If you’ve ever wondered whether someone could actually read your mind, mentalist Michael Samen is ready to convince you.
Samen has built a global reputation for leaving people stunned — from guessing the passcode on your iPhone, to revealing the name of your first crush.
During a recent visit to the NBC6 studio, he put those abilities to the test on us…and he left us speechless.
What is a mentalist?
A mentalist uses observation, suggestion, intuition, and psychology to create the illusion of mind-reading. Samen says his fascination started when he was just 10 years old, playing with a deck of cards and realizing he could pick up on far more than most people notice.
Today, he travels the world and often the streets performing spontaneous demonstrations for strangers.
At NBC6, we approached the interview skeptically. Naturally, we decided to challenge him.
One of his first feats: asking us to roll a die and focus on the number. Without ever looking, he called it out.
Then he did it again, correctly identifying a completely different number.
The more we tried to puzzle through it, the more baffling it became.
Then, NBC6 Anchor Roxanne Vargas closed her eyes as Samen instructed her to imagine a brand-new four-digit PIN — not one she uses, not one she shared – just four random numbers in her head.
He handed her a large notepad to write it down privately. No mirrors, no cameras, no cues.
Moments later, he revealed the exact number she had written.
There were no hints. No signals. No way he could have known.
And yet … he knew.
Samen insists he doesn’t access thoughts — he reads patterns. The gestures we don’t realize we make. The pauses in our speech. Subtle shifts in our eyes, posture, or breath, he calls them “micro-expressions.”
“It’s the magic of the mind,” he said — a blend of intuition, training, and connection.
Beyond the jaw-dropping moments, Samen says his work is ultimately about awareness.
Looking up instead of down. Engaging with people rather than rushing past them. Understanding that every interaction carries signals and meaning, if we slow down long enough to notice.
We may not all be as intuitive as Michael Samen, but our ability to connect with others is powerful.
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