That’s a bold statement, I know, but I’m not being hyperbolic. Spidey consistently delivers stronger
and more practical material than anyone else in his cohort. I admire a lot of other contemporary
mentalism creators, but even so, it’s not even close. Spidey is in the upper echelon to me along
with Annemann, Dunninger, Osterlind, Banachek, Barry Richardson, Bob Cassidy, and maybe a few
others. In addition to his contagious performing style, he is one of the best teachers in modern
mentalism. His instruction is detailed without being tedious or exhausting. He lets you in on his
thinking enough to understand his motivations but with enough room to work out presentations that
work for your character. It’s unsurprising that his YouTube channel has nearly a million
subscribers. His passion for his work is earnest and infectious, and his material here is simply
outstanding. While there aren’t any earth shatteringly new methods in these presentations, the level
of detail, cohesion, and unique approach he brings to them is highly useful for both beginners and
working professionals.
The only minor criticism that I would levee is that I didn’t really
like the fireside chat format. This is a lecture, not an interview. Erik’s consistent interruptions,
although well-meaning and courteous, came off a bit smug (making it about him instead of Spidey or
the audience) and weren’t additive. Most of the time, these interruptions muddied the clarity of the
teaching, stunted the flow of information, and negatively impacted the pedagogical effectiveness.
Agree this was a fantastic lecture by Spidey. Also agree Erik's consistent interruptions weren't useful. Interrupting a lecturer while they are trying to explain something is not helpful. It only detracts from the flow. If the host has questions or comments, save them until the end of the explanation, but don't interrupt. It's distracting and annoying.
Unbelievable good lecture, rare I can get so many good items so well explained.
Totally agree interrupting during explanations is very annoying .
Hello all, first and foremost I would like to thank you profoundly for your kind words. The fact that you appreciated the lecture and found use within it is truly gratifying for me and makes me so happy. I hope you bring a lot of smiles to a lot of audiences with these methods.
I would like to address the topic of Erik’s interjections by shedding some light upon a few things that may not be immediately obvious. Erik is very involved with the penguin magic customers, he reads their comments, hears from them, covers their questions for social media, etc. As such, I asked him before the lecture to always keep the audience in mind and ask the questions and offer the insight that would best serve them. I have a tendency to babble on about deep mentalism concepts and I specifically wanted him to keep me grounded and concise. I also asked him to throw in some suggestions that card magicians, who constitute a BIG part of the Penguin audience can dwell on to apply my work to theirs.
Furthermore, Erik is aware of the length of time remaining to the lecture, I am not, and as such, once again, I asked him to interject and wrap up when he feels like an explanation is going on a little too long.
Erik is a brilliant man and one of the most respectful and kind human beings I know. I can assure you, applying everything I know about behavior analysis, his interjections were all well- intended and although may seem, at times, sudden; much needed! The lecture is better specifically because he hosted it. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Respectfully and gratefully,
Spidey
Totally fair, Spidey. Since that format was your intention, then I humbly retract that part of my review. It was a minor thing anyway — just felt a little jarring at times, but if it’s what you needed to keep everything tight, then props to Erik for providing a framework for your teaching to be maximally effective.
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Spidey is the Best Mentalist Teacher of His Generation
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