Max Maven was born Philip Goldstein on December 21, 1950, in Ithaca, New York. Although he legally changed his name to Max Maven, he still uses Phil Goldstein for his technical writing.
Growing up, he spent time in several cities across the globe. He was even in Europe, having stayed in Rome for a while. However, Maven spent most of his years in Massachusetts, where he performed at several places, including the then-famous Playboy Club.
He did performances for crowds of different sizes and used this as a springboard for his career.
Today, he is best known for his interactive mind-reading tricks and exceptional skills in cold reading. His one-of-a-kind style successfully captured his audience’s attention and made him unrivaled in the field of mental magic.
In this article, we’re going to look into Max Maven – his mentalism story and tricks.
Max Maven’s Contribution to the Magic and Mentalism Communities
Max Maven is a self-proclaimed master mindreader. He often uses subliminal persuasion and the power of suggestion in his performances.
More than being an incredible showman, he didn’t limit his brilliance and creativity to his shows. Maven developed new effects for the sole purpose of continuously amazing and entertaining people. These caught on and were eventually used by others in the magic and mentalism communities.
His endeavors earned him high praise from Orson Welles, who said Maven was the “most original mind in magic.” Coming from the American director best known for his innovative work in radio and film and is considered one of the most influential fílmakers in his hay day, it spoke volumes about Maven’s contributions.
Maven contributed articles to several journals in the magic industry, such as Genii and The Linking Ring. He even wrote and published several books. Two of his most notable works are Max Maven’s Book of Fortunetelling and Prism The Color Series of Mentalism.
What’s more, he created the B’Wave Deluxe, a mind-reading effect — a prediction trick that fits in your pocket. It gives the illusion of accurately guessing which card someone would choose. It uses three different techniques, making it useful in mentalism performances.
With all this, it’s no wonder MAGIC Magazine named him as one of “The Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century”.
Let’s talk about a few tricks that Maven came up with.
Predixion
It is an amazing performance rooted in a simple concept. This trick allows the subject to deal a pack of cards into a pile, stopping at any time they want. He then splits the cards into two more piles then chooses a card from either one.
Although the subject handles the deck the entire time, you can tell them which card they picked. You can even have a card or a piece of paper that identifies the card ready in a hidden location. Bringing this into the open adds another layer of complexity to your performance.
The Pocket Nightmare
It is a relatively new product, only having been commercially released in 2020, but it’s a trick Maven has been doing since 1985. It begins with Maven telling his subject he’ll accomplish the effect using a single hand. It gives the illusion he can’t do any sleight of hand and sets up the audience for a more astounding outcome when the act is complete.
So he puts one of his hands in his pocket and hands a deck of cards to his subject, who then peeks at one. The climax of the trick isn’t when Maven accurately identifies what card it is, although that in itself is already amazing.
He then tells the subject to go through the deck and look for the card he chose. Part of the act is the subject’s unscripted surprise that he can no longer find it.
He shows them the trump card — quite literally — when he pulls out his hand from his pocket. Immediately before doing this, Maven reminds the audience about what he said at the beginning of the trick — that he was going to perform the effect with one hand.
But not the one the audience thought he was going to use. The missing card, which the subject chose, is in his hand — the one he just took out of his pocket.
Max Maven in Media
He is best known for the talk show Something Strange with Max Maven, which was a mini-series with 12 episodes aired in Great Britain. It explored various elements of the paranormal. It proved to be a massive hit, setting record ratings, which lead to a second series the following year.
He also starred in Count DeClues’ Mystery Castle, which aired in 1992 as a Holloween special on Fox. He eventually found his way into mainstream television and appeared as a magician on shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Mork & Mindy.
Maven took on the role of a Magic consultant to famous acts such as David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and Siegfried & Roy. As a consultant, he gives guidance by sharing insights about their respective performances — from identifying which segments resonated well with the audience to which area could use adjustments.
He continued to work behind the scenes with other magicians who gained popularity, such as David Blaine. His perspective keeps their performances fresh, which results in audiences being continuously captivated.
But it was the release of his video called Max Maven’s Mindgames in 1984 that became his claim to fame and catapulted him into stardom.
Though he is a master in showmanship, Maven’s approach to magic and mentalism is more cerebral. It is because of his unusual style that others from the magic and mentalism circles seek him out. His advice and thoughts are viewed as credible and a goldmine for mentalists developing their craft.
Max Maven’s International Performances
Max Maven didn’t just stop with performances within the continental USA. He brought his talents to other continents, even performing in Japan using their native language. To date, he’s hosted eight network specials there.
He has done shows in other countries, some of which are England, Sweden, Finland, Germany. Aside from Japan, he also appeared in shows in other Asian countries such as Taiwan and Singapore.
In Conclusion
It’s 2021, and Max Maven is 70 years old — still, he continues to be active in the magic and mentalism communities and shows no sign of slowing down. He is truly a remarkable character and an inspiration to other mentalists.
Maven is a prime example that mentalists aren’t one-trick ponies. Yes, the performances and the shows are a major aspect of a mentalist’s life, but your talents don’t necessarily have to be concentrated on that alone.
Hone your talents and help others develop theirs. There’s nothing quite like being able to give back to the community that supported you.
Max Maven, in the course of his career, broke so many barriers. One day, so can you.