It's a minor sticking point for the performer with a sharp wit who uses hypnosis to free his subjects' inhibitions for the sake of show business.
"My kids picked it up in minutes, but I think I'm destined to eat sand," he said.
But the self-proclaimed comedic sadist gets his own back on those trendy surfers, one of them anyway, in the second series of his TV show The Power of One.
Powers said while Julian wasn't in a deep sleep, he reacted, and that was enough inspire a new obsession.
"I used to make his arm stick in different positions," Powers said.
"Just to check it was working, I'd make sure there were some tears before I snapped him out of it."
"I've always had a sadistic sense of humour," he admitted.
A stiff arm is light years from the elaborate torture Powers now puts his subjects through.
He had no shortage of willing participants for his second series of The Power of One, which he filmed in Australia.
In the show he prompts subjects to become sexually aroused through some unusual stimuli - such as a partner eating food or using a sphygmomanometer, the pump used to measure blood pressure.
He convinces one man he is an elite gymnast competing for a crowd of thousands. Another is made to believe he is in the cockpit of a falling plane.
It's a far cry from the classic hypnotist's trick of making someone cluck like a chicken or be attracted to the opposite sex.
But it also means Powers' duty of care is paramount.
He said he only ever called on volunteers and would never endanger his subjects physically. Not that he can say the same about their state of confusion when he snaps them out of hypnosis.
"When I was a kid, 18 or 19, I'd let people do things for longer than they should," he said.
During the upcoming series, which begins on pay TV's The Comedy Channel next Thursday, Powers sends one of his willing victims on a surfing safari with a difference - his board was of the ironing variety and his suit is what would be worn for business, not in the wet.
« J'avais l'habitude de faire son bâton de bras dans différentes positions, » des puissances dites.
« Juste le vérifier fonctionnait, je s'assurerait qu'il y avait quelques larmes avant que je l'aie cassé hors de lui. »
« J'ai toujours eu un sens de l'humour sadique, » il ai admis.
Un bras raide est des années-lumière des puissances raffinées de torture met maintenant ses sujets à travers.
Il n'a eu aucun manque de participants disposés pour ses deuxièmes séries de la puissance d'une, qu'il a filmée en Australie.
Dans l'exposition il incite des sujets à devenir sexuellement réveillés par quelques stimulus peu communs - tels qu'un associé mangeant de la nourriture ou employant un sphygmomanometer, la pompe utilisée pour mesurer la tension artérielle.
Il convainc un homme qu'il est un gymnaste d'élite concurrençant pour une foule des milliers. Un autre est fait pour croire qu'il est dans l'habitacle d'un avion en chute.
C'est loin un cri du tour des hypnotist classiques de faire à quelqu'un le gloussement comme un poulet ou soit attiré au sexe opposé.
Mais il également le devoir de puissances de moyens du soin est primordial.
Il a dit qu'il seulement a jamais invité des volontaires et ne mettrait en danger jamais ses sujets physiquement. Pas qu'il peut dire la même chose au sujet de leur état de confusion quand il les casse hors de l'hypnose.
« Quand j'étais un enfant, 18 ou 19, je laisserais des personnes fais des choses pour plus longtemps qu'elles devraient, » il a dit.
Powers said the stunt involving a man at Coogee Beach is one of the less confronting segments of his new series.
"Of course the board kept sinking but he thought it looked fantastic," Powers said.
"There were a lot of people looking rather amazed as he ran down the beach. He was convinced he looked wonderful, something from Baywatch. He also had a suit on, so he was dressed for his moment in the spotlight."
Powers' discovered his craft at age 12 when he imitated a hypnotist from TV who had performed the deed with a classic swinging watch and the words "you are getting very sleepy".
He tried what he saw on his brother Julian, one year his junior, and to young Peter's shock, it worked.
He recalls one instance where he'd sent a young man in search of leprechauns.
"I was almost back to London when I got a call from Brighton at 3am saying he was still under and knocking on people's doors in a hotel looking for leprechauns," he said.
* The Power of One series two begins Thursday, September 27 at 8.30pm.
Penrith Panthers, Evan Theatre, Saturday, October 20.
Whyalla, Middleback Theatre, Thursday October 25.
Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre, Saturday October 27.
Mandurah, Performing Arts Centre, Thursday November 1.
Kalgoorlie, Goldfields Arts Centre, Saturday November 3.
Geraldton, Queens Theatre, Sunday, November 4.
Bunbury, Entertainment Centre, Wednesday November 7.
Perth, Burswood Theatre, Friday, November 9.
Peter Powers October and November tour dates:
Sydney, Enmore Theatre, Thursday October 18 and 19.