What are great Mentalism products?

Aug 27, 2008
283
0
Tijuana bC
I want to start doing some Mentalism and I want to know what great products are out there.... I know Corinda's book is a great place to start and theres also 22 blows to the head by Jay sanky or E.I emotional intelligence by luke jermay but is there other products I should know about? .. and franqly the reviews for jermay's dvd are not that good, so I may go ahead and skip it....
 
Jul 13, 2008
59
0
Athens, Georgia
13 steps is the way to go my friend. I do mainly mentalsm and use material from 13 steps still. If you are just starting off get that book, E.I. is excellent and I don't know much about sankey's dvd. Jermay's products are excellent though. But first...get 13 steps!!! you won't be sorry.
 
Aug 25, 2008
16
0
Iowa
www.youtube.com
Penguin Magic has a section on an artist named Alvo Stockman that you could check out. I'm not a mentalist and have never tried any of those products so I can't really recommend them but, they're there. That's the only mentalism products I'm aware of (apart from 13 steps to mentalism which you mentioned).
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,483
3
A Land Down Under
EI is great I dont know of anyone that would say otherwise. An alternitve is Dee Christopher's beautiful Shillouite. A lot of the big names (Osterlind, Maven, Banachek all have amazing DVD's out through L&L) There is a lot of nice things over at Alakazam aswell. Sankey's DVD is nice there are some really good piece's on it however there are a lot of things that i do not see myself using, but there is a lot of nice work on mentalism with playing cards. One thing that I have not seen talked about on here is Looch's DVD or book. The DVD contains a lot of the work on the book but with a little bit of extra thoughs on it. That is my new favourite DVD (at the moment) because in the effects have some sort of pseudo-real psychology.

EDIT: some really good work on actually building a routine is Banachek's prethoughts it is like $10 and it is the exact routine that he has used. Osterlinds MM 1, Max Maven's Nothing and Andy Nyman's get Nyman all have a complete act contained but also the reasoning as to why they do certian effects with a certian method.
 
Nov 16, 2008
2,267
0
36
In the not to distant future
great books
fundamentals - bob cassidy
13 steps to mentalism - Corinda
practical mental effects- Theodore anneman

these will give you an great start in mentalism.
EDIT: and if you ever want to talk about mentalism or need some help, feel free to pm me. I've been doing mentalism for almost 6 years.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
great books
fundamentals - bob cassidy

Good to see I'm not the only one recommending this anymore.

Personally, I'd say this is a better start for a mentalist than 13 Steps. Why? Because it goes heavily into how mentalism is performed and received by an audience. There's a reason Dr. Bob titled it Fundamentals after all.
 
Nov 16, 2008
2,267
0
36
In the not to distant future
Good to see I'm not the only one recommending this anymore.

Personally, I'd say this is a better start for a mentalist than 13 Steps. Why? Because it goes heavily into how mentalism is performed and received by an audience. There's a reason Dr. Bob titled it Fundamentals after all.

Exactly how I got started in mentalism. It is an excellent book.
 
Jan 1, 2009
2,241
3
Back in Time
Good to see I'm not the only one recommending this anymore.

Personally, I'd say this is a better start for a mentalist than 13 Steps. Why? Because it goes heavily into how mentalism is performed and received by an audience. There's a reason Dr. Bob titled it Fundamentals after all.

13 steps wasn't actually written as a BOOK, it was more or less Corindas lecture notes or thoughts just thrown together. There really is no order to the book.

O'd say Get Practical mental magic first and then Fundamentals afterward.
 
Feb 3, 2008
232
0
36
Raleigh, NC
I'm probably one of the few people who would not recommend 13 Steps to Mentalism as a starter's book. Its the first book I got, but it succeeded in making me back away from mentalism for a while because it made me wary that mentalism might not be what I thought it was. It was actually Daniel Madison, Jay Sankey and Banachek that brought me back to Mentalism.

13 Steps was definitely an interesting read though and a good insight into mentalism, but I don't use any of the effects in the book. A lot of the effects require you to be on stage or have props with you and generally require you to carry more with you. I do recommend it if you want to learn how to use a swami gimmick and get insight on something else (unfortunately I forget what its called, sorry).
 
May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
Alright
for mentalism
you needa learn as much as possible about it first then trying it out.
Its not just 22 Blows to the Head sankey stuff. Although that stuff works, you reallly want to look into what it really goes into, the realms of mentalism.
Check Out:
Luke Jermay, Corinda, Derren Brown, Alvo (hes more of a... modern style i guess, hes okay), Banachek, Richard Osterlind, Max Maven, Bob Cassidy

Products I recommend:
-13 Steps
-Skullduggery (really advanced stuff but really "enlightened" me)
-PSI series (these are tricks. All which are pretty easy. He has 1 DVD of the set which teaches purely Muscle Reading, so thats pretty cool)
-Mind Mysteries (same as PSI, all tricks)
-Fundementals. (Pretty good for starting. Not as hard core as pure psychological stuff)
- Psychological Subtleties (not exactly pure gold, but still pretty interesting)
- Emotional Intelligence. (jermay is always interesting to watch. This teaches you some basic cold reading and also how to set a routine.)
-Educating Archer (i know its not the best of DVDs, but I fell in love with Archer's material. He is a wonderful performer and even if you dont do mentalism, its still a wonderful DVD. He is damn funny and this shows you how to present the simplest of routines yet still get a standing ovation.)
-Psychokinetic Silverware (metal bending is part of mentalism. So yea... this will be the best source I think)
-Mystique (another great read from osterlind)
-Derren Browns Lecture. (although a tad boring, still some awesomeness right there)
-Docc Hilford, he has some Monster Mentalism DVDs. (once again tricks, but wont really "enlighten" you)
-Nothing (although a trick DVD, Maven tells you how to go into walmart, pick up a few objects and rape a 1 hour show. So not too shabby... haha)
-Leading Reading. (touches up on Cold/ Hot reading. Not the most indepth you will get, but still more understandable than books filled with pro terms and stuff)
-Seance by Dixie Dooley (more of a info DVD, like his Escapology. You prolly wont be using most of the stuff, but it still makes you go "AHHHHHH! DAMN GENIUS!")
-Mark Spelman's DVDs (more on the serious side, still tricks, but still a nice info nonetheless)
-Naked Mentalism (I read this quite a while back but I remember it was fun read)
-Blindfold Tips (I LOVE JOHN ARCHER, enough said. Seriously though. He teaches you how to wrap your head in duct tape plus with a airline blindfold on and still see things around you)

Basically, make yourself know as much as possible about mentalism, then go into starting. You want to know what your style is and understand which way you will go. Or else youll sometimes be comedy, sometimes serious, sometimes metal bending. Just not that good.

As for singular products, There are quite a few which are pretty smart. But sometimes, its not that amazing either. makes you just go. "oh... thats it?" Just learn as much as possible then start using singular products. You wont learn much from one gimmick will you?
Check out Alakazam for more mentalism products, they mostly sell those.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Gunn's beginner's guide is probably the closest to what I would recommend with a couple of exceptions. The biggest of which being that I do not recommend Ian Rowland's book to beginners. I'm a skeptic myself, but Rowland is a bitter cynic and has never done a real reading in his life. This becomes apparent when he states that he has never learned a psychic "science" such as astrology or palmistry, and just makes it up as he goes along.

That kind of attitude could only be born of a man who only gives cold reading demonstrations to people like himself. I'm telling you right now that if you try to fake your way through a reading like that, you ain't gettin' paid. A real audience can tell the difference. If you just make stuff up when doing a palm reading, there's a better than average chance that your subject is going to know you're lying.

His chapter on psychic baiting, while intriguing at times, is also a load of crap because he makes no effort to distinguish entertainers like Bob Cassidy from parasites like Sylvia Browne. As far as Rowland is concerned, they're the same thing. It's also worth noting that Herb Dewie had cold reading techniques that completely neutralized Rowland's attempts to stonewall a reader, further lending credence to my theory that Rowland's experience in cold reading is mostly from preaching to the choir.

In place of that, I would recommend Bob Cassidy's Full Facts of Cold Reading first. Beyond that, there are some wonderful books by Richard Webster, and Herb Dewie's Red Hot Cold Reading is a work of genius.
 
Sep 17, 2008
195
1
Maryland
I would go on amazon and read some reviews of mentalism books. To be quite honest a lot of them are going to be the same kind of thing. So read some reviews and find out what you personally are looking for.

I would really reccomend emotional intellegence. It is a great way (as Sciffydof said) to set up a routine and helps with some basic mentalist stuff.

For some great tricks, I really like Oz Pearlman's Into the Abyss. Check out the video on penguin magic. What's in a name is a great trick. He also has another one called 21st century phantom. Both dvd's are full of great tricks.
 
Oct 28, 2007
453
0
Sydney Australia
Gunn's beginner's guide is probably the closest to what I would recommend with a couple of exceptions. The biggest of which being that I do not recommend Ian Rowland's book to beginners. I'm a skeptic myself, but Rowland is a bitter cynic and has never done a real reading in his life. This becomes apparent when he states that he has never learned a psychic "science" such as astrology or palmistry, and just makes it up as he goes along.

That kind of attitude could only be born of a man who only gives cold reading demonstrations to people like himself. I'm telling you right now that if you try to fake your way through a reading like that, you ain't gettin' paid. A real audience can tell the difference. If you just make stuff up when doing a palm reading, there's a better than average chance that your subject is going to know you're lying.

His chapter on psychic baiting, while intriguing at times, is also a load of crap because he makes no effort to distinguish entertainers like Bob Cassidy from parasites like Sylvia Browne. As far as Rowland is concerned, they're the same thing. It's also worth noting that Herb Dewie had cold reading techniques that completely neutralized Rowland's attempts to stonewall a reader, further lending credence to my theory that Rowland's experience in cold reading is mostly from preaching to the choir.

In place of that, I would recommend Bob Cassidy's Full Facts of Cold Reading first. Beyond that, there are some wonderful books by Richard Webster, and Herb Dewie's Red Hot Cold Reading is a work of genius.

I second this post. Interesting read steerpike
 
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