A Juanita High School wrestling fundraiser Jan. 30 offers Kirklanders the opportunity to be hypnotized – willingly, of course.

As part of the fundraiser, assistant wrestling coach and professional hypnotist Joe Black will perform a show he has done for 18 years as well as in auditions for America’s Got Talent. Recently, Black performed at another high school fundraiser for the March of Dimes, which raised a total of $5,000.

A Carnation native and retired Marine, Black first started performing after reading a book on illusions at a friend’s house during a party. He was later introduced to hypnotism by a fellow Marine while stationed in Japan, eventually asking Black to go on a USO tour. After leaving the Marines, he studied to be an electrical engineer while still performing shows on the side. After the economic downturn in 2008 cost him his electrical engineering job, he renewed his focus on crafting and fine-tuning on his show. In addition to performing for companies such as Microsoft, Expedia, Frito-Lay and Kellogg, he has appeared twice on America’s Got Talent and won the “Rising Star Award” two years in a row.

Black said his performance for the fundraiser will be a family-friendly version of his show, as the content depends on the audience. Hypnotism is often confused with mind control, Black said, but really involves a deep state of meditation.

“You have your conscious and subconscious and what you’re doing is putting your conscious mind into a trance and you are allowing the subconscious mind to play tricks on it. Ultimately the subconscious mind can go along or decline and so you’re surrendering to your subconscious not the hypnotist.”

As far as the hypnotism goes, the participants will be selected from the crowd based on how they respond to a hypnosis test, which Black said 10-15 percent of crowds tend to pass.

“It just identifies who is in the right state of mind to be hypnotize,” he said. “You can’t hypnotize people who don’t want to be hypnotized.”

Black has also taken his experience to the mat. Wrestlers interested can receive hypnotherapy, which he said can help them perform at their peak. His journey to becoming a professional hypnotist has also provided him with life lessons he passes on to the students.

“I try to instill upon the wrestlers that it takes dedication and self-motivation,” he said. “You have to be completely dedicated to what you’re doing. You can’t let yourself get discouraged from failure. You can’t get complacent through success as well.”

While hypnotism and wrestling seem unrelated, Black has found both require similar personal habits and mentalities.

“When it comes to actual disciplines, both take great focus concentration and those are really important for anything sports… anytime you’re doing a sport or things that take a lot of skill. Great focus helps in being successful and competitive.”

The fundraiser will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the at Juanita High School Theater, located at 10601 NE 132nd St. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for students and seniors and may be purchased at the door. The proceeds from the event will cover the cost of wrestling tournaments.

For group rates and ticket information call 425 442-3249.

Joe Black’s website can be found at blackmagicentertainment.com.