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    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.