The journal · Published on 13 October 2026

Spontus 360: the original, its price, the copies and what came next

Search for "Spontus 360" and you will mostly land on marketplaces selling machines under that name. Here is what the original was, who invented it, what is on offer today and what to check before you buy.

What is the Spontus 360?

The Spontus 360 is a grand illusion levitation: a volunteer chosen from the audience lies down and rises horizontally. The name says what makes it special: it is performed completely surrounded, a few dozen centimetres from the spectators, with no curtain and no angles to protect. Its creator described it as the world's first levitation that could be done with a spectator who is not a stooge.

That is why magicians loved it: a grand illusion you could perform in the middle of a banquet hall, a restaurant or a wedding, where classic stage levitations need a stage and an audience seated out front.

Who was Spontus?

Spontus was the stage name of Olivier Guernion, a magician and inventor from the Pays de Bray, on the border between Normandy and the Oise. For more than twenty years he created tricks for other magicians, and he was a regular at the Forges-les-Eaux international magic festival. The local press described him as a natural tinkerer who took up 3D printing early to invent new effects.

The Spontus 360 grew out of the grand illusions book by Yogano, the inventor from northern France: Olivier Guernion had the idea of combining two of those illusions. We tell that story in full in "Where Air360 comes from", and the wider line of stage levitations in our history of stage levitation.

Olivier Guernion built his machines himself and sold them to magicians around the world. He died on 19 September 2024.

What did the original cost?

On his own website, Spontus sold the Spontus 360 in two versions: €4,220 including VAT for the standard version and €4,970 for the programmable one, with the flight case charged separately at €650. A complete, road-ready machine therefore cost more than €4,800 including VAT.

Original units are now mostly found second-hand, between magicians, on forums and in specialist groups.

Machines sold under the "Spontus 360" name

On 13 October 2026, the first page of Google for "Spontus 360" mostly showed new machines sold under that name: on AliExpress, on Amazon under several brands and in online magic shops, at a fraction of the price of the original. These listings use the name of the illusion; they say nothing about its inventor.

The name of a French inventor is now mostly used to sell products he did not build.

What we found on the copies

We have had several Chinese copies of the Spontus 360 in our hands. Our finding is clear: they are not safe, their structure is a problem and so is their mechanics. For lifting a member of the audience, someone who has rehearsed nothing and is trusting you, they are simply dangerous machines.

We do not know exactly which factory the units we had came from, and we do not claim to judge every listing one by one. But an audience levitation leaves no room for approximation: the machine carries a person, in the air, in the middle of other people.

And at those prices, it could hardly be otherwise. A machine sold for a fraction of the price of the original leaves no margin: to hit that price you need low-grade materials and components, little or no testing and no stock of spare parts. A levitation that is safe, repairable and maintained over the years costs money to build; at those prices, it simply cannot be done properly.

Above all, nobody stands behind the machine: no manufacturer to turn to, no insurance to rely on, no after-sales service, no maintenance. The day something gives way with a spectator lying on it, the magician is left alone with the consequences. That is the point we want to stress: on a machine that carries a member of the audience, the savings are paid for elsewhere.

Before you buy a Spontus 360

Whether you are after a second-hand original or a new machine sold under that name, a few checks are worth making. Ask where the machine comes from and who built it, with an invoice if possible. Watch it work, in person or on unedited video, several times in a row. Ask about wearing parts: on the original, some wore out quickly, and a machine that has done a lot of shows may need replacements.

Above all, ask the safety questions, since a spectator will be lying on it: who designed and checked the structure, what happens in the event of a breakdown or a power cut in the raised position, and who is responsible if something breaks.

Finally, ask about support: who will fix it in two years, and with which parts? For an illusion you take on the road, that is often what matters most.

And Air360?

Air360 grew out of two observations. The first was the copies. We studied several of them, and most are pale imitations of the Spontus 360 that take its shape without matching its quality. The second was the limits of the Spontus itself. Olivier Guernion was a craftsman, and his machine was held back by the workshop means he had at his disposal. That takes nothing away from his work, which was extraordinary at the time he designed it.

We came with something else: an industrial and technological capacity he did not have. It allowed us to keep the effect and fix, one by one, the structural, mechanical and safety problems we had found.

Hugo Marceau was one of the last buyers of the Spontus 360. At Apparatum we took it up again under a new name, with the blessing of Thérèse Hautot, Olivier Guernion's partner. Air360 keeps the effect: a member of the audience rising in the middle of the crowd. Everything else has been rebuilt: a smoother rise, a quieter motor, control from QLab, MIDI or a remote, and wearing parts tracked one by one.

Every machine carries a serial plate and enters a register that follows its services and its owners. Air360 is built in Lyon, France.

“I am truly happy that Olivier's levitation has found a new life, with all the improvements you wanted to make. I wish you great success, with all my heart.”

Thérèse Hautot, Olivier Guernion's partner.

Sources

• Fabien le magicien, « Interview de Spontus » : la Spontus 360, lévitation d’un spectateur volontaire, entourée à quelques dizaines de centimètres du public.
• Page Facebook de Spontus : « la première lévitation au monde qui peut se faire avec un spectateur non complice ».
• Actu.fr, « Olivier invente des tours pour les magiciens à Cempuis » et « Olivier réinvente la magie avec son imprimante 3D ».
• Constats d’Apparatum sur plusieurs copies chinoises de la Spontus 360 que nous avons eues en main.
• Annonces relevées le 13 octobre 2026 : AliExpress, Amazon, 52magic.com, bemagic007.com.