Q: What's with the "K"? K: I really don't know what I was thinking but at 18 I did a bit of a name circumcision and since then it has just stuck. Q: Home is originally Canada? K: Woodstock Ontario. It's just a couple hours west of Toronto. You know, it's where all the igloos are and we can ski all year. Q: Any childhood memories? K: I was a TV baby. Obsessed with it. Watched it all the time even when I wasn't supposed to. Like most kids do. Q: So you were influenced by television? K: I couldn't get enough of Sesame Street. I loved Mr. Dressup too. He was the Canadian Mr. Rogers. I was captivated by shows that I was way to young to fully understand at the time. Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Mike Douglas, Kreskin and Dean Martin's Roast to name a few. Oh! Oh! Don't forget Hee Haw too. Yes, I said Hee Haw. Nothing says comedy like cheesy punch lines being delivered from a field of corn. Q: How did you become a hypnotist? K: My dad was a clown. No really, I am dead serious. So I grew up with an interest in odd forms of entertainment. Kind of like the stuff you see on Telemundo late at night but with fewer half naked women. Actually, I don't remember any half naked women. That might have led to a different career. Q: And you saw your first hypnotist on television? K: Yeah. I was blown away and immediately hooked. Back in the day you just couldn't "Google"� hypnosis. That was probably a good thing since the net is littered with less than accurate information on the subject. I felt that my only option was to attend shows and try to talk to the hypnotists. I soon realized that none of them had interest in talking to a punky "teenager. Q: What happened next? K: Eventually I met some performers who really encouraged me. Without their help I would never have went in the right direction. Q: What performers? K: The Evasons. You can "Google" them. Q: So what was the next step? K: I studied hypnosis literature that you just don't find at the local library. Later, I completed clinical hypnosis courses as well. Q: I bet you get asked this one all of the time. Is hypnosis real? K: Yes, very. It's the general public's perception of hypnosis that is not real. Q: What do you mean? K: When most people think of hypnosis, they think of sleep walking zombies that are under the complete control of an evil hypnotist. Q: I have seen your show and you make people do some incredible things. I mean things that they would never do on their own unless they were hypnotized. K: It's true that the volunteers in my show do some very incredible things while hypnotized. However it's not a matter of control its really encouragement and motivation through relaxation. Q: ? K: Okay. When volunteers come on stage they naturally experience some form of stage fright. This is really just the feeling of being in a new or foreign situation. I mean most people would never dare to walk on stage in front of a theater full of people. Using hypnotic techniques I can remove those feelings of stage fright, self-consciousness and intimidation. At this point they have the confidence to open up their imaginations and give me their full attention. Q: Can you give me an example? K: If I tell a volunteer that when I snap my fingers he will become the world's greatest opera singer, that's exactly what he will believe. Free of any stage fright and full of his own confidence, he will sing loud and proud. Using hypnosis he becomes so relaxed and comfortable in front of the audience that for him it's as if he is singing at home alone in the shower. When the audience erupts with applause he will gladly accept it and at the same time think to himself "Wow! I am an opera singer and my fans love me!" Q: What about when they see things that are not really there? Like the UFO's in your last show? K: They see exactly what the audience sees. Nothing! I encourage them to imagine the UFO. At this point they are so comfortable on stage they start to react to their own imaginations. Sometimes they claim to see more than one UFO or will even start counting the little green men that are coming out of them. Q: I like that explanation. K: Well, at least you know what happens in my show. I can't speak for other hypnotists. Q: What's the funniest thing that you have had happen in your show? K: There are so many things that have happened over the years it's really hard to narrow it down to just one. It's hilarious though, when people talk under hypnosis. Q: You mentioned clinical hypnosis. Is that when you hypnotize someone to quit smoking? K: Yeah, it's called hypnotherapy and it can involve many things not just the issue of quitting smoking Q: I recently saw a website that made some pretty large claims about what their hypnosis programs could do. It sounds unbelievable. K: I have seen those websites too. They are unbelievable. I don't support the theory of making direct physical changes through hypnosis. Q: Actually, I have seen your hypnosis programs that claim you can change your body and loose weight with hypnosis. K: Hypnosis is not a magic spell that allows you to close your eyes and then five minutes later open them to see that you have dropped ten pounds. My hypnosis programs for weight loss will effortlessly give you the ability to make smarter and healthier choices that will lead to positive physical changes. It's the hypnosis that encourages you to change your habits and it's the changing of those habits that directly affect your body. The hypnosis alone is not directly responsible. Q: Your program on stress release enforces the importance of having fun. What does Dale K do for fun? K: I fly kites. Don't laugh they are big ones called power kites. You can "Google" that too. I picked up my first power kite fifteen years ago and have a pretty sweet collection. There is something about being dragged around and picked up off the ground that l find strangely relaxing. I know what you are thinking, it sounds ridiculous. Q: A little, but I am thinking about this last question I've been dieing to ask it. Have you ever used your powers for evil? K: No absolutely not. Well...maybe once.