Lanthorn.com

Hypnotist creates cheerleaders, Louie mascots

By Haley Otman
12/4/2008

In the span of two hours, Louie the Laker, Grand Valley State University's mascot, became Louie the Penguin, Louie the Bear and finally, Louie the Dolphin.

Another student hypnotized by Tom DeLuca Tuesday turned into a star cheerleader, complete with split jumps and cheers rooting for the different animal variations of GVSU's beloved mascot.

"The only thing I remember is (hearing) things but (not being able to) move," said John Chalko, a student who was hypnotized at the event.

Chalko said he awoke feeling refreshed, like he had taken a long nap, as promised by DeLuca.

DeLuca holds a master's degree in psychology, and has appeared on "Good Morning America." He has been profiled on "Dateline," held the front cover of the Wall Street Journal and has been featured in People and Rolling Stone magazines.

He began the night by choosing 20 volunteers from the Fieldhouse Arena audience amidst much screaming and cheering from the filled seats and bleachers.

Calming music played as heads dropped, and DeLuca began talking and gesturing to those on stage, gauging their abilities to be hypnotized.

"I just came to watch," said Stephanie Dillworth, who decided to attend after hearing a friend's good words about last year's hypnosis event.

Some students in the audience speculated about whether all 20 volunteers were indeed under hypnosis, or if some were just pretending.

A handful of students were eventually asked to sit back down after DeLuca could tell the hypnosis did not work for them.

He began the show by allowing volunteers to imagine they were traveling to the best vacation they could imagine, and then deep-sea fishing. After the fishing, they drove Ferraris until running into a roadblock - a crowd of cows.

Once the students realized their immense thirst, with DeLuca's help, they milked the cows, and later enjoyed delicious ice cream made from that milk.

"You're drivin' the best cars, milkin' the best cows, eatin' the best ice cream," DeLuca told the students.

Later in the show, he patted people's heads to give them individualized instructions, so different people would react in different ways to specific words, DeLuca said.

One man under hypnosis was told he desperately wanted to clean the stage with a green sponge, which was lying on the floor. The only problem was the sponge weighed 700 pounds.

The student tried and tried, but could not pick up the green sponge. DeLuca related this to real life, telling students not to convince themselves they do not have the ability to do things.

"You obviously can do it," he said, referring to picking up a sponge, but also to accomplishing feats such as schoolwork.

He kept the night lighthearted, though, telling students the show would be silly and comical.

"(The show was) so much fun," Dillworth said.

She said she was grateful to be able to attend an entertaining show as a break from studying for finals.

otman@lanthorn.com

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