I worked at a startup in California that was run by a guy who had an interest in hypnosis. Unlike the title here, this man found hypnosis as related to circus,

I worked at a startup in California that was run by a guy who had an interest in hypnosis. Unlike the title here, this man found hypnosis as related to circus, carnival, party and trade show contexts, where the point of the action is to make a show, puzzle everyone and lead the audience. Specifically, sleight of hand magic tricks, purchased show business magic tricks, and word sequences used to con and fool the others, were exactly the point. As it turns out, this guy and his buddy were explicitly committed to con and mental tricks to gain powers over others, for money, attention or perhaps sexual situations, for fun and profit. They did not admit this to anyone out loud, because that would give away the trick. They were aware of hypnotic states, drugs that change consciousness, ritual and music that can change consciousness. They travelled to gatherings of performance magicians in Las Vegas or "The Castle" in Los Angeles once in a while, and spoke highly of stage magicians and their antics.