Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WECxLRaSm_4

Don

Wow Looks great.

Wow! He really knows how to handle that worm... I have a gross of those critters but still don't have the skill or practice to pitch them. I've tried pitching them but for some reason I break the nose where its tied from after about 5 or 6 demos. I put them aside for now. maybe I need to find a way to keep my hands dry. I believe its the moisture of my hand that breaks it.... Who knows. I'll keep trying though!

It is you wet hands.Put some baby powder on them.

Good advice! I'll give it a try. Thank you Don!

Thanks for the tip.

Excellent worker, this guy!

Wow that was impressive.

Gonna just raise this from the dead. This guy is amazing.

After bringing this post back up again and your recent questions on the worm... makes me wanna bring out my old stock of worms and practice again!

Heck I'm gonna set me a goal to learn it in a month or less...

Glad you brought it up again!

Ya this guy is amazing. It gave me some ideas for my worm.

Frosty, you don't have to be the Mickey Mantle of worm handlers <grin>, this isn't a test! Just do a couple of simple moves and I guarantee you will attract a tip like moths to a flame. Have the worm crawl over your hands, first horizontally and then vertically. That gets the tip wondering where you could possibly be working the worm from, since it is moving in two different dimensions. Having the worm jump from one cup to another is another very attention-getting move, and it's very easy to do (use plastic cups please, no glass!). You can also have the worm sit on top of your fist and then dive back into it, as if he's tired or afraid of something --- another good way to misdirect the audience as to method. As you know, a short, punchy routine is best for the limited attention span of most tips. You don't have to do everything ever dreamed up for the worms, just the "highlights" are fine! And make sure your moves are nice and slow, so everyone can see what's happening, no "need for speed" here.

I used the worms and the Svengali Decks as a dual pitch. The worms brought the tips, and made it easy to sell the decks, but I sold plenty of worms, too. The guys wanted the cards, the girls wanted the worms. I used an IT gimmick for the worms, which was great because it was totally undetectable from as little as 2 feet away (which also just happened to be the width of my pitch table). The only downside was that sometimes the gimmicks would break on me, so I had to have a whole bunch of spare worms set up and ready to go. As Don Driver noted, on real hot or humid days, a little baby powder (the cornstarch kind, NOT talcum powder) will keep your hands dry and smooth, reducing the chances of problems with the gimmick. SETH

Hey Seth, thanks for the tips.. I'm going to give it a go in a week or two at my next fleas. I'll practice these next few days just enough to have a very basic demo to start like you said and since it ain't too hot right now I think it's a perfect time to pull them out!

Frosty --- Good luck with the worms!

Two more suggestions that I got from Don -- 1) Practice in front of a mirror, so you can see what it looks like to the tipsters. This will help you show off the worm to its best advantage. Work lower to the table for smaller tips, and higher in the air (about chest or even neck height) for bigger tips, so everyone can see what you're doing. And 2) when you pitch, wear a brightly colored shirt with a real loud plaid pattern. This provides a background that helps confuse the eye and conceals the gimmick better. A solid color, white or dark shirt is probably the worst thing to wear, it actually makes the gimmick stand out more.

I always started the pitch with the worm just lying on the pitch table. This is very natural, and it frees you up to move a little bit and rest your hands on the table or gesture with your hands. It also helps to eliminate any idea of a connection between the worm and you or anything else. When I started to build a tip, then I would pick the worm up by the nose and stroke it a little bit (to wake it up!). Then I just laid it across the back of my left hand and went right into the routine. SETH

Mark Lewis is a pitchman who is particularly good with the worm. See him in full flight with "Jeremy the Worm" here:

https://www.tiktok.com/@peteybeeproducti......99425541

It really comes alive in his hands, and his patter is thoroughly entertaining as well.

You can see Mark live in Dixie Mall in Mississauga BTW.