered. He took the first flight to Tokyo that night. He searched months for them, until they were officially declared dead.

Before the tragedy which forever changed his life, Darren was passionate about magic since a boy. His first public performance was at his school’s talent show, so he could impress a girl. Not only did he succeed to impress the girl but the entire audience. Their applause and praise boosted his confidence in his skills. It was the motivation he needed, and so decided he would make it his career.

In his junior and senior years in high school, he was a street performer on the weekends in Portland. He later performed his illusions for tourists on the streets of Bar Harbor, Boston, and Montreal. After High School graduation he moved to New York City with some friends. While there he ran into some trouble, his friends were arrested for dealing drugs. He was arrested too by association. The district attorney threatened to put him away too, unless he snitched on his friends. After a night in jail with the general population, he talked. All charges were dropped, and he left the city. With the encouragement of his father he enlisted in the U.S. Navy two weeks later.

His rating in the Navy was Storekeeper, he was tasked to maintain military supply stores for ships and on-shore. After a couple of years State-side, he was deployed overseas and stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, home of the 7th Fleet. He was assigned on-shore duty. Life on base was just plain dull for him. So he started to perform again for fellow sailors and their families on base. A public affairs officer from Headquarters discovered him, and he later found himself performing for Japanese audiences. He quickly became popular with his new audience. So in order to connect with them he learned their language.

He extended his tour of duty in Japan as his popularity with the Japanese increased. His weekends were booked. He was making more money on the weekends, than his military salary as a E-4. It was during one of his gigs at a festival, he met his future wife.

When his enlistment was over, he remained in Japan. Now fluent in the language, he became even more popular, and perform on Japanese television programs and tour the country regularly. He became a celebrity in Japan. He married Katsumi in 2004, and his daughter was born six months later. He was living his dream. His popularity was spreading in the region, until March 11, 2011.

Grief stricken, Darren purchased a 32-foot sloop and sailed the South Pacific. Eventually made his way to South America, around Cape Horn, up the east coast to the Caribbean, and then finally the United States. He made somewhat of a peace with his lost, somewhere between Bora Bora and Easter Island. In 2015 he ran aground, at all places, off Portland, Maine.

His aunt was moving to Florida, and to support her move, with the remaining of his savings, he bought his Aunt’s home in South Boston. When not working on remodeling the house, he makes YouTube videos.

He was an early adopter of YouTube, so he could promote his shows and brand, Daring Crusoe of Awe. The Japanese had a hard time pronouncing his first name, so Daring stuck. He re-purposed his YouTube channel to document his journey after leaving Japan. He started a second YouTube channel, where he debunks scams, especially those of the paranormal. He is unsure where this would take him, but it’s an outlet for his anger. If ghosts were real, where is his wife and daughter? Why don’t they haunt him? Something, anything to see or hear from them again.

In a way, he is still searching for them. Maybe one day, he could be proven wrong, and reach them on the other side. Until then, he will expose the fraudsters.