Gold Coast magician Daniel Hidden’s family reveals his remarkable life after scattering his ashes at his favourite places

The family of a young magician who died after a solo hike in rugged terrain have spoken for the first time about his remarkable life after scattering his ashes at some of his favourite places.

More than 70 family members and friends gathered in the Gold Coast backyard of Daniel Hidden’s parents on Saturday to celebrate the life of the 26-year-old, while another 30 joined the service online from Iran, Canada and Germany. The family had farewelled him at a vigil on July 7.

Hidden died from hypothermia after breaking his hip in a fall during a solo hike at Cougal Cascades.

A desperate 10-day search involving police, SES volunteers, Australian Defence Force personnel and specialist rescue crews ended in tragedy when Hidden’s body was found in the dense bushland.

On Sunday, his parents, Faranak Tohidi and Hojjat Jamshidi, returned with family to scatter some of his ashes at the first waterfall along the popular hinterland walking track, one of Hidden’s favourite places and the closest they could reach after the steep terrain prevented them from accessing the site where he died.

One of Hidden’s final wishes, however, remains unfulfilled.

The waterfall reminded him of Mount Tochal in Iran, where he spent countless hours hiking with friends as a child and whose coordinates he had tattooed on his finger.

He wanted his ashes divided between the two places, but Tohidi’s brother was unable to leave Iran to attend the funeral and take some of Hidden’s ashes home, despite the family’s efforts and supporting letters.

The family later travelled to The Spit, a narrow strip of sand at the northern end of Main Beach, where Hidden would often sit with his laptop, planning new shows and developing new illusions. He simply called it “my office”.

“When I asked him, ‘Where were you?’, he said, ‘I come from office,’” Jamshidi recalled.

The steep terrain also made bringing Hidden home an enormous challenge.

“They found him at 11am ... and they brought him back at 11.15pm,” he said.

“It took 12 hours to bring him back.

A remarkable childhood

Long before Hidden captivated audiences with astonishing illusions, his parents believed he had already performed his first miracle. When Daniel was eight, doctors told the family there was no heartbeat during Tohidi’s pregnancy and recommended an abortion.

But the young boy refused to believe his unborn sibling had died.

Bleeding and in pain, Tohidi was being prepared for surgery when Hidden arrived with his father at the hospital.

“He was crying so hard and said, ‘No, my brother is alive,’” Jamshidi recalled.

Despite doctors warning they were taking a risk, the family did not follow through with the surgery.

Two days later, they sought a second opinion and another scan detected a heartbeat.

Nearly two decades later, Iliya stood before mourners at his older brother’s memorial.

“I’m alive because Daniel was there at that time and I owe my life to him,” he said. The family said it was only the first of many times Hidden would refuse to accept limitations.

Growing up in Iran

Even as one of the top biology students at his high school in Iran, Hidden became fascinated by magic, especially card tricks.

According to his parents, that fascination came with risks. “Having cards in Iran is a crime,” Tohidi said.

Unable to buy a deck himself, Daniel persuaded a friend to bring one from overseas.

Teachers repeatedly complained he shuffled cards beneath his desk during class.

“He said, ‘I’m concentrating by shuffling the cards,’” Jamshidi recalled with a laugh.

Without teachers or mentors, Hidden learned every sleight of hand himself, studying instructional videos and psychology books to better understand how people think.

“He did everything from scratch, only by himself,” Tohidi said.

The obsession soon became a craft.

His father said Hidden never performed the same trick for everyone.

Instead, he would spend time talking to people first, choosing illusions based on their personality, age and reactions.

“He wasn’t just doing tricks,” Jamshidi said. “He wanted to understand people, he tried to read their mind.”

Starting over in Australia

After leaving Iran for political reasons, the family eventually settled in Australia in 2018.

Just 18, Hidden moved to the Gold Coast to pursue a career in magic, while his parents lived in Bathurst for the next six years as Tohidi completed a second PhD. Australian sanctions prevented her from working in her original field of information security.

During those years, Hidden built a successful career as a magician, actor and model before the COVID pandemic brought live entertainment to a halt. But his parents say fame was never what motivated him.

When the family was finally reunited on the Gold Coast, Hidden resumed performing, including aboard cruise ships, earning invitations to return.

His journey came full circle when he became an Australian citizen in 2023.

Rather than dwelling on the circumstances of their son’s death, the family hopes people will remember the way he chose to live.

“I can’t have him by my side, and I can’t bring him back, but I can do something to keep his name alive,” Tohidi said.

“He had the courage to be himself. He always created something new for himself and for people around him to be inspired and to really live, not just spend time.”

His father plans to collect stories from Hidden’s family and friends and turn them into a documentary or feature film.

“There are a lot of stories in Daniel’s life,” Jamshidi said. “We believe his story has the power to inspire many people.”

“If this happens, I think Daniel will be happy as well,” Tohidi added.

Although the search brought the family closure, everyday reminders of Hidden remain.

Tohidi said she still feels closest to him on the Gold Coast, even though “seeing his room, his drawer, his clothes... it’s not easy”.

Hidden had left home expecting to return from a day hike. The meal he had asked his mother to cook for the Sunday after his hike is still in her freezer.

“I cooked those dishes, but I found out he is missing. Then I put them in the freezer and I still have them,” she said.