03 Banachek triangles ( the ears ) I ’ ve taken you away from drawing the head before you could finish . So you ’ re rushing . Of course when I ask ‘ Did you forget to put a mouth on it ?’ it ’ s a yes . Most people draw cats in exactly the same way , unless you are an artist .” So the opening question of this effect wasn ’ t a point of casual conversation or even misdirection ; it was an intentional technique .
Because mentalism – or rather , mind reading – as Banachek prefers to describe all of his work , including his current Vegas show Mind Games – is layered with hidden cues .
“ There ’ s so much psychology in my show and subtleties people don ’ t see ,” he shares . “ I use verbal communication , non-verbal communication , lots of magic , and perceptual manipulation . They ’ re all put together to create a show . And there ’ s a lot of jazz mentalism with what I do .”
Some of Banachek ’ s favorite ideas , concepts and innovations through the years , he says excitedly , have been created completely by accident . “ A lot has come as a result of thinking in the moment or responding off a spectator . I find gems that w ay .”
A lot of us have accidents in our shows . But our accidents don ’ t turn into stage masterpieces .
“ It ’ s just verbiage . It ’ s the way I ask and it ’ s their disconnect at that moment .”
Humble and almost unwilling to acknowledge his own brilliance , Banachek has created and carved out a unique position in the world of magic and mentalism .
“ I ’ m the skeptical mentalist . I ’ m the guy that says it ’ s not real . There ’ s something to be said about that ,” he says . “ If I can tell you it ’ s not real and still convince you to actually believe it ’ s real , then that ’ s really f ** king amazing . That makes it even harder to accomplish it because that ’ s two negatives . I like to set up walls for myself to break down .”
Banachek has broken more than just walls in his career . Labeled “ the greatest mentalism act in the world ” by Penn & Teller , the predominant theme in his current Vegas show , as well as historically in previous shows , has always been to use mentalism to disprove psychic phenomena .
“ A lie is a lie is a lie ,” rolls off his tongue . When I was performing in the early days , almost every mentalist wanted people to think they were psychic . In reference to me , some said , “ There is no place for a fake mentalist .”
Banachek reflects when he started how almost all mentalists ( in kicking off their career ), traditionally felt the need for their audiences to believe what they were doing was real in order for them to fool their audiences . The recipient of the Psychic Entertainers Creativity award and The International
Awards
2023 : Linking Ring Excellence Award for an article on James Randi
2023 : IMS Mentalist of the Yeat
2022 : IMS Mentalist of the Year
2011 : IMS International Magicians Society 2011