Lex Magnum has been teaching handshakes for 12 years. His real name is not Lex Magnum, but actually Lester Danson. For the purpose of showmanship and dedication to his craft, he officially changed his name to Lex Magnum in 1994. At the time, it drew criticism from his friends and family, but his public speaking and seminar attendance flourished. To this day, he spends 200 days a year traveling around the country teaching his seminar to over 10,000 loyal attendees. His expertise is rarely challenged, as no one has collected as many years’ professional experience talking about and practicing the handshake.

The Art of the Handshake has extended from being a miniscule business side seminar to a full-fledged across-the-board demographic, with people seeking out the handshake techniques for all facets of life.

Background: Lester grew up in a Mid West steel town, with a father who worked hard his entire life. He tried to raise his son on the values of discipline, respect, and a damn fine handshake. Lester’s childhood was fairly normal, with the usual misstep here and there. In High School, he once chastised a teacher for refusing to shake his hand at the end of the year. The teacher had a germ phobia, and actually screamed in terror as Les persisted. Luckily, it was the end of the year, and the teacher was too embarrassed by his womanly gasp to take it further.

When Lester graduated from the Hawaii Business College in Business Administration in 1989, he was ready to take on the world, and within three years, he had successfully patented and marketed an invention called the Alarm Fork, which had a built-in traffic light in the handle to give you a green light to eat, and a red light to stop eating. The invention, as completely idiotic and absurd as it was, became a brief hit during a time when people were looking for a new diet craze. Lester’s business instinct allowed him to sell the shitty product, but he knows most credit goes to his phenomenal handshake, which instilled confidence in his buyers. He retired from business after making his first million dollars and decided to spend his time teaching others how easy it is to get ahead with simply a good grasp.

The seminars started small, but quickly built steam, and Lester changed his name to reflect his on-stage persona. Lex developed a style that is at once an assault and an education. His extreme ridicule of ineffective handshake styles only helps point out how important a correct shake is. While it may shock many of the attendees when Lex runs down the aisle pointing out everyone’s flaws, they are quickly made to realize how a handshake affects relationships.

Little Known Fact: Lex gets inspired by cheesy early 90’s tunes before going out on stage. C & C Music Factory and such. It started back when he first began his seminars, and has sort of become a jokey ritual that he continues to perform today, although now he listens to royalty-free music.