Influence wise...been thinking a lot about this recently...(shall we side step corinda and annemann though to open it up a little more?)

mine are, in no particular order:
Enrique enriquez - meeting him, watching his lecture then throwing a load of questions his way, suddenly opened up a very big door for me
Scott Grossberg - again, meeting him, a small intimate lecture, watching him do his thing in a bar afterwards, and listening to his business side of things...
john riggs - to see someone with an interesting mindset, to see how it all merged into one complete being, and someone who is so well read, creative, not afraid to talk about his own personal viewpoint without fear, his low key charisma - and enjoying his stories over the years, has again been eye-opening
Kenton knepper - his earlier stuff, and he was the first 'name' that I spoke with via email, it was quite an experience and it was good to read work that was left of centre when everything else I had read was traditional
Neal Scryer - he came along at the right time for me, and his material allowed me to embrace (along with Enrique) a slightly more poetic mode of mentalism that hit home on a few levels during my life experience at that moment in time...and also (for both gents) knowing their personalities, and how that juxtaposed and embraced what they talked about..
Dr. Jaks - his whole mindset, his use of unusual objects, humour, and his sometimes overtly charming presentations rather than grand heavy hitting ones - there's room to be thoughtful and engaging and being a little different...


the best thing is, I never agreed with everything any of them put out or did, or said...I think that too is healthy as an adult...

and then there's stuff I will always love, and creators and performers that I haven't listed above that have made a difference to me - but overall, these are the people who have helped me formulate something that feels like 'me'...which, looking at the list, is kinda odd, because at first blush they are all quite esoteric - and though I had a phase of that, to challenge myself, to see how it was from both sides - it turns out it wasn't me, not authentically...

so that's's me...what about you?

A lot of my influences come from outside the world of magic and mentalism. And people might be surprised by some of them.

Serial killers, eh...

No !
My largest influence came from Alice Cooper ! ( Alice, was aided by Randy, with his early stage illusions tho.)
Cooper, drew me in at a very/very young age !

~G

Alcohol

LOL

John,You forgot the Sex & Rock N Roll !

Influences. I really like this idea. So who influences my work?

Eugene Burger – His idea of adding meaning to performance caused me to think hard about presentation and to create my own script rather than just to look at what was provided by the creator. He also showed me the importance of looking to the past for hidden inspiration

Chuck Hickok – He showed me that simple presentations don’t have to be simple minded.

Scott Alexander (and Patrik Kuffs) – Their work on the bottle roulette inspired me to create my closer.

John Pinette, Ralphie May, & Steve Martin – They have influenced my persona and attitude toward my own performance and just how important being honest about your show really is.

That’s not everyone, but it’s a few highlights.

i feel your pain. haha

- Paul Voodini opened up my mind to the reader/mentalist thing and sitting back and letting the audience take center stage.
-Osterlind's calm manner
-Docc's levity

Millard Longman. Studying his multi media book and experimenting with different approaches opened my mind to how much can be accomplished with a single index card, and allowed me to come up with several new routines that I've had great success with.

Scott Creasey. Expanded my thinking for how to create very entertaining, deceptive and mysterious routines using ordinary materials and a DIY approach.

Iain Dunford. Helped me see how readings can be done very honestly and ethically, in alignment with my core values and beliefs. No predicting the future or giving advice required.

Kreskin. Reading a description of his Q&A years ago is what sparked a passionate interest in mind reading, and began a life long interest that has been fascinating and a great deal of fun.

All good examples and I would like to add you to the list Iain. You have been instrumental in the evolution of my thoughts regarding the mystic arts. I never understood why Tarography wasn't a huge hit. It changed me in so many ways.

I would also add:

C. A. Newman
Claude (ALEXANDER) Conlin
Robert A. Nelson

Bob Cassidy

In my particular case, a local colleague, Payne Fifield, inspired much of my work and constantly encouraged me to make my material as good as possible (typically indirectly through an informal sense of competitive spirit). I would see what he was doing and then realize that I had to bring the same level of creativity to my own routines.

Bob Cassidy and Richard Osterlind more than anyone else. Two completely different people and two completely different styles.

Ted Karmilovich for brilliant design and execution. Chuck Hickok for his thinking about how to structure a show.

Tony Razzano for teaching me how do do readings and Iain Rowland for teaching me what to look for.

Doc Hilford for making the magicians choice into the mentalists choice.

David

Bob Cassidy, Banachek, Doug Dyment, Luke Jermay, Richard Webster.

As Ben Blau, I also have awkward influences and inspirations from outside (Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, MacGyver, Neo (Matrix), Punisher, Jin Kazama, etc.)... songs in particular inspires me, specially the mysterious ones such as Boadicea (Enya).

Several of my non-magic influences are various individuals who are talented communicators. For example, one of my unlikely influences is David Rosengarten. He was the host of a cooking show many years ago when the Food Network was relatively new. He could make a show about a grilled cheese sandwich seem massively interesting and important.

Other influences of mine are artists that expect and garner a certain quality of attention. A good example is the famous jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. He’s been known to walk out on his own concerts if he didn’t feel the audience was giving his performance the quality of attention he felt it deserved. These days, anyone bothering to go to a Keith Jarrett concert realize that they’re being treated to something very special and important, and he gets the quality of attention he expects and deserves. I aspire to be like Keith, and he has taught me that your art should command a certain quality of attention — and in the absence of that, it shouldn’t be shared in an unfavorable light.

Roni Shachnaey
Tim Conover
Anthony Blake
Juan Tamariz
Ted K.
Ken Weber
Marc Salem
Gil Eagles
Max Maven
Derren Brown
Patrick Page
Myself

Seinfeld
Danny Keay
Jerry Lewis
Jimmy Smith
Chick Corea
Martin Gardner
Jacob Polonski (My physics teacher)
Yossi Vardi
My father
Myself

Bob Cassidy
Luke Jermay
Robert A. Nelson
Erik Jan Hanussen
Annemann

A partial list:

Neil Gaiman
Lev Grossman
Susanna Clarke
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.K. Rowling
Jodorowski
Raymond Buckland

Derren Brown
Aaron Alexander
Paul Brook
Eugene Burger
Ricky Jay
Daniel Madison
Eric Mead
Mesmer
James Braid
Banachek
Anthony Jacquin
Mike Mandel

Along with several historical accounts of "miracles" or unexplained phenomena.

From the present day, it has to be ELLIOTT BRESLER in recognition of his fantastic writings !

From the past, the person with the greatest influence on me was definitely ROBERT A NELSON.



Bobby Thomson.