In 1993 when I was just 17 years old, a TV show in the UK began called “The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna”. It was a stage hypnosis show filmed in front of a studio audience. Often celebrities would help along with the various funny scenarios, and it was presented in a quite slick and fun way.
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Being young and impressionable I thought that Paul McKenna was very cool, and I wanted to be able to do what he did. Although I later went down the route of clinical rather than stage hypnosis (a route that Paul McKenna has now taken), Paul McKenna was definitely an inspiration to me. He made my ears prick up and take notice of hypnosis, and I remember vowing I would one day learn about hypnosis.
Jon Rhodes
Because of this inspiration, and the fact that he is one of the most successful hypnotists around today, I thought I would tell you a little about him…
Paul McKenna started out as a radio DJ, beginning on the pirate radio station Radio Caroline, before eventually graduating to Capital Radio and briefly Radio One.
On one of his shows he interviewed a hypnotist who helped Paul to relax. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to learn more about it. Paul borrowed some books from this hypnotist, and his learning began.
A natural entertainer, Paul performed to friends and family, and then quickly started performing at pubs and clubs whilst still working as a radio DJ. He soon graduated to bigger venues such as the Duke of York’s Theatre, which was owned at the time by Capital Radio.
At around the same time Paul was offered a DJ job at the top UK radio station Radio One. He took up the offer, but did not stay for long as he wanted to concentrate on his hypnosis career. The success of his shows quickly led to him playing other theatres across the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, the US, Australia and Hong Kong.
Paul McKenna quickly broke into TV and was a part of numerous popular TV series. In 1994 Paul won the award for ‘Best London Show’ as well as the T.R.I.C. Award for ‘Best TV Newcomer’. Paul McKenna’s stage shows became very popular, allowing him to play at venues usually reserved for rock concerts. He broke all records by selling out at The Royal Albert Hall when he put on the largest show of stage hypnosis in the world.
Despite this, he continued to learn hypnosis and branched into learning NLP from its co-creator Richard Bandler, and became more involved in the more serious therapy side of hypnosis – hypnotherapy.
Paul has produced numerous self help books, audios, CD’s, DVD’s and multimedia products. He is now regularly seen on TV talking about and demonstrating his therapeutic techniques, and presenting TV programmes and seminars on hypnosis, NLP and weight loss. He made his name in the entertainment side of hypnosis, but eventually became accepted as a legitimate and serious therapist.
Paul McKenna has treated many celebrities for a variety of issues. I remember many years ago after a very tough fight, boxer Nigel Benn grabbed the microphone declaring ‘I want to thank Paul McKenna, who hypnotised me and made me believe in myself.’
In 2008, the Discovery Channel signed a massive £23 million deal with him to make a series of self help programmes.
Despite all this success it seems that Paul McKenna hasn’t lost his passion for helping people. In an interview in the Guardian in December 2004, he described his anger at the weight loss industry, saying that “diets work for nine per cent of people. I’m amazed they’re even allowed to trade. Beyond passion, I’m actually quite angry about this. Dieting is exploiting people, pure and simple.”
Paul is also keen to share his knowledge, rather than keep it guarded to himself, “I want to make people freer. I’ve got no secrets. I’ll explain all my techniques. The more people out there doing this, the better. The more people who understand how manipulation and psychology work, the less likely we are to be manipulated by unscrupulous politicians.”
It’s great that despite his huge success, Paul McKenna is still in the business of helping people. Of course he has made a lot of money out of it, but he has managed to retain his professional integrity, and has helped many thousands of people. He is an inspiration to both those seeking therapy and to therapists.