07 Feb MEET OZ THE MENTALIST

Oz Pearlman is a world-class entertainer and one of the busiest mentalists in the country, having dazzled
audiences with his unique mind-reading ability for over a decade. Oz’s client list reads like a who’s who of
politicians, professional athletes, A-list celebrities, and Fortune 500 companies. His natural charisma and charm
make him the perfect choice for corporate events and private parties alike. Oz’s unique blend of mentalism and
mind-reading create an interactive experience that is redefining the very nature of a magic show…one that truly
needs to be seen to be believed. Oz has recently performed at the HASC “A Time For Music 36” concert and the
Chai Lifeline dinner. Pearlman won third-place on America’s Got Talent, Season 10 (2015). On January 13,
2020, he returned as a contestant in America’s Got Talent: The Champions. This Sunday, Oz is performing right
before the Superbowl on ESPN.

Please tell everyone about your
Jewish upbringing.
I was born in Israel and came to the
United States when I was 3 years
old. I had my Bar Mitzvah in West
Bloomfield, Michigan. It was a very
small affair, but then we went on a
cruise to celebrate. That’s where I
saw a magician for the first time and
I became interested in magic. It was
very bashert that my bar mitzvah led
to me doing this.

What was the experience on the
cruise like?
The magician brought me on stage and
I was blown away. I was the volunteer
that he performed a trick on. The trick
was called “The Sponge-Ball” and I
was hooked. I had never seen anything
like that before and I wanted to know
how to do it. I started checking out
books at the library and buying books at
Borders. I started going to magic stores,
getting into the scene, and learning. For
a few years I had a mentor when I was
younger who guided me in a
certain direction, but I was
mostly self-taught.
So you never went to any
magic school of any sort?
No school, no camp, nothing

of the sort. I was very self-
driven.

Have you ever performed in
Israel?
Yes, many times.
How do you typically
prepare for shows?
For theater shows, there’s not
a lot of preparation. I try to
think things through a lot. I try
to learn about the companies
or people I’m working for,
so I can give them a tailored
experience and make it
seem very genuine and
authentic to them and not
just like something I do for
everyone else. For TV gigs,
it’s a lot different because
I’m constantly creating new
things. Every time I go on
TV, I try to do something
different and new.
In my stage show, I change
things quite frequently, but
for the most part, it’s like the
greatest hits; my signature
effects.
My preparation is just performing. I
don’t really practice as often anymore
because I’m performing pretty much
every other day. The best way to practice
is by performing.
You recently performed at the HASC
“A Time For Music 36” concert
and the Chai Lifeline dinner with
thousands of people in attendance.
Does it matter to you how many
people are in the audience when you
perform?
The difference is production value,
so kind of when you ramp things up
you need to know a little more about
the production value. Where are the
cameras going to be? How am I going to
get on and off the stage? When you have
200 people in the audience, you don’t
really think about these issues. When
you have 1,000 people you do because
suddenly getting a microphone over to
somebody who’s 30 rows back takes
time. That time is boring if you don’t
fill it properly. Sometimes I’m limited
in time where I’ve only got 25 minutes
from start to finish. So things that are
going to take more time for me, I need
to be more aware of. I have to be aware

of what the audience can see and hear;
if you’re up in the balcony and some
guy is blown away in the front, but
you don’t see and hear it, then it means
nothing. For you, the show is terrible.
So, in a lot of those instances, the things
that I’m focused on are the same as if
you were a director in a movie. I’m
trying to create a seamless memorable
experience for everyone attending. In a
lot of instances, I don’t worry as much

with smaller audiences as I do with
bigger events.
Doing bigger shows doesn’t stress
me out anymore. It just makes me
think about a lot of factors that are not
normally in my control that I need to
make sure will still be in my control.
What’s the difference between being
a mentalist and a magician?
A magician is designed to fool your
eyes. It’s an illusion, it’s a slight of
hand, it’s something where your brain
understands there’s a trick. I don’t
try to fool your eyes; I’m not moving
my hands fast. I don’t do anything
of the sort. I’m fooling your mind.
I’m entertaining you based on my
knowledge of how people behave,
how they act, and how they interact. In
essence, it’s as if somebody can predict
your behavior or know things about you
that nobody can possibly know.
You’ve been on the Ellen show,
America’s Got Talent, Late Shows,
you’ve performed for professional
sports teams, corporate businesses.
Do you get nervous anymore or
you’re just cool because you’ve been
doing it for so long?
I sometimes get nervous, but my nerves
turn into hyper-focus. Getting nervous
means that in some ways you’re not
prepared. I still get butterflies in my
stomach, like when I go on these big
TV shows and know millions of people
are watching.
I have arguably the biggest show that
I’ve ever done this coming week with
the most people ever that are going to be
watching. And it’s going to be live. So,
in that situation, I’ve thought through
everything that I think could happen

and I’ve planned for it. If something
doesn’t go the way I’d like it to go,
my tension level doesn’t change. I go
with the flow. I’m having fun and you
don’t see me suddenly panic. Fear can
actually ruin my tricks because, if you
think about it, I’m trying to control
people’s thoughts and how they work.
If people suddenly sense my tension, it
actually won’t work.
Next week you are performing before
the Super Bowl on ESPN. Can you
give us a sneak peek to what you have
planned that day? Are you nervous?

Something that’s going to be very multi-
layered. When I say multi-layered, it’s

like taking a bite out of a cake and with
every bite that you take you will taste all
different flavors and all different things.
I’ll be with five anchors that are the
game commentators before the game
starts. It’s going to be themed around
football. A lot of things will happen
together in what I promise you will be
a series of crazy surprises with a huge
surprise at the end. This will be unlike
anything I’ve ever done before and I’ve
never done it before, so the first time
you’re going to see it is the first time
I’m actually doing it. That’s what makes
it exciting for me.
The nervousness is now. Hopefully
by the time I get to set, there’s no
nervousness because I’ve thought
through every scenario. And I hope for
the best. It’s either go big or go home.
I don’t like to do safe things because
if it’s safe you can feel that it’s safe.
There’s a lot of moving pieces which
makes it very exciting for me and for the
audience at home because it truly can go
wrong. I’m telling you there’s a million
ways it can go wrong! Hopefully I’ll
find that one way where it doesn’t.
Have you ever messed up?
Totally, I have messed up many times.
Most live shows, I mess up maybe once
or twice. It’s actually a good thing, it
means you’re giving effort and trying
new things. You’re not just doing the
safe kind of tricks that you always do.
Again, in a longer show you can afford
to mess up once or twice; it humanizes
you. On TV when you have 6 minutes
and there’s 30 million people watching,
hopefully you don’t mess up because
you don’t have a lot of time to get out
of it. You can’t unwind, so I hope it
doesn’t mess up. There’s nothing to

really do. You can plan for the worst
and have backup measures, but there are
definitely risks.
Any predictions for this year’s Super
Bowl?
I’m going to make that prediction once
they’re in the finals. I’m eventually
going to make a prediction. I don’t want
to do it too early. I’m going to make a
very firm prediction when the 2 teams
are finally in. If I make predictions
earlier than that it’s always been dicey.
It’s when I have 2 teams in there, I’m

going to say who’s going to win and by
how much.
You run marathons. You won the New
Jersey Marathon four times. You won
the 50-mile Chicago Ultra Marathon
in 2015 in 5 hours, 25 minutes, and
26 seconds, and have ranked within
the top 30 fastest Americans for 50-
mile races. How similar is it to run a
marathon and to be a mentalist? Is it
similar as far as training your mind?
I think that one feeds into the other.
They’re not really similar pursuits, but

they do have a synergy
which is that the same skills apply. The
discipline involved in training for a
marathon- sharpening your focus, your
mind, being able to zone out- those are
the same skills I use as a mentalist. I get
really creative a lot of time when I’m
running, when I’m in the shower, or
when I’m in places where my mind is
not occupied by electronics and the day
to day to-do list. That’s when I can kind
of turn my brain off and that’s what turns
on the creativity. That’s when I come up
with my best ideas. I also think the focus
that I told you about when I go on TV
and I’m hyper-focused is the exact same
when I stand on the start line of a race.
Has any law enforcement or
intelligence agencies ever reached out
to you?
I’ve had people from law enforcement
reach out to me. I don’t want to say
agencies have. Individuals have
definitely discussed some body language
reading techniques with people, lie

detection techniques with people, both
give and take where I learn from them
and they’ve learned from me. It has been
useful. I haven’t solved any crimes,
but I’ve definitely spoken to some
people, undercover agents, which is very
fascinating-learning how they interact,
what they do.
What’s next for Oz?
Right now, I’m full steam ahead on
the Super Bowl; that’s going to be
the biggest thing I’ve ever done. I’m
also hopefully going to be, a few
weeks earlier, at the Pro Bowl. So,
I’m going to be doing a few things
for ESPN and the NFL teams and then
I think we’re going to continue that.
There’s a lot more coming up for me
in the sports world. I think that they
found that I connect really well with
athletes, being that I am one and I’m
a mentalist, so I know how to engage
them. I think there’s a lot more that’s
going to come for me this year on TV,
as well as live shows.