Wayne Hoffman

Early life

Wayne Nicholas Hoffman was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Holy Name High School

His father is Fred Hoffman (born 1936), and his mother is Rose Schober (born 1948). Friends called him "Magic Man". He performed his first show at the age of 15 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Hoffman noticed his ability to predict what people are thinking as a pre-teen while riding the school bus. He noticed he could predict what color M&M’s his friend would choose from a bag. In 1989, he and his mother moved to Shillington, Pennsylvania where he found the Mingus Magic Shop and his passion for "the mystery arts". After graduating from high school he attended Alvernia College (now Alvernia University). As a child, Hoffman's interest in magic and mind-reading led him to study psychology. He became a professional magician and began performing. He is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Career

Initially, Hoffman's career resulted in average success. Initially focused on traditional card tricks, he performed for churches and museums, restaurants, and even private birthday parties. At one point, he performed table-to-table at restaurants in his home town. But he soon began experimenting with mentalism. Throughout high school he would perform for classmates and workers at the school. Later Hoffman began performing for corporations who would pay him to incorporate their sales message into his magic.

Hoffman quickly began performing throughout Pennsylvania, and eventually the east coast. In 2003 he began performing nationally after a start in the collegiate market. In 2006 he furthered his career by performing for Princess Cruise lines.

Hoffman's "big break" came in 2007 when he was contacted by NBC. Impressed by his mentalism act, NBC asked him to participate in their television show Phenomenon. The producers were impressed with his apparent ability to change traffic lights with his mind. After his exposure on Phenomenon, he began to get phone calls for appearances on other television shows such as, The Glenn Beck Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and more. Shortly after, Hoffman performed his first international show in England. Hoffman later became known as "The Master of Mayhem."

From 2007 onward, he performed with great success in the United States. He would appear to read minds, influence audience members' thoughts, and perform feats of psychokinesis. He focused much of his attention on death-defying stunts, which added the possibility of failure and death.

For the majority of his career, he performed his act as a headliner. One of his most notable mentalism feats was performed on Phenomenon (TV series), where he influenced former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey to draw a yin-yang symbol which he had tattooed on his arm one month prior. In 2006 he established Hoffman Entertainment which provides talent management. The business is still in operation as of January 2013. In 2012 Wayne Hoffman was nominated as "Entertainer of The Year" by Princess Cruises.

In the news

On November 23, 2011, Hoffman was featured in a story for CNN Money where he was featured in their story "Cool Companies". The story highlighted 12 "cool and profitable companies." The story was written by Kitt Walsh.

On November 1, 2011, he was quoted in YFS (Young, Fabulous, and Self-employed) Magazine.

On October 5, 2012, Hoffman was featured in a story posted on the CNN Money website. The story was about the Top Ten surprising six-figure jobs. The Story was written by Blake Ellis.

On October 5, 2012, Hoffman was featured in Yahoo! Finance in a story originally posted by CNN Money about the Top 10 surprising six-figure jobs.

On October 8, 2012, Hoffman was featured on the AOL homepage in a story originally posted by CNN Money on the Top 10 surprising six-figure jobs.

Motivational presentation

In 2009, Hoffman began presenting a motivational speech entitled "The Power and Potential of The Human Mind" His first presentation was at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Mind Candy

In 2012, Hoffman wrote his first book entitled Mind Candy. The book is a motivational book that teaches people a method to achieve any goal they have. The system taught in the book implements common sense business tactics, as well as positive thinking.

Hoffman Entertainment

In 1996, Hoffman established his entertainment agency, Hoffman Entertainment. The agency books various acts including bands, comedians, speakers, and interactive novelties. Hoffman Entertainment has two offices in the United States. One located in Hollywood, Ca and the other in Reading, PA.

Philanthropy

In 2012, Hoffman established his first charitable organization, The Hoffman Foundation. The goal of the organization is to help children from lower-income families experience live theater.

Near death experience / flight incident

On January 30, 2008 Hoffman and his father were on an American Airlines flight from San Juan to Philadelphia. During the flight the plane's cockpit caught on fire. It was later discovered that a fuse in the window's heater blew causing an electrical fire. The plane made an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport 90 minutes after the plane's cabin filled with smoke. 7 people were sent to the hospital including the captain and the co-pilot. The co-pilot was treated for cuts he sustained to his face when the plane's windshield shattered.