Interview with Michael Mezmer: A Hypnotist and Magician

Podcast interview with Michael Mezmer and CoolKay – May 2022

CoolKay – Hi I’m Karen from County Fairgrounds USA County Fairgrounds dot net Welcome to today’s podcast

County Fairgrounds here Do I have the infamous Michael Mesmer hypnotist magician on the line with me

Michael Mezmer – Yes this is the infamous Michael Mesmer

CoolKay – Hey you know Michael I’ve been looking at your videos and pictures You kinda look like Doctor Spock Have you been told that before

Michael Mezmer – Uh actually I’ve been a lifelong tracker and uh I actually won uh there was there’s a network called the Heroes and Icons Network uh that has Star Trek every evening and a couple years back they had a competition and uh they wanted to get the most valuable tracker and I end up winning the competition So yeah I do uh cos playing too as as so I enjoy it

CoolKay – Ok Well he was one of my favorite characters Yep Yep Absolutely great Anyway so you do primarily more hypnosis and you’re known around the world is a world class hypnotist but you’re also a magician right

Michael Mezmer – Yeah I do I I actually have been touring with magic for many many many many years um and all over the world And uh I I so I I known as a too because I that’s what I’m primarily known as these days But honestly uh I have toured you know all my life doing magic um started doing magic when I was 11 actually All right Did you have a mentor

Um you know for both of them I had I I studied with people uh for both magic and hypnosis Um the uh magic I had several Uh but I went to the Chev Chavez College of Magic uh in uh Panorama City when I was becoming a magician And that at the time was the premier place to study It’s still in existence not not that particular location

Uh And not the teacher I learned from cause I learned from Marian Chavez uh the magic that I learned and um she’s now passed away But um it was it’s the only school that was uh open to the G I Bill to be able to go and actually study using the G I Bill at that time back after World War Two And in that era And uh so I learned there and then for the most part of my career

um I went to the hypnotism Training Institute in Glendale California which also no longer exists Um But I said boy who was really considered the premier hypnotist and hypnotherapist the world I started hypnotherapy uh because I wanna become not just a stage hymns but also very uh skilled at hypnosis in general And helping people with hypnotherapy as well

CoolKay – Here’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask Have you ever I wanted to always ask a hypnotist if they’ve ever been hypnotized

Michael Mezmer – be hypnotized all the time Uh you know it’s a natural thing that we all do So but if you’re talking about formally being hypnotized yes Uh in training in class um we would be hypnotized every day but I do self hypnosis almost every night uh to be able to go to sleep and relax So uh it’s uh we all do hypnosis though because whether you’re

in a stage show whether you’re driving down the highway and you get somewhere and say how did I get here so quick Um You know you’ve done that I’m sure where your drivers say Wow I already got here Well that’s because you go into highway hypnosis So uh even daydreaming in school or in a classroom or and there’s many many examples I give you that everyone gets hypnotized It’s just not necessarily in a sense

CoolKay – Ok All right So uh can you hypnotize an entire audience

Michael Mezmer – Uh Actually yes if they want to be hypnotized but you have to understand hypnosis is self hypnosis So uh the people have to want to do it If they don’t want to do it then it won’t work Um But as far as an entire audience I do seminars uh for uh various issues weight control et cetera And of course everybody in the room gets hypnotized

CoolKay – Then I’ve always wondered about you know it is it is it true that some subjects don’t easily awaken from hypnosis

Michael Mezmer – No actually it’s harder harder to to uh stay in hypnosis than to it’s not exactly awakened because you don’t go to sleep when you’re hypnotized When you’re hypnotized you’re in a state of relaxed or relaxation you’re not really sleeping It’s not the same at all So um although we see it in the movies and it seems like it’s some mysterious supernatural thing it’s just a natural state of relaxation And as I mentioned everybody goes into it so you can easily come out of it any time you choose as well

CoolKay – So what do you think about what’s the best thing about doing hypnosis

Michael Mezmer – you know as far as entertainment purposes uh hypnosis is you know great in the sense that the people on stage have a personal experience with the show It’s you know they’re part of the show and they have a really fun experience on stage becoming the featured stars of the show Uh because the stage hypnotist although we are entertainers and we do help to entertain the audience You know it’s the people that really on stage that really make the show Uh But also it’s like a group therapy session Those that come up on

stage seek out having a release and having that fun And then the audience also has their own therapy and a laugh therapy and that they’re laughing the people on stage are having fun So everybody gets a benefit from it psychologically speaking Um as far as hypno hypnotherapy work which I work at the medical center in when I’m out on the road Um hypnotherapy And there’s so many benefits of course

CoolKay – Mm That’s what they say I know I interviewed a hypnotist once before and he had some kids and he used to hypnotize his son and stuff before they went to bed and that’s kind of like cheating don’t you think

Michael Mezmer – Well actually moms kind of do that if they read books to kids before they go to sleep at night they’re basically doing hypnosis because we do what’s called lullaby phrasing And uh you learn that and it’s a certain way of speaking and and dealing with people So um mothers generally do that as a natural thing when they put their child to bed at night anyway

CoolKay – Ok So who do you think is the greatest magician And who’s the greatest hypnotist of our time besides you

Michael Mezmer – you mean it’s living today Yeah Uh well I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say there’s any greatest uh uh just like I think anybody can be the greatest on any particular night at what they do It just depends on that night that audience and when you’re performing But um as far as my favorites um

uh with magic Uh I love David Blaine and I love Chris Angel Um David Blaine I’m taking some classes from David Blaine today actually Uh but David is a very fine magician and he does some things that nobody else does which is what I kind of do in my magic because I do Danger magic Uh it’s not your standard magic show So you know I’m breaking arrows with my neck I’m putting my

and the wolf trap I’m swallowing razor blades Uh it’s a very unique uh presentation especially in the fair industry Uh but David is just amazing And then Chris Angel he’s in Vegas He does some really fantastic stuff But I like what I like about them is not necessarily the material that they perform but more of their persona and how they developed a very unique persona and

and uh so they stand out uh beyond other entertainers generally not like anybody I mean Elvis was different than every other singer They all sang They all had a voice but Elvis was Elvis you know So I that’s what I look for in entertainers I’ve been around show business since I was very very young Uh and uh I I started doing shows when I was five years old and uh my first paid show was when I was seven

And um so I’ve been around the business all my life My brothers my oldest brother was drummer for Chubby Checker And Little Richard My second oldest brother was on Broadway and nominated for a Tony Award So um I’ve been literally in showbiz most of my life So when I look at when you say the greatest I look at people that are unique and that present something that’s fresh Um As far as hypnotist um you know I really couldn’t name anyone else Um

there’s not anybody that’s particular there I have favorites but they’re not alive anymore So Mm

CoolKay – OK All right I’m gonna take a little little bit of a cheat here Um I happen to know I have a magician friend that I’ve had for years and years and he wants me to ask you this question You brought up David Blaine what do you think of magicians exposing tricks I understand David Blaine is coming out with online videos teaching and exposing magic

Michael Mezmer – that’s a terrible way to explain it I I guess if he said it that way but I don’t believe it’s exposing at all Uh as a matter of fact uh magicians uh are gonna be better off for what David’s doing because what David is doing is he’s teaching people you’re paying a fee and you’re learning uh basics of magic Uh uh And uh so uh I I that’s not exposing exposing is like uh we have this guy called the mask magician many years ago

and um what he did was he uh he just you know was on on network television he would literally just show how things were done This is a classroom situation Uh no different than if you take any other seminar or any other instructional uh you know thing and he’s teaching starting with basics and he’s gonna move up to some of the more advanced stuff But um I’m already taking that and I’m taking it because I love David Blaine I know all the material but I just wanna see his you know his um

his idea on it And um so there’s young kids on there there’s adults on there Uh It’s a very well structured course and you have 20 people in your peer group that you kind of interact with as you learn And uh it’s very well put together So I think the word exposing is uh is not accurate uh in regard to David blames courses that he’s teaching I think it’s gonna upgrade people

because instead of people learning just you know random things off the internet and off youtube they’re actually gonna be in a structured class and learn the proper way to perform And honestly uh you have you have assignments you have to turn them in as far as video assignments performing what you learn So it’s a very very good way of helping to upgrade uh um especially the younger magicians who are not learning properly how to do the art

CoolKay – kind of curious Have you ever done anything else except perform I mean you did go to school Right

Michael Mezmer – Yeah Yeah I I did I have a degree in psychology as a matter of fact Um but but um I uh but I’ve always performed that’s all except when I was a teenager just trying to make extra money to buy magic props at that time But other than that um I uh

I I’ve always been on stage uh and when I was working at that time I was working with my dad my who who was the top Chevy salesman West Mississippi He never got a a grade school but he was amazing My my grandpa was a coal miner his dad and uh for 55 years So but I worked with my dad and uh well that’s where I learned how to be a really good sales person

That’s another skill set that’s really important as an entertainer if you want to survive And so my dad was amazing at selling and I I call it the art of selling without selling In fact I have a seminar on that Um and uh but but I learned from him the way to sell without selling essentially which is not pushing people into two things but helping them

find the best you know selection for what they want And if you’re the person for that great if you’re not help them find someone else that is So uh that’s the gist of it But uh my dad was amazing and uh I learned a lot from him but that was when I was 17 18 And then after that you know I just continued on being an entertainer and going on cruise ships and touring the world and all of that So

CoolKay – yeah you’ve been all over the world So what do you think is your best or favorite show

What what was it what’s been your best and favorite show Both with hypnosis and and magic I mean if you what’s your best experiences

Michael Mezmer – Well you know I’ve had it so I’m not this is not bragging I don’t mean it to sound that way but I’ve been very fortunate and lucky to have done a lot of amazing things in my career Um but you know um strangely enough some of my favorite things uh I mean and I’ve done a lot of them performing for Princess Grace and performing for um Michael Jackson and a lot of really amazing things in my career But I always look at what I’ve done recently rather than what I’ve done in my past year

And um actually strangely enough during the COVID time I’ve had some really amazing things happen Um I recently was on the RES channel In fact it’s still airing on there uh with a show called Autopsy The Last Hours of Roy Horn of Six and Roy And um

it sounds gruesome but it’s not it’s a really wonderful show because it really uplifts Sig Free and Roy And I was uh fortunate enough to be um you know uh around Free and Roy In fact they helped me with my magic when I was younger And um so they asked me to be a a guest on the show and I really love it It turned out to be one of those things that I think will be a legacy thing that will be around long after I’m gone because people that research Sig Free and Roy will watch that Um And it’s a fascinating show doesn’t

deal with the tiger incident as much as him passing away from COVID because he was the first start to pass away from COVID And so um but it talks about their life and it’s it’s an amazing piece of work and I’m so honored to have been part of that And also during COVID one of my most I would say amazing shows that I was able to do with magic was that I um performed for some millionaires Uh actually billionaires over in um in Beverly Hills I did a party for them and

to give you a a concept of it Wolfgang Puck was the caterer and he was there personally catering the food for these people And um yeah and Steve was in the audience who owns a lot of casinos in Vegas And uh uh he was a they were actually on the roof of the mansion and they had a Picasso over the fireplace So you can get imagine the kind of pay I received and the the amazing time I had there and that was for my danger magic Um so those are some of those And then as far as hypnosis

um I’ve had a lot of really cool hypnosis shows through the years Um and uh I think I’ve appeared on television quite a bit with the hypnosis which has been really fun Um but you know I think one of the meanest things I ever did with hypnosis is I worked for some folks that were um uh mentally challenged and I and helped them to have a wonderful time Uh and it it it’s really rewarding to perform for people that really really never have an opportunity to be exposed to what

what you normally do you know and for them to have joy in their faces This is very a Christmas thing in Portland Oregon this year also So really although I’ve had amazing things through my career from like I mentioned even acting doing movies I’ve done movies with Chuck Norris and Robert De Niro But um to I just like to focus on what I’ve done you know in the in the you know recent times and and those are the some of the most recent things that I really enjoyed doing

CoolKay – Well I always like to ask this question of all my entertainers You’ve had great times and you’ve talked about that Um there must have been some bad ones You wanna elaborate a little bit on that

Michael Mezmer – You mean as far as shows or Um I I because I I mean there’s a lot of ways to look at that Um you know an entertainer life is a challenging life and it’s not easy for your family It’s not easy for the you know because you’re always basically on the road Uh And and your business is your life essentially So you’ve got to you’re selling yourself you’re performing you’re presenting yourself you’re promoting yourself

So it leaves very little time to really cultivate your personal life your family life And so it’s difficult on the family um and the kids and everything So there’s that um as far as shows

um I can tell you one of the most challenging shows I ever did Uh I was uh performing for I won’t mention the company but it’s it’s a a gas company uh fuel you know like uh for your car Um And I was performing for the executives and I was sent out to this party and um

very rich Uh but they were uh as I walked into the party there was a pool house uh on the way a pool and a pool house there all the kids were being taken care of that pool house and they were they were uh watching uh on the movie screen They were watching uh the Godfather So then I go in these are little kids So then I go into the party and I find out really it’s all

uh basically mob people And um so I’m doing the show and and uh I’m doing the show They’re all in tails and tuxedos white ties all of this Uh And this is the big mansion out in the middle of this area And I go into the show and uh there’s a point in the hypnosis show where I and this was a hypnosis show this particular time where I have to excuse some people that aren’t you know they’re not in the right mindset to do the show

uh or or to be hypnotized And so I have to excuse one of these guys and he’s about the same height as me I’m 63

He has his hair grease back He’s you know the typical mob guy that you’d imagine from watching the Godfather uh movie And uh he was not happy that I didn’t wanna keep him in the show It was just I guess it was uh maybe something against his being macho I don’t I don’t know Um But anyway when I excused him back to his seat he didn’t like that So he chose to stand right behind me while I’m hypnotizing everybody and breathing down my neck and he had this intense look on his face And um

so uh and the people were like they didn’t know what to do Nobody knew what to do because this guy was one of the head guys and he was pissed off at me just because he he felt that you know that was an affront to him as a man or whatever that I would excuse him you know and uh which it wasn’t at all Of course I do that regularly It just some people just aren’t apt to be hypnotized at that moment in time So

anyway I just chose to ignore him completely and continue with the hypnotic process and uh lo and behold uh eventually he just faded away and went back to his seat But but it was a tense few moments there I can assure you that um and so that was difficult Um but you know really most of my shows um except for injuries with the with the uh danger Magic which do happen sometimes But other than that

uh most of my shows there’s no bad show There’s no you know some are wonderful some are good Some are you know they they’re good enough for what was hired Um not because of me but because of the situation wind rain electric fires uh tornadoes whatever you wanna say So because we work in the outdoor industry quite a bit with fairs So uh you know uh I I would say that I’ve never had a

uh a bad show just not to show up to the quality that I would like to do but not by any by any means any fault of my own It’s just uh environment uh situation you know

CoolKay – So so are you booked for the rest of the year I’m curious

Michael Mezmer – Well that’s that’s also relative because yes I have a lot of booking I have a lot of bookings but I’m not booked every day and none of us are generally speaking unless you have a regular show that you’re doing But um yeah I mean last last week for instance I was in Texas Iowa and then I did an amusement park in southern California last weekend and I’ll be at House of Blues in Anaheim this coming week So

uh I have a lot of bookings Um There’s always there’s always open dates and always looking for more work Um especially uh this year for me particularly I have an open spot the first uh couple weeks in July But other than that I’m I’m doing pretty good Uh In fact um I think probably on target for most you know for an average year and maybe a little better than an average year So yeah doing ok

I I also do a lot of other things you know I mean uh I do my hypnotherapy and I also um I’m a writer as well I have a book coming out in 2023 that’s probably gonna be published by Mafia Printing uh for My Ghost hunting because I do that as a hobby And uh so I have a book coming out called Ghost Transfer Hypno Among the Spirits And that’ll be coming out in 2023 early 2023 So

CoolKay – Oh that sounds interesting Um do you have kids

Michael Mezmer – Yeah Uh-huh Yeah My my kids are grown My daughter is 25 Uh she’s uh my both my my son is in his early thirties and both of them are teachers They teach fourth grade and both of them have masters degrees And um uh they’re very successful Actually my daughter’s been teaching for a couple of years and she just bought her first house which is wonderful So she’s doing great

CoolKay – and daddy hypnotized them all the time They were growing up right

Michael Mezmer – Actually no But um but I have used hypnosis with them on occasion for for different things But no uh although they did um tour with me my son when he was young helped to make money to buy his first car and everything by touring at the fairs with me He was the ventriloquism when he was younger Um and he graduated from the mayor ventriloquism group And

so he um he eventually because show business was a way of him being able to earn money when he was young And uh that way also he developed skills to become a teacher by being out with the public and working with him My daughter actually my son and his first appearances were on the cruise ships with us because he used to appear out of a cage of fire when he was 2.5 on the ships Primarily because that was the only way we could get him on the ship because kids weren’t allowed to be there when you work you work with

So we had to get him in the show So he appeared out of the cage of fire And then my daughter Aah she always enjoyed doing magic too She used to do escapes And one when she was the youngest female escape artist when she was in uh grade school and she uh did straitjackets and male bag escapes and

and all of that and performed the cannon uh um escape conference And uh so she she had a background in uh doing entertainment as well when she was young And that also as she always says helped her develop skills to be a teacher and present at school you know So

CoolKay – ok All right Well so where do we find you these days What what’s coming up for you

Michael Mezmer – Well like I said I’m doing some things locally in California Um that I’m doing what I’m doing What most tenants do to make quite a bit of good income during uh June is uh sober grad nights Uh and we do them to keep kids safe because on Grand night is the night that most teenagers are killed uh in in their lifetime

And um because they get drunk they go do things that are gonna hurt them and uh they don’t realize and then they end up getting car accident or going in Texas going over to Mexico or in California going over to Mexico

Uh A lot of things that are not good So what happens is the parents uh form uh association uh to create these grad nights and by doing these shows we actually help these students and these young people to pass that night in a happy fun way but in a safe way so that they can continue to have a wonderful life So we do a lot of those during this time of year I’ll be everywhere from um Montana to um oh down to um

you know Orange County California up to Santa Barbara Santa Cruz uh Sacramento So I’ll be doing those they’re private shows But uh then I’ll be doing the Fair Circuit of course during the summer and I’ll be working uh everywhere from Wyoming to um

you know up to uh Colorado and north to South South Dakota this year Uh I Idaho um and back to California so be a lot of uh county and state fairs Uh They’re kind of my bread and butter because I started out with fairs when I was very young In fact I was an entertainment director uh at um the L A county fair and San Bernardino the National Orange Show when I was very very young I I coordinated the

community acts the band competitions all of that when I was young that’s how I kind of cut my teeth in the fair industry So I’ve been in the business a long time So but I really love the fair industry because for me the audiences are so genuine you have real people coming to shows And when I say that I mean people that are you know I live in California So people out here they’re a different kind of uh crowd than you would get at a fair in Idaho where people are just

you’re good old uh Heartland type people that just really love entertainment so deeply and really appreciate it so deeply and so uncritically accepting entertainment So uh I love the fair industry I love the tour the fairs I love the kids love it You know the neat thing is when you’re at fairs you get to entertain all the kids that are in 4h and F fa and they really love to be entertained because they work so hard to get the animals to be

there and all of that and for them to have that wonderful moment of enjoying a magic show or a hypnosis experience uh gives them a little fun and a little uh relief from all the hard work that they do to make it to the fair So there’s a lot of great aspects to it I can go on and on about fair industry But uh and of course you know I’m past president of Rocky Mountain Fair Association So uh I really have been dedicated to fair industry most of my adult life

CoolKay – Ok Michael So how do people reach you if they’re interested in either booking you or talking to you more

Michael Mezmer – Sure Well you know the very best way is uh all the information is on my website but they can just call me too Uh I always give out my phone number which is 9513151942 So that’s 9513151942

CoolKay – Ok Michael I’ve thoroughly enjoyed talking to you Thank you very much

Michael Mezmer – It’s been my pleasure Thank you for calling me and interviewing me and thanks to everyone out there who’s ever attended my show and I look forward to meeting a lot of new people after they hear this interview that come out to see the show always come up and say hello if you can do a show

CoolKay – Thank you Bye bye

Michael Mezmer – bye Have a great day