Comments on: Apollo Robbins, pickpocket -- mindbending live performance

By: Richard Kaufman

Richard Kaufman — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:54:00 +0000

I’ve had my pocket picked by Apollo, whom I’ve known for years. It’s a fascinating experience, since most pickpocket acts are fraudulent, but his is not.

By: IndexMe

IndexMe — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 07:16:00 +0000

But he would have to curb his habit of holding the stolen item up behind victim’s head while making a surprised face for the camera.

By: Westlee Harrington

Westlee Harrington — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 08:16:00 +0000

A few people seem confused at how he got the pen back into the pocket, and I would suggest keeping an eye on Apollo’s left hand at around the 2:50 mark in the video.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:12:00 +0000

Not going there. Thinking it, but not saying it.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:30:00 +0000

In the case of a wallet, if you regularly keep it in your back pocket while you’re sitting, you will eventually end up with a torqued spine.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:28:00 +0000

Since I tend to wear yoga-type pants, which have no pockets, my wallet is usually tucked into my underoos. I don’t really need to pat to see if it’s still there.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Yes to the multitool. No to anything crocheted.

Women’s clothing comes with virtually no pockets. And when there are pockets, they are tiny and not constructed to actually hold anything other than possibly one key (without keychain).

You can’t imagine the number of times I’ve grabbed a small wallet, keys, lipstick, and my phone….looked down at my hands….and realized I needed to grab a purse to carry it all whether I wanted to or not. Winter coats make it possible to go without a purse, but that’s for only a few months.

By: L_Mariachi

L_Mariachi — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Might work, but you don’t pat just specifically the pockets you expect stuff to be in. Two-handed sweep down the breast to the hips to the ass. EDIT: That sounded inappropriate, sorry.

I don’t know what women do with their purses and what not. Quit dangling HERE IS ALL MY VALUABLE SHIT from a 1″ pleather strap. What’s even in there anyway? You carry around assorted ancient breath mints and a crocheted Pokemon but no multitool?

By: DreamboatSkanky

DreamboatSkanky — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:27:00 +0000

“Court Jester” itself comprises a number of skills.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:35:00 +0000

It’s a job, like any other. For many (most) people, their personal stuff is locked in a locker at the start of their shift. Any woman who works at a desk stashes her purse in one of the drawers when she gets to work. I’ve seen plenty of men dump at least some of what is in their pockets into a desk drawer as well.

And in the case of TV personalities, they show up to the studio in street clothes and change into something appropriate from the wardrobe department. Their wallets are with their clothes: in their dressing rooms.

By: Zachary_Bos

Zachary_Bos — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Which is why, whenever I’m bumped in public, I pat SOMEONE ELSE’S pockets. Throws the fingersmiths off the scent.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:27:00 +0000

“any experienced city dweller will automatically pat-check his valuables immediately after being bumped into in public, before the bumper disappears.”

Which some pickpocket teams use to their advantage. The first guy really does just bump into you; someone else is watching to see where you pat. When that second guy brushes past you a few minutes later, he knows exactly where to target.

By: Matt Popke

Matt Popke — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:09:00 +0000

I’ve watched it several more times and I agree. The wallet always had a pen with a bill stuffed in it. There is no point in time he even gets very close to the first guy (why can’t I remember any of their names?). I can understand me not being able to see what his hands are doing because he steps in front of the camera or just moves too smoothly/fast. But he doesn’t even get within 18 inches of the guy for most of this video. We know he’s not using telekinesis so it must be a planted pen.

By: Zachary_Bos

Zachary_Bos — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:58:00 +0000

I live near a residential community of — alright, Buddhist, but not Zen specifically — monks, and have often seen them at the mall. They wear bright orange robes and come with a handler, who deals with the sales clerk for them (though I think that’s because of a language barrier, not for reasons of spiritual purity). The last time I saw a gaggle of them, they were 1) buying sandals, with they wore with socks, and spent at least forty-five minutes deliberating before they made their purchase, and 2) carrying cell phones that hung from a wrist strap hung off the same arm as their prayer beads.

By: Zachary_Bos

Zachary_Bos — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:53:00 +0000

I think the actual take-away is not, “It is wrong”, but, “There’s no reason to think it’s right.”

By: Art

Art — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:52:00 +0000

A stunning exhibition of skill.
But of course my attention was cleverly diverted by his grey suede shoes.

By: Greg Miller

Greg Miller — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:35:00 +0000

I’d think it was just a magic trick, if the New Yorker piece that profiled him earlier didn’t mention him doing a similar (but better) thing to Penn Jillette – Penn was asking Apollo for a demonstration, and Apollo “demurred” (great word), and when he finally relented, he told Penn to take his pen out and trace his ring on a piece of paper. Penn pulled his pen out, went to trace the ring, and realized that Apollo had stolen the cartridge from the pen. So I totally believe it, and have no clue how he did it.

By: GlyphGryph

GlyphGryph — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:59:00 +0000

I don’t carry a wallet when I’m working. Do most people? Better to leave it safely in the desk, in my opinion. I’m certainly not wealthy, just an average cubicle warrior, but I wouldn’t wear it out on the floor even when I worked for Walmart.

By: rausantaella

rausantaella — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:52:00 +0000

I suppose they change clothes and such before going to work. When I’m going to work out at the gym usually I leave my valuables in the locker – maybe these guys leave their phones and such in the changing rooms.

By: Noctilucent Studios

Noctilucent Studios — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:46:00 +0000

I was also curious about the whole “not carrying a wallet” part of the deal. I have always wondered if people who are ridiculously wealthy even bother with a wallet or cash…..and the Queen of England. What’s she got in that purse? Dog treats for corgis?

By: aperturehead

aperturehead — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:21:00 +0000

Very true. I agree. I think he does have a true talent which folks must find entertaining – however, I think audience members also enjoy watching this guy steal stuff from other people and like to see him make fools of people. So it’s part skill and part court jester.

By: Gatto

Gatto — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:53:00 +0000

That part, I’m convinced, is “just” a magic trick. The pen was pulled from the wallet, so yeah: no reason a duplicate pen previously stuffed with a different hundred couldn’t have been put into the wallet before going in the first anchor’s pocket. Apollo was probably prepared to have the bill and the edge matched up against each other. He is the one who ripped the bill, so it could have been scored earlier to rip in a particular way; or, more likely, he could have substituted a previously ripped edge for the edge he ripped in front of everybody. Nobody ever actually examined the bill he stole back, so that one didn’t have to match the edge the second anchor put in his pocket. ( It definitely looks like there’s some palming action going on around 1:25. )

What’s *really* awesome is the sense that he has a *huge* bag of tricks and skills. He likely would have done something completely different if the anchors had wallets or phones.

By: L_Mariachi

L_Mariachi — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:51:00 +0000

Personally, I’d be even more attuned to it, but I was raised in a city and era notorious for crime so YMMV.

By: Snowlark

Snowlark — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:15:00 +0000

I’d love to see this guy try to pickpocket a group of Zen monks, except I’m pretty sure those guys don’t have anything to steal.

By: Matt Palenske

Matt Palenske — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:10:00 +0000

“Now I’m nervous every time you touch me”

By: andrew baker

andrew baker — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:06:00 +0000

So, all of those refutations did nothing more than say, “I think it is wrong” without either offering a specific reason why it is wrong, or citing any references to conflicting research. Do I need to dig into the sources of each excerpt to find the actual meat behind the refutation? If so, why not lead with the meat?

By: Tim Holt

Tim Holt — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:58:00 +0000

What he delivers is a lot of very interesting insights into interacting with people, gaining trust, distracting, fooling, and more. It’s not that he has the fingers to take that watch for example, but that he has the ability to do it in ways where the “victim” doesn’t realize he’s doing it.

If you haven’t read the Atlantic article in full, do so. This guy really thinks about what he does, which is not take stuff, but subtly but powerfully manipulate perception.

And that, at least in my book, is very powerful and something one can use in many ways beyond just lifting a wallet.

By: wrybread

wrybread — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:44:00 +0000

I can’t remember who it was who went on Letterman and demanded to see his wallet, to prove that he was a real person and not just some guy wearing a costume. Of course, Letterman didn’t have anything at all in his pockets, and the point was made. I think it was Penn?

By: wrybread

wrybread — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:29:00 +0000

> Yes, but in these tough economic times it’s wise to exploit one’s hobbies for as much money as possible.

Not to state the obvious, but that’s probably why he’s doing TV appearances, which, even if he’s doing them for free, he’s certainly using that publicity to increase his rate for other events. This guy’s treading close to Penn & Teller territory in terms of entertainment value and personality, and with the amount of exposure he’s getting he’s probably making serious bank in Vegas, where he lives. Nightly if he wants. And I see in him a pretty good example of how working really hard on something, no matter how absurd or impractical, can eventually pay off in practical ways.

By: aperturehead

aperturehead — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 02:57:00 +0000

Yes, but in these tough economic times it’s wise to exploit one’s hobbies for as much money as possible.