What is a Mentalist?

^ I get asked this question quite a bit, so I thought I'd give it a go here. When people think of the word "Magician" people might think of a stage illusionist (large contraptions, dancers, grand spectacles) or perhaps a casual street magician wandering around with a deck of cards, or somewhere in between. When asked to think of a "Mentalist" many think of a TV show or a situation where someone can always tell what someone else is thinking or how they're behaving. All of the above stereotypes have some truth to them, however...

If you'd like to get to know me and my story, I'd suggest visiting my main page here: https://www.jacksonridd.com and scrolling to the About section -- It will tell you a lot about how I came to be in this field. I see the difference between Mentalism and Magic to be as follows: Magic is object-based, i.e. we follow a ball, a card, a person even, and something miraculous happens with this subject. Mentalism is about the idea of an object, i.e. your thought is read, a wondrous coincidence occurs, your actions are predicted in the future.

In this, a Mentalist is someone who focuses on your thoughts and behavior, which is exactly what my purpose is when I perform. I focus on the person, my audience, and producing magical moments for you to enjoy. If you'd like, you should come see me perform in LA sometime, my shows are listed here: https://www.jacksonridd.com/links I'd be honored if you told me you found me from here.

Best,

JR