Nicholas Gentry is not only the best at what he does; he is simply the only one who does it.

Nicknamed "The Intellectual’s Illusionist" because of his background as a college professor, philosophy lover, and world traveler, Gentry has also been a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, an English teacher in Japan, and a spokesperson for the American Red Cross of Alaska.

Gentry has taught English and philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

But make no mistake; Gentry is no elitist. His favorite review came from a very smart electrician who said, “You don’t have to be smart to enjoy this show, but you’re gonna feel smart if you see it.”

Gentry is the son of a military pilot, and he has proudly cleaned toilets, repaired roofs, and flipped burgers. Once upon a time, he was even in a heavy metal band. He may look like a “coastal elite,” and talk about philosophy, but he still knows what to order at the Waffle House!

Here is a list of other things that Gentry emphatically is not:

• another sideshow trickster who wants you to feed his ego just because he knows a few "tricks”

• another toxically positive “peak performance coach” full of corporate jargon

• another out-of-touch, lifelong “artiste” who has no credibility with an audience who lives in the real world. (From blue collar labor, to copywriting, to academia, Gentry has worked in many fields outside of solo speaking and entertainment.)

• another corny sleight of hand nerd who became a keynote presenter just to cash in, and is full of abstract admonishments to just “think like a magician so you can achieve the impossible”— or some other trite nonsense.

Gentry is an entertainer, plain and simple, not a business guru or miracle worker. He doesn’t want to “mindfreak” you; he wants to help you expand your mind, and he wants you to help him expand his.

He is also a warm yet straightforward human being who has been fortunate enough to eat a bigger-than-average slice of life. As such, he has a lot to offer that will impact and inspire your team or audience while leaving them with actionable insights they can use both on the job and in their overall lives.

From suffering with malaria in Ghana to almost getting robbed in Timbuktu, from the seedy side of Japan to the kinder side of Saudi Arabia, from teaching Plato and Aristotle to reading tarot and reading minds at your event, Gentry has seen more, done more, and overcome more than most comparable performers and presenters.

But what, exactly, does he do that is so different from other solo entertainers? In his own words:

"The apostrophe-'s' in the term, 'Intellectual's Illusionist' is very important to me, because it means that you're the intellectual, not me. I just work for you!

I'm taking a stand against the dumbing down of entertainment, and I'm doing it by creating performances that I myself wish I could experience. My aim is excellence, and I have a very specific way of understanding what 'excellence' means:

A bad magician tries to sell you on "tricks," while a good magician sells you on his personality — but an excellent magician uses even the simplest illusions to sell you on yourself.

I don't chase after the newest magical gadgets or try to demonstrate how skilled I am. Instead, I ask myself, 'If someone already knows all of my secrets and methods, what other than 'the trick' would make this routine worth that person's attention?'"

A favorite amongst private clients and event planners, Gentry specializes in making a big impression on discerning adults, not as a mere novelty act, but as a true artist who actually has something to say.