Benji Bruce The Charming Mentalist

ANDREA BROWN
THE GAZETTE

It’s tough enough to call yourself a mind reader.

And if you do and your wallet gets ripped off from your gym locker, then what?

If you’re Benji Bruce, you send out a press release: “Mind reader doesn’t predict his stolen wallet ... But he will predict the headlines.”

Three weeks ago, he put three front-page predictions for the Oct. 3 edition of The Gazette in a jar and sealed it with duct tape.

I’m there on Sept. 14 when he does it. With a flick of a Sharpie, he gets me in the act while we stand on Tejon Street under the watchful fake eyes of the costumed mannequins at Zeezo’s. He has me write on the seal to rule out tampering when the jar is opened. I sign my name, draw a pumpkin. Only a 3-year-old could duplicate it.

Still, I suspect Benji has tricks up his sleeve. I want custody of the jar, but he says it must stay in the window of Zeezo’s for safekeeping.

A magic shop is safe?

I have a better idea, anyway. I ask Benji to use his clairvoyance to give me winning lottery numbers.

The charismatic 22-year-old smiles and nods obligingly. My mind races as I predict the headline of me winning millions. Hey, maybe it isn’t so hard to be a mentalist after all.

But I’ve misread his charm — he smiles and nods a lot. “My mom said if I was going to pick numbers for anyone, it would have to be for her,” he says. He turned her down, too.

Lottery picks don’t fit the cool, collective style of the longtime Springs resident who started doing stage shows as a kid. He aspires to be “the James Bond of mentalism.”

The recent college grad makes a living performing across the country. Local venues include brunches, where diners ask “Can you make the check disappear?” and bars, where girls ask “Can you take my bra off without me knowing it?”

Benji denies having special powers. “It’s a mix of suggestion, psychology, showmanship and magic. It’s like playing chess, I have to get in someone’s head, figure out how they think and create illusions,” he says.

“I’m not psychic. I can’t say a guy in blue jeans is coming around the corner.”

About this time, a guy in blue jeans comes around the corner.

Benji turns his back and has me write down my dog’s name, then spins around and says “Mario.” Bingo.

He has me think of a number in a deck of cards, then plucks out a 2. OMG!

“When I was talking to you I was gesturing and putting a 2 in the air,” he says, as if this explains it.

What about his Gazette predictions for Oct. 3?

At Saturday’s unveiling at Zeezo’s, he stood by while onlookers unsealed the jar and removed the headlines.

“Gas explosion: Boy Saved.” Sorry, Benji.

Next: “Llama Finished Odyssey” and “100th Birthday: Chow Time.”

Abracadabra-shazzam!

-

Contact the writer at 636-0253.

-

For more about Benji Bruce: www.benjibruce.com
- The Gazette

Recently a CSU student was discovered missing. Well, half of one anyways.

Benji Bruce, a freshman sociology major, makes his living in Fort Collins as a professional magician, performing Thursday and Friday nights at the local C.B. & Potts restaurant and at private events.

"When (Benji) is performing, you can tell he's having fun with it. It's effortless for him," said C.B. & Potts manager Steve Boothe . "(Customers) almost immediately warm up to him. I've only ever received positive feedback."

Bruce's tricks range from biting through quarters to making half of his body disappear.

"Whatever is impossible, that's what I can show you," he said.

Bruce, who has been captivated by magic since he was a child, first became interested in performing after watching his father's friend make a quarter disappear.

"It was just a simple trick, but as a kid it was the coolest thing," he said. "It really got me started."

Bruce has taught himself his tricks from books and DVDs and has even created a few of his own.

"I use other people's effects, but I adapt them to my own style, and sometimes I create my own," he said.

His hobby soon turned into a paying career.

"When I was 13 I began working in a restaurant performing close up. I'd just walk around to tables, show them magic and they'd give me tips," Bruce said.

After working in Colorado Springs, his hometown, Bruce likes the magic scene in Fort Collins even more.

"C.B. & Potts is the best restaurant I have ever performed magic at. Everyone's cool - the managers, waiters, even the customers," he said, "and I've worked at a lot of restaurants."

However, Bruce doesn't limit himself to performing at work.

"When he performs on our hall everyone is in awe. For the first two weeks, before anyone knew each other's names, we called just him the magician," said Cari Stepsay, a freshman open option major .

Bruce particularly likes performing for teens and college students because of their reactions to his tricks.

"I love making people experience the impossible. You can see the sense of wonder inside of them," Bruce said. "It's really fun."

He hopes to eventually perform with the "big timers" at hotels in Las Vegas.

"His tricks are amazing. They leave you speechless. It's like, 'Holy crap, I'm in Las Vegas,'" Stepsay said.

His advice to other aspiring magicians is simple.

"Read up on theories of magic and be yourself while performing," he said. - The Collegian (csu)