COURTESY PROMO EDGE
Leslie Reynolds, a stage hypnotist, also helps people tackle health problems with hypnosis.
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Hypno-comic: Let’s trance!
IT'S a homecoming of sorts for Leslie Reynolds, the "hypno-comedian" and part-time Honolulu resident who will perform at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Tropics Showroom next week.
Leslie Reynolds
On stage: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 14
Where: Hilton Hawaiian Village
Tickets: $35 (with applicable charges), available at the hotel's Bestsellers location, Harry's Music in Kaimuki, Rainbow Books and Music on University Avenue, the Liquor Collection in Ward Warehouse, Good Guys in Kapahulu, Jelly's in Aiea and Hungry Ear in Kailua
Call: 545-2980
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He first arrived here in 2001, performing five nights a week at the Sheraton Waikiki. After leaving that gig and spending the next few years at various international resort destinations, he's since returned to the islands and says he wants to stay.
"I'm actually getting tired of touring because I've done so much of it lately," he said earlier this week from his condo in Waikiki. "I like Hawaii the best."
Born in Santa Rosa, Calif., Reynolds graduated from Texas Tech University and spent his 20s in Hollywood pursuing careers in both acting and comedy before deciding to become a hypnotist. Over the past 15 years, he estimates, he's hypnotized more than 100,000 people.
THOSE WHO attend Thursday's shows had better be ready to participate. Reynolds plans to invite a number of people on stage.
The typical shenanigans will take place: men thinking they're pregnant, and trying to "give birth" in front of the audience; ladies suddenly being able to see everyone in the room naked.
"I'm always trying to make it current and keep it fresh," he said. "Every show is different."
And don't worry; if you are picked to get hypnotized, you probably wouldn't do anything out of character.
"Most people will respond," said Reynolds. "It's one of the most relaxing places in your mind that you'll ever be.
"But everyone has their own moral standard. So you can't hypnotize someone and have them breach that."
Using hypnosis to tap into someone's subconscious mind does uncover some interesting personal information, as long as the person being hypnotized is willing to share it. Reynolds mentioned an evening a few years ago in Cancun, where he hypnotized a man in front of an audience of about 700 people.
"I had asked the (guy), 'Who do you think is the sexiest woman alive?' ... and this gentleman is profoundly hypnotized," he said. "And he said, 'My mother.'
"That gentleman had some issues!"
WHILE HE gets paid to be funny and engaging on stage, Reynolds also uses hypnosis to help people overcome various health problems.
As national director of clinical hypnotherapy at Texas-based Health Awareness Clinics, he specializes in smoking cessation, weight loss and general stress relief. The suggestive powers of the subconscious mind are so strong, said Reynolds, that many self-destructive behaviors can be modified through the utilization of hypnotherapy.
"We just help to train the mind to act correctly," he said. "We get your subconscious mind back on track.
"Nothing has a higher success rate for smoking and weight loss than hypnosis."
Another benefit that comes from interacting with Reynolds in a clinical setting, rather than onstage?
"I'm actually a lot nicer when I do hypnotherapy," he laughed.