0
SPEAKER_01
 This is episode number 1,234 with Andrew Scholls.
0
SPEAKER_01
Welcome to the School of Greatness.
0
SPEAKER_01
My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur.
0
SPEAKER_01
And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness.
0
SPEAKER_01
Thanks for spending some time with me today.
0
SPEAKER_01
Now let the class begin.
0
SPEAKER_01
 Welcome back my friend, today's guest is Andrew Schultz, who is one of the biggest stand-up comedians in the country who recently released his Netflix special, Schultz Saves America.
0
SPEAKER_01
And Andrew is an actor, TV producer, and co-host of the Flagrid 2 podcast.
0
SPEAKER_01
 He's hitting the road for another US tour, so make sure to visit his website, check him out on social media to catch him in a city near you.
0
SPEAKER_01
In this episode, we dive in and I love this conversation with Andrew.
0
SPEAKER_01
I just love talking with comedians who are so creative and able to connect with people in a unique way.
0
SPEAKER_01
And in this episode, we discuss how to transition your insecurities into confidence.
0
SPEAKER_01
 how to become a stronger public speaker and performer on stages, why self-doubt is necessary to achieve greatness, which I thought was interesting for his point of view, how the comedy industry is constantly evolving, what you should do right now to launch your new career, and so much more.
0
SPEAKER_01
If you're enjoying this or inspired by this in any way, make sure to share this with others.
0
SPEAKER_01
You can post it on social media, tag me, tag Andrew.
0
SPEAKER_01
Okay, and just a moment, the one and only Andrew Schulz.
0
SPEAKER_01
 I speak from experience when I say that the best way to stay consistent with your fitness goals this year is to switch them up.
0
SPEAKER_01
It'll make it easier to stay excited for your workout each day when you know it's something new and exciting.
0
SPEAKER_01
And of course, it can be hard to always come up with new types of workout routines, which is why I love Peloton.
0
SPEAKER_01
 They always are coming out with new stuff to help switch up your exercises.
0
SPEAKER_01
The Peloton Bike and Bike Plus are releasing new classes, new music, and new ways to keep your workouts fun and motivating.
0
SPEAKER_01
Keep your workouts interesting.
0
SPEAKER_01
It's the key.
0
SPEAKER_01
Peloton has a workout for every goal, day, and mood.
0
SPEAKER_01
De-stress from a long day with 30 minutes of strength and 20 minutes of cardio, or do a quick 15-minute total body class before work.
0
SPEAKER_01
 Stay motivated while having fun with bike workouts, yoga, meditation, dance cardio, and more.
0
SPEAKER_01
I want to see you achieve your goals.
0
SPEAKER_01
Visit OnePeloton.com to learn more.
0
SPEAKER_01
 You like to do the challenging thing, like on stage.
0
SPEAKER_01
Not the thing that you know is going to get the biggest laugh.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
But the thing that's the most challenging that you'll think is really interesting and hopefully people think it is too.
0
SPEAKER_01
And if you can get them to laugh on the most challenging thing, then you're like, that will light you up.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Yeah, it's like uh, I look at it kind of like a you know, like diving in the olympics.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yes.
0
SPEAKER_01
I might use that metaphor for it Yeah, not just anyone can dive in the pool.
0
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, it's like it's not only diving where there's no splash It's also like what do you do before like it's all how many flips are you gonna do how many spins?
0
SPEAKER_00
so like you're getting rated not only how you enter the water, but how difficult the trick was before you enter and
0
SPEAKER_00
 And that's kind of how I look at a joke or a premise or anything.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm like, okay, what is the most touchy subject that I could possibly talk about?
0
SPEAKER_00
And how can I make that funny for a group of people that should feel like it's touchy?
0
SPEAKER_00
 That's awesome that you feel that way.
0
SPEAKER_00
And it took me a while to learn this, but when a crowd is a little hesitant to laugh, they're kind of doing the right social thing.
0
SPEAKER_00
But they really wanna laugh.
0
SPEAKER_00
They might wanna laugh, but socially they're being considerate of other people, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
And I would like that behavior on the street.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's easy for us comics to get upset, but like,
0
SPEAKER_00
 oh, why are you guys awing, or why are you guys uncomfortable, or why are you guys acting so woke, et cetera.
0
SPEAKER_00
But realistically, that behavior, if you're just walking down the street and you saw somebody saying opinions that are a little bit wild, like outside of the comedy club setting, you'd probably want to protect the person that might feel uncomfortable.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I don't really have as much animosity for them as I used to.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I still want them to feel uncomfortable.
0
SPEAKER_00
 That is my place of comfort.
0
SPEAKER_00
Why do you want people to feel I don't know but it is I love that I love the discomfort.
0
SPEAKER_00
I love the tension.
0
SPEAKER_00
I just love it the more tension the better What's the thing that's hard for you in your life to be?
0
SPEAKER_00
Uncomfortable with what's hard for me to be uncomfortable with since that's comfortable.
0
SPEAKER_01
That's your comfort zone.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yes making an audience uncomfortable Yes, where are you most uncomfortable in your life?
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, let me clarify
0
SPEAKER_00
 the release of tension should be this great comfort, and that's where the laugh comes from, for them, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
 As my career has begun to grow and flourish, if you will, I have a much different relationship with the audience.
0
SPEAKER_00
So now when they come, they know, and I just wanna give them the best show ever.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm just so grateful for them.
0
SPEAKER_00
But earlier in my career when I didn't know them and they were hesitant to laugh about touchy topics, I was angry at them.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, how can I manipulate you into laughing at this thing that you would never want to laugh at?
0
SPEAKER_00
 This is the only thing that I hated about comedy my whole career was the first few minutes establishing who you are.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's the only time I felt like a clown.
0
SPEAKER_00
How would you do it?
0
SPEAKER_00
You have to make them feel safe.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it's like, how do I... I know what to say to get everybody in the audience to like me.
0
SPEAKER_00
But if that's not me, then they're not liking me.
0
SPEAKER_01
 Authentically who you are.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, what is the thing you'd say to get them to like you that wasn't you?
0
SPEAKER_00
Just like some random joke that you're kind of like, whatever Yeah, like there's like, you know, you if you're in certain markets There are things that you can say that like just those people tend to agree with but that's no fun So it's like how do I speak about them in a way that they feel?
0
SPEAKER_00
like they're understood but
0
SPEAKER_00
 I'm still pushing back.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think that's kind of where I developed this style of kind of digging in and understanding nuance about each one of these cultures or people or cities, et cetera, because I could rip apart a city if I knew things I wasn't supposed to, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, oh, this is cool.
0
SPEAKER_00
This is like...
0
SPEAKER_00
 It's like almost like a cheat code.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like I can make fun of you now.
0
SPEAKER_00
You're safe with me.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know what I'm saying?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like you feel safe because you know that I took enough time to learn that about you.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and then you feel like represented.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that's like a really cool thing that I didn't realize.
0
SPEAKER_00
Represented even on the worst stuff about you?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, because a lot of times you're proud of that too.
0
SPEAKER_00
 You know, like, give me an example.
0
SPEAKER_01
What's a city or like a culture or something that you could reference that you were like, I researched this thing about Seattle or whatever.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I'm trying to think Detroit or Chicago or wherever it is, the South.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Yeah, I'm trying to think like something that I've that I was doing like That's something that I was like a place.
0
SPEAKER_00
I was at recently.
0
SPEAKER_00
I was thinking Portland.
0
SPEAKER_01
You're like you're at the Portland you're on Instagram you were at the marching right?
0
SPEAKER_01
There was some Seattle Seattle.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, they were just like the same freaking out I mean, it's just no Portland wants to be Seattle and I and I had like a big Portland like I went there and it was like a big
0
SPEAKER_00
 Yeah, we had an issue, but we got through it, and it was fun, but that was also fun.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was like figuring out ways to make fun of Portland that they could also appreciate.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think that they were like, oh, okay, he knows these things about us.
0
SPEAKER_00
Okay, I feel comfortable enough to laugh with you.
0
SPEAKER_01
He gets us.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and it's interesting, putting out the clips.
0
SPEAKER_00
When I was in Florida, we were living in Florida during the pandemic for a while, and I had this joke about how Cubans,
0
SPEAKER_00
 become like conservative Republicans, like the second they land.
0
SPEAKER_00
But they're like immigrants, they're minorities, and the second that that foot is dry, there's like a wet foot, dry foot rule.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's just the rule, like if you touch the land, you're good, you're American.
0
SPEAKER_00
And they're just like immediately conservative Republicans, like we need to stop the immigrations, too many people.
0
SPEAKER_00
 The second they get here, it's like there's too many people.
0
SPEAKER_00
And it's funny to see that joke, it's shared within that community.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that's the beauty of social media, is back in the day, if you did a special on HBO or something like that, they couldn't just take that one little thing and share it with their grandmas and grandpas and all their cousins that they do that exact thing.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, you see the joke go viral on TikTok or Instagram because it's so easy to access.
0
SPEAKER_01
What do you think was the skill that you learned that gave you the most confidence on stages?
0
SPEAKER_00
 I think it was probably watching my dad interact with people.
0
SPEAKER_00
Whoever he was talking to was the most interesting person that he'd ever met.
0
SPEAKER_00
The bus boy could pick up all the plates, and he'd just be like, how did you do that?
0
SPEAKER_00
He'd literally be baffled.
0
SPEAKER_00
How did you get all those plates?
0
SPEAKER_00
And he'd find out about people.
0
SPEAKER_00
At the beginning, sometimes people thought he was trolling them, and then they realized it was genuine.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I don't know, he just has a skill to make people feel good, but he's doing it because he's curious.
0
SPEAKER_00
So he just learns so much about people, and he'd ask all these questions, and I could see him just break down people's walls, and that kind of worked with me, and I think that that curiosity translates to the stage.
0
SPEAKER_00
And if there's one thing that I wish that I was able to do more of now, it's just interact with strangers.
0
SPEAKER_00
You don't do that?
0
SPEAKER_00
I just have less time to do it.
0
SPEAKER_02
I have a wife.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I have a career that's crazy busy, I have a team of guys, so I'm interacting with the people that I know, but I wanna interact with, that's what I was saying earlier, I just love a conversation.
0
SPEAKER_00
I wanna talk to the Uber driver, I wanna talk to the guy at TSA, I wanna talk to the guy that I'm sitting next to on the plane, I wanna have these conversations with these people, and then sometimes they're fruitful, and all I need is one nugget of information, and that can, you know.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Last a lifetime.
0
SPEAKER_01
What's the biggest insecurity or fear that you had to overcome?
0
SPEAKER_00
for Stand-up just in life in life.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it wasn't like so crippling like I remember like going to college for the first time and like Feeling insecure like I'd never felt like that in like some sort of a school environment Like I never felt that like I would just stop the class if I didn't understand anything something like nobody's moving on
0
SPEAKER_01
 Like, that was... They're like, wait a minute, teacher, I don't understand this.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don't understand it.
0
SPEAKER_00
That was my philosophy.
0
SPEAKER_00
And looking back on it, I was like, wow, like, where did this come from?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, why did you think that it was important for you to say things like that, to understand things?
0
SPEAKER_00
And then in college, for the first time, I was hesitant to raise my hand in one of these big lecture halls.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, I didn't understand that participation was 10% of your grade, and you wouldn't just raise your hand every day.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Like the teacher would have to like force you to talk.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm like, dude, it's so easy.
0
SPEAKER_00
You just raise your hand, who cares?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like I didn't care what anybody felt about me.
0
SPEAKER_00
That's amazing.
0
SPEAKER_00
I never raised my hand.
0
SPEAKER_01
Really?
0
SPEAKER_01
I was too embarrassed and scared.
0
SPEAKER_01
I was just bad at school.
0
SPEAKER_01
Interesting.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I was just, you know, I never wanted to look stupid in front of others.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
And thinking of, it's funny now because all I do now is ask dumb questions.
0
SPEAKER_01
 that I wish I would have asked when I was younger.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I'm like, this is a really dumb question, but then I'll have people message me, literally send me voice notes or messages on Instagram and be like, I'm so glad you asked that question.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I was thinking of that follow-up question that you asked, but I never ask questions in school.
0
SPEAKER_00
I never preface it with this is a dumb question.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Well, yeah, I mean don't do that.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don't say that now.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh, but you're thinking yeah Yeah, i'm thinking this is a basic question And I don't know the answer but i'm just curious to know why this yeah, yeah And so but I just always felt like people would make fun of me if I raised my hand I feel like I was better than them at making fun
0
SPEAKER_00
 That's good.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it's just like, yeah, so it's just like I wasn't worried about being picked on because like I'm good at that.
0
SPEAKER_00
Right.
0
SPEAKER_00
So you were witty.
0
SPEAKER_00
You were quick with it.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, like I grew up with like Scottish women.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I just had to find a way to keep up.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then I think once I was able to kind of keep up with them, I was like, okay, I got this no matter what.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then I was just kind of like my parent and that I give that all the credit to my parents.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like we had dinner every night and they just listened to me.
0
SPEAKER_00
 And I think when you just listen to a kid, they start to feel like their words matter and what they have to say matters.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think if you don't listen to them, they go, why is anything I say important at all?
0
SPEAKER_00
If the people that love me more than anything in the world don't even care what I say, why would a stranger care?
0
SPEAKER_00
I really think as I look back, I think that's where it came from.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like every day, that was like my open mic.
0
SPEAKER_00
We sat down, how was your day?
0
SPEAKER_00
This happened, my dad's laughing, my mom's laughing, my brother's laughing, and it was just like,
0
SPEAKER_00
 I mean, I would sit down at dinner like, I'm about to bring it.
0
SPEAKER_00
Y'all ready?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
You got your hat on for tips.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, like, dude, I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_00
I guess, like, I don't know.
0
SPEAKER_00
I just, I guess I had that confidence.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, even when I would go through, like, therapy or something like that, like, I'd walk into therapy, and like, I'd have the session, and I'd walk out like, that was your best.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, you just had a great, do I have to pay you?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, do I have to pay you?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, like, come on, like, be honest.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, what are we doing here?
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, that doesn't,
0
SPEAKER_00
 Now there is a, I guess what I'm saying is there's a balance.
0
SPEAKER_00
So in order to be great, you need to have like a crippling anxiety about your skill level, I think.
0
SPEAKER_00
Not crippling, but you need to have like intense scrutiny.
0
SPEAKER_00
And you also need to have the confidence
0
SPEAKER_00
 to do more, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
So it's just this crazy balance.
0
SPEAKER_00
You need to have the confidence to say something, and you need to have the insecurity to improve.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that balance I have.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like I'll be- Not think you're the best and you don't need to work on yourself.
0
SPEAKER_00
Exactly, that is the worst.
0
SPEAKER_00
Those are the worst people.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it's like, think...
0
SPEAKER_00
 You can be the best.
0
SPEAKER_00
And there are moments where you're like, yeah, I'm the best.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then there's other moments where you look at yourself and you're like, oh, I can make that better.
0
SPEAKER_00
There's nothing that I've ever looked at that I've gone, I can make that better.
0
SPEAKER_00
I can't make that better.
0
SPEAKER_00
Everything I nitpick at, oh, you gotta take me out of the room sometimes.
0
SPEAKER_00
100%, that's the beauty of stage.
0
SPEAKER_00
 That's why I need the crowd.
0
SPEAKER_00
The crowd lets me know if it works, you know?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like the crowd, if they're just going crazy and they're losing it, I go, okay, that is funny enough.
0
SPEAKER_01
What if they're all, you know, choking on their laughter, they're crying, they're on the floor because they can't, you know, hold themselves up.
0
SPEAKER_01
Everyone is on the floor dying of laughter.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
And you're gonna say to yourself, I could have been better?
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, it depends.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Mean it depends.
0
SPEAKER_00
Maybe not may I be like, okay, maybe that joke is getting enough right there or right?
0
SPEAKER_00
This ball said you could have done something.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I guess what I'm saying is like there's like a Ridiculous, I don't even know if the word is insecurity, but it isn't yeah, sometimes I'll watch things I'll be like, oh, I'm insecure about how I could look right there but
0
SPEAKER_00
 it's more of just like a brutal honesty and a high expectation for greatness.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it's like, this is what I believe greatness is, and this is where I think that joke is, or my performance is, or that bit is, and it's like, what can I do to get there?
0
SPEAKER_00
And to be honest, sometimes it's like so, I can be so harsh, I have to not watch for a little.
0
SPEAKER_00
Let the stew cook a little bit, because if I just keep watching, I'm gonna lose faith in it.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I have to like let the, it's almost like fake confidence put the air under my wings to get it to the point where it is good enough and then I can scrutinize it.
0
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, I've never had that feeling of like, I shouldn't say this.
0
SPEAKER_01
Do you think a comedian can be truly great without being somewhat insecure?
0
SPEAKER_00
No, no, because you won't get better.
0
SPEAKER_00
You need insecurity.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm like grateful for it.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like you need the insecurity.
0
SPEAKER_00
You need to look at somebody and be like, oh, they do this better than me.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I need to get better than them.
0
SPEAKER_00
I remember seeing the comics, like this guy is unbelievable.
0
SPEAKER_00
On another level.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, like I remember the first time I saw Patrice O'Neal, he was the only comic I've ever seen live, and I've seen them all, that I was like...
0
SPEAKER_00
 I don't even like saying these things out loud, because once I say something, it can happen.
0
SPEAKER_00
But it was the only comic that I ever saw where I was like, I'm not even gonna say it out loud, but because it, but.
0
SPEAKER_00
You don't wanna manifest it.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I don't believe in that, but I mean, I believe in that very much, but I don't wanna put, but I was like, this is gonna be hard to be better than him.
0
SPEAKER_01
That's kind of how I felt.
0
SPEAKER_01
If that's a standard, you're gonna get to, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and now there's multiple things going on.
0
SPEAKER_00
There are comics that are so great at what they do,
0
SPEAKER_00
 and it would be really hard to get better than them, they just might not have had the style that I want to be great at.
0
SPEAKER_01
 So like.
0
SPEAKER_01
So they're great at what they do.
0
SPEAKER_01
I just don't wanna do that.
0
SPEAKER_01
You can appreciate it, but you're like, I'm not in that league.
0
SPEAKER_01
Absolutely.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's a different league.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's not what I do.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's a different type of art, you know?
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, you're playing football, they're playing handball.
0
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, handball, who plays handball?
0
SPEAKER_00
Who dedicates a decade of their life to handball?
0
SPEAKER_00
Me, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, so yeah, yeah, it's interesting.
0
SPEAKER_00
The confidence thing is interesting.
0
SPEAKER_01
When have you been the most insecure?
0
SPEAKER_01
When you were starting out?
0
SPEAKER_01
 And trying to figure things out in the middle of your career, obviously, maybe you're more in the middle now, but I mean, or towards this stage of your career.
0
SPEAKER_01
 What part have you been the most insecure?
0
SPEAKER_00
It fluctuates, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
I've always balanced, I've always had methods to maintain self-esteem, because I recognized I was the best version of myself when I felt good about myself.
0
SPEAKER_00
What are these methods?
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, even as a kid, I was really curious about it.
0
SPEAKER_00
I looked into it.
0
SPEAKER_00
As a kid, I don't know where I even got this idea, but as a kid, I'm talking about young.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like seven, eight?
0
SPEAKER_00
Maybe middle school or something like that.
0
SPEAKER_00
 If I had a negative thought about myself, I would tell myself three positive things.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think you know what it was?
0
SPEAKER_00
I had an acute interest in this because both of my parents battled depression.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I was way more aware of depression and way more aware of, it's probably part of the reason why I'm a comic.
0
SPEAKER_00
I just love making my dad laugh.
0
SPEAKER_00
I didn't realize that there was a difference between depression and just not having fun.
0
SPEAKER_00
 So I thought, I remember when he'd be dealing with depression, I'd take him to the comedy cellar.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I'd be like, hey look, you're gonna laugh, so now everything's good.
0
SPEAKER_00
Because in my mind, it was like, all I need to do is be with my boys and laugh, and then everything's fine.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I would do those things.
0
SPEAKER_00
What was another method for developing self-esteem?
0
SPEAKER_00
 So as I got into stand-up, it was brutal, because you do these horrible shows, and you just do bad, no one's laughing, and you're trying to develop your voice and all that kind of stuff.
0
SPEAKER_00
What do I need to maintain the self-esteem necessary to continue going?
0
SPEAKER_00
And I basically said, I need one great show a month.
0
SPEAKER_00
 to remind me that I should do this.
0
SPEAKER_00
How many shows were you doing a month?
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I could be doing five, six, seven, eight a week, but I needed one where there was an audience, and I did a good job, and I killed, and it was just enough oxygen.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was enough, like you ever play those car racing games where you pass a checkpoint, you get 25 more seconds?
0
SPEAKER_00
I needed one of those a month, and then,
0
SPEAKER_00
 I needed to reflect on improvement.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I think that like one thing with me is I would get so used to improvement that I wouldn't count it towards my self-esteem, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like I'm the type of person I don't get excited before something happens and then after it happens I don't celebrate it for that long because we got another thing to do.
0
SPEAKER_00
So my like celebration window is small.
0
SPEAKER_00
 My joy matrix is the journey.
0
SPEAKER_00
I like working together, I like achieving these things, et cetera, but then there's always another thing that we move towards, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
So I had to sit there and be like, okay, well, back in the day, you didn't have a joke that you could open with.
0
SPEAKER_00
You had to get lucky that something would happen and you were interacting and the audience liked you.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, you have a joke that no matter what gets a laugh when you walk on stage.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I'd be like, oh, that is an improvement.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then the next moment, okay, you have a closer.
0
SPEAKER_01
So the reflection of the improvement
0
SPEAKER_01
 Build its self-esteem.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, not just okay.
0
SPEAKER_01
It's a little better and I'm gonna keep go go go.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yes, okay Now I know that I can always get someone to laugh every time I get on stage.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's easy to just go Oh, yeah, you're more comfortable.
0
SPEAKER_00
What does that mean?
0
SPEAKER_00
No, you you have the ability to go on stage and do a joke and like execute it and you have a closer you have this certain thing you
0
SPEAKER_01
 You were able to develop this premise into a joke and like just remembering that I was improving even though it was a brutal process Mmm, right how long did it so you're doing what 15 20 shows a month sometimes and you're like if I get one Decent show it's a win and I'll keep going Yeah, but if you went three months where no one's laughing and just bombing you're probably like I'm done Yeah, I don't know if I ever would have quit something that I loved but there's a chance that I wouldn't love it Well, that's not fun.
0
SPEAKER_00
Exactly.
0
SPEAKER_00
Why would you yeah, it's tough
0
SPEAKER_01
 Yeah, interesting.
0
SPEAKER_01
Was there was there another strategy you used?
0
SPEAKER_00
I like these two I would just be like really perceptive about like the different things I mean, I'm so like in my head about these things I'd be like, oh when I wear a hat am I looked at different is this haircut different?
0
SPEAKER_00
Does this match does wearing this outfit change things and like of course, it's like oh, yeah I wore the sweatshirt on set.
0
SPEAKER_00
I need to wear sweatshirts.
0
SPEAKER_00
That's the thing like I was constantly
0
SPEAKER_00
 Constantly going through it and like starting to make sense of every little change that happened and the reality is like most of these changes might have had nothing to do with it, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
These were like, you know, outliers.
0
SPEAKER_01
Baseball superstitions, like you're just wearing the same underwear over and over again.
0
SPEAKER_00
That's it, 100%.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I was aware enough to go, okay, you know what?
0
SPEAKER_00
 Smiling when I first get on stage is pretty good, and it makes people feel comfortable, and feel kind of safe, especially if I'm gonna do some wild joke.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, when I go right on stage saying something, immediately it might be good.
0
SPEAKER_00
I've always hated the first second on stage, like the first minute, I hate, I think it's stupid.
0
SPEAKER_00
 No, now it's great because people know who I am.
0
SPEAKER_00
And they love it.
0
SPEAKER_00
They're like, ah, we love you.
0
SPEAKER_00
They're excited, exactly.
0
SPEAKER_01
Is it better to have the, what do they call them, the emcee or whoever is emceeing the show, is it better for them to give you a great introduction or kind of like, all right, our next guy is a comedian from here and let's bring him on.
0
SPEAKER_01
 Is it better to have some good context around, oh, he's been on Comedy Central, and he's been on here, and this HBO special, and it's kind of like building up, and then you're let down?
0
SPEAKER_00
I remember when I was younger, I went on stage after someone gave me a fake credit.
0
SPEAKER_00
And this happens a lot of times in comedy.
0
SPEAKER_00
What do you mean?
0
SPEAKER_00
When the host brings up a comic that they don't even know, they just say, you've seen him on HBO, Comedy Central.
0
SPEAKER_00
They might never have been on Comedy Central.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's just what it is.
0
SPEAKER_00
But that was the first time anybody ever gave me that.
0
SPEAKER_00
 And you knew you weren't on Comedy Central or whatever it was.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I was filled with so much confidence.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I just, now if I look back, maybe look at the recording, maybe I did absolutely horribly, but in my mind, I walked up as if I had my own show on Comedy Central.
0
SPEAKER_00
And these people should just enjoy it.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
 That's interesting.
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, there's something that I did, a strategy that I did when I was playing sports.
0
SPEAKER_01
I had an alter ego that I would step into.
0
SPEAKER_01
It wasn't me, and I'd never done those things of the alter ego, but the alter ego had done the incredible things.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I would step into that as like, I got this, you know?
0
SPEAKER_01
And I would lean into that.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I don't know if that's a psychological trick.
0
SPEAKER_01
You study psychology in school, right?
0
SPEAKER_01
At Santa Barbara, is that right?
0
SPEAKER_01
 Did you learn anything from your psychological studies that allowed you to not manipulate audiences but tap into the psyche and the heart and the emotions of audiences?
0
SPEAKER_00
Or did you learn that from just like family dynamics?
0
SPEAKER_00
 I think probably it was more, I mean, psychology was just like a really fun thing to study.
0
SPEAKER_00
I knew I wasn't gonna use my degree for anything.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I was like, let me enjoy what I'm learning about, maybe get some cool information I can use in conversation.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was great, like, talking to people about psychological principles is always awesome.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then seeing them reflected in yourself is really cool.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I just kind of enjoyed it.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm sure some of that has trickled into the comedy.
0
SPEAKER_00
It has to have.
0
SPEAKER_00
 But in terms of going, I'm going to turn psychology into comedy, I don't think that that was ever a perspective.
0
SPEAKER_01
When did you have the idea that you wanted to do comedy as a full-time profession?
0
SPEAKER_01
Not just like, I think I want to try this on the side and see how it goes.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think when I moved back to New York, I started managing a restaurant back in New York.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, this is not for me.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I started doing comedy again.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think something just clicked back in New York where I was like, I think I'm going to do this.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Like 22 23.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think I was like 23.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and I was like, maybe it's 23 or something like that I was like, I think I'm gonna do this and then I just get obsessed.
0
SPEAKER_00
I almost missed that obsession.
0
SPEAKER_00
I had like an insane Obsessed I mean dude tell me more
0
SPEAKER_00
 I mean, just read every book.
0
SPEAKER_00
I would transcribe every set.
0
SPEAKER_00
I'm sure somewhere there's notebooks of literally handwritten, every word that Chris Rock would say in a whole special, Dave Chappelle would say in a whole special.
0
SPEAKER_00
You would record it all down.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I'd read a book at it.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I could see how the jokes were broken down.
0
SPEAKER_01
Structure, the framework, the setup, everything.
0
SPEAKER_00
The plot twist, all of it.
0
SPEAKER_00
 Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is a story.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is something that isn't real.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is misdirection that doesn't make sense.
0
SPEAKER_00
This is misdirection that still operates in reality.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, wow.
0
SPEAKER_00
Misdirection that operates in reality is actually more fun because it's something that actually could happen.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, I kind of like that.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is a misdirection.
0
SPEAKER_00
This is more like using words that are kind of like fun and creating good imagery, like just really breaking down what these different jokes are.
0
SPEAKER_00
The science of the set.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
I need to learn the language, kind of like Spanish.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like I need to learn the math of it first.
0
SPEAKER_00
 And then I could break that.
0
SPEAKER_00
How long were you obsessed for doing that type of research?
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I would rewrite my set every single night.
0
SPEAKER_01
Is this for years?
0
SPEAKER_01
Is this for six months?
0
SPEAKER_01
Years.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I mean, just so competitive, so obsessed.
0
SPEAKER_00
I know this sounds weird, and I'm not comparing myself to Michael Jordan or anything, but watching The Last Dance and seeing the psychosis he almost had in terms of how he treated people that he had beef with.
0
SPEAKER_00
I used to carry a card in my wallet of the people who were mean to me.
0
SPEAKER_00
Come on.
0
SPEAKER_00
Swear to God.
0
SPEAKER_00
Of all the people in comedy that were mean to me, I had their names on a card.
0
SPEAKER_00
 What would you do with that information?
0
SPEAKER_00
The beautiful thing about like... Was this the chip on your shoulder that you would wear it?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
So what would you look at everything?
0
SPEAKER_00
Even to today, I have beefs that aren't real, but in my head, they're real.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like everything in that doc about just like what motivated him and what he needed to do to like turn it on, like his ability, for me, what I understood about the documentary was like, he has the ability to turn on the switch.
0
SPEAKER_00
We talk about this, me and my boys, like some people can't turn on the switch, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
And like,
0
SPEAKER_00
 He could turn it on and he would do it every game.
0
SPEAKER_00
It's crazy, man.
0
SPEAKER_00
Some people can turn it on for the playoffs, but he could do it every single game if he wanted to.
0
SPEAKER_01
Like Tom Brady.
0
SPEAKER_00
Tom could do it every game.
0
SPEAKER_00
I would say that that is a competitive advantage I have.
0
SPEAKER_00
If it needs to get turned on, it can get turned on.
0
SPEAKER_00
When we did that Netflix special, we were working maybe 120 hours a week or something.
0
SPEAKER_00
It was insane.
0
SPEAKER_00
 I've never worked that hard in my life.
0
SPEAKER_00
It killed me.
0
SPEAKER_00
I won't work that hard again unless I get paid $100 million.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, I should have outsourced more.
0
SPEAKER_00
I had guys, shout out to Mark Gagnon, who co-created with me, Robbie Slovic, who's a great comic, and F.A.
0
SPEAKER_00
Illguy, who we brought on as well.
0
SPEAKER_00
 What we should have done is had a robust writing team, like all these shows have.
0
SPEAKER_00
Exactly.
0
SPEAKER_00
For me, I lost all the anger.
0
SPEAKER_00
I have no resentment to anybody who's a dick to me at all.
0
SPEAKER_00
If anything, you just feel a little bad, because they're still in that same position.
0
SPEAKER_00
And they needed to be a dick to someone who was young and excited about comedy.
0
SPEAKER_02
Interesting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
So do you have any anger towards anyone now, or beef with anyone?
0
SPEAKER_01
I'm sure.
0
SPEAKER_01
 You're sure?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
But you don't have a list anywhere.
0
SPEAKER_01
You just have it in the back of your head.
0
SPEAKER_01
It's up here.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Mental list.
0
SPEAKER_01
It's always up here.
0
SPEAKER_01
That's good motivation for me, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
But I feel like the comedy world, kind of like I feel like in my industry of people creating, you know, content that is trying to further people along, like personal growth content.
0
SPEAKER_01
 At least from my standpoint, I feel like I'm in collaboration with everyone like I'm gonna have everyone on my show Yeah, promote them.
0
SPEAKER_01
I'm like, I'm an abundance.
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, you got a book.
0
SPEAKER_01
Let's promote it.
0
SPEAKER_01
You got this like cool I don't care.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah It seems like there's a similar collaboration Minds absolutely medians where you're all in the back room just kind of talking sharing ideas.
0
SPEAKER_01
You're we're very competitive.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you are we're very competitive really but I
0
SPEAKER_00
 I think the first time you really saw this happen was on the West Coast when podcasts came out.
0
SPEAKER_00
And the West Coast comedians have always been more industrious because they have to.
0
SPEAKER_00
New York comedians can make a living doing stand-up at clubs.