Four years ago, business management major Bruce Dudley, now a senior, was the star of hypnotist Dale K’s performance. Dudley recalled the experience fondly, albeit the memories a bit foggy.

“He snapped me out of my hypnosis, and I was standing at the front of the stage with my shirt off,” Dudley said.

“I felt kind of numb and out of the moment,” he said. “You make mental notes but you kind of fly through the experience and have to get reminded after it happened, kind of like the morning after a sweet party.”

During the show, Dudley said he was hypnotized and believed the temperature in the room was changing drastically. He also believed his hands were glued together for a time and he struggled to hold up a pillow that he was told weighed a thousand pounds.

“You don’t feel the weight at the time,” Dudley said. “But the muscle fatigue afterwards — you feel that.”

When Dale K chose Dudley to hit the stage, Dudley said he was skeptical of whether or not hypnosis was legitimate. Later in the night, when he stood shirtless in front of hundreds of his peers, his attitude changed.

“It definitely works. It made a believer out of me,” he said.

–Shane Nyman