Master Hypnotist ASAD

Asad Mecci, an acclaimed hypnotist, put on a show so entertaining and fascinating that we saw it three times, including a midnight performance. We rode horses on a beach and crewed a retired America’s Cup yacht.

There’s a line of upscale shops that sell designer apparel, a sports deck featuring basketball and miniature golf, and a huge video screen that plays videos and movies and overlooks the main pool on the Lido Deck. There’s even a place to rent tuxedos (I didn’t). Crave the subdued atmosphere of an Old English library setting? Triumph has the Oxford Bar. Need to check your email? There’s an Internet café, of course. In the mood for live music? Just stroll down to Venezia Jazz Club, which will soothe your sunburned soul with cool jazz.

The five of us gave it our best shot, but I figure we experienced only about half of what the Triumph has to offer. Which, in true Love Boat fashion, can only mean one thing: There’s definitely going to be a sequel.
- American Way Magazine

Asad the Hypnotist

The slow dance is suppose to be a classic romantic moment, one couple enjoying the moment.

But for Asad Mecci, a slow dance can also be hazardous moment; he's never quite sure where his male partner is going to put his hands.

Such are the risks when one is a professional hypnotist and entertainer.

"I've had guys grab my ass while slow dancing on stage," he said laughing.
The 'dance' sketch is one of the staples for Mecci, known professionally as Asad the Hypnotist. His dance partner is a male volunteer and thanks to hypnosis believes that Mecci is a beautiful woman who wants to dance, but one with very, very, bad breath.

"Every time he'd reach in for a kiss he recoiled in disgust," said the entertainer with another good laugh.

Tonight, the professional hypnotist will bring his stage show to Grande Prairie for the third time in three weeks, part of a four-show appearance at Rock City on Friday nights in April and early May.

The show is a blend of humour, outrageous skits and high energy involving everything from slapstick humour, belly dancing to chairs and some adult content.

It's a show Mecci has been developing for several years but only recently decided to reach out on an extensive Western Canadian tour. He is scheduled to do 20 shows in 23 days in April including the multiple stops in Grande Prairie, in between he's performing everywhere from Victoria to Lloydminster.

But it's the high seas and not the land-locked Prairies where Mecci cut his teeth as a performer. For the last six years the Toronto native has performed for Carnival Cruise Lines, flying back and forth from Canada to the Caribbean to perform on the ships. Being on the road for as many as 25 days a month would be a wearing experience for most people but Mecci, fresh off a show in Victoria, speaks with energy and passion about his career.

"I just love it, it's a great gig," he said. "I enjoy the cushion of laughter ... the adrenaline rush of being on stage. You never know what's going to happen on stage."

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Mecci was in his first year of university when he discovered hypnosis thanks to a friend with a bad sunburn who used hypnosis to treat the symptoms and pain.

"So I'm sitting there in university studying finance and I was fascinated by it," he said.

His friend went on to hypnotize Mecci, making him think that he was flying on a cloud in a cold sky and Mecci began shivering despite himself.

"I was thinking he must be playing the air conditioning," he said.

His friend wasn't and Mecci's finance degree plans went out the window.

But while hypnotists are generally known as entertainers, there is a serious side. Mecci has worked with athletes to increase their performance and other cases using hypnosis for everything from motivational speaking to weight loss.

"Clinical work ... people are hugely motivated, they want to achieve a goal so there's no resistance," he said.

But it's on stage in theatres, clubs, casinos and more where Mecci does most of his work. He said he's not bothered by the image hypnosis has as entertainment and not its more serious side.

"When I deal with hypnosis I demystify it on stage, I talk about it to the crowd," he said. "People take it seriously after seeing friend who know aren't plants being hypnotized on stage. I think it's a good way to introduce the subject."

At least until the slow dancing starts. - Daily Herald

Staff at the Queen’s are used to seeing arguments among patrons. But patrons having arguments with their own clothing is a different story.

Hypnotist Asad Mecci will be planting suggestions in participants’ heads on Wednesday nights for the next three weeks – beginning April 21 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre for an all-ages show, followed April 28 and May 5 with shows at the Queen’s.

“There’s the clean version and then there’s the uncensored version,” Mecci said.

Aside from making shirts talk, he can also make chairs pinch or disappear altogether, just with a simple suggestion.

Mecci discovered hypnosis as part of his martial arts training, which included meditation and self-hypnosis. While studying commerce at university, a friend shared how hypnosis helped conquer the effects of a painful, itchy sunburn.

Mecci finished his commerce degree but spent most of his spare time in the psychology wing of the library. He earned certification through the National Board of Hypnotherapy and the American Board of Hypnotherapy and began clinical work, such as anti-smoking.

After a few years, he branched out into entertainment, working at Second City, the famed improv studio in Toronto, before landing a regular gig on Carnival Cruise Lines.

People fall into hypnotic states on their own every day, from zoning out while driving a car or emotionally reacting to a movie.

“You know what’s on screen isn’t real but you have a physiological response,” Mecci said. “They decide to check their disbelief at the door.”

When Mecci looks to the audience and sees people with attention riveted to him, with a blank look or a poker face, he knows he has a good candidate for his show.

“If someone coughs or bumps them, they’re still focused on me,” Mecci said.

What he also enjoys is the reaction from participants’ friends, who see the victims respond to all kinds of suggestions, no matter how unusual.

“They know the person on stage and they know they’re not a plant,” he said. “The people on stage – you never know how they’re going to react.”

- Nanaimo News Bulletin

Is it all hypnohype?

Asad is back by popular demand for three shows at the Summit Theatre.

LANGLEY ADVANCE APRIL 15, 2010


What is hypnotism? Is it an art form, trickery, magic, self-empowerment, mental healing, or just a magnificent, hilarious show?

Let the master of the human mind, Asad Mecci, show you that there is a lot more to hypnohype than meets the eye.

Due to an incredible reception given Mecci during his visit to Cascades Casino last October, promoter Rob Warwick of Rock.It Boy Entertainment is bringing him back.

This time, Mecci will be performing three Sundays in a row, April 18, 25, and May 2.

"Asad Mecci has been doing the most amazing things with his mind and with other people's minds," Warwick said of the Toronto-based entertainer and clinical hynotherapist.

"He is an international performer who has entertained top-level corporations, universities, cruise lines, and five-star resorts around the world."

Asad has guest-performed on television and radio, including MTV, Much Music, Maxim Online, and YTV.

Tickets for his shows are $17.50 each, and available from the casino's guest services, or from all Ticketmaster outlets.



Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/hypnohype/2916012/story.html#ixzz0qIn9CdOO - Langley Advance