Vanish Magic Magazine no. 39

development and empowerment. My show
is clean, entertaining, inspirational, real and
one that elevates the public’s perception of
hypnosis.
In May, 2009, our beautiful daughter, Maya,
was born. One year later in May, 2010, my
wife, Mistia, had officially decided to hang
up her Spandex and become a full-time
mommy.
For a magician, the next obvious step
would be to carry on as a solo magic act.
That option will always be available for me.
However, the transition and repositioning
I began in early 2006 has been the right
choice for me, personally, and as an
entertainer.
HYPNO-tainment!, my brand of comedy
hypnosis shows, was officially born and
has elevated the energy of hundreds of
rooms around the world and has personally
changed many a life! What more could I
possibly ask for? I guess it’s time to find a
new hobby.
Tell us about how it felt to move away
from illusions and even selling your
props to others. Was it difficult to let
go of these special pieces?
You know that feeling that says, “Something
is missing. I’ve forgotten something.
Really important. Something huge!” This
is how I felt while traveling to my first solo
engagement.
Left at home was my wife and all of my cases
of illusions and props! I felt very empty.
My wife and I traveled and performed
together for 12 years. That’s a long time for
anything and it was a very difficult routine
to move away from. That empty feeling from
not having my props and equipment soon
dissolved after a few months.
“
However, seven years after fully transitioning,
I still feel the emptiness from not being able
to share each of my experiences, and the
stage, with my best friend and partner.
The first illusion we purchased together
was the Modern Sword Box by Illusions by
Your Design. We were ecstatic with Thom
Rubino’s work! Dismantled, that little beauty
fit precisely in the trunk of our 1998 Toyota
Corolla fully assembled. We routined and
performed it to fit the largest of auditoriums.
We loved that illusion and kept it in our show
throughout our entire illusion performing
career. Sadly, it was also the first illusion that
sold when we put our repertoire up for sale.
That was so difficult!
We had hung on to all of our props and
illusions for a few years before deciding to sell
them. Ultimately, the feeling and knowing
that all of those beautiful pieces had been
designed and built to be used. That eclipsed
our desire to hold on to them.
What role does fatherhood and being
a husband have in your career and
work opportunities? Have you had
to make changes to adapt to having
a family? What do you feel is the best
way you’ve found to ‘make it work’?
Being a father and a husband take
precedence in my life second only to God.
The responsibilities of both a husband and
father that I’ve agreed with steer me in my
work. What my family gets to see and learn
through my work, I feel, is significant to the
success of our relationship, learning and
development.
My work is not about just me and my selfish
desires any longer. I am living for much more
than just myself! After 12 years of performing
together, my wife and I both wanted children
and, therefore, we chose to reinvent ourselves
while still holding firm to our entertainment
foundation. After all, adaptation is a necessity
for growth and development!
Others in our field have maintained
the work they were doing before they
had children. I admire them greatly for
demonstrating the possibility of balancing
family with work, despite the obvious (and
not so obvious) sacrifices they make.
Has performing as a hypnotist
affected your style of performance in
way different from being a magician?
Have you had to change your style,
comedy, and character for this?
As a magician, my performance style is truly
me being me, experiencing and showing off
unbelievable and fun miracles; sharing in
the awe with the audience.
Like many magic performers, I dabbled
with different characters along my path but
always came back to what felt right for me,
what felt most natural.
In a magic act, a magician isn’t actually a
magician, of course, but is rather portraying
or performing as one. The opposite is true
in a bona fide hypnosis show. I don’t see
my hypnosis shows as me ‘performing as
a hypnotist’ so much as I approach them
as I AM a hypnotist, and a showman,
demonstrating the super cool states of the
human mind.
To the audience, I always explain that ‘this
is NOT about me. This is for YOU and about
YOU!’ The audience meets the approachable
and the naturally high-energy me and I
maintain this energy throughout the show.
There are some entertainers presenting
hypnosis shows — and have been for
many decades — that take the stage in a
stereotypical, theatrical ‘magician’ sort of
way. Personally, I disagree with an overly
dramatic or charlatan-type character for a
stage hypnotist as it can bring down the
credibility of hypnosis.
When performing as a magician, I think
most magicians can relate that we are
I immediately adopted this purpose
as my life’s mission statement as
well: To elevate the energy in the
room."