DOWNTOWN — Since Chris Jones was tricked into thinking he was a baby kangaroo, he became obsessed with hypnotism.
The Logan Square resident, Pill Hill native and Mount Carmel High School graduate has learned to become a professional hypnotist. He appeared in May on "America's Got Talent," hypnotizing celebrity judge Howie Mandel — notoriously afraid of touching others — into shaking his hand several times. Jones advanced to the second round of the national competition, which was taped in February and will air on NBC Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The 29-year-old has polished his craft since his second year of graduate school at Southern Illinois University, when he saw a show from hypnotist Frederick Winters, who got Jones on stage and made him believe he was a joey, safely in his mother's pouch.
After the show's conclusion, Jones chased Winters into the parking lot.
"Boy, was he determined to gather as much info from me before I left the university parking lot at SIU," Winters recalled. "He carried my show gear out to my car and we stood in the lot talking for at least 30 minutes. We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and always maintained contact. I don't think there was any doubt in his mind that hypnosis was going to be his next career."
Jones and Winters now have the same agent. Jones is rarely in Chicago, spending most of his time around the country doing 150-plus shows each year — and earning as much as $2,500 a performance.
Jones has loved magic since he was a boy and was doing card tricks and other acts before his professional hypnotism career began. After his meeting with Winters, he read the 640-page "New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism" and began finding places to perform — first in small locales like wineries near Carbondale and eventually on stages all over the United States.
Justin Breen discusses his experience being hypnotized by Jones:
His current shows incorporate magic, standup comedy and eventually hypnotism.
"I can make people think they're on a roller coaster, or imagine themselves as superheroes," Jones said. "I can make them forget their names or make them forget their favorite food."
Said Winters: "Hypnotists love certain routines that we all do — make the volunteers dance, make them hot and cold — but Chris has been a master of creating his own routines that, yet again, will make him stand apart from others."
In June, Jones showed off his skills Downtown by hypnotizing a group of Kansas high school baseball players. Jones made one player think the player had touched a teammate's shoulder, even though they were several feet apart.
Chris Jones gives a balloon animal to a boy while performing on the street. [DNAinfo/Kelly Bauer]
"I'll say that I'm good at being a hypnotist," Jones said. "I don't want to appear arrogant, and I know that people are better than me, but I'm relatable and transparent. I'm not going to make people look foolish. I'm not going to embarrass them."
Those who know Jones best say they're not surprised he's achieved national success through hard work. Jones' father, Brent, said his son was in speech therapy from kindergarten through sixth grade — Jones has difficulty separating syllables when he talks and can jumble words — and was an extremely shy child.
"As proud as I am of Chris' professional accomplishments, I appreciate even more his concern for others," said Brent Jones, a professional photographer who formerly worked for the Tribune.
Jones had severe asthma growing up, but that didn't stop him from becoming a cross-country conference champion and state qualifier at Mount Carmel and a collegiate varsity runner at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Jones also ran 86 miles over 25 hours in college to raise money for a women's shelter.
Chris Jones '04 was on @nbcagt Tuesday & got the nation talking when he hypnotized @howiemandel #HowieShakesHands http://t.co/6jkj5MUJdS
— Mount Carmel H.S. (@MountCarmelHS) May 27, 2015"When he puts his mind into something, he finds a way to do it," said Jones' friend and running buddy Steven Bugarin, of East Side. "During runs, he would tell me that he [would] be famous. Well, he is famous in my opinion."
Jones wanted to be a priest and said he was voted most likely to go into that profession in his high school senior yearbook. He was a resident advisor at SIU, and after graduating he was hall director in charge of all dorms before quitting in 2010 for a full-time hypnotist career.
"He's kind of meant for the stage," said Dr. Sam Simons, Jones' best friend. "He'd never sit behind a desk. This is what he was made for. And I really think it sounds cheesy, but he's put in the effort and he's reaping the rewards for it."
Jones watched himself on TV in New York City at an official "America's Got Talent" premiere party, where he shot a selfie with Mandel.
He's forbidden from disclosing whether he advanced past the second round and into the live shows at Radio City Music Hall, although Jones said he did tell his father the result.
But even if Jones' run on the show ends before the finals, he acknowledged: "I've come a long way."
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