It’s subtle, but you’ll notice when Jace Hoppes is no longer himself. He trails off midsentence, moving his lips in an inaudible tone, and then suddenly snaps back to a conversation.

He fiddles with cards, coins and nails in his pocket before the show, a bit unnerved by the details of what will happen on stage.

But in the few minutes before he walks on, his facial expressions relax, his posture straightens and his hands are calm. That’s when you know Hoppes has been replaced by David der Geist, his performance persona, and is ready for his next act.

Der Geist, a professional freak, fire breather and mentalist, walks into a room full of people, dressed in a black suit with a bright red shirt to match his bright red-gelled Mohawk. He holds a hammer and a nail to his face.

“All right we’re going to put this right where it’s supposed to go. Right in my eye,” he says as he moves the nail toward his left eye socket.

“No!” The audience screams as they cringe in their seats. “No it’s not going in my eye. … It’s going in my head!” Der Geist yells as he places the nail under his left nostril and carefully pounds the thin metal into his face. Then, letting his hands fall to his sides he smirks as the nail dangles in place. Members of the audience gasp, throwing their hands up to cover their grimaced faces. With one quick sneeze and a gentle tug, the nail is back in his hand, unstained by blood or brains.

Like many people, when Hoppes goes to work, his personality changes and he acts differently around people. Whether it’s putting on his salesman grin at RadioShack or a stone face when he works the door at Mike ‘N Molly’s, he’s different from the moment he gets to work.

For his primary job, Hoppes is a mentalist, a type of performer who uses hypnosis, telepathy and mind control instead of physical props. However, he also does magic card tricks and freak tricks, such as pounding a nail into his nose. Unlike many people, when Hoppes goes to work he becomes a different person. He’s David der Geist — an outgoing, humorous stage freak, willing and able to stick something in his nose or chew glass for a price.

“That’s what a mentalist is,” he said. “It’s a guy on stage trying to play the part of a psychic. In a way, we are actors in a play.”

Hoppes chose the name David der Geist because of its German connotation, meaning strong, spiritual and humorous. To him, it combines everything he does on stage. Hoppes handcrafted der Geist to blend all the skills he doesn’t have in his a day-to-day personality but as a performer he knew he needed. Above everything, Hoppes said he knew his alter persona couldn’t be small — he had to be “larger than life.” Hoppes said the creation of der Geist is very organic and still evolving. Although der Geist has only existed for about a year, Hoppes has also made his dual persona useful in social situations besides performing. 

Lisa Cerezo has been Hoppes’ manager at Psychic Joker, a magic entertainment company, for three years now, but she has been a close friend to Hoppes for much longer. Sometimes she says it’s difficult even for her to distinguish between Hoppes and Der Geist.

“Getting to know David is almost like getting to know (Hoppes’) brother,” she said. “But I have no need to talk to him when he’s performing, and we never get the chance to sit down and have coffee.”

For Cerezo, her friend and client isn’t just Hoppes or Der Geist; the line between the two is tied too deeply. She doesn’t believe Hoppes could be a performer without his other persona. She sees Hoppes as the planner, taking hours to make sure he does something just right, but she only ever sees Der Geist when he’s on the stage sticking a needle in his cheek or making someone’s pulse stop.

“That’s the difference between the two,” Cerezo said. “The performer gets all the glory…but (Der Geist) gets to take the applause on stage.”

While Hoppes will head down to a bar on a Friday night to relax, Der Geist’s idea of a good time is being chained up, locked in a bag and thrown off a bridge. When he goes out for a night on the town, weird things happen, silverware starts to bend and straws levitate. According to Hoppes, he’s the center of attention without trying to be. He’s definitely not a ladies man.

“I learned, don’t use mentalist to hit on girls,” he said. “The first thing they realize is that you can read their mind, and all of a sudden you’re not so attractive anymore.”

If Hoppes is out for a night downtown in Champaign meeting new people, he said sometimes he would rather be Der Geist, but it can be a double-edged sword depending on whom he meets. Hoppes is a little reserved and timid in his black jeans, Guinness T-shirt and messy, faded Mohawk. He isn’t great at walking up to tables and sparking a conversation with a magic trick, but Der Geist is. So he’ll be Der Geist for the night.

Hoppes works at Mike ‘N Molly’s nearly every night until the sun comes up. His mother worries he won’t ever make enough money to live as a performer, but he assures her he always pays his bills on time.

“I didn’t get into it to have a stable life. I got into it to have a fun life,” he said. “It’s become a big part of who I am and I’ll never turn away from that.”

Hoppes has only been doing magic tricks and mentalism for 10 years now, but he has quit a number of jobs to pursue his passion.

Years ago, Hoppes purchased his first set of magic tricks at Dallas & Company Costumes and Magic store in Champaign. Intrigued by his new tools, Hoppes studied under Andy Dallas, store owner and escape artist, to improve his skills in magic. He was also later hired to work for some time as a salesman.

“I have no idea why magic is so intriguing,” said Dallas, “It’s either in you or it’s not.”

He doesn’t wonder why people collect stamps or coins throughout their lives. If someone has the passion in an art, he believes that’s one of the most wonderful things anyone could ever have.

For many magicians such as Hoppes, Dallas said, his store is only an interim job they work at until they begin their career in magic.

“We realize there may come a time when they move on to perform and we encourage that…he’s still one of my kids.”

Hoppes isn’t strictly a mentalist or a mystic. He walks the line between the reality of spiritualism and the unseen magic of the mind.

“There is more in the universe than we know about,” he said. “The whole purpose is to find that child in ourselves because the only way to look at the universe and have the sense of awe that you should, is to regain that sense of awe of a child.” 

Corinne can be reached at [email protected].