Foundation Nation
Foundation Nation
S5 - E5: Part 1 of a special 3 part series "A Magician's Tale from Seattle's Nate Jester"
Step into the captivating domain of mentalism and magic with Seattle's own Nate Jester, whose sleight of mind dazzles and astounds. Our latest episode peels away the layers of this mystical world, as Nate reveals the intricate dance between psychology, probability, and showmanship. It's a laughter-filled journey that leaves us marveling at the 'magic' woven into the fabric of everyday life, from the miracle of creation to the spellbinding forces of nature. With Nate's guidance, witness how the extraordinary emerges from the ordinary, proving that sometimes, reality can be as enchanting as any illusion.
As we waltz through Nate's personal narrative, we traverse the landscape from intimate magic gigs to the corporate sphere, and back again to the limelight of entertainment. This episode illuminates the misunderstood art of hypnosis, clearing the fog of myths to reveal its true, mesmerizing nature. We give a standing ovation to the magicians who've shaped American culture, like David Blaine and David Copperfield, and reflect on TV's transformative effect on modern-day magic and mentalism. So, join us for a spellbinding session that promises to leave you both amazed and a firm believer in the power of credible amazement. Nate's expertise in magnifying the allure of corporate events with magic is just a play button away—prepare to be enthralled.
Hello and welcome to Foundation Nation. I'm your host, matthew Cote. Today on the podcast, we're going to talk about some interesting recent goings-ons in our beautiful state and maybe even a few things going on in this amazing round thing we call home. Hey, I'm Matthew Cote. This is Foundation Nation. Welcome to another episode underneath the SeaTac Airport. I am here with a special guest on a three-part mini-series Nate. What's up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, my name is Nate Jester. I'm a mentalist. Here in Seattle I entertain private parties and corporate events. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man. So this is our first episode together and we're going to talk about wait, where'd you go? No, it's not that kind of magic, no disappearance shit. We're going to talk about I don't know like magic in the wait. Hold on, I got to turn my brain on. I'm going to open up my can of Mountain Dew. Hold on, I got to drink some Get that sugar going.
Speaker 2:I'm on coffee today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it gets late in the day. I can't drink coffee anymore. I got to switch over to the cold beverage. All right, I am getting hungry though. So okay, let's see. So magic is amazing. I wanted to thank you. Matt V's Christmas party you attended and I dude everybody. Everybody was like who was this guy? It was fun. Yeah, the stuff, some of the stuff you did, was just crazy, exciting, too Cool, Really very enjoyable. If anybody needs like somebody to come and, you know, make their wife disappear, this is your man.
Speaker 2:Oh, man Doesn't sound right yeah.
Speaker 1:Poof Dog, neighbor fence, whatever. So what I wanted to talk about a little bit was like kind of the history of magic, Like what do you know about the history of magic and mentalism? Because I know there's two. Actually, maybe you should start out that what's the difference between mentalism and magic?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Help me understand that.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I get that a lot. So I am a mentalist, I've been studying magic and I've been a magician for many years. The best way I feel to describe it is a magician will find your card. A mentalist knows your card, so it's more cerebral, it's more. I think it's more thought provoking and impressive.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, so are you reading a lot of, oh, I guess. Tell me if I can answer. I don't want to answer that. I don't want to know the secrets, because I know there's rules about this shit and stuff. I don't want to like blow the gig, but yeah, no, you're not getting that. Yeah, so the only really question I have is there a lot of body language that you're reading? I mean, as a person, are you? What is your special ability as a human being?
Speaker 2:So definitely not supernatural. I always say this in my shows. Is that I'm an illusionist, giving you the impression I can read minds?
Speaker 1:Okay, all right.
Speaker 2:I say that once. But the illusion is really strong by the end of the evening. You're going to think I can read minds.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:So we use in my son a lot of guys and entertainers. Mentalists use different techniques. I use a technique that I would describe as layering. So, yes, body language. I've looked at a lot of statistics, studies, psychology and probability, experience and also BS.
Speaker 1:BS.
Speaker 2:And a lot of it has to do with taking the audience in a direction where, wherever we go, your experience and your knowledge can keep driving the ship. So you're going to get to your destination. But how and where we, how we get there and how amazing it is is sometimes unknown to myself.
Speaker 1:But it all works out, do you think? Okay, okay, all right. Mentalism and magic are two different things. So do you think?
Speaker 3:there's, yeah, yeah is so.
Speaker 1:Do you think there's actual, real magic in the world? I mean, man, I mean, is that a question that I can ask you?
Speaker 2:yeah, so I don't believe in and magic.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't believe in magic.
Speaker 2:I believe in miraculous things.
Speaker 1:Give me an example. Have you witnessed a miraculous thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think this earth and us being here. Yeah is the most Miraculous thing any of us.
Speaker 1:That's a good way to put it. I mean, I really I I felt like I believed in magic until you say that, but maybe it is miraculous things because you know, when you have a kid it came from absolutely nothing. That is crazy that crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:I got nothing. You have kids, yeah, I got two boys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just, it came from absolutely nothing, right, my boy. And then, and then it grew Into like me and you. Yeah, he's sitting right. Yeah, you know, and we can build a spaceship and we can build a computer. We can make coffee Podcast, podcast. Yeah, it's just, it's, it's that's some crazy shit. Yeah, you know it.
Speaker 1:Whenever I think about Like different elements on the planet, you know so they, when I was in college, they always said the amount of water that we have on the planet, it's the same amount. That's always been here. Right, it just it goes, it goes up, it circulates, it turns into snow and rain, it comes down, it just keeps recirculating. We have the same amount of water, but one thing we don't have the same amount of is people, because we make them from nothing, you know. So we have the same amount of steel, the same amount of granite, the same amount of sand. You know, all that shit is just recycling over and over. Okay, but we, we, the one thing that we can bring to this planet is humans from nothing. That, so that has an impact on it always made me think about that, you know, and so I was like so that's, that's pretty, pretty Pretty, it's miraculous, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm right there with you.
Speaker 1:So what's your favorite book? What's your favorite Do you have? Is there a mentalism book out there that like for kids or something?
Speaker 2:Oh, for kids. That's definitely not gonna be my favorite, but Mentalism is not for kids.
Speaker 1:It's not for kids.
Speaker 2:So I say I'm a mentalist. Mentalists do mentalism. Okay, so a lot of people ask me that just throw that out there. So if if, like somebody's kid, five, ten years old, 15 was looking to get into magic? Nowadays there's YouTube, there's a lot of resources out there, there's a lot of books, there's. We're in Seattle here, so Pike Place Market Magic Shop. Oh okay, local business town in the market They've got a ton of books and resources.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay so.
Speaker 2:I like the old school books, the stuff that just these guys, these Entertainers that aren't around anymore but they had some ideas. I'm just cutting edge stuff and I go back in the day and read that stuff.
Speaker 1:That's fun? I bet that's fun. Oh, it's is there. Is there anything you know about like the oldest magic book that's around? Or is there a name you know like that? Yeah, some kind of ancient old book that started it all?
Speaker 2:so I couldn't tell you about a book. But I know magic is, you know back in, you know the beginning of time, nearly it's very. It's one of the oldest art forms of entertainment. Yeah, back with shamans, it was. It was used for conveying medicinal purposes. Yeah, yeah, and then I think it came over here to the United States with Indians. Oh, okay, yeah, native Americans.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's the better term.
Speaker 1:Yeah, native, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, seattle's named after a chief. I do, chief Seattle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, you know it's pronounced or it's actually spelled Seattle.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh, that's really hard to say, Don't call me on this.
Speaker 2:It's really and nobody could say it which is why they Spell it s e a t t l e. But I think the correct original spelling of chief Seattle Just laughing at myself is like s I e t l e, s I e t l e, something like that.
Speaker 1:I can look it up, maybe that's cool, that's cool yeah.
Speaker 3:Foundation nation is proudly sponsored by jays technology solutions. Call jays technology solutions at two, five, three, three, seven, six, seven, five, seven, nine for all your computer repair, I, t and network solutions.
Speaker 1:So if, if, if a kid wants to get into mentalism, what age Would you recommend?
Speaker 2:Mentalism is so advanced.
Speaker 1:It's advanced like adults.
Speaker 2:I don't even do mentalism for kids. They don't get it. It's more, it's for a sophisticated audience. Yeah so it will works really well with my corporate groups. Yeah, private parties, you know, just like older people, 40 and up 30s. Yeah, they'll get it. Yeah, it just depends on the temperament and age group. But okay, you have to understand how impossible something is right before you can be blown away.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the younger kids, they, they need something. Wow, like if I pull out some like Make something light on fire or something's flashy, very eye-peeling, that's what they like and that's what's amazing, okay.
Speaker 1:So what about the, what about the, the, the younger, what? What's? What's the trend in in in your industry these days? Like what's trending right now. More is because I'm just thinking. What you do has to be done on in person and A lot of people are playing on their phones.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I use. I mean, you probably remember I think I can remember your holiday party in December. We did some illusions with people's phones Doing taking some photos. Yeah, um, you can use social media a little bit, but, um, yeah, I like to use whatever is topical. Okay so phones are very popular. I had a local company here watch the cell phone, and so they hired me and I just created a bunch of illusions with their phone.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, yeah that's fun.
Speaker 2:The phone's not around anymore, I can say it. They was on fire phone. Oh, oh yeah, I was doing yeah.
Speaker 1:I never even heard of it. Yeah, that's how bad it was eight years ago or so Amazon fire phone. Actually I do remember somebody having that and they were telling me nothing but problems. That's right.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to go into it too much.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I create all these illusions that I'm doing it at their event. Yeah, there was problems with the phones. Yeah with the illusions that I was doing. I was like that's not me.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, amazon, you know they, they, they definitely command a serious amount of, you know, consumerism information, so they're thinking a lot going on, they're, they're. They're probably okay not having one succeed, hey, so you can't be successful, you don't try it.
Speaker 1:No, you get it's a hundred fails in one attempt. You know, and if you, and if you sit back and you look at the one, the one that succeeded, you'll you'll realize that the only reason you secede is because you failed a hundred times. Yeah, you know, it doesn't. You don't just like open the door and win no, so that's, that's. That's kind of the fun thing. So, uh, tell me a little bit about where you, where you're raised, where were you raised? In what world did you come from?
Speaker 2:I grew up in a small town, school district number one, still come Washington school district number one Like still a come. You know that exit i5 by fort lewis mccord, jordy case yeah. Yeah, um it's uh.
Speaker 1:Is it past the tanks?
Speaker 2:It's the dupe on, still will come exit.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, it's right around there. Yeah, yeah the direction, but yeah, down at the water.
Speaker 2:It's a pretty place, it's yeah, very pretty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I I went through there a few times, yeah, so you grew up there.
Speaker 2:So I grew up there, moved to Seattle when I was 18 and, uh, just, I've been gigging it. I started out doing uh magic in restaurants, so I'd walk around, uh, while people are waiting for their food, do some close-up card tricks and stuff uh, definitely on the magic side. And so I had about three or four different restaurants per week and and did that Yep.
Speaker 1:So that was your primary gig or your side gig.
Speaker 2:I did that full time that was, and I did really well at it. And then I kind of took a hiatus for a number of years and went in corporate America. I still did magic occasionally, in my opinion. I didn't know how to market myself, okay, and I wasn't able to tap into my showmanship ability, okay. I was really into the technical aspect of it, right, making it amazing and pretty.
Speaker 1:And then now I realize it's it's a joke around a little, it's 60%, 70% entertainment. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And 30%, 40% illusion.
Speaker 1:How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:I feel great. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I love it. I love that's what I love to do. I just love entertaining people. Just it feels so good and you work so hard to get there and when they feel good, you feel good. Yeah, it's an awesome, awesome experience.
Speaker 1:Well, the, I think the magic, the mentalism, that well, you know, the first time I ever saw it was at the Piaut Fair.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it was I don't know what you call it, but it was like they talk and then people like hallucinate or something, and then they go on stage and do crazy stuff.
Speaker 2:So you're talking about a hypnotist?
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Often confused but different. Yeah, Very similar.
Speaker 1:It felt like some things were happening. You know, yeah, and I remember sitting there and some this lady so was sitting next to me she got up and was like in a trance and she's got up and walked over and walked on stage and started dancing like Michael Jackson. I think I was like nine or 10. Yeah, and I was like what this is like? I don't know what's happening.
Speaker 2:Oh, I've read up on that. I know a number of mental or a hypnotist.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, is that actually? Or does she work for him, or what's happening?
Speaker 2:Apparently from what I've read and know, is hypnosis is real. Okay, but it's not what you would think.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So you can't make somebody who's hypnotized do something they wouldn't normally do if they weren't. So it's a comfort level. I've heard hypnotists best describe it. As you know, when it's late at night you're coming home from work and you're driving, and you're just driving the same old road and you're stopping and going and you know, at stop lights and you get five miles down the road and you just like kind of blank out and you're like whoa, I don't remember stopping at those stop lights behind me, Right, and you're like I don't remember what you did, but you were in a hypnotic state.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, that's how it's been explained to me.
Speaker 1:Okay, so they just use that as entertainment purposes, and it gets kind of goofy and crazy.
Speaker 1:It's pretty funny. Yeah, it was. I was more shocked because I thought I was going to like levitate or have to walk up there or something, cause the lady was sitting next to me the whole time and she was like I am never going to do this, this is so embarrassing. And she did it and all of a sudden she just quieted up, got up and left. I still Like I, and I've never gone back since I was just cause I was scared, you know, it would take me up there and I was like no, no sir, I go up there and be dancing like Michael J no.
Speaker 2:I don't think you'd be take. Only a certain type of people can be hypnotized, induced.
Speaker 1:Oh induced, oh induced Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, so what do you think? How would you? How would you, if you're going to put a title on magic in the United States, what would? How would you say it? Like anybody coming to the United States from the rest of the world magic and mentalism. If you're going to put like kind of a title on it or a discri one sentence description, what would you? What would you say? Like hey, I'm going to United States, what's it like? What's the magic mentalism game looking like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's pretty strong. Strong, yeah, I mean we got David, we got the greats, we got David Blaine, David Copperfield, you know. I mean remember back in the day when he made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The Learjet speaking of here we are yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, david Blaine, there's guys overseas, yeah, there's. You know, you've got America's got talent. Magic was really big. You had Colin McLeod O's, who he didn't win but he got pretty far. You got the guy from Chicago Can't recall his name, but he did really well. I mean, it's just very popular now and people want more and it's very strong, it's very popular, it's good, it's good clean entertainment. It's unbelievable. People want to be amazed but they have to believe the amazement Before they even go. Well, I mean, there's AI now. There's people are editing videos. There's a lot of things you can watch and hear and really question it. So if you can take reality, if you can take them to an unbelievable place and make it so unbelievable, it just it makes it incredible. So it has to be very believable.
Speaker 1:Right, it's got to blow their mind.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it has to be tangible, like something that is it feels so real, but you know it's not.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the magic game in the United States is strong, yeah, entertaining and fun. Does that sound right yeah?
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, we got the magic castle in Hollywood.
Speaker 1:Yeah right. All right, Okay. Well, I wanted to thank you for coming on. I'm Matthew Cote. This is Foundation Nation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm Nate Jester. If you want to take your company's event to the next level, you can find me on my website, seattlemagiciancom.
Speaker 3:Foundation Nation is proudly sponsored by Jays Technology Solutions. Call Jays Technology Solutions at 253-376-7579 for all your computer repair, it and network solutions.
