Danny Jones Podcast - #64 - LA Comedian | Shapel Lacey

Episode Date: December 6, 2020

Shapel Lacey is comedian based in Los Angeles.  You can check him out on his podcast "It’s Managed” and also on “Fighter and the Kid” with Brendan Schaub. Shapel Lacey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shapellacey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.com slash 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 Shob. Without further ado, please welcome Chappelle Lacey. Boom. Yo, Chappelle Lacey, thanks for coming down here to Florida. Thanks for having me. Joining our show, man.

This is 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, Just 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 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. Yeah.

Close enough. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so 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, you know, they just wanted me to fucking. say something. So the only thing I knew was just to say something funny. It wasn't like even my attention, 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, he should get in a stand-up.

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 himselfly, and Kings of Comedy. There's the only ones that, like, fucking, like, strongly knew. But I didn't think that was, like, something like anyone could do. I didn't think it was like, oh, like, you know, anyone could just fucking be a stand-up comedian. I thought you, like, you know, there was a lot more to it. Yeah, I thought it was, like, something you, you know, especially knowing, like, because what, Dave Chappelle started when he was, like, 15. so to Eddie Murphy.

So, like, 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? Oh, shit. That was the guy I was. Just waiting to get there.

Yeah, yeah. Say I won't do it, you know. 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, yeah, 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've studied it for like two months straight just like to understand it. You know, like, well, I was like, what the fuck's going on? Like, I don't know anything about it. So I would just watch comedy, like everybody, like from, you know, big names to random clips on YouTube. You know, I just watch it just to see. 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? We're like, oh, I get it now.

You know what? Actually, I stopped for two years after my brother passed away back in, he passed away in 2013. And I want to say, like all of 2014, 2015, I didn't really do it. And in 2016, when I got back up because of friends just like, they're like, hey, you're going up tonight, you know. and, you know, before they had said that, there was a lot of people asking me to do shows, and I kept, you know, just turning people down. I'm like, no, 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. You know, I was guessing I'm going to have a choice. And, you know, that was the first time, like, you know, I said, like, real shit, you know what I mean? And people fucked with it and, like, laughs. Because, you know, prior to that,

What do you mean like real shit? Like 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, 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 shit. It was real. It was real to me. Some feeling in it. 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, it stopped. I think I was just riding off this dare. You know, that someone, you know, I was writing 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. That's cool. And then it just fucking, you know, I just worked my ass off.

This is back home in Arizona. Oh, okay. You're originally from Arizona? Yeah, because I moved back home after I started comedy in the Louisville. Yeah, I was like. They just left college and. Fuck, yeah. Fuck yeah.

Hell yeah. And I do not regret that. Yeah, it's awesome, man. You know, fuck college. Well, not for everybody, you know. Yeah. love college if you love college but fuck college for people like me yeah for most people fuck college unless you're going to be a doctor unless you have to get a degree that's what i'm saying

unless you like got a fucking i mean i know so many people would great jobs that fucking 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 being like 150 grand a year or something like that a year fucking 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 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 yeah for everybody you don't gotta 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 anything like that. He don't owe Sally Mae, you know. Dude, so that gymnastics 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 bliss. 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. 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 could fucking do this. You know? Yeah. And then, yeah, straight up, I just like fucking started trying it outside. And then, 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, it was a crush on a girl, you know. 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. What is that the notebook? 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 yeah what made you want to get into that

And competitive cheerleading Well I didn't want to get into it Oh you're just she just yeah She was in there 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 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 Yeah Back on his hands Yeah I've seen that shit It is wild.

It was wild, man. You have to, like, eat shit, I'm sure a lot of times practicing that shit. You know what? I don't think I ate shit that crazy. Really? Yeah. You know? Like, how do you get to that point?

You know what I mean? Like, how do you... I mean shit, but like not, you know... Not real, real, man. Yeah, because there's so much, like, with progressions. Yeah. And, like, you learn how to fall. You know, so, like, because 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. You got to 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 kind of 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 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 it, that's how it is. 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 phone pit.

You know what I mean? You can launch a huge rant, practice something into a phone 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 shit for a long time yeah yeah you practice yeah you practice on on that shit a lot before you take it to the video but uh yeah i mean yeah i just worked my ass off you know i was the same way with 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 fun to me. Like, you know, I, 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 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, you know, I know, I know there, you know, those guys have like a little bit of help. You know what I mean?

Like, you know, with natural physiques. But, you know, at the same time, they could still suck at it. Right. You know what I mean? they can still like they're still capable. Yeah, their mind has to be 100% full-throw. It's like, okay, I got this gift, right? What do I do with it?

You know what I mean? Like, just fucking 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 just, you watched this year's finals?

I actually didn't see this year's finals. Okay. Because I don't fucking, my fucking TV, they didn't, me to pay extra for the... Yeah, it apparently had, like, the lowest viewership of all time. Yeah, I saw that. That's pretty weird. Yeah, it is pretty weird.

I mean, there's a lot to play in account, man. I mean, who knows where people... The bubble, the virus. Who knows? Yeah, I mean, I was fucking locked into it just like I was every year. Yeah. I know, it is weird, man. Like, it's just a weird time for everybody.

Like, no one knows... The whole world is weird, man. Like, no one fucking knows the correct answer, but everyone acts like they fucking do. Yeah. You know, that's the funny thing about a lot of shit. It's just watching people literally. Like they got the answer. Yeah.

I go, do you fucking know? You fucking know. Right. Nobody has. You know, like, you. Real vague answers and shit about everything. Dude, it boggles my fucking mind. You didn't really answer the question at all.

Yeah. Some, like, shit 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 or scientist and shit what did you watch dude yeah it's it's it's it's literally

the weirdest shit well they're saying this they're saying this no one fucking knows yeah no no no one fucking has the accurate answer you know because everywhere is fucking different you know what I mean 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 I don't walk around like I was hate to walk around acting like I know right spitting that's not the truth exactly you know you know you know what I mean like I like I don't like that shit I don't like walking around like I fucking like oh I know yeah right right you know I don't fucking know yeah you always got to assume that person you're talking to knows something you don't right yeah exactly and I like I learned that from uh I'm a big Henry Rollins geek

you know um and 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. Yeah, he's in Black Flag.

That's why I do that. No, no, you're good. No, that's awesome. You're good, you're good.

You're just the first person I've ever heard. He's, he does a lot of spoken word. He's like a, you know, human rights activist now. Okay.

He's in bands. But, like, he's one of those dudes. He just, he's just, he wants to be tuned in. he wants to learn. Okay.

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 like 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 like 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, they're just like preaching to you, just like telling you how it is about everything. Oh, dude. It's the worst. Yeah, I'm like, well...

It's just like this fucking guy. Yeah, no, it's the most annoying shit. 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... You can argue with people like that either.

Yeah, I think about a lot. I mean, everything's fucking, you know, wild in this world, right? Yeah. You know? Yeah. naturally it's going to fucking happen it's going to 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 fucking same more than we actually think you know it's it's it's it's

like people want to explain more of something else than themselves that's the thing that fucking 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 shit to me like that's the shit i think about on the regular i read a lot of fucking stoicism books well i just not books like well yeah yeah i fucks with stoicism a lot yeah you know it's just intriguing i think you know i've just seen the best result from it you know by uh you know following it because it's a lot of it is like being in tune with who you are and like what i've come to realize with you know

jumping into that world is that like yeah i don't you know 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 i grew up one of 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 them 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, 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, um, you know, I didn't know. big help and you know i i just there was so much like realization that i mean there were so many things that were said that didn't really click with me until like later years you know because i you know my last anger management class was i think it was 22 when you were 22 when you were 22 yeah when i was 22 um so you know it's it's a i you know there's just they just sent a lot of of intriguing things. One of the biggest things that, you know, that was said to me, but I didn't

catch it until later, was when, you know, my anger management teacher, we were talking, I was like, yeah, I don't have any, I don't have any confidence because of my, you know, because the way my step, 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? He's like, No. He's like, it's your confidence. And I didn't really get that at first, 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. Control it. Yeah. Yeah. 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? 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 him 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, 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 shit 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 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 it'd shake his hand right you know Just because, I mean, you know, with all that I've learned, and I'm so happy that, you know, 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, like, in the result I've seen from it has been, like, wonderful for me. Like, I've, like, I walk through life a lot smoother now. You know, most people, like when I told people I went through, you know, anger management, most people, they don't even fucking believe it. You know, and I go, that's how hard I've worked. You know what I mean? That's what I, like, 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 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 know, you, you, you, needed to do that you needed to go to her fucking page 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 yeah what do you

have going yeah what do you have going on you know what i mean because that's that's it that's it's you know to they don't understand yeah yeah yeah like you're you're making you're you're making your um you know it hurts you know it's it's it's it's you know it's it's it's you know picture is not about you right has 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 that 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 you come out better with anger management did you ever do any writing like was it was writing a process of that you journal every day yeah now when you like like

explain to me like your process with journaling versus like writing for comedy is there 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 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 the thing with it. Like, I tell jokes about my abuse of childhood, you know, because, and it's a tough joke because, 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. Fuck. You know what I mean? Think about it. 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. There's a crowd to 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, you know, 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 appreciate it because I made them comfortable with it you know what I mean I let them know where I'm at but I let them know where I'm at

and it's such a funny way in such a cool way too you know what I mean and that was all from like journaling about it constantly just constantly writing about you know what that

you know childhood was like and where I'm at now. You know, and when I do that and let them know where I'm at now and how I am mentally, it sets them up like, oh, okay. Yeah. Oh, okay. I guess we can ride with this, you know. And, you know, 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 it's, it's, you know, it's hard to say. You know, not even hard. Not hard to say. 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, you know. So I get it sometimes, you know, like, I mean, you know, I was lashing out at everybody, but with violence, you know, I always wanted to fight, you know, because that's all I knew. All I knew is violence. That's all I saw in my house. So when I would go outside, what was I doing? I wanted, you know, 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, and 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 his, like he thinks he, you know, was a great dad. Of course. That's not crazy. You don't 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 when he would say that he thinks he was a you know he tried

his best he's right he tried his best and that was what he 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 what I mean, which is fine. I get it. There's a lot of shit. You know, and I think the cooler story would be, you know, to have a conversation with him.

Yeah. Why not? Fuck 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 it 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 organized it out of your mind and articulate it onto paper and talk about it 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?

You know, I, you know, so when my brother 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 L.A. in 2018, that, that, I just ripped out all the pages and threw it away because I couldn't really look at it. Yeah. You know. And then, and then, and then once I moved to, that, I just That's when I started really doing it. That's when I really started fucking just journaling. Right. Because, yeah, I was like, I was like, I don't know this city.

I don't think about it. Everyone, you know, claims to know how L.A. 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. I mean, you're going off as a visitor.

You know what I mean? So when I, when I moved. there, you know, that's when I really got back into it because, you know, do you got a lot of, I mean, you know how many people are trying to be comedians? I can't imagine, especially in L.A., 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, you know. And I was, 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 all the fucking pressures of trying to make it. Because 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 a guarantee. You're just setting yourself up for failure. Oh, yeah. You're going to set yourself up for it.

You're going to go crazy. You know, I don't want to fucking do that. It's like a rat race out there. Oh, my God. Everyone trying to, everyone trying to become famous. Everyone's trying to become famous. Yeah. And people don't know how to be their most authentic self.

Yeah. And I was like, well, everyone's doing that. I'm one of those dudes that, like, there's this fucking cesspool 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 going to fucking act. Because people go there acting like they know. Right. Because if they act like they know, then they think that. that people were like, oh, yeah, this guy knows what's up. This girl knows what's up. They're trying to act like somebody that's 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 just 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 act like you're trying to preach to them. They're never going to fucking talk to you again. They're like you're a joker. Yeah. I go, yeah, I go, I don't fucking, yeah, whatever. So how did you get your, initially get your foot in the door to, like, the comedy scene?

I mean, you're pretty, like, well entrenched with, like, all the big comics in L.A. right now. How did you enter that world? How did you get you, like, your big break, if you will? Yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm trying to think of, like, the best way to explain it. I just started doing, I just started doing me. Okay. And I was.

Going out and doing like open mics. Yeah, just going out and doing it. Then people thought it was funny. They asked 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 was like I learned this from like Dave Grohl. You know. Food fighters? Yeah. Mm-hmm. He was like, if you're loud enough, people will fucking 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 fucking hear it you know and i thought about that and i was like yeah if you're loud enough people will hear it so if you if you're good enough people will fucking hear it right they're gonna come yeah they're gonna come they're gonna come i promise you and 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 fucking saying that they focus on the numbers They're like, yeah, and it's like, dude, fuck it. Fuck it.

Don't use that as a fucking excuse. Yeah. I hate that shit. So fucking fun. Yeah, dude, it's so bad. People want to make an excuse as to why they're not getting something. It's fucking do you. Just exist.

Exist loudly. I can't start my podcast yet because I don't have enough subscribers yet. Yeah. I can't start until I have 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, yeah. And it's like, man, if you, you know,

just realize you suck. Yeah. Yeah, maybe it's not what you think. Yeah. It's all, you know. Oh, God. No, it'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. And, 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 i appreciate that damn that's a compliment well i mean they do i mean the smartest people i mean they are like that and they they spend a lot of time writing and journaling that's why i'm always curious about like asking about like process 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 out so you can talk about it or speak it clearly or speak it to an audience.

Yeah. 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 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.

Like, it's like weird, like, uh, up to date on all the, 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'll give a fuck. Argue with your aunt about it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, there, uh, someone was trying to talk to me about Dr. Dre's divorce. And I was like, oh, God. So?

What the fuck's I got to do with me? I don't even know the guy. I don't know them. You ain't getting any money? Yeah. That's like it fucking drives me crazy. Right. That'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 it means nothing to me. It means nothing to me. That's so funny, man. So many people will have one of like 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, Like, I don't fucking... I'm trying to think of some things that don't like.

Just fucking... Oh, man. I mean, everybody... That's everything, though. That's everything on TV. Yeah. Yeah. I don't like Nickelback.

I don't pay attention to them. Sorry if you guys are Nickelback fans. I'm not a Nickelback fan. Oh, okay. You know, sorry to the Nickelback fans out. I mean, yeah, I mean, I don't like... 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, you know, like that fucks up your brain so much when people do that. Yeah, you're wasting time. Yeah, you're wasting time. Why are you paying attention to shit you don't like?

Like, how do you know that? One of my buddies is like, I'm going to stand Michael Rappaport. I can't stand him. Do you know that guy? No, I don't know. Not personally. I know. He lives in L.A.

Yeah, we've seen him. He is funny. Dude, he cracks me out. Oh, my God. I fucking love that guy. He's crazy. He's so crazy. God damn.

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? Yeah. I was like, why do you follow him? Oh. Because that's the internet. Yeah. God, damn.

He's funny as fuck. Oh, the internet is crazy. I mean, I had to get rid of it. They follow most people just to hate on people. Just to hit 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 got to get off of that.

And it's just too much of that. It's 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? Dude, did you see 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 literally the same reaction. Yeah. Yeah.

It's everything you're talking. 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, just keeping people engaged and feeding him the shit that they like. Dude, think about anything that fucking happens. COVID.

You know, these fucking things capitalize off of that. Mm-hmm. You know, you know, shit would racial injustice. capitalize off of that. All these things that like these big things that, you know, the way they can, the way they push this information, the fucking politics, everything, you know what I mean?

Like, you're 33, right? Yeah. How old are you? 32. 32. So I remember growing up, you know, I never knew anyone to fucking 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 himself to one fucking inside of something.

It's the weirdest shit to me. Because like you, 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, even about staying in a small pocket. Yeah.

How, you know, that doesn't fucking help you. Like, you just stay on this side. Mm-hmm. You just stay right here. Yeah. Like, your brain, you're, 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 their, 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. It keeps them in like these echo chambers, right? So basically the summary, I don't want to ruin it for you, but basically... I'm one of those people that you could tell me a fucking movie that I really want to watch. You can tell me the end and how it happens,

and I'll be okay. I don't get two shit to 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.

It's like 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. He's fucking libtards, what they call us, libtards. Or, you know, on the, same thing on the opposite spectrum. Like, if you fucking like guns or, you know. Racist. Right, exactly. Yeah. And, you know, basically these companies have created this with, you know, everything was,

and there needs to be some sort of regulation on it. And it's fucking freaky, man. Yeah. Oh, just making. And 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 the 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, wow. And then and 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 time. 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 something. And that's the fucked up thing. And they don't care. Mm-mm. You know?

You guys don't work for Twitter, do you? Hell no. Hell no. I'm just making sure. I'm sitting here talking shit about your company. No, fuck. 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 thing 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 is so easy. Mm-hmm. You know? And you have to make a choice. You know what I mean? 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?

It's because, you know, at the end of day, it comes down to the person's trouble. 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 this so 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 yeah what's what's your fucking limit what's your fucking you know that's all I was like okay I don't fuck with Twitter fuck Facebook yeah peace out family yeah yeah it's just like 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 yeah yeah like think about the fucking just dangerous oh it is like uh you know like the what was that epidemic that uh 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 who have been fucked up by that too. You know.

Yeah, it hit Florida hard too. Oh, hit Florida hard too? Oh, yeah. 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's 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, who was 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. Oh, yeah, where is it? Yeah, where is it? Yeah, 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. Yeah. Get your fix or whatever. Now you're not living on the street robin and doing whatever you can do to get your little fix of heroin. 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, it was right. Holy fuck. It never hit them.

Oh, no. What's that? That's fucking amazing. That solves 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.

Come on. Come on. If you can drink and smoke cigarettes, you know, we should be legal. We should be like that's legal. I can't believe these fucking politicians aren't campaigning on that heavier. More, 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 win. They win. Literally, yeah, just, yeah, just one thing. You know what? All the other bullshit they have to do. Yeah.

Here's a stimulus check and some weed. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Who we have, we have on here. I think you know him, David Lucas. I love David Lucas. We have on here. He was a fucking.

He was talking about how he likes Trump because Trump bought his yeezies. That's so funny. He would say something like that. He's a great fucking dude. He's a funny. He's a cool. a funny motherfucker. He said he works at the comedy store, I guess. 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 opening and not COVID, it wasn't fucking everything up. Yeah. But I haven't been there like since they've been doing like little, little stuff like on the patio. Oh, yeah. Yeah, like their patio area. They've been doing stuff. But other

than that, yeah, haven't. Have you performed there? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I was up there a lot. I've never even been there. I've never, I haven't been like, I'm not like big into the comedy scene until like recently. and 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. Right. That's like the hub, right? Yeah, man. It's like, you know.

Or you could catch big people there any time, right? Yeah. That's cool. Like, it was like. you know because everyone like all those you know big dogs like

you know they all be out on tour and when they all used to get back like Monday Tuesday night at the comedy store was one of the most popping nights they're just popping.

Why is that? Because like 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 everybody was getting back in the town, Tuesday, Wednesday nights. Mm-hmm. Extraordinary, man.

Wow. Fucking like. So what do they do on those nights? They come to the cops. It's just the fucking lineups. Okay. You know, you can see fucking, you know, Whitney, Eliza, Burt, um, fucking Rogan. Diaz

Wow You see this fucking massive lineup DeLeah everybody You see this Allie Wong Fucking Neil Brennan

Annie Letterman Fucking just Right there 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 You can't get that anywhere else No You can not get there anywhere else You know what I mean You're seeing the fucking... Not for anything. Not for music or anything.

No, you're seeing the fucking... The cream of the crime of the crime. Yeah, biggest people on the comedy game. You know what 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. Yeah, man, that's how I met Rogan, you know? That's how it became cool with him. Yeah. Just based off of genuine conversation, you know? Really? Yeah, they had 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, you know, a spot that week or whatever. It's like a five-minute spot, very top of the show. And I was on one where Rogan was on the lineup.

up and 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 they put you guys all in, 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 could see like your fucking idol right over there. Yeah, yeah, just sitting right across me. That's wild. You know, 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 he just, he goes, hey, what's up, man? And we just started talking from there, man.

We just got deep, you know, we started talking about books, started talking about, you know, I told him I was a cheerleader. He was geeking out over that. Really? He was like, yeah, you know, I showed him, you know, some videos. And he was like, what the, he was blown away. That shit's mind blowing. Yeah, he was like, blowing away, which I was like, 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. But yeah, and then, you know, as I'm leaving, I was like, all right, you know, pleasure meeting you. You know, I see you around Joe. And he goes, oh, 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 I think.

Your Instagram fucking started getting flooded after that. Oh, yeah, yeah. And then he, then he goes, 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 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 them, you know, and 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, really know about it. In like the comedy world? Not in the, not someone who's in the comedy world.

Just by, you know, people in Jersey, I think there was something like Spotify were like, if you don't censor Joe Rogan. Oh, yeah. will walk out. So stupid. 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 fuck. They didn't put any of his Alex Jones shit on Spotify. Yeah, I'm not going to bug him about it. And be like, hey, man, we,

right. I'm sure that's the last thing you know. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You know, he's probably already getting a lot. But,

um, um, you know, it's, It's wild when you 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 a podcast. You know, you, it probably most of these people don't even fucking listen to the full podcast. You know what I mean? Cliffs. They're just getting a clips, which is like, you fucking asshole. Yeah.

It's like those, like when someone drops the 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 do you? 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 is she doing? Why is she such a bitch? I don't know. I don't know who she is. She doesn't know me. Right.

What does she owe to me? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that's the thing like that can be wild in this fucking world. That's what we were talking about earlier with the podcasts. Like the difference between like produced reality shows on TV versus these podcasts. Like you're saying like there's like a whole. mecca of people in L.A.

There's like a huge podcast scene. Like I feel like it's very condensed. Like there's like the Theo Vaughn. There's Joey D. I think Joey Dias 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 Shop. Yeah, yeah. And Brian Callant, all those guys,

they all have podcasts and they're all comedy guys. Yeah. And I think that's like a, it'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 right you get a Steve Harvey show you get you know

you get these shows Bernie Mac show yeah Bernie Mac show yeah that was the thing that was the thing that took you to the fucking highest level that was the thing you know

that's getting you to sell out theaters arenas you know but that's not the case anymore. You know, you, you know, with the podcast, you're shooting the shit, you know, 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, diehard 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 us to do. Yeah, exactly.

There's no script. There's nothing to it. We're sitting here. We're chatting. So, you know, with the, you know, people are diehard fans of Ross, the guy from friends. Yeah. They're not a diehard fans of, I don't know. I don't even know what's fucking real name.

You know, but they look at him. They go, Ross. 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 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 also like you know the downside of that is that people really think they know you 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 go 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 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 to right I can't gauge this like I just come in yeah there's no foundation for this conversation yeah there's no foundation with the conversation I was like how about a hey first right you know that that'll be a fucking hi my name is yeah something like this yeah yeah exactly it's just shit that just you know you know I British you guys probably get it too. Yeah. 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 to it in and it goes, 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 like the comedy scene in L.A.? and like podcasts like what's the connection why do so many comedians have podcasts because i mean like it said like the you know the thing like i said um the thing was to get a tv show but you don't need that anymore 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 of people. And it's, it's so, you're so in control over this. You guys control this. Mm-hmm. 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. Yeah, exactly. That's all you did. You know, so it, it, it's, uh. And it's easier, like we were talking about earlier. Yeah.

It's so much easier. So it's easier. It's directly to the customer. There's no, 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. 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, that has given comedians better result. It is given comedians better result and better, you know, like some of the big comedians you know right now have taken off from

podcast. You know what I mean? Theo Vaughn, you know, podcast is what really took them off. Took them off to another fucking level. Yeah. To where it's like,

Theo Vaughn, you graduated from club, comedy clubs, now you're at theaters. That's what Joe's podcast did for him. Exactly. And the thing was, like,

the thing with Joe's situation, you know, that whole MNCA thing had happened. Yeah. You know, and we obviously all know what happened. How long ago was that?

That might have been like almost 10 years ago. Really? Something like that. And that was at the comedy store? Yeah, it was at the comedy store. But like, you know, he said like 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 media. 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. It's DIY.

Do it yourself. And that's what he did. Yeah. Then that's what you got to do. Yeah. You know what I mean? Do it yourself. Like that, like that fucking model, you know.

His podcast still aren't in fucking focus. The camera's 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 bothers 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, you 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 do you think Rogan interviews so many different fucking people? Yeah. He's just trying to like learn and, you know. Any kind of spark and curiosity. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I want to get that person here. I want to talk to this fucking person. That's all it is. And, and you know,

to censor someone wanting just to talk to people is the weirdest shit. Yeah. I mean, 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're working on that TV show for fucking years or months or whatever. And you're only focused on one subject or whatever. Yeah. For a long period of time, like over your lifetime, you're not going to learn that much.

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 Just like that heavy duty

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 And then you bring in the different little things It's such a big operation

And it takes so much time Yeah Damn, you can't, like, for one movie, it's this, 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 caries with dental plans, dude. That's fucking hilarious. But this is just, like, so freeing to be able to do this.

You can make your own movie documentary in one day. You don't have to edit it. You don't have to do anything. Yeah. It's just, like, it's fucking amazing. We literally just fucking, we're just shooting the shit. Yeah, man. Why not?

Super fucking cool. Yeah, it's, I mean, yeah, so, like, you know, And the thing about comedians, yeah, we love to talk, you know, so. Right, a podcast, it's like perfect. Yeah. And just, yeah, and just putting that out there. And I'm telling you, man, yeah, it's just a, 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 got talked to and roll with, like, I mean, some of them will, like, they'll do a part in a TV show. they'll do like, you know, a role, you know, it's just fine, it's just 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 their, build a podcast with a hundred, a hundred listeners. Right. You know, on the regular and fucking ride that out. Yep.

than to fucking be on some network where a lot of people are watching. But, like, I don't know, there's just something. There's podcast builds stronger fans. I mean, you know, depending on, like, your TV show, maybe I don't know what, you know, but 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 on TV show. You're like, I'm on this fucking big TV show. Yeah.

Let me look what Chappelle did. Chappelle went. 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? Right. 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 he was going through. You don't know what the fuck.

You don't know. Yeah. 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 didn't, he never chased money. That's why he's where he's 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 restaurant. room 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 I'll turn down gigs

trading your dreams for security 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, like, I'm not going to give my best self to this project just because there's money in it. That's not how I fucking operate. Right.

Yeah. I don't want to fucking do that. Just because there's big money in this part. Okay. Yeah. There's not 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 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, like, I'm not a money chaser. Mm-hmm. It'll happen. Yeah. It'll come. You know.

And I'd rather it come in, you know, a way that I felt really good about. Yeah. That's where I, that's, you know, how it wanted to come. Not based on some shit like, oh, if you do this, some good junk of change. Right. Yeah. Unless I got too many fucking anger problems, you know, like, and 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 going to sit there probably starts steaming. Yeah, exactly. Like, the money is 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 it, you know, once they get to a certain level, they just start doing more and more shit they don't like. 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. No. That's that's the fucking thing.

That's the beautiful thing, dude. You know, to have your own control of what the fuck you're doing. doing. Why not? I'd be able to see yourself in your work, too. Yeah. It's a, it's a, it's a fucking, it's a power move. You know what I mean?

It's authentic. And you're like, yeah, I did that. Yeah. I created that. I respect that fully. I look at that model a lot, you know, like, also I look at, you know, guys like, like Donald Glover, Childus Gambino. Oh, yeah.

Guy does what the fuck he wants. Yeah. Does what the fuck he wants. He didn'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 the people like JZ who don't have an Instagram or a Twitter or anything. You think of them as like the fucking like crem della cram of their thing. Or like I always like to talk about. how when Gucci Man went to prison for like a few years.

And no one heard from him. Everyone was like freaking out about Gucci Man. Like everyone was listening to all of his mixtapes. Like just waiting for the day he got out. And he almost like he ascended like some great level when he was gone. Yeah. Yeah. Versus when you're on Instagram and you're getting beaten over the head with their content

or their fucking 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. shit from that person all the time. 100%. 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. Every time. Is it unannounced? You don't know what 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, I mean,

Yeah, everybody would want something like that But yeah, I, you know I want like all the respect to myself You know 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 Yeah So what's your, so what's your schedule like As far as your, the shows That you're doing in Tampa this week? How many more shows do you have?

Four? You got four more shows? Yeah. You're doing seven. Yeah. That's wild. Three to night. Three and one night.

Yeah. And then one Sunday. Because I did Thursday. Yeah, I got here Thursday. Yeah. I did Thursday two last night. So three to night. 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 at 10.30. 6 p.m. 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 this? Size splitters, yeah. Have you ever been there? No. I've been over, like, in that area, but I've never been in. It's far out in Tampa.

We went out and we saw David Lucas out there a couple weeks ago. Oh, okay, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was my first time out there. Yeah, let me know, y'all. We'll fucking get you guys in and come watch me fucking tell these people what's up. Hell yeah, man. Well, thanks for doing this, but I really appreciate you traveling down here. I don't mind at all.

This was fun. Nothing out of my day. Nothing out of my day. How could people follow shit you're doing online? Instagram. Just Instagram. No Twitter. Chappelle Lacey.

At Chappelle Lacey. That's it. S-H-A-P-E-L. Yeah. That's it, man. Cool, man. Sweet. That was good.

Thanks again. Yeah.