Shapel Lacey, a 32-year-old LA comedian and host of "It's Managed," traces his authentic stand-up evolution from a 2010 dare to finding voice after his brother's 2013 death. He advocates for drug legalization to curb the opioid epidemic, critiques social media's divisive algorithms, and praises the Comedy Store as a vital hub where he met Joe Rogan. Lacey argues that creators like Dave Chappelle reclaiming control through direct-to-consumer models ensures artistic integrity over corporate censorship, ultimately suggesting that personal authenticity drives success more than chasing viral fame or political polarization. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, WAV2VEC2_ASR_BASE_960H, sat-12l-sm, script v26.04.01, and large-v3-turbo
Time
Text
Arizona Comedy Origins00:07:23
We're going to start posting each podcast episode that you see on YouTube a week earlier on Patreon.
So feel free to join for early access to all episodes.
Plus, we're going to start doing bonus podcast episodes every week.
So if you want to join Patreon, it's patreon.comslash concrete videos.
Next week's episode is already posted there.
So feel free to go check it out.
Hello, world.
Today's guest is Chappelle Lacey.
Chappelle is a hilarious comedian based in Los Angeles.
You can check him out on his podcast called It's Managed, and he's also on the Fighter and the Kid podcast with Brandon Schaub.
Without further ado, please welcome Chappelle Lacey.
Boom yo Chappelle Lacey.
Thanks for coming down here to Florida and thanks for having me joining our show man.
This is super super cool to have you on here.
Yeah.
Oh, this is great.
I like your setup So for people out there who aren't familiar Tell me a little bit about your background and how you got into stand-up and everything you do Stand-up I got in because It was basically a dare someone dared me a dare.
Yeah, I used to I used to drink real heavy, you know seven years off of that shit.
How old are you by the way?
33.
33, okay.
We're the same age.
Oh, hell yeah.
You do not look 33.
I know.
1987, baby.
January?
July.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, close enough.
Yeah.
Yeah, someone did.
I was in college.
I was cheering at University of Louisville out in Kentucky.
And, you know, my friends used to play these acoustic, you know, sets at bars.
Yeah.
You know, and we used to go see them all the time.
Like every, it was like every Monday night we'd go see them.
And one night they were playing and they like called me up on stage.
And I, you know, they just wanted me to fucking say something.
So only thing I knew was just to say something funny.
It wasn't like even my intention, but it was just like, well, I can't come up here and just talk, you know, like when it was fucking, you know, give a speech or something.
So I just told like a funny story and, you know, people were dying.
And then someone was like, man, you should get in a stand-up.
And I was like, I don't fucking know anything about stand-up.
The only stand-up I really knew at the time was Eddie Murphy Raw, Dave Chappelle's Killing Him Softly, and Kings of Comedy.
Those are the only ones I fucking strongly knew.
But I didn't think that was something anyone could do.
I didn't think it was like, oh, anyone could just fucking be a stand-up comedian.
I thought there was a lot more to it.
Yeah, I thought it was something you, especially knowing, because Dave Chappelle started when he was 15, so did Eddie Murphy.
I just thought that was like, oh, that's, you know, that's something you got to like get into like early on.
And, you know, and I used to be this, you know, drunk where like, you know, I was to say I won't drunk.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, that was the guy I was.
I was just waiting to get there.
Yeah, yeah.
Say I won't do it.
And someone was like, yeah, someone was like, you should try comedy.
I was like, I don't know anything about it.
They're like, you won't do it.
I was like, say I won't.
And they literally, you know, found an open mic.
But like before I did that, before I even found the open mic actually to backtrack, I studied it for like two months straight just like to understand it, you know, like when I was like, what the fuck's going on?
Like I don't know anything about it.
So I would just, I would just watch comedy like everybody, like from, you know, big names to random clips on YouTube, you know, I just, I just watch it just to see what the fuck I was getting myself into.
Right.
And when I tried it, you know, I was blown away.
I was like, oh, shit.
Fuck school.
I can maybe do this.
Yeah, I was like, you know, I was like, I enjoyed that.
And I was like, and what I did, you know, that was the most studying I've done for something, you know, like I studied harder for that than I did with school.
Yeah.
So I was like, yeah, why would I, why would I do that, you know, to myself, you know, like why would I try to be somewhere where I just don't, Give a fuck.
Yeah, I just don't care to be around it.
Yeah.
And, you know, that was in 2010.
And then once I did that, man, that's why I was like, oh, okay.
Let's fucking, let's roll with it.
When you were trying to learn it, was there like a point in time where you had sort of an epiphany to like, did you like ever reach a certain point where like oh, I get it now?
Like uh, you know what?
Actually um, I stopped for two years after my brother passed away, back in.
He passed away in 2013 and I want to say I in 2000, like all of 2014 2015, I didn't really do it and um um, In 2016, when I got back up, because of friends, they're like, hey, you're going up tonight.
And before they had said that, there was a lot of people asking me to do shows, and I kept just turning people down.
I'm like, nah, I don't want to do it.
I don't want to do it.
And then when they were like, oh, you're going up, I was like, oh, shit.
I guess I don't really have a choice.
And that was the first time I said real shit.
You know what I mean, and people with it and like laughs because you know prior to that.
What do you mean?
Like real, like the, the stuff I was writing before, you know, was just goofy stuff and trying to like, I was really trying to be funny yeah, I was like pushing, like it was like so forced, you know, say this stupid thing.
Yeah, say that stupid thing because it's stupid, you know but, like it, it I didn't have no connection to it right, you know?
Whereas like, when I got back up, you know there's a connection to this, It was real.
It was real to me.
There was some feeling.
There was a lot more meaning behind it.
Yeah.
And I felt better about being on stage because of it.
You know, I think, I think, you know, before I had quit, you know, I'd stopped, I think I was just riding off this dare.
You know, that someone, you know, I was riding off that dare of like, yeah, someone dared me to do this.
But then, you know, getting back on, that's when it like fucking, yeah, I was like, oh, shit.
Yeah, this is what I should be doing.
You know that's cool.
And then it just, you know, I just worked my ass off just back home in Arizona.
Oh, because you're originally from Arizona.
Yeah, because I, I moved I um, I moved back home.
Uh, after I started comedy in Louisville, I just yeah, I was like I just left college and yeah, hell yeah, and I do not regret that.
Yeah, of course.
Leaving College For Laughs00:06:35
Yeah college well, not for everybody, you know.
Yeah, love college if you love college, but college for people like me yeah, for most people, most people, college unless you're gonna be a doctor or unless you have to get a degree.
That's what i'm saying.
I'm like, unless you like got a.
I mean, I know so many people with great jobs that do not have a college degree right there.
As far as oh yeah, for sure yeah, you just start working for a company or whatever that does what you want to do and you just start at the bottom and work your way up.
That's the best way to learn.
Oh yeah, one of my, one of my friends, I think he's doing like 150 grand a year, something like that.
A year, just high school diploma.
Wow, you know, working for like a.
You know Something with fucking accounting.
I don't know.
But he just like understood though.
Yeah.
You know, just, you know, works his way up like literally.
Yeah.
From the bottom, just understood the fucking business.
So it's like, yeah, the person's fucking good.
Why would it be for everybody?
You don't got to go to college.
Yeah, you can find your way.
Yeah.
You can find your fucking way.
Absolutely.
And he ain't got no fucking student loans to pay off or anything like that.
He don't owe Sally Mae, you know?
Yeah.
You know?
Dude, so that gymnastic shit that you do, I watched some videos on your Instagram.
Oh.
And.
You like to see a dude your size just do a standing still backflip is pretty fucking mind blowing.
Yeah, it is.
That shit is wild, bro.
How did you get so good at that?
I've been doing that since I was like five.
Really?
Well, not the cheerleading.
But just blitz.
So is it?
So it's actual cheerleading?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Competitive cheerleading.
Competitive cheerleading.
So I started cheerleading when I was like 15.
But yeah, like prior to that, I just loved martial art films, man.
Yeah.
You know, and so I'd see that shit and I'd see them doing all the flips and I was like, oh, I can fucking do that.
Yeah, right.
What little kid doesn't want to be able to do that?
Yeah, I was like, I think I can fucking do this.
You know?
Yeah.
And then, yeah, straight up, I just like fucking started trying it outside.
And then, um, You know, I just got better and better at it and then you know, I had a crush on this girl That's how it all starts Every good movie every good movie.
Yeah crush on a girl.
Yeah, I was outside of her house with a fucking boombox You know so funny.
I've never even seen that movie.
I just know that scene.
I just know that one part was that's what's that?
No, it's a fucking it's an old movie.
I forget the name of it.
Yeah, I don't know classic though.
Yeah, it's like a classic movie But, um, yeah, what made you want to get into that, into competitive cheerleading?
Well, I didn't want to get into it.
Oh, you were just chasing a chick.
Yeah.
She was in there.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
She was, she was, uh, and she saw me do the flips and shit.
So she asked me to join.
And I was like, fuck yeah.
Let's go.
There's this dude on TikTok.
I forget.
I don't remember what his name is, but, uh, he's got like a, probably like an eight-year-old daughter.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Have you seen him?
Mm-hmm.
And they'll do it, stand in their living room and, like, she'll be standing on his hand and he'll, like, flip her up.
She's like 10 flips, like, back on his hands.
Yeah.
I've seen that shit.
That shit is wild.
It was wild, man.
You have to, like, Eat shit.
I'm sure a lot of times practicing that you know what I Don't think I ate shit that crazy really yeah You know like how do you get to that I mean I mean like how do you I mean shit, but like not You know not real Yeah, yeah, cuz there's so much like with progressions.
Yeah, and like you learn how to fall You know, so like cuz you you start to have a body awareness The people that eat shit have no fucking body awareness They don't know how to fall.
They don't know what the fuck they're doing.
Yeah, I don't know how to fall, you know Yeah, sometimes it's out of your control.
Yeah.
You know, where you, you know, it's like, oh, I can't do shit about this.
Let's just fall.
But, you know, a lot of times, you know, it's just, it's fucking, I don't know.
There's progressions to it.
Right.
You know, you know, your limit.
Yeah, you know, your limit and you know, like, what you're capable of.
And, like, you know, there's so many drills that progress you to, like, the next skill.
So you're never, you know, out of your comfort zone with it because, you know, you've done these steps.
And so it's like, oh, now I'm able to fully do it.
You know, that's how that's how it is, you know yeah no, it just seems.
It seems hard to like wrap my mind around how you like incrementally progress to that level yeah, to where you're doing like 10 flips on someone's hand.
You know, I mean, I get it like skateboarding.
You can jump into a foam pit, you know what I mean.
You can launch a huge ramp, practice something, into a pit, but to be able to do something like literally standing on somebody's hand with no, nothing below you yeah, I guess they practice above mats and for a long time.
Yeah yeah, you practice yeah, you practice on on that a lot before you take it to the video, But, yeah, I mean, yeah, I just worked my ass off.
You know, I was the same way with skateboarding.
You know, I loved skateboarding and all I did was just, you know, I don't know.
It wasn't even like I wanted to work my ass off.
It's just, I just liked it.
Like, if it's like, yeah, if I do something that I really like, man.
You do it every day, all day.
Oh, man.
I lock into it.
Yeah.
And it's because it's just like, it's like fun to me.
Like, you know, thinking about like, yeah, hard work.
Yeah, I work hard just naturally, you know.
But I think, you know, I mean, yeah, you look at some guys like, you know, like you look at like a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James or, you know, you look at these guys that are just like these freak of athletes, but, you know, their work ethic is fucking insane.
Yeah, it's crazy.
You know, like it's like, yeah, they could still suck.
They have the fucking ability to suck.
But they're dialed, you know.
I know, I know they're you know, you know, those guys have like a little bit of help, you know what I mean, like you know, with natural physiques.
Um, but yeah, at the same time, they could still suck at it, right?
You know what I mean?
They could still, like, they're still capable, yeah.
Their mind has to be a hundred percent full.
Yeah, it's like, okay, I got this gift, right?
What do I do with it?
You know what I mean?
Like, just let it be a gift or take the gift above and beyond, right?
You know what I mean.
Are you an NBA fan?
Well, once I quit cheer, I started watching basketball.
Okay.
So you watched this year's finals?
I actually didn't see this year's finals.
Okay.
Because my fucking TV, they want me to pay extra for this.
Yeah, it apparently had the lowest viewership of all time.
Henry Rollins Walks00:03:18
Yeah, I saw that.
That's pretty weird.
Yeah, it is pretty weird.
I mean, there's a lot to play in the account, man.
I mean, who knows where people the bubble, the virus, who knows?
I mean, I was fucking locked into it just like I was every year.
I know.
It is weird, man.
It's just a weird time.
For everybody.
Like no one knows.
The whole world is weird, man.
Like no one knows the correct answer, but everyone acts like they do.
Yeah, you know, that's the funny thing about a lot of it's just watching people literally like they got the answer.
Yeah, I go, do you know?
You know, like real vague answers about everything dude, it boggles my mind the question at all.
Yeah, i'm like some like that, like some of my friends like Say to me, I go, how did you come up with that?
Yeah, like I fucking know you.
Yeah, I know what you do daily Right now you're a doctor a scientist and shit.
What did you watch dude?
Yeah, it's it's it's literally the weirdest shit when they're saying this They're saying this no one fucking knows Yeah, no one fucking has the accurate answer You know because everywhere is fucking different.
You know what I mean?
I who who who knows like I mean Like that's one thing like I'm just such a geek of learning right You know, I don't walk around, like, I would hate to walk around acting like I know.
Right.
Spitting, that's not the truth.
Exactly.
You know what I mean?
That's so dumb.
Yeah.
I don't like that shit.
I don't like walking around like I fucking, like, oh, I know this.
Yeah.
Right.
You know what I mean?
I don't fucking know.
I don't fucking know.
Yeah.
You always got to assume that the person you're talking to knows something you don't, right?
Yeah, exactly.
And I, like, I learned that from, I'm a big Henry Rollins geek, you know?
I don't know who Henry Rollins is.
All right.
I'll see you guys later.
Who is he?
Henry Rollins.
Yeah, he was in bands, movies.
He was a good guy.
Yeah, he was in Black Flag.
That's why I do this.
I get to do this.
No, no, you're good.
You're good.
You're good.
You're just the first person I've ever heard of him.
He does a lot of spoken word.
He's like a human rights activist now.
He was in bands.
But he's one of those dudes.
He just.
He's just he wants to be tuned in.
He wants to learn.
He wants to educate himself.
Like he doesn't walk around like he knows everything.
He just wants to learn.
And those are the people that I look up to and appreciate because, you know, he doesn't talk like he's capped off.
He talks as if he's like wanting to know more.
Those are the people I fuck with.
You know what I mean?
So I've gotten rid of all my friends.
Yo, for real, man.
But yeah, like, I mean.
How annoying is it when you get in a room with somebody and they're just like.
Preaching to you, just like, telling you how it is about everything.
Oh dude yeah, i'm like well, it's just like this guy.
Yeah no, it's, it's the most annoying.
That's like if there's one thing that really bugs me, it's that right, you know what I mean.
I go, how do you like, how am I supposed to trust you like?
I mean, argue with people like that?
Yeah I yeah, I think about a lot, I mean everything's.
Stoicism And Violence00:13:35
You know wild in this world right, you know yeah naturally, it's gonna happen, it's gonna be wild.
You know there's, there's so, there's, so much um difference in the world.
But what I think you know a lot of us don't realize.
You know I travel a lot and go.
A lot of us are the same more than we actually think.
You know it's the it's it's yeah, but like people want to explain more of something else than themselves, that's the thing that you know like boggles my mind.
You know people want to tell you about this, or tell you about another person, or tell you how you are, but couldn't even explain themselves.
That's the wildest to me, like that's the I think about on the regular, I read a lot of stoicism.
Books, Not books.
Yeah, it fucks with stoicism a lot.
It's just intriguing.
I think I've just seen the best result from it by following it because a lot of it is being in tune with who you are.
What I've come to realize jumping into that world is that I don't necessarily go after people or like anyone else or I don't make things about anyone else but myself.
You know what I mean?
Like one of the biggest situations, you know, I grew up with an abusive stepfather, you know, and I'm one of those rare cases where, you know, it doesn't, I don't have like any ill will towards him or I don't want to like go after him.
You know what I mean?
I don't want to go, right.
This guy fucking wronged me for 17 years, you know, let me, now I need, you know, justice from this.
You know what I mean?
I don't want that.
You know, I decided to, you know, I had to go through years of anger management also, which is another big help.
And, you know, I just, there was so much like realization.
I mean, there were so many things that were said that didn't really click with me until like later years.
You know, because, you know, my last anger management class was, I think it was 22 last time.
When you were 22?
Yeah, when I was 22.
So, you know, it's a they just said a lot of intriguing things.
One of the biggest things that was said to me, but I didn't catch it until later, was when my anger management teacher, we were talking.
I was like, yeah, I don't have any confidence because of the way my stepdad treated me.
And he was like, what?
He goes, it has nothing to do with him.
He goes, it's your confidence.
He goes, are you around him now?
Or is he here right now?
I was like, no.
He's like, it's your confidence.
And I didn't really get that at first, you know, you know, because I was just so young and wild.
And then, you know, years later, it clicked with me.
I was like, oh, yeah.
I was like, so I don't need to make anything about him anymore.
Right.
I was like, I don't have to make anything about him.
Why do I need to like have this energy of like hate, you know, towards him?
You know what I mean?
You know, and I thought even deeper.
I was like, you know, there were things that happened to him when he was younger.
You know he was doing what he knew.
You know that was all he knew.
He was just in that environment, right.
So I had to put all that into consideration to forgive this person and forgive them with love, because there's a difference, you know, I think there's a difference of forgiving someone with, you know, just saying oh, I forgive you right, that's easy to say, and walking away.
But to forgive a person with love means like damn, this person, that person that is forgiving with love, is pretty in control of who they are.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
You have this like yeah, when you, when you hold, when you hold, I feel like, when you hold a grudge towards someone like that, like when you have some stuff that goes on in your early life like that, like abuse from, like a step parent or something like that yeah, and you get older, it's easy to use them as an excuse for, or like hold, like that, that angst or hatred towards them 100, but You're the one that suffers, not them.
Yeah, when you're when you feel like that and you think like that you're making yourself suffer.
Oh, yeah 100% and once you can let go of that Yeah, then there's no more suffering You're completely clear of it and you have no you have no hard feelings or whatever you almost want to thank them for making you turn out the way you did.
Oh, dude 100% like if he was here right now I'd shake his hand, right?
You know just because it I mean You know with all that I've learned and I'm so happy that You know, I've I've had these you know certain people that I look up to and admire to help me find things for myself.
You know what I mean?
Just finding that in the result I've seen from it has been wonderful for me.
I walk through life a lot smoother now.
When I tell people I went through anger management, most people, they don't even fucking believe it.
I go, that's how hard I've worked.
Or just I've learned so much.
I've taken in so much because it's, it's, yeah, like, you know, I see these people every day, you know, and I get it, you know, sometimes, you know, within reason, you know, I see these people wanting to go after people online, you know, a person does something, you know, like one of the weirdest things that I saw was, you guys know the actress of Vanessa Hudgens?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So she posted a picture of her at a, at a cemetery, and said, it said my happy place right, and someone got offended that she said that because she was at a cemetery.
They're like, oh my god, I can't believe you're doing this.
Yeah, and it's like you.
I'm like you know you, you needed to do that.
You needed to go to her page and page and and say that like, how are you okay right?
You know?
That's like my first thought to people like that, are you okay?
Who hurt you?
What do you have going on?
Yeah, what do you have going on?
You know what I mean.
Because that's it.
That's it.
That's it.
You know, to they don't understand.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like you're making you're you're making your, you know Her picture is not about you.
Right.
It had nothing to do with you.
has nothing to do with you.
But people do that.
People make these other things about them.
Yeah.
Because the most terrifying thing to people is to look within.
Yeah.
People are scared to do that.
Yeah.
Fucking scary.
But once you do it, you know, oh, you fucking come out better.
Yeah.
Anger management, did you ever do any writing?
Like, was writing a process of that?
You journal every day?
Yeah.
Now, when you, like, explain to me, like, your process with journaling versus, like, writing for comedy.
Is there a difference between the two, or is there an overlap?
Not even really.
It's not even a difference.
I mean, the journal goes on stage pretty much.
Really?
Yeah.
You know?
Because that's where I make it so honest and so clear to where I can understand it.
And when I have a clear view of it, what I say on stage, like, it's just like, you know, I know what to say with it and know how to make it funny because I understand it.
You know what I mean?
Like, that's.
That's the thing with it.
Like I tell jokes about my abusive childhood, you know because and and it's, and it's a tough joke because obviously, when people hear the word abuse, they get uncomfortable.
You know, and I literally had to like bomb that joke a lot.
You know what I mean.
Think about it yeah yeah, and you know I really had to figure out a way, you know, and one of the things that I had to learn I was like, don't say this out of spite, because the crowd will get uncomfortable.
They can feel that.
They'll know that you're not okay.
You know what I mean?
So it's like, okay, don't say this out of spite.
How do I say this out of like, I'm having fun with it?
You know what I mean?
And I lead it up to that.
I get them prepared for it.
You know what I mean?
But in funny ways.
And then I just fucking drop it on them.
And then they fucking appreciate it because I made them comfortable with it.
You know what I mean?
I let them know where I'm at.
Mm hmm.
But I let them know where i'm at in such a funny way, in such a cool way too.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
That that and that was all from like journaling about it constantly, just constantly writing about you know what that you know childhood was like and what.
Where i'm at now, you know, and when I, when I do that and let them know where i'm at now and how I am mentally it's, it sets them up like oh okay yeah okay, I guess we can ride with this.
You know, and it and it and you know the.
I mean what that just doing that and what it's done for me has made me realize so much.
You know what I mean.
I think a lot about like, about yourself right yeah yeah yeah, everything.
You know gosh and, and it's it's, it's.
You know it's hard to say, you know, not even hard, not not hard to say, um, it just doesn't, it's just not something that clicks with people.
Very easy not an easy thing to just sit there and tell someone like hey, I know that person wronged you, But don't make it about them.
Make it about you.
Take control.
But, I mean, that's hard to get someone to understand that.
It's very hard.
So I get it sometimes.
I mean, I was lashing out at everybody, but with violence, I always wanted to fight because that's all I knew.
All I knew was violence.
That's all I saw in my house.
So when I would go outside, what was I doing?
I wanted violence.
So.
You know, yeah, I do get it.
A lot of people are doing what they know, but a lot of people need to realize, you know, most of the time what someone else is doing has nothing to do with you.
I don't take that abuse personal.
I don't take it personal at all.
Why?
You know?
Yeah.
He was doing what he knew.
Like, he thinks he, you know, was a great dad.
Of course.
That's not crazy.
You want to know why it's not crazy?
Because his dad left him.
He didn't know his father.
You know what I mean?
So, He was there in my life.
Yeah, he was there.
He was there.
That's a big difference.
It's a big difference.
From not being there, yeah.
Exactly.
So, you know, why would I think it's crazy when he would say that he thinks he was, you know, he tried his best?
He's right.
He tried his best.
And that was what he gave.
You know what I mean?
You know, and I still see him from time to time.
You know, it was, it was been like, I haven't seen him in like four years, you know, but.
I have a brother with special needs.
So my mom and him still have to see each other, like take him, you know, the doctor's appointments or, you know, whatever, whatever they need to do to help him out.
And, you know, a lot of times, you know, there's not much conversation there.
And on my end, I'm okay.
I'm like, yeah, I'll talk to you, you know.
But I think, you know, I don't know as to why.
It's not like, you know, I don't want to talk to you.
It's more of like.
I don't know what to say, you know, I mean, which is fine, I get it.
There's a lot of you know, I think, and I think the cooler story would be, you know, to have a conversation with them.
Yeah, why not it?
Who cares?
Right, we'll see where it goes.
Yeah, if it goes bad okay, i'm cool with me.
You know, I love what i'm doing, i'm having fun with life, you know.
So it's amazing how much writing and journaling, like about yourself, or just like recalling past experiences and stuff organizing how You know doing that helps you like organize your thoughts and helps you like better articulate what you've experienced or what you're thinking about.
Yeah, or help helps you communicate it to people and it just like It's such a benefit to people to be able to do that like especially if you have things like if you have problems with anger or if you know violence or whatever it may be being able to express that and actually like get it organize it out of your mind and articulate it onto paper and talk about it.
Nickelback Attention Span00:14:06
Yeah, I feel like man, that's such a huge yeah, I mean, and it's, and it's so hard I get it, it's fucking hard that I mean look how long it fucking took me, right.
Right, you know it's it's, it's tough.
You know, did the now, did the the process or the discipline that you've started of journaling?
Did that come from the anger management or did that come from the comedy?
Um, you know I, you know I.
So when my brother uh passed, I started journaling a lot.
Right.
You know, but then I stopped.
Okay.
I started, I just ripped out all the pages and threw it away because I couldn't really look at it.
Yeah.
You know, and then once I moved to LA in 2018, that's when I started really doing it.
That's when I really started fucking just journaling.
Because I was like, because yeah, I was like, I don't know this city or anything about it.
Everyone, you know, claims to know how LA is.
Yeah.
You know, but a lot of times I'm like, you know, you've never lived there.
You know, I've never lived there.
You never lived there.
You're, I mean, you're going off as a visitor.
You know what I mean?
So when I moved there, that's when I really got back into it because you got a lot of, I mean, you know how many people are trying to be comedians?
I can't imagine, especially in LA, right?
You know how many people are trying to be actors?
You know how many people are trying to be something out there?
So fucking much.
People want to make it.
People want to fucking make it.
And I was one of those, you know, I just was like, man, Fuck it.
Why don't I just go out, you know, and work and just like, why don't I just go, okay, I just simplified it and got rid of all the fucking pressures of trying to make it.
So that's an insane, that's a big fucking, I mean, especially in that world, because if you don't make it, because it's not, it's not guaranteed.
You're setting yourself up for failure.
Oh, yeah.
You're going to set yourself up for, you're going to go crazy.
You know, I didn't want to fucking do that.
It's like a rat race out there.
Oh, my God.
Everyone trying to become famous.
Everyone's trying to become famous.
Yeah.
And people don't know how to be the, their most authentic self.
Yeah, and I was like well, everyone's doing that.
I'm one of those dudes that like, if there's this fucking cesspool of shit going on yeah yeah, I go.
Ah, let me, you know, I look around like i'm like nah, I don't want to go over there.
Right, let me do it like this right, you know, like I said, it was one of those things like i'm not gonna fucking act, because people go there acting like they know right, because if they act like they know, then they think that people were like, oh yeah, this guy knows what's up, This girl knows what.
They're trying to act like somebody.
They're really not even yet.
Exactly.
You know, and I'm like, I'm not doing that.
I don't know shit.
All right.
Yeah.
I don't know shit.
Fuck it.
My biggest thing with those people is like, what if you just run into somebody who actually does know, who has an experience, who can like open doors for you?
Oh, yeah.
You show up and you're acting like you're trying to preach to them.
They're never going to fucking talk to you again.
They're going to look at you like you're a joker.
Yeah.
I go, yeah.
I go, I don't fucking, yeah.
Whatever.
So, how did you initially get your foot in the door to the comedy scene?
I mean, you're pretty well entrenched with all the big comics in LA right now.
How did you enter that world?
How did you get your big break, if you will?
Yeah.
I mean, I'm trying to think of the best way to explain it.
I just started doing me.
Okay.
Just going out and doing open mics.
Yep, just going out and doing it.
Then people thought I was funny, they would ask me to be on shows and it just kept building from there.
Because shows you mean just like open mic shows, so like not the open mic shows, so like open mics to like actual booked shows.
Oh wow yeah, like yeah.
And the thing was like I always like I learned this from like Dave Growl, you know Foo Fighters.
Yeah, he was like if you're loud enough, people will hear it and he goes, he goes uh, like when he drummed for Nirvana.
Yeah, he was just like if you're loud enough, people will hear it.
You know, and I I thought about that.
I was like yeah, if you're loud enough, people will hear it.
So if you, if you're good enough, people will hear it.
Right, they're gonna come.
Yeah, they're gonna come, they're gonna come, I promise you.
And you know, a lot of times you see people like man, like I can't believe, i'm not getting this, i'm not getting this, i'm not getting.
You know, it's like well, you keep saying that they focus on the numbers.
They're like yeah, and it's like, dude it, it don't use that as a excuse.
Yeah, I hate that, So fucking yeah, it's so.
People want to make an excuse as to why they're not getting something Fucking.
Do you just be, just exist, Exist loudly.
I can't start my podcast yet because I don't have enough subscribers yet.
Yeah, I can't start a thousand subscribers.
Yeah, I, you know, oh, this place doesn't, you know, book, you know, book me because of this or, you know, weird shit like that.
It's like story.
Yeah.
And it's like, man, if you, you know, just realize you suck.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Maybe it's not what you think.
Yeah.
I don't, you know.
God.
No, that's not the place.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think about that shit all the time.
I think about a lot of shit, you know, just fucking very, you know, introspective.
Is that the word I'm looking for?
Yeah.
I just do a lot of, so much of looking within that, you know.
And it's so funny because I'm on a.
That's good.
I feel like the smartest people do that.
I appreciate that.
Damn, that's a compliment.
Well, I mean, they do.
I mean, the smartest people I've met, they are like that.
And they spend a lot of time writing and journaling.
That's why I'm always curious about, like, asking about, like, how people build the discipline to, like, or the habit of always writing and journaling.
And, like, if you have a thought, just, like, writing it down and working it out.
Yeah.
And, like, working it out so you can talk about it or speak it clearly or.
Speak it to an audience.
Yeah.
You know, you know, people think I'm crazy because I don't watch the news or anything like that.
People think you're crazy because of that.
Yes.
I'm sure a lot of people probably think that.
Yeah.
Like, they're like, how do you not know this?
I don't fucking watch.
I don't.
I don't watch things I don't like.
Right.
Right.
I don't pay attention to shit I don't like.
That's the fucking.
That's another thing.
Like, yeah.
Like, why?
I'm not.
I don't give a fuck.
Right.
Right.
Like, like.
Like, it's like weird.
Like, up to date on all the facts.
Yeah.
I'm like, okay, what?
Yeah, because a lot of times when I really think about it, I go, what can I do with this information?
It's out of your control.
Yeah, that's out of my control.
I don't give a fuck.
Argue with your aunt about it.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
You know, someone was trying to talk to me about Dr. Dre's divorce.
And I was like, oh, God.
So?
What the fuck's that got to do with me?
I don't even know the guy.
I don't know them.
You ain't getting any money.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's like, it fucking drives me crazy.
Right, man.
It's like a hot topic.
Yeah, they're like, how do you not know this?
How do you not?
How dare you?
Yeah, how dare you not know this?
Because this means nothing to me.
It means nothing to me.
That's so funny, man.
So many people have conversations.
They just want to have conversations about that shit.
Dude.
Most conversations, like, the dumbest shit, man.
I'm like, get the fuck out of here.
Like, I don't fucking.
I'm trying to think of some things I don't like.
Yeah.
I mean everybody, this is that's everything.
That's everything on TV yeah yeah yeah, I don't like Nickelback, I don't pay attention to him.
Sorry if you guys are Nickelback, I'm not Nickelback fan okay, you know.
Sorry to the Nickelback fans out there.
I mean yeah, I mean I don't like, so I don't, I don't fucking pay attention right, but you're not out there like hey, did you hear their new album?
It sucks.
Yeah, did you see what Nickelback did right here?
You know, it's just like like that's that's, you know, Like that fucks up your brain so much when people do that.
You just painted, yeah, you're wasting time.
But why are you paying attention to shit you don't like?
Like, how do you know that?
I'm gonna kiss Dan Michael Rappaport.
I can't stand him.
Do you know that guy?
No, I don't know him, not personally.
I know he lives in LA.
Yeah, dude, he is funny.
Oh my god, I fucking love that guy.
He's crazy.
He's so crazy.
God damn it.
I respect him because he fucking.
Yeah, he does what he does.
He doesn't hold back.
That's him.
Yeah.
But yeah, he was like, oh, I don't like what he says.
I go, you follow him.
Yeah.
Right.
Why do you follow him?
Yeah, I was like, why do you follow him?
Because that's the internet.
Yeah.
God damn.
He's funny as fuck.
Oh, the internet is crazy.
I mean, they follow most people just to hate on people.
Just to hate on, yeah.
That's the most like, yeah.
You know, I got rid of like Twitter, Facebook.
All I have is Instagram.
Me too.
Yeah.
Because, I mean, Instagram is a little bit more controllable.
Yeah.
You know, but like, I was like, this, like, Twitter, I just see shit that I go, I don't even follow this.
I was like, I don't even know why it pops up.
It just shit, just like, pops up that I don't even like follow.
So I'm like, how the fuck did that happen?
So I was like I gotta get off of that and it's just too much of that is just, you know, not good.
Yeah yeah, it doesn't let you like, you know, I mean you can get like I don't think it's bad, but it can be.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
It's like it's like alcohol, like for me.
Yeah, it's bad for me.
Yeah, you know.
Do you find that social dilemma documentary?
No, I heard about it.
Holy shit dude, it's really good.
It's freaky.
Yeah, I came across that.
Yeah, everyone's been literally the same reaction.
Yeah.
Everything you're talking about.
I mean, it's what you're talking about.
It's just like how the tech industries have just like lost control of trying to make more money, more ad revenue.
Oh, yeah.
Just keeping people engaged and feeding them the shit that they like.
Dude, think about anything that fucking happens.
COVID.
You know, these fucking things capitalize off of that.
You know, shit with racial injustice.
Capitalize off of that, all these, all these things that like these big things that you know that the way they can they, the way they push this information, the politics, everything.
You know what I mean I, I like you're 33 right yeah, how old are you?
32, 32.
So I remember growing up, you know, I didn't.
I never knew anyone to argue or care if they were Democrat or Republican right yeah, that was never like a thing.
I don't remember that ever being a thing until more so recently right, And it's the weirdest shit to me.
And it's like, you know, first of all, I think anyone's crazy that just fucking devotes themselves to one fucking inside of some shit.
It's the weirdest shit to me.
Because, like, you're not giving anything else a chance.
Exactly.
You know what I mean?
And that's the thing that's like, that's why I love, like, Mark Twain has this quote about, like, travel.
You know, like, going every, like, yeah, about staying in a small pocket.
Yeah.
And how, You know, that doesn't fucking help you.
Like, if you just stay on this side, you stay right here.
Like, your brain, you're not, you're disrespecting your fucking brain.
Right.
You know what I mean?
And that's exactly, that's what the documentary explains.
Oh, really?
Because that's how they earn more money and that's how they get a better return on the ad money that advertisers spend.
Because they want people that have specific interests, obviously, and you can narrow that down when you buy ads on Facebook and Twitter.
So.
They want to feed these people this exact same content so they can funnel more relevant ads to them, and it keeps them in these fucking in these single lanes of content, keeps them in, like these echo chambers, right?
So basically, the the summary.
I don't want to ruin it for you, but the basically I i'm one of those people that I, you could tell me a movie that I really want to watch.
Yeah, you could tell me the end and how it happens and i'll be okay.
I don't give two to ever spoil me.
Yeah so, like the moral, the moral of the story is just, you know The effect of these social media companies focusing so much on their revenue and not being regulated.
So it's all strategic.
They didn't plan on doing this, they were just doing this to make money.
They didn't plan on the effect has been it's kept people in their own little echo chambers and it's caused the divide that's going on right now.
Yeah.
Basically, everyone only seeing specific shit.
Like, fuck the liberal, you know.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
These fucking libtards.
What do they call us?
Libtards.
Or, you know, on the same thing on the opposite spectrum.
Like, if you fucking like guns or.
You're racist.
Right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And, you know, basically these companies have created this with, you know, everything.
And there needs to be some sort of regulation on it.
And it's.
It's fucking freaky, man.
Yeah.
Oh, just, man, just think about there was something that happened to Justin Bieber.
He was, oh, he was accused of rape and by some people online.
They just, you know, posted it.
And, you know, he ended up like proving that he did not, you know, he was proving his shit, ended up suing them or whatever.
But like, you know, when that goes to Twitter, it fucking.
It's out of your control.
It's out of your control.
Oh, yeah.
It's like wild.
Heroin And Drug Wins00:04:43
And then, and then, then.
You go, who the fuck's liable for that?
Right.
Like, Twitter, you got to be held accountable for this shit.
Like, they try to ruin this man's life on your platform, you know?
Right, he's probably spending time and money trying to disprove the truth.
Yeah, trying to just, you know what he has to do?
And everything.
You don't think about that human?
You know, you don't think about, like, what he has to do just to fucking just because somebody said.
Yeah.
Yeah, just because of some and that's the fucked up thing.
And they don't care.
You know?
You guys don't work for Twitter, do you?
No.
Okay.
All right.
Hell no.
I'm just making sure.
I'm sitting here talking shit about your company.
No.
You fucking.
No, I mean.
Yeah, it's so easy to fuck somebody up like that.
But yeah, but at the same time, I think of this.
There's a lot of things out here in this world, you know, and I learned this from Henry, so it's not from me.
There's a lot of things out there in this world that more so set you up for failure than success.
You know?
Why do you think success is so hard, failure so easy.
You know, and you have to make a choice.
You know what I mean.
It's it comes down to being on you.
That's why they can get away with it.
Why do you think these fucking places and all this shit can get away with all this stuff?
Because you know, at the end of the day, it comes down to the person's choice.
Well, they chose to.
They chose to drink all that.
You know, they chose to fucking yeah, drink and drive all that.
We didn't tell them to do it that way.
Right.
You know what I'm saying?
So it's like, you know, it's always good to just like fucking, you know, watch out.
Yeah, take care of yourself.
You know, it's a.
Moderation.
Moderation.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, what's your fucking limit?
What's your fucking, you know, that's all it's like.
Okay.
I don't fuck with Twitter.
Fuck Facebook.
Peace out, family.
Yeah.
Yeah, dude.
It's just like fucking being addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Yeah, that fucking scrolling, dude.
Yeah, it's like another hit of dopamine.
Just oh, one damn.
Yeah, like think about the fucking just dangerous.
Oh, it is like You know like the what was that epidemic the fucking opioid epidemic?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, that's how I lost my brother really that's how I lost my brother.
I've lost quite a few people from that shit fuck Yeah, we know a lot of people You know, yeah, Florida hard too.
Oh, hit Florida hard, bro.
Shit.
Yeah, damn.
We got some fucking horror stories about people we know.
Oh, really?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
And yet it was like the way, you know, people I knew that were just dropping from the shit.
It was like, fuck.
You know what I mean?
It was crazy.
You know, it's so like, yeah, like it, you know, all these things, yeah, they set you up for failure, but you got to make a fucking choice.
You know what I mean?
I'm glad I fucking did.
Yeah, we were talking about, I was talking to a guy here yesterday and we were talking about like the war on drugs and talking about like making all, there was a country, I forget which country it is, but they made all drugs legal.
And then their crime went down.
Like, you can, if you're addicted to heroin, you can go to a clinic and they'll shoot you up with some heroin.
And that's a clean needle.
Doctor will give you a little dose of heroin, get your fix or whatever.
Now you're not living on the street robbing and doing whatever you can do to get your little fix of heroin.
Diseases.
Really?
Yeah.
Apparently, where the hell is that?
That's crazy.
Damn, I need to go.
Give me a ticket.
They never got COVID over there.
Yeah, right.
Holy fuck.
It never hit them.
Yeah.
What's that?
That's fucking amazing.
Yeah.
That would solve so many problems.
Yeah, you know, it is a very interesting thing, you know, like, you know, especially with like marijuana.
It's like, fucking.
Oh, yeah.
Come on.
If you can drink and smoke cigarettes, you know, we should be legal.
Weed should be like.
That's legal.
I can't believe these fucking politicians aren't campaigning on that heavier.
Harder.
You know what I mean?
Like, Trump or Biden be like, look, I'm going to legalize weed, motherfuckers.
They would win.
Oh, they would fucking win.
That's all you have to do.
They would win.
They win, yeah, literally.
Just, yeah, just one thing.
You know what they have to do, yeah.
Here's a stimulus check and some weed, yeah, exactly.
Tuesday Night Podcasts00:11:47
Who we have, we have on here.
I think you know him, David Lucas.
I love David Lucas.
We have on here, he was talking about how he likes Trump because Trump bought his Yeezys.
That's so funny.
He would say something like that, yeah.
He's a great dude, he's a funny, he's a funny.
He said he works at the comedy store, yeah, he does.
He's one of the door guys.
Do you spend a lot of time at the comedy store?
Well, I mean, yeah, when it was like, you know.
When it was like open and not COVID wasn't fucking everything up.
Yeah.
But I haven't been there like since.
They've been doing like little stuff like on the patio.
Oh, yeah.
Like their patio area.
They've been doing stuff.
But other than that, yeah, I haven't.
Have you performed there?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I was up there a lot.
I've never even been there.
Oh, you never been there?
I haven't been like, I'm not like big into the comedy scene until like recently been getting more into it.
Yeah.
My first comedy show I ever went to is with him.
Who did we see?
Andrew Dice Clay.
Oh, shit.
Like a year or two ago.
Yeah.
What a person to see.
Oh, yeah, right?
That's cool as hell.
That was a way to break me into it.
Yeah.
No, the comedy store is like the fucking mecca.
Right.
The fucking of comedy.
That's like the hub, right?
Yeah, man.
It's like, you know.
You catch big people there.
There's just, yeah.
That's cool.
Like, it was like, you know, because everyone, like, all those, you know, big dogs, like, you know, they all'd be out on tour.
And when, uh they, they all used to get better.
Like monday, tuesday night, the Comedy Store was one of the most popping nights.
They just pop in.
Why is that?
Because, like they, they all go on the road like thursday through sunday, get back monday, have their little rest.
Tuesday nights, I mean, there was, there was stuff going on every night.
It was still like good, you know, through the rest of the nights.
But let me tell you that tuesday night, right when, when everybody was getting back into town tuesday, wednesday nights, Extraordinary man.
Wow.
Fucking like.
So, what do they do on those nights?
They come to the club.
It's just the fucking lineups.
Okay.
You know, you can see fucking, you know, Whitney, Eliza, Burt, fucking Rogan, Diaz, you know, like you see this fucking massive lineup, Dalia, everybody.
You see this.
Allie Wong, fucking Neil Brennan, Annie Letterman, fucking just right there.
That's fucking wild.
Right there for you.
That's so cool.
That's so wild, man.
Right there for you.
And it's like.
You're seeing them like back to back like you can't get that anywhere else.
No, you cannot get there anywhere else You know, you're seeing the fucking for anything not for music or no, you're seeing the fucking Biggest people yeah, biggest people in the comedy game.
You know, I mean so fucking crazy Miss Pat fucking punky Johnson just fucking I bet you got some good ass stories from the comedy store, dude.
Yeah, man.
That's um, that's how I met Rogan, you know, that's how I became cool with him.
Yeah, um, just based off of genuine conversation.
You know really yeah, they have this program at the Comedy Store called the development spot program.
Okay, and that's how you work your way up to like being a paid regular, and so you like come in and you do these, you know, you like call in once a week and give your availability and you know they'll give you um, you know, a spot that week or whatever.
Um, it's like a five minute spot, the very top of the show.
Um um, and I was on one, that where Rogan was on the lineup and um, I was sitting back there and usually like, you know, I'm pretty quiet in those like areas, you know, when it's like all those big dogs around, you know, because they know each other.
They're doing their thing.
So you guys own like a room beforehand?
It's like backstage.
Okay.
Yeah.
So everyone's like, yeah, everyone's just like waiting to go up, chilling.
You can see like your fucking idol right over there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just sitting right across from me.
You know, and I was just more quiet, you know, because it's like they all know each other.
I'm, you know, just, you know, a young, young cat in the game.
Yeah.
And, um, um, He just he goes hey, what's up man just and we just started talking from there man We just got deep, you know, we started talking about books start talking about you know, I told him I was a cheerleader He was geeking out over that you were cheerleader and he was I was like yeah, you know, I showed him you know some videos and he was like what the he was blown away It's mind blowing.
Yeah, he was like blown away, which I was like, you know, I You know, I guess I just don't expect people to be blown away by it because it's just like I was a cheerleader, yeah, but yeah, and then you know as I'm leaving I was like all right, you know Pleasure meeting you.
You know, I'll see you around, Joe.
And he goes, oh, wait, wait, wait.
What's your Instagram, man?
I'll follow you.
And then I was like, oh, shit.
Yeah, they started following me.
And then your Instagram started getting flooded after that.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then he hit me up like a couple days later.
He goes, hey, man, you know, I'm doing a show at the store at 10 p.m.
You know, was wondering if you want to be on it.
Do I?
Oh, actually, I fucking can't.
No.
Oh, man.
Yeah, and then, you know, he asked me to be on it.
I was like, fuck yeah, you know.
And ever since then, you know, he'd just be real fucking cool with me, man.
That's cool.
You know, help me out wherever he fucking could, you know.
He's a great, great dude, you know what I mean?
And, you know, and it's so weird, like, the people that don't understand him, you know, I just think that's the funny thing about, you know, people, because, you know, he gets some hate from people that don't understand.
you know, or really know about it.
In the comedy world?
That's somewhat in the comedy world.
Just by, you know, people in Germany, I think there was something with like Spotify where like, if you don't censor Joe Rogan, oh, yeah.
We'll walk out, you know.
So stupid.
And is that real?
I guess so.
I don't know how real.
That's what I'm asking.
I'm like, how real is that?
I didn't know if that actually.
I was like, are they just saying that?
I don't know.
But, you know, obviously I'm not going to bug him about it.
I know they didn't put any of his Alex Jones shit on Spotify.
Yeah, I'm not going to bug him about it.
Be like, hey, man, we, you know, I'm sure they're going to do something.
Yeah, exactly.
You know, he's probably already getting a lot.
But, you know, it's wild when you see people do those kind of things.
And that's when you, it's like, oh, you think you know this person.
Have you ever had a conversation with this person?
How do you know this person?
Right.
Just based off of what you, like, yeah, yeah, you listen to podcasts.
You know, probably most of these people don't even fucking listen to the full podcast.
You know what I mean?
They're just getting clips.
They're just getting clips, which is like, you fucking asshole.
Yeah.
It's like those, like when someone drops an article.
You know how many people read a full article?
Not many fucking people.
Right.
So that's the thing.
And it's like, you don't even know this person.
This person doesn't even know you.
You've never had a conversation with this person.
Why do you think you know this person?
Why do you think you know this person?
Why do you think you know what the fuck, you know?
Why?
Why?
Why do you like what?
So why are you saying these things?
You know what I mean?
I don't know anything about Kim Kardashian.
Yeah.
I'm not going to sit there and be like, yo, what the fuck?
Fuck, is she doing?
Why is she such a bitch?
I don't know.
I don't know who she is.
I don't know.
She doesn't know me.
What does she owe to me?
You know what I mean?
That's the thing that can be wild in this fucking world.
That's what we were talking about earlier with the podcasts.
The difference between produced reality shows on TV versus these podcasts.
There's a whole mecca of people in LA.
There's like a huge podcast scene.
Like, I feel like it's very condensed.
Like, there's like Theo Vaughn.
There's Joey D.
I think Joey Diaz moved, didn't he?
Yeah, he moved.
But he's doing his own.
He's still doing like podcasts.
And then you do a bunch of stuff with Brandon.
Brandon Schaub.
Brandon Schaub.
Yeah.
And Brian Callan.
All those guys.
They all have podcasts and they're all comedy guys.
Yeah.
And I think that's like a weird little revolution kind of going on.
Yeah, well, because I mean, like, you know, the thing is, is when you become a comedian, it used to be this model.
You became a comedian, you got a TV show.
You get a Seinfeld, you get a Martin, you get a Steve Harvey show, you get these shows.
Bernie Mac show.
Yeah, Bernie Mac show.
That was the thing.
That was the thing that took you to the fucking highest level.
That's getting you to sell out theaters, arenas.
But that's not the case anymore.
With the podcast, you're shooting the shit.
There's so many options of different types of podcasts that people can listen to.
People find the ones that they like.
You know what I mean?
And, you know, podcast fans are really, you know, die-hard fans.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Because, yes, you know, we are talking more real than we are.
We're not characters right now.
We're not being a character right now.
We're not being produced or told what to do.
Yeah, exactly.
There's no script.
There's nothing to it.
We're sitting here.
We're chatting.
Right.
So, you know, with the, you know, people are die-hard fans of Ross, the guy from Friends.
Yeah.
They're not diehard fans of, I don't know, I don't even know his fucking real name.
You know, but they look at him and they go, Ross.
Yeah.
Right.
They want to say Ross.
They want to call you Ross.
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
You know?
And it's so funny because I've never even fucking seen friends.
But I just know, I just hear people talk about it all the fucking time.
But like, it's like that, where it's like, you know, this is just a genuine conversation, you know.
But like, but it will also like, you know, the downside of that is that people really think they know you and want to talk to you as if like you're their friend too.
Like sometimes I'll get messages from people where I'm like, I don't know who you are.
And they want to talk to me, you know.
In the way that we all talk like it's like cold calling somebody on the phone, like I don't know who, like you just call him.
Hey man, I totally yeah, you know.
Like yeah, I don't know, I don't know your energy, like how do you want me to right?
I can't gauge this, like just come in.
Yeah, there's no foundation for this conversation.
Yeah, there's no foundation for the conversation.
I was like, how about a hey first right, you know that that'll be a hi.
My name is yeah, it's just that.
Just, you know, you know, i'm pretty sure you guys probably get it too, where you just yeah, you know, people just reach out to you And they mean, you know, well, they don't mean harm, you know.
They want to just, you know, they're fans of you and they want to say things, right?
You know what I mean?
They want to talk the way you know, put it in.
That's not the case.
I don't know you, I know the people that I'm like talking to, yeah.
You know, I actually have an understanding because it's like face to face, you know.
What is it about uh, like the comedy scene in LA and like podcasts?
Like, what's the connection?
Why do so many comedians?
Have podcasts because I mean like I said like the you know the thing like I said the thing was to get a TV show, but You don't need that anymore.
TV Shows Vs Comedians00:10:08
You don't need that anymore.
I feel like it's backwards though.
I feel like it's the opposite like you're you said it was comedian then you get a TV show right I feel like now it's like they start a podcast and it makes them a bigger more successful comedian 100% because you're already doing comedy.
You got a solid flow.
Yeah, you know, you get a couple people and it's it's so you're so in control over this You guys control this.
You guys are so in control over this.
Right.
You didn't have a manager reach out to me or an agent reach out to me to get me here.
Right.
You just reached out to me.
Yeah, exactly.
That's all you did.
And it's easier.
Like we were talking about earlier, it's so much easier.
So much easier.
Directly to the customer.
There's no fucking commercials in the middle.
There's no B-roll.
There's no music.
It doesn't take months to produce.
No.
It's just one day done.
One day and done.
Yeah.
Like this is fucking nothing out of my day.
That's why I love it so much.
Yeah, it's literally nothing out of my day.
Yeah.
You know, so like that has given comedians better result.
It has given comedians better result and better, you know, like some of the big comedians you know right now have taken off from podcasts.
You know what I mean?
Theo Bond, you know, podcasts is what really took him off to another fucking level.
Yeah.
To where it's like, Theo Vaughn, you graduated from comedy clubs.
Now you're at theaters.
Look what Joe's podcast did for him.
Exactly.
And the thing was, the thing with Joe's situation, that whole Mencia thing had happened.
Yeah.
And we obviously all know what happened.
How long ago was that?
It might have been almost 10 years ago.
Really?
Something like that?
And that was at the comedy store?
Yeah, it was at the comedy store.
But he said his agents had dropped him.
You know, and he started doing the podcast.
It was in his control.
And what does he have now?
Look at it now, man.
Right.
The number one whatever in the world the number one anything in me like I'm a fucking massive geek for punk rock.
Yeah, and the thing about punk rock there's this thing you know we Hold on too strongly is diy do it yourself and That's what he did.
Yeah, then that's what you got to do.
Yeah, you know, I mean do it yourself like that like That fucking model, you know his podcast still aren't in fucking focus the cameras still are blurry bro.
Oh, is it really?
I just watched one of his episodes like from like two days ago.
Oh really?
I mean, it's just like boggles my mind.
You don't even need to have good production.
No, anybody could do it.
Anybody can fucking do this.
Anybody can fucking set this up.
You can literally find the cheapest mic.
Yeah.
Cheap, you know, find a cheap camera.
Yeah.
And fucking do it.
Do it in your bedroom.
Absolutely.
Do it in your bedroom.
And fucking, yeah.
Yeah.
And you might make it.
You might make it.
You know, but if you stay consistent with it and always stay, you know, on top, like, stay interesting, and the way you stay interesting is continuing to learn.
You know what I mean.
That's why, why do you think Rogan interviews so many different people?
Yeah, he's just trying to like learn and you know any kind of spark and curiosity.
Yeah, I want to get that person in here exactly, I want to get that person.
I want to talk to this.
Yeah, that's all it is.
And, and you know, to censor someone wanting just to talk to people is the weirdest.
Yeah, or I mean yeah, who?
Yeah, and at the same time, who.
That's what's so cool about.
Another thing that's so cool about the podcast is that you could have every single day, You could have somebody else that you're interested in, their narrow little expertise they have in this world.
And you can learn all about it in one day instead of like the fucking.
If you're producing a TV show or you're working on a TV show, you work on that TV show for fucking years or months or whatever.
And you're only focused on one subject or whatever.
Yes.
For such a long period of time, over your lifetime, you're not going to learn that much.
Yeah.
You're going to get stuck in this little grind of.
Like, I used to think like the movie industry, working in the movie industry and working on movie sets and shit is like the construction.
It's the same thing as the construction industry.
Oh, really?
Oh, it's the same thing.
There's all just the different trades.
You got the fucking electricians, you got the fucking camera department, you got the sound department, and they all have pull up in their semi trucks and they're all on their walkie talkies moving around.
There's so much.
And then you bring in the different little things.
It's such a big operation and it takes so much time.
Yeah.
Damn.
For one movie.
Like, for one movie, it's the same.
Like, when I was younger, I worked in construction, and then when I started to work on those big movies, like, I noticed it was.
The same fucking thing.
Yeah, they're all carnies with dental plans.
Dude, that's what i'm gonna do.
This is just like so freeing to be able to do this.
You can make your own movie and documentary in one day.
You don't have to edit it, you don't do anything.
Yeah, it's just like we literally just fucking, we're just shooting the shit.
Yeah man, why not super fucking cool?
Yeah it's, it's.
I mean yeah so, like you know, and think about comedians yeah, we love to talk, you know.
So write a podcast like perfect yeah, and just yeah, and just putting that out there.
And I'm telling you, man.
Yeah, it's just a better model.
Like, I don't know too many comedians.
I haven't talked to too many comedians that want a TV show.
Yeah.
Yeah, right?
Like, a lot of the people I talk to and roll with, like, I mean, some of them will do a part in a TV show.
They'll do, like, you know, a role, you know, which is fine.
Which is fun.
Fucking make that money.
Why not?
Why not?
Yeah.
It's okay to do that.
You know, I don't think it's, like, wrong to, like, want to have a TV show.
I just know.
A lot of comedians don't care to do it because, you know, they would rather build a podcast with 100 listeners, right?
You know on the regular and ride that out.
Yep, then to be on some network yeah, where a lot of people are watching, but like I don't know, it's just something.
There's.
Podcasts build stronger fans, it is, I mean, you know, depending on like, your tv show.
Maybe I don't know what you know, but there's, there's a lot of comedians that are on tv shows and aren't strong ticket sellers.
It's soul sucking dude, to be a part of that bureaucracy of working.
You're like i'm on this big tv show yeah, I mean, look what Chappelle did.
Chappelle went to fucking Africa.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
You know, and that was the power.
That was like the power of what he did.
You know, like a lot of people were like, oh, you know, crazy.
No one knows what the fuck that man was going through.
So the fact that people, you know, sat there and said the things that they said, and it's like, you don't know.
You don't know what the fuck he's going through.
Let him explain that.
Why can't he explain that?
Why do you have the answer?
Right.
Exactly.
Why can't he explain that?
Right.
You know, he walked away from that much money.
You don't know what the fuck he was going through.
You don't know what the fuck.
You don't know.
Yeah.
You don't know.
It's the same thing.
And look at him.
He's doing everything he fucking wants to do right now.
Oh, yeah, dude.
By walking away from that shit, he is doing everything he wants to do right now.
Yeah.
He never chased money.
That's why he's where he at.
Yeah.
You chase the money, you're going to end up miserable.
Oh, dude, if you chase that fucking money, you're going to end up fucking crazy, man.
Right?
I don't even have a car.
I live in a fucking room.
That's smart, dude.
I share a restroom with two other fucking people.
You know, it's, yeah.
Why, like you don't chase it.
It'll fucking That'll happen.
It'll come.
You know what I mean?
It's hard though.
It's hard to balance.
It's hard to you know.
Oh, I'll turn down gigs trading or dreams for security There's certain there's certain shit that I'll turn down like that you know My reps will send me sometimes I'll turn it down because I'm like Yeah, the money's there, but I don't want to do that.
Right.
Yeah, right.
I don't want to do that.
Right.
Just because then I like I'm not gonna give my best self to this project Just because there's money in it.
That's not how I fucking operate.
Right.
I don't want to fucking do that.
Just because there's big money in this part.
Okay.
Yeah.
No, I saw a lot of people that do it like that.
I'll tell you something crazy.
So when my brother passed, he made me the beneficiary for his life insurance.
And I got $75,000 for it.
Jeez.
And I hated having that money.
Because I didn't earn that money.
And that money, I was like, you know, I mean, I just started helping people with it.
Yeah, you know, I didn't want it.
I didn't want it.
I didn't like it because you know, like I thought, you know, I thought this I'll get $75,000 again, but I won't get my brother back.
Yeah, you know, that's why I like I'm not a money chaser.
It'll happen.
Yeah, it'll come, you know, and I'd rather it come in You know a way of that I felt really good about.
Yeah, that's where I that's you know how I'd want it to come not Based on some shit like oh if you do this so good junk of change Right Yeah, unless I got too many fucking anger problems, you know like and I like I don't want to just like go in there and be like you know do something you don't want to do exactly right because I'll just be upset Yeah, you're just gonna sit there probably start steaming Yeah,
exactly like the money's not worth it like that to me to not to do something that you don't feel comfortable doing right I don't want to fucking do that I feel like that happens to a lot of like big actors on TV shows and in movies and shit.
I feel like they end up just getting, you know, once they get to a certain level, they just get, start doing more and more shit they don't like.
Unannounced Thursday Appearances00:04:13
Yeah.
And then some of them have a fucking epiphany like Jim Carrey or Dave Chappelle.
Yeah.
And I think Dave Chappelle, didn't he end up like doing stand-up like routines on soapboxes in the middle of parks?
Like in the middle of just like public areas, like unannounced?
It was in his control.
Right.
Yeah.
Nobody was telling him to do it.
Nope.
That's the fucking thing.
That's the beautiful thing, dude.
You know, to have your own control of what the you're doing why not?
And be able to see your, see yourself in your work too.
Yeah it's it's, it's a, it's a, it's a power move.
You know what I mean.
It's authentic and you're like, yeah I, I did that yeah, I created that, I was.
I respect that fully.
I look at that model a lot.
You know like also, I look at, you know guys like um um, like Donald Glover, childish Gambino.
Oh yeah, guy does what the he wants right yeah, Does what the fuck he wants.
He doesn't even fucking go on social media and still has it, and people love him.
Yeah.
I respect that.
I can't wait for the day I can delete that shit.
That's a crazy thing.
That's a crazy thing too, huh?
Some of like the biggest people, the people with like the, I don't know what the word for it is, but like people like Jay Z who don't have an Instagram or a Twitter or anything, you think of them as like the fucking creme de la creme of their thing.
Or like I always like to talk about how, when Gucci Man went to prison for like, a few years yeah, no one heard from him.
Everyone was like freaking out about Gucci Man.
Like everyone was listening to all his mixtapes, like just waiting for the day he got out, and he almost, like he ascended to like some great level when he was gone.
Yeah yeah, 100.
Versus when you're on instagram and you're getting beaten over the head with their content or their instagram stories every day.
There's definitely like a weird thing that happens like in your psychology when you're not exposed to the same from that person all the time.
100 I yeah, I think that's the.
That's the fucking thing.
Like, yeah, like, Dave pops up whenever he wants.
Yeah.
Like, when he would drop in at the comedy store, it was always like, Dave Chappelle's here.
Yeah.
Shit.
You know what I mean?
Every time.
Is it unannounced?
You don't know when it's going to happen.
Oh, it's unannounced.
Really?
Yeah.
That's so cool.
Unannounced, and he just fucking rolls up in there.
Yeah, that's, yeah, that's, you know, I hope to get there.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I mean, yeah, everybody would, you know, would want something like that.
But yeah, I, you know, I've I want all the respect to myself.
I just want to be honest with myself.
So, yeah, if I don't want to do something, don't do it.
Yeah, you don't have to.
You know what I mean?
Absolutely, man.
So, what's your schedule like as far as the shows that you're doing in Tampa this week?
How many more shows do you have?
Four.
You got four more shows?
You're doing seven.
That's wild.
Three tonight?
Three in one night.
Yeah.
And then one Sunday.
Because I did Thursday.
Yeah, I got here Thursday.
Yeah, I did Thursday, two last night.
So I did three tonight.
And then one on Sunday.
What time is your show tonight?
I want to come out and check it out.
There's 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 30.
Let me know.
Yeah, I'll throw you guys on.
Hell yeah.
I would love to come check that out.
I went there for the first time.
Where's the Side Splitters?
Side Splitters, yeah.
Have you ever been there?
No, I've never been over in that area, but I've never been in Tampa.
It's far out in Tampa.
We went out and we saw David Lucas out there a couple weeks ago.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
It was my first time out there.
Yeah, let me know, y'all.
Fuck him.
Get you guys in and come watch me fucking tell these people what's up.