What's the Worst Thing About: The Breakthrough System
/The What's the Worst Thing About posts are a form of free advertising I allow on the site, where people can send me their product and I'll let everyone know the worst thing about it.
The idea is to undermine the typical dynamic with magic reviewers where they have a tendency to minimize the negatives in hopes that they'll get more free stuff in the future.
Why would anyone releasing a product take part in this?
Well, I'm not inventing negatives. I'm pointing out actual issues as I see them. So if you're confident in your product, then the thinking should be: "I know it's not perfect. But I know the positives far outweigh the negatives. So I'm fine with people knowing potential weaknesses and being able to weigh them against what I'm offering."
Today we're talking the worst thing about The Breakthrough System by Johannes Mengel.
Before I break down the good, bad, and the worst, I will note that there are about 40 videos and four hours of material in the teaching section. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you love watching instructional videos. I don’t. So for me it was a downer.
The Bad
— Sometimes the trailers for tricks with multiple methods can be confusing.
Some elements of this trick can be done totally impromptu, some require something extra that you can procure very easily pre-performance, and some require you to be rigged up in a way that is the exact opposite of impromptu.
When watching this, you may think it's being said that you can just borrow a can and go into all of these variations of the effect immediately. You can't. Some you can. But perhaps a more useful trailer would show a quick impromptu routine, followed by a quick gimmicked routine that's possible.
— If you think, "This will be a fun thing to do whenever I see someone with a can," the question becomes: How often are you around people with cans? I've been working on this for a month now and haven't been in a situation where people have cans of soda or beer on them. Of course, this is going to be different for everyone and the environments in which you spend time. Once summer rolls around, I'll have some opportunities to perform this. But until then, I'll have to orchestrate the situation.
— Also, let me remind you of something: recently emptied cans are fucking disgusting. When done fully impromptu, this would potentially be a bit of a sticky, drippy mess. But “let me rinse and dry out this can” certainly takes the steam out of the performance.
— The version done in the spectator's hands requires you to immediately take the can from them after the penetration. I'm not sure that's very well justified. "You do it in your hands." And then at the point where the magic has supposedly happened you quickly take everything back to display it yourself.
— I don't know quite how to put this, but there's something… unromantic, about the effect. It doesn't have the simplicity of a vanish or transformation or levitation. It doesn't have the impossibility of a coin in a bottle through an opening it couldn't fit in. It's a piece of trash rattling around in another piece of trash. Johannes clearly has a passion for this premise. But he comes off sort of as someone on the spectrum who's really into, like, dump trucks or some other obscure thing that doesn't hold the same fascination for most other people. In the trailer above, Johannes makes a comparison to this effect and walking on water. That’s how into this trick he is. I don't think they're quite comparable.
“And lo, Jesus put the tab of his Mount Sinai Dew—which he had borrowethed from a spectator for it was not his can—straight througheth the bottom. And the disciples said unto him, 'Truly, thou art the Son of God.'“
The Good
— You could take my last point and spin it positively. You're able to take something completely pedestrian—a piece of trash—and do a multiphase magic routine with it.
— This fits in very well with my Zero Carry philosophy. While there are some variations in the instructions that require you to be heavily gimmicked, they're completely unnecessary. There is enough material that is impromptu or near impromptu that you could create a very solid 3-4 phase routine with this. (You could go longer, but I wouldn't.)
— If you like this premise, you're not going to find a deeper dive or more complete examination into it than you'll find here.
— It's not difficult, although to get it looking as good as Johannes does will require some practice.
What's the Worst Thing About The Breakthrough System?
The price. It's $150.
Now, that's a fine and fair price if you fall into the category of "who this trick is for." Here's what Johannes told me.
So who is this for? First of all, people who actually like the plot, people who appreciate organic magic. Secondly, people who would value deep dive into a subject who are not just looking for a quick trick. This masterclass is the result of almost 20 years of my work on this plot and it is covering 20 versions/variations how to perform it. So it's an in-depth study of the plot, not a "quick download".
For example, I was approached by a guy at the Blackpool convention who said he casually performs at pubs for tips and earns 500 per night, so obviousy for that kind of person who regularly performs in environments where this trick makes perfect sense and who earns his investment back in a few hours and will use it for the rest of his life, the product is not expensive and it's a no-brainer for him.
So yes, if you like the trick, if you want to take an hours-long deep-dive into it, and if you make a ton of money performing for tips in environments where there are cans around, this is a no-brainer, must-buy.
But that's like…what… six people?
For the other 8.3 billion people on the planet, the price is a little steep.
Part of the fun of buying magic is taking a chance on things. But Johannes has priced this out of the "take a chance on it" range. He hasn't priced it as something you try. He's priced it as something you commit to.
So if you look at the trick and think, “That looks like it would be fun to play around with,” or, “I could probably do that at a 4th of July party,” or, “I have an idea of how I might use this someday,” then this isn’t for you.
You need to already be in the camp that loves this idea—where putting a tab inside a can is so appealing that whatever the method is, you’re willing to learn it.
I can’t say it was a mistake for him to price it this way. This is clearly a project he cares about and has put a lot of time into. The download is detailed, he offers a one-on-one teaching session, and he’s self-releasing it. So this may be the only way he feels he can be properly compensated.
The price isn’t outrageous. But it’s a signifcant barrier to entry, especially for people who are on the fence, or for whom money is tight. And the fact the price is high enough that you need to be sure this is for you, is the worst thing about The Breakthrough System.