MEET Carlisle bouncer Wayne Shepherd, who specialises in hypnosis.

Wayne was born near Liverpool before moving to Carlisle and is now a doorman at the city's popular Woodrow Wilson pub on Botchergate. 

Whilst Wayne ensures that locals enjoy a safe night out on the town, he also possesses the ability to tap into their minds through the power of hypnosis. 

The hypnotist found his love for the art of inducing a trance or a dream-like state of deep relaxation in his teenage years and has gone on to dedicate his life to the craft, including securing a diploma in hypnotherapy, performing as a stage hypnotist, and using techniques to assist his brother Charles, a former British, Commonwealth and World Super featherweight boxing champion.

He said: "I read a book when I was 14 about hypnosis and about a guy who was a stage hypnotist who used hypnosis to help a child in a children's hospital in London with a skin disease.

"I took an interest in it, and started using self-hypnosis, and at the time I was a pro boxer and used hypnosis with different people I worked with in boxing, including my brothers Glyn and Charles who became British, Commonwealth, and World champion.

"After boxing, I took more interest in hypnotherapy and I got hooked on it and wanted to learn more before I got my diploma at Newcastle General Hospital."

For Wayne, hypnosis is not just about making someone fall asleep at the click of his fingers or making a stranger believe they are a chicken, it is about believing in the power of the mind.

This belief is something at his core, with Wayne a strong advocate of the idea that anyone can do anything they set their mind on.

He said: "If there is any doubt in your mind that you are not going to do anything you are not going to do anything.

"I have seen clients change the way they think about things, stop smoking, lose weight, gain confidence, and overcome depression.

"It is a belief system, if you don't believe in it, it won't work. For hypnotism to work you have got to be open-minded."

Wayne enjoys transforming skeptics into believers with his hypnotism and documents his impromptu performances on the streets of Carlisle on his YouTube and Facebook pages.

Now, Wayne believes there is a resurgence in the interest in hypnosis and is even considering getting back on stage.

He said: "It all started when one guy asked me to hypnotise him and some people saw me do it and I have taken it from there.

"People come up to me and challenge me saying that I can't hypnotise them and I always do.

"I hypnotised one guy last weekend after he had seen me hypnotise different people and he didn't believe in it until he got hypnotised and now is a believer.

"I think it is starting to make a comeback, I would love to start doing stage hypnotism again."