We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Gutenplan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I’ve thought about this a lot. I think the thing I want my legacy to be – and what I really want people to remember is that I was nice. Anytime you mention a celebrity like Tom Hanks the first thing people say is “he’s so nice” – I want that to be what people say about me. My show is my product… my kindness is my legacy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a professional mentalist (mind reading). A third generation psychic (my father and grandfather believe they have ESP), I specialise in creating incredible and unforgettable experiences for my audience. I have been a full time performer for 6 years and have been performing magic and mind reading for 22 years!

My act is different from others because of me and my personality. They’re not paying for the “tricks”, they’re paying for me – my energy, my humor, my take on the idea of a mind reading show. By me being me, it makes it special, but finding out who I am as a performer was the most difficult thing to figure out. Being third generation helped but discovering my uniqueness in a world of imitations was a real challenge and something I’m really proud of.

In figuring out how to create a successful business I knew I needed a market. Corporate events was a natural choice for me because I know the world and can relate to the audience. No one really wants to be a company event – so I created a show designed to entertain the hardest to please and most skeptical people… and it has been a huge success at conferences, parties, meetings, and off-sites.

I am also the creator of The Members Only Show – the #1 special member event for private clubs. I am so thrilled that this show has been such a hit and I recently won the Boardroom Magazine Award of Excellence for Best Club Entertainment.

Along the way I’ve learned that being a honest business person is vital to success. I also made a pledge to always be the easiest person to work with, understand that there are a lot more important things going on than just my show, and to always remember that the relationship is much more important than the “in the moment” money.

I want everyone to know that being an entertainer is just like any other business. The product we sell is a show, but it’s not all fun… there’s a tremendous amount of work that goes in to being successful. The old joke – Show Business… business is twice as much as the show. I’d also like event planners and corporate teams to consider hiring a professional mentalist (specifically me!) for their next event. Putting on an event is difficult… and hiring a professional with years of experience to entertain your group is vital. Don’t take a risk… a bad show can ruin the night but a great one will make it unforgettable!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would obviously start with a night to the Magic Castle! It’s such a fun night out with great food and drinks – and fabulous magic!

Restaurants that I love are anything where Chef Casey Lane is in charge of the kitchen (his restaurants are the Pali House property – but I love the silver lake pool and inn specifically!), Gucci Osteria, Terroni, Kazu-nori, Carousel, Vespertine, The Musso and Frank Grill, Coffee at Jones Coffee or Mugshot Coffee, The Bel-Air Hotel’s Wolfgang Puck restaurant (if you haven’t been… go!!!), and BCD Tofu House. And for dessert we’d go to Magpies soft-serve!

We’d have to do the tourist stuff like the Farmers Market, Hollywood, and the beach.

LA is basically a bunch of small towns so I’d take my guests to different fun areas like Venice, Culver City, etc.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think the other magicians, mentalists, and entertainers who have shared their success stories deserve a lot of respect and thanks. – especially those who share their failures. The confidence it takes to know that your failure is part of your success and the knowldege that others can benefit from their mistakes is awesome. I also want to give a shoutout to Miguel Nolla – an incredible TV writer and perfect partner. Without Miguel I would not have the other 50% of happiness!

Website: https://www.themagicmentalist.com

Instagram: @themagicmentalist

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themagicmentalist/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themagicmentalist

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-gutenplan-los-angeles-3

Image Credits
photo credit Ryan Hartford poster copyright 2020 Close-Up Productions, Inc.

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