Foundation Nation
Foundation Nation
S5 - E6: Part 2 of a special 3 part series "Mystical Conversations with Illusionist Nate Jester"
As a child, I was captivated by a simple magic trick, forever altering my trajectory; little did I know it would lead me to sit down with Nate Jester, a maestro of mentalism whose own journey began with a scene from "Shakes the Clown." In our conversation, Nate unfurls the narrative of his evolution from a curious youngster in a magic shop to an accomplished performer, leaving audiences spellbound at high-profile events. His recollections of mentorship under the tutelage of Steve Dobson and the leap from marketing maven to full-time magician serve as a testament to the power of following one's passion and the relentless pursuit of mastery in the captivating realm of magic and mentalism.
Take a peek behind the magician's curtain as Nate and Matt trade stories of juggling the joys and challenges of fatherhood with the demands of a blossoming career in entertainment. We touch on how parental advice can shape a child's path and discuss the delicate dance of making personal dreams dovetail with professional aspirations. Get ready to be enthralled by the psychological intricacies of mentalism as Nate shares insights into the art that takes his performances beyond the realm of the conventional, promising an experience filled not just with tricks but with moments that truly transcend reality.
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 on's in our beautiful state and maybe even a few things going on in this amazing round thing we call home.
Speaker 2:Hello, welcome to Foundation Nation. I'm Matthew Cote. We're tucked underneath the SeaTac airport. Wait, I think I hear one. There goes another one, I think, in Mountain Dew. We're all jacked up. I'm here with my guest.
Speaker 3:My name is Nate Jester. I'm a mentalist in Seattle and I entertain private parties and corporate events. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, and I'm learning on this mini series a lot, and one thing that I've learned is there's magicians and there's mentalists that operate in the world of mentalism.
Speaker 1:I think I even have some. Yeah, you got it. You got it. Does that sound right? Yeah?
Speaker 2:it's semantics. Thank you. So gosh, these guys are really enthusiastic.
Speaker 3:That was really funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it won't go away, oh it's quiet.
Speaker 3:It's a standing ovation.
Speaker 2:Quiet there, they went away. So I wanted to talk a little bit about you know as a. You know it's always interesting to me to see how people kind of grow into their careers, and so I wanted to kind of hear a little bit about, like as a kid, like when was, when was the first? Because, look, you got to do, you got to, you got to, you got to really bring the game. When you do stuff like this, because it's a hundred percent you, every time Either it's either a hundred percent, nate, or it's a shit show. So you really got to be like passionate about wanting to do this. So something, something must have sparked your interest when you're, when you're a kid. So tell me how this all kind of came about.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like any entrepreneur all the people listening here you have to just have this undying need to make it work and be so passionate a little bit of crazy too. Um, you have my biggest magic trick is I actually do this for a living?
Speaker 2:Yeah right, it's pretty unbelievable. That's funny and serious.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, so I started. This is actually a fun story, I like to tell. I started mad. So I'm about 43 years old, Okay, and I was like I'm gonna be. Uh, if, for those of you listening, if you remember Bobcat Gouffway Gouff, Gouffway Gouffa, he's a. He's a comedian back in the day. He was on the Caddy Shack movies and stuff.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:He was in a movie called shakes the clown. Uh, it was back in maybe 90 and he was an alcoholic clown and he'd pass out go check the movie out. Shakes the clown He'd pass out at birthday parties and he'd uh, you know it was funny, there's the answer.
Speaker 1:That's cool.
Speaker 3:That's cool. His boss or somebody on it just flicks their fingers and a business card appears and I was like, oh my gosh, I have to. That's amazing and I would watch it over and over. I couldn't figure it out. I knew there was a magic shop on my house, went there and my eyes just opened and so there was this magic shop in Lakewood, near where I grew up in Stilicum. It's not around anymore and I learned how to do it, and then I also got into juggling and I had an interest in clowning. So I I did all those and I worked through the years and eventually just became more connected to magic and the presentation that I could give. I felt more real.
Speaker 2:So did you learn how to flick a magic? Uh, you know a business card? I learned it. Yeah, yeah, cool, yeah I worked really hard at it.
Speaker 3:I actually did a lot of that in talent show in high school.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's cool, that's cool, good job.
Speaker 3:And then uh, I guess.
Speaker 2:So it started at a movie.
Speaker 3:It started with the movie yeah.
Speaker 2:So how old were you when you saw this movie?
Speaker 3:That was about 10, 12.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I was 12. So was it the summertime you saw the movie? Or during school year? Oh, potentially, I don't know, you don't, you don't remember that detail, yeah, okay, so you, you, you saw the movie and you're like I'm in magic store down the road. Let's do this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and I wanted to do juggling and you and I practiced that. I was the jester juggler. I did some events and stuff, rode a unicycle, did all that and then, like I said, the magic stuck and the store owner the place was called liquid costume and the store owner, uh, dory, I would um go in there and say, hey, I want a job here, can I work here? She's like when you're 16. And I would always spend my allowance and eventually I rode the city bus there and I went there through the years and she's like when you're 16, I'm just reminder, I still want the job and that was probably about four years. And then I walked in there with my birthday money on my 16th birthday and I said, hey, it's my birthday today, I'm 16. She says, all right, you start today.
Speaker 3:It was cool, so I worked like a good the rest of the day three hours and I got the employee discount on all my birthday tracks and I worked there for a number of years and met some magicians.
Speaker 2:What is the favorite um experience there?
Speaker 3:Uh, meet and magicians. No-transcript. One of my mentors, steve Dobson, who Just taught me a ton of finger flicking that's what you would call it when you're working on sleight of hand. Oh, okay which is what I did more magic back in the day, and now I do mentalism, but yeah, you slide a hand. Technical, like I say, finger flicking. You're working on slights.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so just look over here, but it's happening over there, whatever kind of.
Speaker 3:But what we really try to do is make it so invisible that when you're looking right at it, you know okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah I. I remember going to see David Copperfield about 15 years ago and this shit blew my mind.
Speaker 2:So, this is what he did. I don't even know, it's probably on YouTube. But so we're sitting in the David Copperfield show, you know, in the, wherever it was, and and you know we're kind of like front, front, middle area and everything and and the show is like a half hour delayed and Is. So what happened was David Copperfield comes out and he goes. He was like literally, maybe even 40 minutes, I mean by accident. Okay, and he comes out and he announces like hey, I'm super sorry, this is not part of the show. I was literally stuck in an elevator Getting here for a half an hour, okay, for an hour, whatever some amount of time and he was like really apologetic. But I'm gonna make it up to you, I've been working on a trick and I just wanted to invite everyone outside to do the trick and I'm like, and I didn't. I've never been to any type of Magician show at this point before, uh-huh.
Speaker 2:So we go outside on the sidewalk, he goes out in the middle of the road and he tells everybody Kind of like circle around him. Everybody circles around him. There's cop cars on this end of the road, cop cars on that end of the road. He flags one cop car down, you know, like an actual cop car. Cop car kind of like slowly goes through the crowd, parks in the middle, everybody kind of circles around him in the cop car and and he I couldn't really hear him because he wasn't mic'd up because I was a little bit too far away, but I saw him doing stuff and talking and then he, somebody came out and gave him a bag, or it looked like a bag, and he put this silver sheet over the cop car and he waved it. The cop car was gone, cool, in the middle of the goddamn road and I saw the cop car from a distance. It was a cop car, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah and there was a dude driving it and he got out and he shut the door and I to this day I don't even know how he was surrounded by people. Yeah and I was like I don't even know what happened.
Speaker 2:Wow okay, it was like a balloon or something, just deflated under there. That's legit it was. It was some serious stuff, yeah. And and on top of coming late and on top of doing this awesome Trick because I guess you were supposed to see a series of things, you know, it's like a show, right? You see, like one trick, one trick kind of builds up to like you know, him catching on fire or something at the end or whatever, but we didn't get to see it, we just saw literally one trick. But also they refunded everybody in that whole thing their tickets.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's what he said at the end. So he and then he's like everybody back in. Then we all go back in, he goes in. My last magic trick for the night is you're all Getting refunds. Thank you, have a good night. And he's just left. Okay, and that's that was that in Seattle like the Paramount or something. Oh yeah, I was, I don't remember but it's like here in Seattle. No, no, it was in Las Vegas.
Speaker 2:Las Vegas yeah all right about 15 years ago, yeah, and I was like whoa and I remember the tickets were expensive they're like 150 bucks or something and I was like whoa, this is a, this is a showman right here.
Speaker 3:He's been around for a while. Yeah, he, he's a, he's a worker.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's a worker, yeah, he, yeah, he was pretty. He was pretty Wiry too, if I remember right. I mean he was really moving around and talking and he had a plan. Yeah, you could definitely fill his vibe, but that was the biggest Magic trick I've ever, or whatever the hell you want to call that. But so, okay, so, so being able, so that I mean that's pretty cool that you you got a job when you're 16, on the day you turn 16, and then you hung out there for quite a few years and you just kind of met people and that's what got you into it. You know the things I always tell my boys. You know the, the little things that they're doing. They're young. You know ones in the military, ones, ones in college, and and you know, the experiences that they have in life right now are gonna be the foundations of where they go in life.
Speaker 2:Yeah so you know, be kind and loving and thoughtful to everyone you meet, because you never know right what's gonna happen, and you're a perfect example, you know yeah, I had so many people when I was younger to say you know, it's all about relationships.
Speaker 3:I heard it. I didn't really get it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm still. It's like having kids. Yeah, yeah, you hear it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you don't get good at it till they're, till they're in college.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and until they're, until you're in there, until you're in their house staying with them, or yeah?
Speaker 3:Or you're under your fourth or fifth one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, kids. Kids are awesome. They're super cool man, they're tough and everything, but definitely a piece of life you don't want to miss out on for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 4: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.
Speaker 2:So what are you guys doing for vacations this year? You guys he's got any vacations planned.
Speaker 3:Oh, my vacations depend on my work schedule. Okay, so you know, my wife's from San Diego. I did have, ironically, a show in San Diego went out there.
Speaker 2:Oh, did you get a taker? Yeah, yeah that's fun. Yeah, and you got to see all our peeps and stuff. Yeah, we did that, that's cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we went actually, I think we went early and then she left.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, had to go back home. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we do that a little bit Sometimes. I don't prefer to vacation with with work. I just like to make it a vacation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I get it done, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's so. Do you guys have any dream vacations? How many? So how many kids? You got three kids with you right, three kids, yeah, and what are their ages?
Speaker 3:So this is funny, I've got a four, five and fifteen year old four, five and fifteen, yeah, so yeah I didn't say, hey, I'm gonna take ten years off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Actually, between that I didn't think I wanted any more kids. Oh really. Yeah, then when you have to, you know, split the time with your child between another person and another home.
Speaker 2:I'm just like wait you get a little sad, yeah, I do like being a father.
Speaker 2:Yeah, be dead. It's cool man, it's cool, super cool. Yeah, you get to smack them around. No, you'd ever do that, but you get it, you know it's. It's nice to see when they recognize the advice you give them and they have a positive Interaction in life. You know, yeah, tell them. Hey, you know, this is what happened to me. You should probably think about not doing that. And then they do it and they have a good outcome and they're like oh, Watching them develop yeah, school, yeah, sports in social behaviors, yeah so do you have any little midget, mini, teeny, weeny Mentalists growing up.
Speaker 3:So my 15 year old? Definitely not he's. He's asked me for a couple of card tricks, so he can you show the girls? Yeah, so his name is Brecken jet is the five year old? No, I, he's very analog. He might be an engineer or something. So the youngest my wife decided name him ace and I think he's got it. You think he's got it. I mean, I don't, I mean it. I don't want to say I don't care, but I won't push anything and yeah, yeah, but if he does it, if there's anyone that would do, it would be him, that's cool yeah he's just yeah it's almost, it's almost got.
Speaker 3:I don't know. Yeah, it's almost, I'll watch it.
Speaker 2:So Okay, so that is so. Where are we at in your story here? So we got to the point where you, you met your mentor, and so, from your mentor, how did you take a step? How did you decide that this is something you want to be have a career how do you make that choice?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I used to work for a restaurant marketing company and it always wanted to be front and center. Then, like I said earlier, I took that hiatus and then I ended up working for a restaurant marketing company and I was. I think it was the down the economy changing in 2010, mm-hmm, the housing crisis, mm-hmm set the housing in the stock.
Speaker 2:That wasn't the 2008 was kind of the housing housing.
Speaker 3:So that's what it was, yeah, okay. So 2010, I got laid off and it was the most amazing not the most amazing thing, but you, I launched my web. I got laid off in like January, I put my website up or I might have just had it up and I did magic full time and I had an all right career as a GM and I made like within a couple of hundred dollars in my annual salary at the job I just got laid off.
Speaker 2:How'd that make?
Speaker 3:you feel, yeah, it was like this is happening.
Speaker 2:This is gonna happen, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:And then I just, you know, you keep working and all I do is just drive it and just develop. And yeah, and my biggest learning lately is realizing that, yeah, maybe I don't have the knowledge or the skill set to take my company in the direction I wanna go and in certain aspects so I've been working with some consultants who have really helped me out and I've really enjoyed the outside influences.
Speaker 4:I reached out to.
Speaker 3:It's like it's huge learning for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's every day. You have a certain amount of opportunity to interact with a certain amount of people every day and you always, if you're a business owner, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're a captain of industry, you always wanna take that opportunity to its peak potential if you own a business. So you walk out the door, you know, you have your cup of coffee, you kiss your wife goodbye, you smack all your kids in the butt, you walk out the door and every person you run into you know is an opportunity and those face to faces are the strongest opportunities. You can go on social media and all those websites, do whatever and all this stuff, but creating, you know, that interaction with face to face and cherishing those you know, knowing the importance of those super, super important.
Speaker 3:I can agree with you. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So what is the dream? So what is your? What is your creme de la creme? What is the pinnacle of Nate Jester's magic emporium? What does it look like?
Speaker 3:I'm there, you're there. Yeah, a lot of people.
Speaker 2:You're living it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, you know I'll take more. You know, sure, I'll elaborate. A lot of people ask me do you wanna be in Vegas? Do you wanna be? Do you wanna win America's got talent? You know stuff like that. No, I'll take it.
Speaker 2:Are you gonna apply for the America thing? I was on it actually. Oh, you're on it In 2011.
Speaker 3:Not gonna go again. I'll go if they ask me it's. I don't.
Speaker 2:Do they send out invites on the second round?
Speaker 3:Here's the thing with TV and magic Same with Penn and Teller and stuff, and it's been going on Penn and Teller, I think they're on their eight season, agt, I don't know 10 years they have magicians on there. So even though they're really amazing, if they're at all similar to something they've had in the past, it's not what they're looking for. So you have to be very different.
Speaker 3:And yeah, I am very different and unique, but I don't think different enough for TV and I don't wanna. I do what I do and I'm passionate about it. So my goal, what I? So I mentioned earlier I do private parties and corporate events, primarily corporate events. So that is. I just wanna do more of the same. I wanna keep meeting amazing people. I wanna go to work with amazing companies local, abroad, and I'd like to do. There's a certain type of gig and event that I'd like to do more of, so I'd say that that would be my pinnacle, but I'm in it, I love it.
Speaker 2:That's good. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3:I could, I love it.
Speaker 2:You know, I wonder if there's any category or space for something along the lines of like kind of executive team training or team building event that a mentalism could do you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm talking with a client right now. They've hired me twice and the leader I guess he's really interested in the psychology behind it and how it works and how it influences people, and so there's kind of like a TED talk I've created where I would communicate with the team and teach them a magic trick why does it work, how does it work and what are people thinking during interactions and then, as a showman, how do I change the situation? That's cool, because a lot of what I'm doing is I'm just observing. I walk up to a group, maybe during a cocktail hour, not on a stage Four people, five people having a drink. I know my set, I know my jokes, I know my tricks. I got it all going.
Speaker 3:It's very personal and I'm trying to remember their names and stuff. But I'm watching, paying attention, and well, this person's got their phone out, this person is on their phone. How do I engage them? This person? We're losing their attention. Is it what I'm doing? Is it what I'm doing? How can we change this situation so everybody's having fun and involved?
Speaker 2:So you're at a corporate party and really someone walks up to you and you get to say one thing to them what are you going?
Speaker 3:to say Well, funny thing is is in a cocktail hour. I always walk up to them. Okay, yeah, I mean people come find me afterwards, but usually at the beginning I say hi, I'm Nate, I'm like, and I'll fling a card or something Say I'm a mentalist, and I just sit there and smile and you get a smile back. And then, yeah, have you heard of a mentalist? Yeah, yeah, it's pretty incredible. A magician would find your card. A mentalist knows your card here. Let's do something.
Speaker 2:Let's do something.
Speaker 3:Let me hold your phone for a second. Think of this. Do you have somebody in your mind? Think about the time your child was born. Stuff, just crazy stuff.
Speaker 2:Just blow their mind.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it, yeah, I think we're going to talk about in the next episode. Yeah, yeah, the, which I'm really excited about. Yeah, all right, cool how I blow minds and why. Yeah let's do it. Why I do what I do? That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Hey, it was nice having you on here, man. I'm Matthew Cote. This is Foundation Nation, along with yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 3:I'm Nate Jester. If you want to take your company's event to the next level, you can find me at Seattle magiciancom.
Speaker 4:Foundation Nation is proudly sponsored by Jays Technology Solutions, called Jays Technology Solutions at 253-376-7579, for all your computer repair, it and network solutions.
