Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - MO AMER Was Triggered By Halloween

Episode Date: February 6, 2024

Seth and Josh welcome the hilarious Mo Amer to the pod! A natural storyteller (and comedian), Mo tells them stories about escaping the violence of the Gulf War and moving to the U.S. from Kuwait, speaking with a british accent when he was younger, his love for Houston, how his Mom came to fully support his career, plus so much more! NissanGo find your next big adventure, and enjoy the ride along the way. Learn more at Nissan U S A dot com. Marine LayerFind your new favorite fits and get 15% off @marinelayer with our exclusive link -> marinelayer.com/trips #marinelayerpod US BankGo to usbank.com/altitudego to learn more about how you can earn 20,000 bonus points, worth $200, if you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of opening your account. Eat out or eat in, with the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card. Limited time offer. The creditor and issuer of this card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Some restrictions may apply. FidelityLearn about the planning effect at fidelity.com/planning effect BetterHelpBecome your own soulmate, whether you’re looking for one or not.  Visit BetterHelp.com/TRIPS today to get 10% off your first month

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. Nissan SUVs have the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Hi, Pashi. Hi, Suvi. I'm very excited. I'm going to get you out east. It's a rarity.

I know. It's a rarity to get you to come back home to the coast you grew up on. It's not that rare rare but it's special it's special you know what it's special one of the problems is you're a snob right like you're a west coast snob now yeah i'm always waving that uh that w and up you are yeah you're the west coast um but this is very exciting you're coming out because you and I are going to appear at On Air Fest. It's a podcast festival. And you and I, I think our listeners know, have ourselves a podcast.

We do. But this is going to be our first podcast fest. Yeah, this is our first fest. And I think it speaks, and I want to thank the listeners. You've got to have a fair amount of listeners before they invite you to the fest. So thank you, Family Trips listeners. You got to have a fair amount of listeners before they invite you to the fest. So thank you, Family Trips listeners. It's going to be at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn on March 1st.

And you guys could go to onairfest.com if you want to see us in person. Yeah, it should be really fun. It's going to be just a conversation with us. And I don't know. I can't answer the questions yet because I don't know what they are. Right. I hopefully a bunch of gotcha questions. I will say one of the nice things about seeing us in person is unlike the podcast, you know which one of us is talking. Yeah.

I can't recommend that enough. Right. Unless you close your eyes. Don't close your eyes. Here's what I'm worried about when I'm talking about the snobbiness of you coming east. I'm assuming we'll get you to come to the slopes with the boys oh yeah yeah so you'll come skiing with the kids and i look it's not a mountain up to your standards but i have skied it once yeah last year and i loved it it was so fun it was like it's fun for me to ski with your little dudes yeah and they've taken a real leap, let me just say. Yeah. And I also, you know, I think I've said this before, but your eldest,

Ash, insists that he goes really fast and I just need to be able to keep skiing faster than him. He will pass me someday. Right. But it ain't today. He's seven seven so I had a really wonderful thing which is Axel's class finishes a half hour before Ash's and Axel wanted to go skiing with me which is great so I geared up in expectation to this and just going up on the ski lift with him so much fun

we did a couple of runs and then we picked up Ash and Ash also wanted to do a run with us so now I got both boys so excited to get three of us on a ski lift. Ash insistent he goes on his own lift. He does it. He tells me he doesn't want to go with us. He knows how to get the bar down.

I'm like, fine. Me and Axel get on. Ash gets on the next one. Poshy, watching him get the bar down was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. Swear to God, I thought he was going to fall off and just trying to think of how I'd explain to Alexi. Well, he said he wanted to go alone. Meanwhile, drops one of his poles.

Everything about it was so stressful, touch and go. And again, it's why i like being inside so just promise when you're there i think hopefully he'll be excited enough to be on a lift with his uncle but we're just don't don't let him go solo yeah no no i feel like there are signs that also say don't do that but you know yeah you're a big tv star so the other problem not a problem but uh way home i and again you know i get the boys to skiing yeah i and you know that i'm married to truly the greatest mom i could possibly be married to but yet i get them there it was pouring rain i got them in their boots their gloves their hats they

have so much shit to put on i was really proud of myself skiing and then on the way home stop for hot cocoa now this is something i've added to the day this was a unilateral decision by me to get them cocoa and i'm saying just don't spill it all over yourself. I'm trying to teach them, and I know I shouldn't do this, I'm trying to teach them to hide their crimes. Oh, yeah, yeah. Basically like, we're going to get cocoa, just don't look like you had cocoa. Which is tough for a kid.

It's tough for a kid. We got home, I opened the back door, Axel, it looked like he murdered a person made of chocolate. It looked like he stabbed a person made of chocolate a thousand times. Just all over his pants, his shirt, his face, his hair. Disaster. Oh, man. But that almost feels like that kid's natural state.

Yeah, he is. It's just like he's going to be covered in something. He is an agent of chaos. Yeah. He's a wildling. He's a wildling. His teacher said, oh, I said, how did Axel do this week? He said, you know, Axel loves to ski, and he also loves mischief.

And we like him more when he's focusing on skiing instead of mischief, which I will say that is a very kind piece of feedback to give to a parent when what you're really saying is half the time your kid's a dickhead. Yeah. Do you know what this Alpine mischief is? Well, so great question. I said to him, what sort of mischief are we talking about? And as I said that, Axel said, here was your pole

and threw the teacher's pole into the woods. Also, Axel did a very funny thing. Axel is very funny. We're going up on the lift and a dad was skiing with his son and said, good job, Leon. And Axel said, hey, Leon. And the kid looked up and Axel waved at him and I said oh is Leon in your class he goes no I have never met Leon I just heard his name so he literally heard the dad call him Leon and then just confused the shit out of the kid yeah which also when you're skiing

looking up at a lift takes you away from what you should be focusing on yeah even when Ash had almost fallen off the lift, Axel was screaming at him to try to talk to him on the lift. I'm like, stop talking to Ash. Ash does not need to be distracted right now. Didn't Ash in a previous week, like, spill hot chocolate all over himself? Yeah, the last week. But Axel gave him a hard time about it.

Yeah, Axel did give him a hard time about it. So Axel didn't spill it. Axel just got a hard time about it. Yeah. Axel did give him a hard time about it. Well, so Axel didn't spill it. Axel just got it all over himself. Axel feels like, I said, Axel, we got home. I said,

all right, well, you have to dump out whatever you have left. You can't bring Coco into the house. Your sister's there. No, one's going to want her to see that you guys had hot chocolate. So Axel said,

I still have half a cup left. And I said, all right, when you get out of the car, dump it on the ground. I opened the door and he literally just threw it at my pants. Out of like out of anger? No, this is going to fix. This is the solution. He was trying to dump it on the ground but i was just standing right there right but i said why couldn't you just wait and it's he's so funny because he's very literal but then also 85 in the time he ignores the literal words you're saying so yeah well i can't wait to see him when I come out there for On Air Fest. Can't wait to see him.

Hey, we had, this is one of my favorites that you're about to listen to. Yeah. And again, I love them all, but man, Mo Ammer has as unique a story as anyone we've talked to on this pod. Absolutely. Yeah, like a journey from where he started to where he's where he's gotten now and uh you know he's got stand-up specials on netflix he's got his show mo on netflix season two is about to come out but uh where he started to where he is is uh it's kind of crazy you know a lot of times uh yeah we talk about family trips as uh optional things people do a lot of mo's family trips were due to

as optional things people do. A lot of Mo's family trips were due to geopolitical circumstances. And he has a great appreciation for his parents and how they took care of him and his siblings. So it's a great story. He's a great chat. And go to onairfest.com if you want to see us in Brooklyn. And listen to Jeff Tweedy. He's got a few things to say to you. It might sound a little familiar, but always beautiful. The madness, brother.

Here we go. Yeah. Hey, how's it going? Hi, Mo. How are you? Mo, I'm very sorry. This is Josh. I'm just on my phone.

I can't see you. I got technical difficulties. This is a Skype emoji. What is this? We're going back in time. I don't think I'm on Skype. I think I'm just on Zoom audio, but maybe they're mimicking the Skype icon. Every time you talk, we see a green phone.

Anyway, Mo, since we've been lucky enough to meet and you haven't met my brother, I will just tell you he looks exactly like me, but 15% handsomer. He sounds just like just like you yeah he does sound just like me this is actually the easiest because you'll be able to tell who's talking because it's either my face or a green phone icon you know if he starts as josh starts speaking it almost sounds like your subconscious is talking like let me switch it up. Yeah.

Oh, I wish I was a little bit taller. Yeah, I wish, you know, I don't know. Wish I could sleep better. Yes, wish you slept better? Oh, man, come hang out with me. You'll sleep great. Great sleeper. Phenomenal sleeper.

Are you? Have you always been a great sleeper? I am when I do sleep, you know, whenever it's time for bed, whenever it's time. Yeah, I'm a sleeper for sure. I'm out. Like I'll work hard. I'll hit it 20 hours. But when it's time, it's over. You know, I'll see you. I'll see you on the flip side. You shake me. Maybe a little smack, you know. No, no, no. I'm still sleeping. I'm still doing the thing. I'm an exceptional sleeper. I've always been an exceptional sleeper. Same thing, especially my SNL years, would work 20, 30 hours straight and then just conk out. And I am married to a woman who is a terrible sleeper.

And I think it might be the hardest thing about our relationship. Because if I so much as roll over, I've ruined her entire evening. Whereas she could make eggs at the foot of the bed and I wouldn't wake up. That's so funny because my ex-wife was like this and I just got remarried recently. And I said to myself, that's the number one thing. How do you sleep? Do you sleep well? I'm not asking you to restart, by the way, Seth. I'm not trying to do that. I'm not asking you to restart by the way Seth I'm not trying to do that I'm just saying you can find other solutions I'm just saying like I yeah we both sleep exceptionally well so

I'm out I can walk around I walked in and the entire alarm was blaring in the house I didn't know she had set the alarm and the house was going I was like oh no I'm about to wake her up and I just had a baby we just had a baby like seven weeks ago so I was just like oh my god the baby's about to wake her up. And I just had a baby. We just had a baby like seven weeks ago. So I was just like, oh, my God, the baby's probably up. And she's up.

And I turned off the alarm. And I ran in there. And she's sound asleep. My baby's sound asleep because we're both exceptional sleepers. So then we passed it on to the baby. And I'm just about to walk into the restroom. And on the hardwood floors, it just went, see? And she woke up like, hi, babe.

I was like, you're a psycho. What what just happened do you know the entire house there's fire trucks outside you just slept through all that but the squeaking on the floor is what got you i don't know what it is but i'm the same way it could be like something i feel threatened or somebody's around i'll wake up it's very interesting. And are you eight hours? Do you think you typically get eight hours a night or can you go like long? Because our parents right now, our parents have turned into people who can sleep like 10, 11 hours a night, which is weird.

But there are people who can do that. Where are you at? No, I can't do 10, 11 hours. If I do 10, 11 hours, that means I stayed up deliberately for a really long time. Like I'm in pre-production for my show right now, so I'm trying to get as much rest as possible, gearing up for the actual production of it all. And those are great, easy days, like 12 to 14 hours. Like, yay, it's such a short day.

So I'm just kind of building up to that. I've been sleeping early, waking up super early, going to work out. I'm doing this experiment on myself, trying to see how much weight and how chiseled I can get before March 4th. I got 50 workouts before March 4th right now. I'm almost 30 workouts in, and we're going to do another 50, which I don't know how we're going to do that. And I wake up on Mondays crying usually, then I have to restart the whole week because it's six days a week, workout six days a week. And this week, we're flipping to eight workouts this week. And so I'm just, you know, when Saturday comes, I'm like so excited that I made it through it. And then Sunday is the only off day. And then tomorrow, you're like, Oh, God, I gotta do this again. Why?

Have you ever had like a this is my workout era or is this a whole new thing no i had i had some boxing years like in my early 20s and i just loved martial arts and i did that in my teens and then i just loved boxing i'm a huge fan of muhammad ali and he's a huge inspiration for me and for so many people, you know, but I just loved technique and I loved boxing. So I did that for like a good four or five years, like straight. And I was just a monster for a long time. And then the career took off. So I was touring most of the time and you get lazy, fall back into really bad traps and, you know, stuff can sneak up on you. And it sure in hell did for me. And it's just a bummer. And so the longer you wait, the sadness continues to build up.

Like, why did I let myself do this? And actually my friend Toby Nwiwe, Grammy nominee artist, who's my co-star on the show, he calls me all the time he's like mo you can't be a fat genius you know you can't beat us it's funny he's my best friend right he's always motivating me he's like you just can't be you can't be a genius loser like you can't like every morning he wakes me up and he's sweating and he's just so you know he's just an athlete and he's like so, you know, he's just an athlete. And he's like, and I'm like, you're right. You're right. So I started going to this gym called Kengo, which is a whole nother situation. It's a whole nother level.

It sounds like a gym where there's no nonsense. I, one summer I trained with a boxing instructor and I realized it wasn't for me when he, he kept calling my jabs angel kisses. In front of other people, I should note. I got angel kissed right on the honker, like right in between. It wasn't even like right on the nose. It was right here. He was shorter than me.

He was one of the trainers there. And I was sparring a ton. And he was like the last sparring session. And he hit me like right here. He was shorter than me. He was one of the trainers there. And I was sparring a ton. And he was like the last sparring session. And he hit me like right here. And I had him the whole time. I was like really kept my distance, doing great. He hit me right here. Got a little angel kiss right there.

And it was such a weird location. My eyes went blurry. My eyes were watering. I didn't know where he was. He was just beating the snot out of me. And I felt like I was potato head. I could detach my nose, move it to the right, left. It was just the most painful thing.

I'm like, I'm a comedian. What the hell am I doing? This is dumb. This is so dumb. I was on stage, and for some reason, the mic hit my nose or something, and it just felt like I died. I was like, this is the last time. I think that's when I quit. I was like, this is the last time. And I think that's when I quit.

I was like, I don't need this. I'm not trying to go wearing the golden gloves to become a pro boxer. I'm a comedian. That's what I do. Okay, I learned enough. Thank you. Namaste. Whatever you say when you exit this gym, I'm out.

So that's the last time it was over for me. That's not for me. I did taekwondo for a little while. And there was always a sparring day. And my master, Master Park, was like, let's spar for me i did taekwondo for a little while and there was always a sparring day and my master master park was like let's spar with me today and i was like okay great and in taekwondo you wear like a mask that sort of has a cage over your face and then there's padding that sort of circles your face and he hit that cage into my face so many times that i had a bruise like an oval bruise going from my forehead down both of my cheeks and down my chin and uh yeah he really he really tuned me up but a lot of respect

a lot of respect yeah yeah my taekwondo teacher uh slapped me with his foot once that's not fair and it was such control behind it was like i was like okay he's like five foot four maybe and he just slapped me in my i was like you know it's so humiliating well those taekwondo teachers you'll think that you're your guards up and you you're doing the best you can you got your hands up and your elbows in and then they'll find that spot where you're not protected and they'll hit you in it just to be like you're not as well protected as you think you are. And it's a good wake up call. No, he hit me in slow motion one time as a fake sword.

He was doing like Kali sticks and he was like, okay, block, block, block, block, block. I swear to you, like this, this slow, block, block, block, block. He hit me right in the face. I'm like, how did I miss that? He's like, I just whiffed completely he was going in ultra slow motion the takeaway from this conversation so far is if you're ever with a comedian who tells you they're trained in boxing or martial arts and you get attacked you're still fucked they cannot protect you you're getting ready for a season two mo yep yeah i'm currently

in uh pre-production right now. All right. So this is a fantastic autobiographical show. You're also great in Rami, which is also a great autobiographical show. And what I love about both shows in what I'm very excited to talk to you about today, very different backgrounds than Josh and I. And your story is incredible. You were born in Kuwait and you're nine years old when you moved to Houston. Is that right? That's correct. Yeah, yeah.

And so early life, before you get to Houston, and your family lives in Kuwait, were you taking family trips? And what were those like? Yeah, it's funny. Because it's a vacation that I always reference, because it was the last time any semblance of like a real family vacation. You know, when you have to like leave something such as heavy as the Gulf War, it just family trips are like the last thing, you know what I mean? Yes.

What should we do this summer? Survive, you know? Of course. Right. survive, you know? Of course, right. So we had this particular vacation, like it foreshadowed my entire future. It's really, really something that I just discovered a few years ago, how impactful it was. We went to Egypt. It was my mother, father, and my brother and myself. We went to Cairo. Amazing experience going there. But it was the first time I saw live performance as well. My father took us to a great play called What Say the Chagall, which is led by

this just icon of a comedian, comedic actor, Adel Imam, which I was like seven years old at the time. I didn't even understand how impactful it was to me, but I was laughing so hard. My mother was looking at me like, how do you even understand any of this? I was like, no, I get it. I just understood the physicality and the emotion behind it. And I just thought it was like wildly entertaining.

And I just, something there definitely struck me in that situation. And then from there we went to like Mango Island. And there was like a whole, it's like, what is Mango Island? There's an entire island that's just dedicated to mangoes. Like, I want to live here. Please leave me under this tree. Leave me, family. It's been a good run.

You know, I love you. Yes, but you must leave me here because mango is the greatest fruit in my opinion of all time was mango island truly a full island just dedicated to mangoes was it was all mango trees the entire thing okay was just a like a small it's probably like super tiny but i was seven so it was glorious it was you know it was stumbling along the pyramids it was just like i oh, yeah, pyramids are nice. Leave me here at Mango Island. Like, that's all I really cared about. And my father, may rest in peace, he passed away in 95.

But my father always wore suits, like, every day. It doesn't matter. The beach, it's a suit. He's rolling up his slacks, and he's walking in the ocean. Like, he never left the house without a suit and tie at the very least a tall button up with a jacket like didn't matter what time of day it was what time of year it was if we're going to a baseball game it's always that and seeing on my father in a suit and tie on a horse horseback a lot there uh through the pyramids it's just so funny all

the pictures is him is in a suit and tie. Like, this is vacation. But no, you always have to be presentable. And that's just the way he rolled. And there was this picture that I, man, it's just, it's ingrained in me. I'm holding this VHS camera, you know, the old VHS cameras you hold over your shoulder and you just have to peek through to film and you got to stay real stable to get anything good out of it. I'm holding it in

my left hand and my mom and my brother are next to me. And there's a man standing behind me, has his hands on me like this. We're taking a picture. I have no clue who this person is. It turns out to be, his name is Yusuf Idris, who is like an iconic playwright, screenwriter, like one of the most prolific guys ever in the region. Like he's that guy. And I'm holding this camera and I have my mom and my brother next to me who are the leads of my show today. And I have this video camera left hand side with this iconic playwright and screenwriter holding his hands on my shoulders. And I'm wearing a shirt that no one monitored. Okay? We were swimming so much on this family vacation that I ran out of clothes.

And I think my mom just went down to some crappy tourist shop and just, like, reached in, you know, one of those baskets, like, three shirts for $10 kind of thing. And she just reached in you know one of those baskets like three shirts for 10 bucks kind of thing and she just reached in there and grabbed these shirts i'm wearing a u.s military recruitment shirt that says join the forces kill like what in the world is this shirt and two years later, the war happened. Wow. And then four years later, I started doing stand-up comedy as a little 13-year-old. And 25 years after that, I have my own series where my mom and brother lead. Now, this video camera, I thought, was gone forever.

So I was touring in the Middle East. I look at my manager. It's like whenever I tour the Middle East, it's not just in the Middle East. I look at my manager. It's like whenever I tour the Middle East, it's not just touring the Middle East. I'm doing arenas. It's like just imagining this small kid that left Kuwait for Houston and then comes back all these years later.

And they're like building theaters for me to perform in. It's just really surreal. So it's deeply emotional. So I'm really reflective every time I go back and I'm looking at my phone, I'm looking at that picture and I still didn't even realize what kind of shirt I was wearing until then. I was like, I was like, Mustafa, man,

I was like, look what the hell I'm wearing. Nobody monitored this shirt, this is so absurd. And I look at the video camera and I go, man, I wish I knew what happened to this video camera. It's been like 30 years at this point. It's probably gone. It's just two days, right? Two days later, I'm at my mom's Jordan. I'm at my aunt's house. We just ate a really dense dish and it was just like, everybody's falling asleep. Like literally everyone is just passing out. I hear my aunt,

almost like in slow motion, like Willrell and old school or i got a video camera for you you know i have a video camera i was like what you know what it's like this and she leaves she's like 75 so it's real heavy she comes back and she has the video camera that i was referencing two days prior in her hand and i I couldn't believe it. And then my cousin walks in with all these plastic bags full of VHS tapes, and I was like, no way. Sure enough, the camera's in mint condition. That night back at the hotel, I'm like, I'm so curious to see if it works. I plug it in, start sticking VHS tapes in there.

You know, you got to look in the viewfinder to see what the hell you're watching. The first video is a Michael Jackson concert. I was like, well, it's the 80s. Michael Jackson was very popular. Put it back in. Oh, another Michael Jackson concert. Really love Michael Jackson. Next one is a family.

There's some kind of party going on. I recognize some of the people, but I don't recognize the house. And I'm just desperate to see my dad because I've never, I don't have any video footage of my father at that point. And five minutes later, he walks into the screen. He's like the life of the party. He's taking portraits of everyone. It was the most unbelievable thing.

And I ended up unearthing like, oh, my God. I think it was like 15 VHS tapes. And some of that footage was from that family vacation in Egypt. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. It's in mint condition. This baby right here. Wow, look at that.

Look at this baby. It's for sale. It'll be on eBay next week after this documentary. No, it's good. Isn't that crazy? You mentioned your dad wearing a suit, and so in my head I thought, oh, he must be a serious cat. But then you also said he was the life of the party.

He is. Were you close? Was he a fun guy to be around? Super fun guy. Like, really, really entertaining. He loved poetry. He loved literature. He loved the arts in general.

He was a telecommunications engineer, so he was always hip to the latest technology, as far as cameras, lenses, any kind of tech, televisions, he was on it. And his office at the house was just him tinkering with different technology of that day. He would dissect it, open it up, and understand it inside and out. He was actually pivotal in building the first radio station in Kuwait. His entire team was the ones that helped create wireless communication between oil rigs. He's a really, really brilliant dude. He's also very serious. At times, the dad has that, yeah, he wants to raise a man, you know, like that kind of energy.

But really, really sweet, super fun, just an entertaining guy and constantly the life of the party. And one of those VHS tapes actually on Earth was, it was like 2 a.m. Everybody's sitting around and he had like two poets there and they're reciting poetry in the house. And I was up like just excited to be part of the fun and mom serving fruit. He was a really lively guy. And he was all about traveling and took my mom everywhere, whenever he could. It was six of us. So two of my brothers were studying here in the States. And my brother and I and my sisters were in Kuwait still. Wow. So this is before the Gulf War, you have two of your siblings are studying in the state.

Was Western culture at all a part of your upbringing? Was that something you were aware of before Houston? Listen, the only thing I was aware of was moonlighting, okay? Because my sisters were obsessed with moonlighting. It was like Bruce Willis and Civil Shepard, I think, or something. Yeah, 100% right. No, no, music was a big part of it. Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, Western culture was absolutely spreading well there, and it was all these licensing, all these different shows that would come in to Kuwait. But at that point, I was so young, and I was an outside kid. I was constantly outside with my friends, playing sports. I would just leave. My mom would tell me, I was so worried, you would leave. I was five years old. I would just leave and come back after dinner. I didn't know where you were. It's super safe in Kuwait. It's not like the same concerns

you ever used. It's so safe. It's a very, very different experience when I first landed here in the States. I was like, where am I? It was really, really a massive contrast for me. Like, nobody told me what Halloween was. Like, when I showed up to the States, it was like two days before Halloween happened. And I've never seen anything like this. And then Halloween happened. I was like, oh, my God, what is wrong with everybody?

It was just freaking out. And I, you know, it was one of those. Yeah, it feels like we should put a warning out about Halloween to people that are moving over here. Well, I landed like two days before, and then Halloween happened. I'm like, whoa, what is this? America's dark, man.

Like, this is the year nine. So everything is so much bigger, right? Everything is so grand when you see it. It's like skeletons everywhere. Their eyes are hanging out. There's like blood coming off their face. I just came for more, bro. Don't do this.

I'm triggered. I'm very triggered by this. No, no. It wasn't like that. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Hey, Pajit. Hey, Sufi. It's official.

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And they hold everything in. Our parents protect us from everything. And they just put it right in there. And then it comes out about 20 years later when they tell you everything. But it was, that's usually how it works in our culture. But no, it was very clear that the plan was to come here to Houston and we're starting a new life for obvious reasons. But what was going through my mind is honestly, like, I didn't want my mom actually went back to Kuwait and dealt with much, much worse circumstances than I did. So she's such a soldier in that way. Like, I couldn't believe, you know, what she actually went through and put herself through to make sure that her kids were safe. She's such a hero of mine for that.

And when I got to Houston, you know, a lot has changed. So I just, it's, everyone was close to each other. My families are all next to each other. My uncle is three houses down. My aunts are, my cousins are there. My, you know, so it's just unearthing. You're starting something completely new. And it's really a testament to Houston.

Houston is such a special and unique place, and it doesn't get the credit that it deserves. And that's why I wanted to film my series here so badly, because it's such a diverse place and immediately makes you feel at home. And the friends that I've made when I first arrived in Houston are still my friends to this day. We're very, very close. I see them as much as possible. And that's the kind of community it does, even though it's the fourth largest city. They call it H-Town, right?

So it feels like a small town and a village in some way. So that really helped a lot of it. And then the rest of it was like the social curve, you know, understanding what's cool, what's not cool. Getting into fourth grade and just walking in where I went to a private British English school in Kuwait where I was learning, you know, learning multiple languages and almost starting pre-algebraic formulas. And I get here and the curriculum is just, they're still doing just addition here.

I couldn't believe it. It was throwing me off. And there's kids trying to drag me to the bathroom because Bloody Mary is going to appear in the mirror if they say it three times and write her name. I'm like, what are you guys doing in America? You know, like, why are these trying to summon a satanic being in the mirror? This is awful.

It was one of those. It was just really, really tough. Boy, let me tell you, those first couple of years were really, really tough. Just trying to acclimate to what was going on with the kids here at the schools. I was just really worried about their futures. I was more worried about them than I was myself. Oh, man. I was like, guys, guys, guys, let's bring it back together.

Let's put it back all together. You guys are messed up. Yeah, you guys are really messed up here. You had a British accent too, didn't you, Mo, when you came over? I had a hint of a British accent, yeah, because I learned British English. So it was all like, hello, pardon. You know, I would say things like that. Yeah, pardon me, pardon, pardon me.

Yeah. So not only were you doing algebra, but yeah, you're also sounding more erudite than I imagine the kids in your class. Let me tell you something. Nothing gets you smacked faster in fourth grade in Houston than saying, pardon me. You know, that will get you a good smack, let me tell you. And the one thing that made me cool immediately is I could throw a football like nobody's business. And when it was like that, I was like, oh,

the foreign kid's really, really talented. Was that just something that came to you naturally? You weren't throwing a football around in Kuwait, were you? No, I was throwing. It's funny because we would play football with a soccer ball sometimes just as a, like, hey, let's try this. And my brother would show me this. Like, oh.

And so when he would leave and go back to college, me and the guys were like, oh, this is what they do. Watch. And we would just throw an actual soccer ball as a football. But we weren't really playing that way. I think my brother brought me one at some point. But it was just, I was a natural at it right out of the gate. I could just zip that thing, man.

I could just throw it. I was throwing like 50, 60 yards in like eighth grade. They'll look the other way at a lot of weird stuff in Texas if you can throw a football. I mean, you know what I mean? Oh, yeah. They've ignored worse than pardon me in a British accent if a kid can throw a football.

Exactly, exactly. Oh, it changed immediately. When I was good at sports, it was like, oh, okay. He's one of us, y'all. Come on in, man. It was like that. My gym teachers were always like, clearly, they were looking for a quarterback in seventh grade.

It was like, we're going to put a cone out there. All right? All y'all get in line. Let's see if you can throw the football close to the cone. Now, the cone's about 50 yards away. You throw it three yards off, four yards off, six yards off. I mean, that's this. If it's six yards off and you threw it 50 yards, I mean, you threw it 44 yards. You get it? All right, come on. Everyone's

just throwing shitty balls. And then I threw the hell out of it. It was like two yards off the cone. He was like, hey, boy, you throw that in there. We'll talk to you for a second, boy. All of a sudden, it became a meeting. You thought about playing football? I was like, yeah, boy, you throw that in there. We'll talk to you for a second, boy. All of a sudden it became a meeting. You thought about playing football? I was like, yeah, sure.

I'll do that. Yeah, I can do that. So did you play? Did you play in high school? Yeah. No, I didn't play in high school. I played in middle school. I had aspirations too.

But everything changed, shifted for me dramatically in ninth grade with my father passing. I just didn't care anymore. I didn't care about school. I didn't care about anything. I was skipping school. I was living Ferris Bueller's Day off regularly. I was just a really adventurous kid. And then my teacher, my English teacher is the one who... Because I would tell everybody, I'm going to be a comedian anyway. I hate this place. I just hated everything, which is natural for a 14-year-old to go through so much turmoil in such a short period of time. And she reined it in for me. And she said, look, if you stop skipping, I'll allow you to do stand-up every Friday in class.

I was like, I'm game. I was like, that sounds like a great deal. And I was like, hey, can I freestyle something today? Because the first line actually said, how would your father feel if you don't graduate? And I started crying. I was like, it's a cold shot, Mrs. Reed. I was like, this really hurts. And she said, yeah, you can do something today. I was like, as long as you can incorporate something from Shakespeare

because that's what we're studying. And I was like, okay, yeah. So I went up in front of the class with the book in my hand and started freestyling Macbeth and kids were were laughing i was hooked man it was over i was like can i come in uh tomorrow and do my own you know set she was like yeah so i wrote a whole set came in the next day did the set and then she let me do it you know every week and then by week three she took me to theater arts department she was listen, this kid's like walking in doing like he's done like, I think, eight different accents and really funny content that I've never heard of before. Like, I think he belongs in here.

And Miss Kreiser looked at me like, look, maybe I do. You know, I don't know. And that's it. From there, I'm just that really realigned my focus and gave me something to look forward to. And I started getting like leads in musical theater. And I didn't even know I could sing. I was doing that and played Sudolus. And a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum, which has easily transformed my life.

I love Zero Mostel. I was introduced to him. I just started learning so much and graduated with honors because of her. That's amazing. It changed my whole life. I failed ninth grade because I just didn't go to school. And then I caught up so fast because I was so excited about theater and loved Chris Farley. So that's one thing I would do is I would wear a little jacket and I would go roast kids as Chris Farley in a little jacket. And I was so good at it that my

Spanish teacher, Sunita Federa, got me out of other classes so i basically got to skip with permission and i had like four shows that day just roasting other spanish classes that she had she was like you have to do it i'll write you a thing i was like she's so good she if you could incorporate spanish i'll give you extra credit. I was like, okay, I'll figure it out. You know, just totally winging it. And I borrowed a jacket from theater arts department. I ended up ripping it by accident, but it really killed at that moment because it really, it really was spontaneous. And I was just roasting kids. I would just constantly had this reputation that I would just do standup in class regularly. And I would be, you know, with permission allowed to skip other classes to come do stand up over there. So I was doing like

multiple shows a day sometimes. Obviously, your teachers think this is a good idea. How did your family respond to what obviously was a gift and was obviously working with the other students? Was this something that your mom was supportive of? Oh, immediately. And she drove me to the clubs when I was not. She didn't know. She absolutely didn't understand it. You know, stand up comedy is an indigenous art form in America. I think there's two more things, jazz and hip hop and stand up, right? So jazz has spread throughout the planet many, many years ago. Hip hop didn't really get there quite yet. And that was something I was introduced to and so a stand-up so those two things became a big part of my life my mom

didn't really understand it and I come from a highly educated family education's first and so she didn't see the correlation like you had to be smart to be a great stand-up can't just be a great stand-up and be just a an idiot you really very very hard to do it and she never really understood the art form itself and where it could take you. And so, no, she was completely against it. Didn't understand it. She would constantly try to get me not to, because I would get in my Toyota Camry and I would drive like 10 hours just to get into a club, right? And they were paying me like 75 bucks to do a feature spot so I can come back in a headline for like 300. You know what I mean? So it was one of those types of situations.

She'd be like, how much are you making? I'm like, I one of those types of situations she like how much you making I'm like I'm making 500 bucks and she'd be like I'll give you 500 bucks not to go I'm really just making a hundred bucks I'm lying already she was like well I want to see the money when you come back was like oh shit those 17 you know yeah I would drive back. I would sneak into a casino in New Orleans. No, it was Lake Charles, excuse me, right there on the border of Texas on the way back from Arkansas. I would stop there. I would sneak in there.

And what I would do is I would wear nurse's scrubs, but I'd wear only the top and put on athletic bottoms so it looks like I just got off work so nobody would id me and i would go in and i would sit play poker and i would just wait for the greatest hand possible and i would go all in double do it again wait another hour or two go all in meanwhile i'm like driving overnight to get to that final number i was like okay good i have like 450 bucks i just say i bought lunch and a gas and just make up excuses. And I would go home and be like, see?

She's like, I don't care. You know, like, I don't care. It's not good enough, you know? And that actually drove me to a whole nother level. Like it made me so focused where other guys that were starting were about the fantasy, not really about the work, you know? And so it really put me in a different mindset. So I'm really, really grateful for that.

I think when my mom saw me at Radio City Music Hall with Dave, it was like Chappelle's show. And I think it was Lauren Hill was there that night. She was performing. And she saw me working that night. That's when I really like hit her. I hit like different levels with her. And then the special taping, of course.

But just to put it in perspective, my mom watches news and game shows. That's it. That's all she does. And there was a picture, I think we're in Abu Dhabi of Formula One. It was like Chappelle, Haddish, Rock, Chris Tucker.

I mean, he was full of legends. Will Smith, and then Steve Harvey. She looked at that picture, she goes, oh, Chris Tucker. I mean, he was like full of legends. Will Smith. And then Steve Harvey. She looked at that picture. She goes, oh, Steve Harvey. My son really made it. My son really made it. But now, yeah, just like it was like about a year ago, we were in the car. And she was like, remember all those nights you would come home at 2, 3 o'clock in the morning?

And I was so worried you're up to no good. But you had this whole vision for yourself that I couldn't see. And you would laugh at me. I didn't understand. And you had this clear vision for yourself. I was so proud of you. I'm so proud that you didn't listen to me. I'm so proud that you stuck with it.

And I was like the greatest moment. It was really, really sweet. I mean, I have to imagine the very fact that you had this sort of family where poets would come over to the house. It's different, obviously. But the idea of writing and performing, it did seem like that was valued. I have to imagine your dad would just be so incredibly proud at what you've accomplished.

Oh, my dad would be blown away. He wouldn't even believe it. He couldn't even. He would be like, maybe he would have. He was such an intuitive and inventive guy. Maybe he would have, but he's a special guy. He's a real special guy. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Family Trips is sponsored by BetterHelp. Hey, Pashi. Yes, Sufi. You know what my favorite thing about this podcast is? We get to talk. And I like talking to you.

And without this podcast, I feel we would talk less. And I think a lot of people in the world need someone to talk to and either don't have that person or are worried that what they want to talk about is not the sort of thing their friends and family want to hear, which is why therapy is such a helpful tool. Absolutely. You know, I think both of us would admit to being hotheads in our younger days, and it's still in there, but I feel like both of us have probably gotten a handle on it somewhat through the help of therapy and some introspection and maybe coming to the realization that you could catch more flies with honey. You can catch more flies with honey. And

I feel like my relationship with you, my relationship with mom, my relationship with dad have all been helped thanks to therapy. And if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. it is entirely online it's designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief questionnaire and get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapist at any time for no additional charge become your own soulmate whether you're looking for one or not visit betterhelp.com slash trips today to get 10 off your first first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash trips. Support for Family Trips comes from Fidelity.

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Now go find your next big adventure and enjoy the ride along the way. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. You know, I obviously, you know, it's a weird time, and your father passed away when you were young, but would you guys take family trips within the States? Were there places you went? No. We really didn't do that before then.

I know this is all about family trips. Unfortunately, there was only one before it all happened. But no, my memories of my dad was just, when he landed in the States, it's so grueling for him. He was in the 50s at the start over. in the States is so grueling for him. He was in the 50s at the start over. He went from being a, you know, from nothing, I'd say from rags to riches to rags again, you know, like, so it was a really, really difficult thing. But he opened up a 99 cent store and he was like, well, it's 99 cent store plus. So he wore a suit every day to that. And he had his telephones that, you know,

the neighborhood wasn't really that great. And he knew that the neighborhood probably most people that live there didn't have access to all these really cool phones for a good price. So every day suited up the entire line of most incredible, innovative phones that people don't see it in that area. And he would sell them like hotcakes. He probably transformed that whole neighborhood. He was like, this phone has a hold button that plays music. They're like, you can play music? He was just selling like crazy.

So I would get in his station wagon, that seat that no kid or any human being really should sit on, that last seat where you're facing out and you're looking at everybody just awkwardly just staring at everyone behind you. And we would go to Harwin Drive here in Houston, which is the import export capital of Houston, basically. And I would just go, we would go on trades. And that's how I learned just business.

I learned business from him that way. And a lot of those friends that he made when he first landed estates with all those merchants became my friends after he passed away. And they gave me jobs when I was a teenager with them just to kind of help out with the fam. But that's why I was skipping school when I was 14. I was doing so well selling merchandise. And that's what inspired it in the show. Because I was selling fake watches.

I'll admit to this. I think there's a statute of limitations. It's fast. Do you think anyone's a statute of limitations is fast do you think anyone's ever going to come come at you and be like hey this is not real yeah exactly hey mo i remember you maybe that may be happening but the funny thing is they would show up because at the end of the week i worked at this convenience store and i would sell so much at this convenience store at the end of the week they're were all wearing the same stuff outside. They're like, hey, where'd you get that from?

Oh, man. And they would walk in. They're like, man, you told me it was the last one. I was like, well, it was the last one at that time. I got new merchandise, and it happened. But for real, for real, this is the only one that I have. This Movado is two-tone. It's the only one that I have, and I promise I won't sell another one. They're like, oh, man, that's really cool.

I was like, yeah, do you want it? They would come in upset. They would leave with more merchandise. What do you think you were selling a watch for? What were you getting per piece? I was getting anywhere from $100 to $150 a piece. Yeah, that's pretty good. I'd buy them for about $50.

That's pretty good. And I would get them on consignment initially. No, it was a really good margin. It sure is. But the thing is, no one can get access to them, so you i would get them on consignment initially no it was a really good margins but the thing is no one can get access to them so you can't get them so if you got them then it's like you know you have to already the right guy and then there's different levels of fake which is hilarious you know oh this one you can hear the ticking this is a disaster you can't wear that like it's supposed to be kinetic energy and work and winds itself. This thing is a disaster.

Can't be wearing that. I would tell them. I would have the treat version and I would have the excellent version. I'd be like, see the difference? Listen to that. You can't hear anything. They'd be like, yeah, you're right. I'll sell you this for 50 bucks if you want. But if you want to do it, it's $150.

Right. And the one you'd sell for 50, you probably right. I'll sell you this for 50 bucks if you want. But if you want to go, it was $150. Right. And the one you'd sell for 50, you probably got for 20. Yeah. Sometimes maybe 15, probably. You love Houston. Were you into Houston sports? Were you trying to go to Astros games, Rockets games, Oilers games back then? Was it Oilers?

I only went to one Oilers game. It was much harder to go to those. I went to go see Dan Marino It was much harder to go to those. I went to go see Dan Marino and Warren Moon play against each other. That was like a huge thing for me. My brother dropped me off at the game. I ran in. It was the most exciting thing I ever saw.

I got to check off that on my bucket list. Loved baseball. Went to tons of Astros, Braves playoff games. Unfortunately, those ended horribly. But went there, got to experience the Astrodome. And now, you know, Hakeem Olajuwon, the dream, is one of my, you know, people I looked up to so much when I was a kid. He was so easily accessible as well for us. I would see him all the time at the mosque or whatever.

He would just show up. We couldn't believe that he would just be there. And then just quite literally two days ago, I sat with him at the Rockets game and we were talking about my show and I got to do a Q&A with him. And my dad, before he passed away actually, he took me to meet Hakeem at a Nigerian mosque on Friday prayer. And i showed him the picture he remembered my father you remember that day it's surreal and now the astros are like the guys i grew up idolizing and looking up to the astros are like my friends and they're coming out to my show and i have all their baseballs as you can see like i super into it. I have all their baseballs back here. And my whole office is flooded with memorabilia.

And they just gave me an Astros World Series ring. Like, I can't. I'm so excited. I know you guys are from East Coast. And it says 4-0 against the Yankees. I just wanted to remind you guys. Oh, no. We're Red Sox fans.

Very happy that you beat the Yankees. I knew you were Red Sox. Yeah, yeah. Very happy you beat the Yankees. I will say there's nothing better than being on a first-name basis with someone you first loved as an athlete. Insane. You just can't believe it.

They seem like a different species. And then when you actually meet them, and especially in your case, the fact that you're making work that they want to go buy a ticket for. To be able to flip the script like that, what an awesome thing. It's unbelievable. So Reggie Jackson, Mr. October himself, he now works with the Astros, able to flip the script like that what an awesome thing it's unbelievable so reggie jackson mr october himself he now works with the astros invites me to the mr october foundation golf tournament last year and i'm about to tee up i'm like you know i used to play a lot but i just

don't have time for it anymore and so i was just on the just practice greens like this just looking around look to the left i see marcus allen i look to the right it's like this, just looking around. I look to the left. I see Marcus Allen. I look to the right. It's like Mike Singletary. I look behind me. It's A-Rod and Derek Jeter. They're talking. Then Ken Griffey Jr. walks up. I'm like, what the fuck am I doing here?

I just couldn't believe it. And then my golf cart disappears. I'm like, where the hell is my golf cart? It's like, my club's on it. Where's my golf cart? They're like, Earl Too Tall Jones took your golf cart disappears. I'm like, where the hell is my golf cart? It's like, it's my club's on it. Where's my golf cart? They're like, Earl Too Tall Jones took your golf cart, man. And I'm like, going to Earl Too Tall Jones. I'm like, where's Too Tall Jones?

And I see him. I was like, yeah, that's Too Tall for sure. He's taller than everybody here. I just walk up to him. I'm looking up to him. I was like, what did you do with my golf cart, man? I need my golf clubs like this. He was like, I didn't take your golf clubs.

CeCe Zabampia got drunk and took your golf clubs. That's what I heard. He took your golf cart. So I'm like, everybody find CeC your golf clubs. CeCe Zabathia got drunk and took your golf clubs. That's what I heard. And he took your golf cart. So I'm like, everybody find CeCe. Where's CeCe? It was just so fun. I couldn't believe it. It was like inside of my own fantasy.

So surreal. You feel like all those people should only be in the same place if it's a cartoon. Like, it doesn't seem like they should physically all be able to be in the same place. I couldn't believe it. And then they asked me to do, like, at the opening dinner, I'm, like, the only guy, like, should physically all be able to be in the same place. I couldn't believe it. And then they asked me to do like at the opening dinner, I'm like the only guy like bidding on all this stuff. I'm like the kid. I'm like,

can you, can you sign this for me? It was like, it was his kid's first time. I thought he was like, I thought he was like, you know, he's not going to do it.

I'm like, no, no, I really need this though. I need you to, I'm, I'm, I bid on everything.

I bid on all the, I bid, I literally bid on everything. I put my name on my wife's like, what are you doing? I was like, I don't care. I want this. I want it. I want all of it.

I just couldn't resist. I was a kid. And our group of players, they put all the non-athletes together. So it was myself, Bun B, 50 Cent, Travis Scott, myself. Who else who else oh scarface and then warren moon would just pop in then all of a sudden tyrell owens would just pop out of the woods i'm like i don't know what planet this is but i love it this is literally the greatest day of my life good outcome for a young sports fan you mentioned doing arenas when you go back and do shows in the Middle East, which must be amazing. How did they first become hip to your stand-up?

Man, so I started going there in 2007. I started doing shows in Egypt. I think it was the first Arab-American comedian to ever perform there, doing a stand-up comedy there. It was 2006, actually. And then I went back in 2007 and 2008, and that became a thing. Once you start performing in a particular area in that region it just catches on like word of mouth really starts to spread and I created a foundation for that but I didn't have a passport yet so I was a still you know stateless and I didn't have an American passport so I would have to

wait or sometimes I would fly to the country I I would fool the ticketing agent, mislead, let's just say mislead the ticketing agent in America. So when I get there, they'd be like, how did you get here? I'm like, listen, I'm already here. I have a show. I got this show. I'm leaving tomorrow. It's not a big deal. It's like, no, no, no.

It's a very big deal. I got a nice watch for you. I could give you a deal. It's not a big deal. It's like, no, no, it's a very big deal. I got a nice watch for you. I could give you a deal. It was wild. It would have to just sit there. I remember sitting there for 17 hours waiting for them to let me in. I'm like, listen, guys, it's almost 3 p.m. My show starts at 8.

I remember, I think I said this to one of them, look, what you resist shall persist. I'm already here. Just like, Gib, you don't want to pay for my flight back. I have a flight tomorrow. I have a flight tomorrow. I'm out of here. They would let me in.

And it was that. And then it just grew from there. And, of course, after I dropped my first special, The Vagabond, that became a whole thing. And then my series, and I dropped a second special. After the series, it took it to a whole another level in general, just globally for me, not only in the States, but just globally. Yeah, it's a surreal experience. I don't even know how to put it into words. Really, that picture, like I said, in Cairo felt like it was telling the future. That whole picture said it all. There was the military aspect of it,

my mom and brother, the writer, the hands on my shoulder, the fact that I was holding a video camera. That picture just tells you everything. The fact I saw Adel Imam was the first experience of live performance, stage performance. It was just there. And now I'm going back and they're building venues. I don't even know. I'm just constantly crying backstage. I'm like, I don't know what to do know i'm just constantly crying backstage i'm like i don't know what to do with all this you know i remember facetiming chappelle like i gotta snap out of this i gotta go on stage okay hell is so emotional like i don't even know how to filter it like how is this even real it's pretty spectacular yeah i mean i imagine like i mean if that emotion ever

comes out i'm sure the audience is right there with you. Like, it's, yeah, it's awesome. You know, Dave told me you're about to have an amazing set. If you're that, like, feeling all that, it's going to be an amazing set. Sure enough, I went on stage. It was just one of the best sets I've had. Like, it was just a thing comes out of you, and I'm so grateful to have that.

It's a really beautiful thing. That's awesome. I would imagine with Rami, with Mo, with your stand-up, you have this experience that's shared by this giant audience that probably hasn't seen their stories on TV in the same way or must hear so much appreciation from people how lovely it is to see a story that reflects the life they've lived. Considering what's going on in the world, it's a privileged life.

Although that it was extremely difficult, I consider myself truly a privileged refugee. Somebody who had the ability, my parents were able to add so much forward thought and bring us into a place where we can be set up for success and set up that foundation for us. So I'm very grateful for that. At the same time, yeah, I realized early on I was the only Mohammed in the South doing stand-up. So I started walking to clubs. I didn't even know. You got to remember, I've only been in the States like eight years at that point when I walked into a comedy club. And people were like, you sound like Kennison.

I'm like, who's Kennison? I don't know who Kennison is. They're like, you don't know who Kennison is? I was like, no, I basically just got here. I don't know what you're talking about. And they're hey you sound like annie murphy i'm like um the actor he does comedy they're like yes he does comedy bro you sound like what are you doing and like yeah you sound like this guy they would just tell me i sound like these people that i don't know who the hell they're talking about like what do you mean And then the next day, this is a really, really nice guy.

He gave me like all these VHS tapes of all these specials. He was like, go do your homework. I was like, okay, thank you for that. Because we didn't have cable. We just went back and I popped them in and it just opened me up to a whole new world. And then my mentor, Danny Martinez, just schooled me on all of them. He mentored a lot of great comedians that went on to have very successful careers.

I think Tishon Shannon wrote for us enough, like 10 years. I know Tishon. You know Tishon? Yeah. We overlapped in my early years. He's great. Did you?

Yeah. Yeah. He mentored him. He walked into his club. He had Ralphie May. He mentored Ralphie. Nobody would put him on stage. He put Ralphie on,

mentored him. And he's the one who took me under his wings when I on stage. He put Ralphie on, mentored him. And he's the one who took me under his wings when I was 17. He was like, listen, kid, if you listen to what I have to say, you're going to be very successful, but it's going to take you 20 years for that overnight success. But if you're not going to listen to me, then don't waste my time. And I was like, I'm in. And sure enough, it was right on point.

He visualized my entire career, and he was completely on point. Josh always hates when I tell SNL stories, but I'm going to tell a quick T-Shon story. Please. Which stuck with me for a long time. So it was my first year on the show, and I would just sit at my computer, and I just looked like stress personified, right? Just so nervous.

And I remember one day day you could hear people through the wall and one room over there were like four people working on a sketch they were laughing so hard while they were working on this sketch and that way that makes you feel terrible about you and t-shon walked by saw me poked his head and he goes you know what let me give you a little secret about showbiz the ones you yuck it up the most about while you're writing, you're going to eat shit tomorrow. I swear that's what I was thinking. I was thinking the same exact thing.

Every time somebody gets super confident about it, I'm like, they're going to bomb. Yeah. He also used to say, another thing he said is, always be nervous about the host who's not nervous on Saturday. If you go up to the host who's never done SNL and is about to say, another thing he said is, always be nervous about the host who's not nervous on Saturday. If you go up to the host who's never done SNL and is about to do 90 minutes of live, and you say, how are you feeling? If they say great, it's about to be a real nightmare of a show.

Because you should be nervous. There are certain things you should be nervous about. Yeah, no, absolutely. And this actually helped me in my framing of versus nervous about. Yeah, no, absolutely. And this actually helped me in my framing of versus nervous and butterflies. This thing gets muddied a little bit. And sometimes guys, when they get nervous, they lose perspective. And if you just shift the framing and go, no, it's just because I care so much. It's the only reason why I'm nervous or have any kind of butterflies. It's this excitement and this desire to do so well.

So just focus on doing well and remember what you need to do and give yourself those pointers. And it's amazing what happens to the nerves. They just start to dissipate. And I can't wait, man. I hope to have that opportunity to host SML one day and be like a real full circle moment. I can't wait.

You'd be fantastic at it. And this has been so lovely, Mo, to speak to you about your incredible story. It really is something. Credit to your family. Credit to your parents. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you for having me. Josh, good to see your face. Yes. Yeah, it's good to see you. About halfway through, I was able to jump on here. No was beautiful good to see you too man josh is now going to ask you a few quick questions i got some quick questions for you some these are these are some quick hitters let's do it you can only pick one of these your ideal vacation is it relaxing adventurous or educational oh shit that's a good one relaxing i'm gonna go relaxing okay there you

go there you go no shame in that because you can relax and read a book so it can be educational at the same time right you can just make it educational if you want to yeah yeah i don't need to go on a little adventurous who the hell wants that i want to climb and be exhausted when i'm there let's go hiking for six days you can keep that okay you can keep that i want to climb and be exhausted when I'm there. Let's go hiking for six days. You can keep that, okay? You can keep that. I want to go relax. Yeah. You could also read an adventurous book as you lay on the beach.

You can listen to an audio book right before you slip off the cliff on an adventurous vacation. Yeah, great. What is your favorite means of transportation? Train, plane, automobile, boat, bike, walking? My favorite, not practical motorcycle all right great love motorcycles do you have a bike do you have multiple bikes i do i did multiple bikes all yeah specific type of engineering from different you know i have a triumphumph British made classic car. Yeah, exactly. BMW. And then I have an original Indian Scout, which is the first twin engine.

And then I have the first bike is the Honda that I donated to my show that we used for the series. And that's in my garage. They're all in there. With a seven week old, how many days until your wife says sell those motorcycles she's really really supportive honestly i'm the one that's like i don't want to come kind of like more display pieces now than anything else okay there's one and i don't i'm not a city writer that that's not that's not appealing to me at all i'm more of like oh we're gonna go hang out in ohio with chapelle's or're gonna take a road trip somewhere it's country like put it on the trailer do country rides like i nothing about it it's like oh yeah i just can't wait to

zip through traffic horrible writing experience like i don't want that at all i want open road beautiful country to see around you know my surroundings i'm not that guy i'm not that guy i gotta get out there man you know like no no I'm good if you could take a vacation with any family

other than your own family they could be fictional they could be real they could be alive or dead what family would you love to take a family vacation with the Simpsons I think I want to go

on vacation with the Simpsons really good answer first Simpsons we've not gotten that yeah that would be uh that would be fun i think i'd like to do that i would def take a family vacation with them if you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family who would it be i think my nephew my nephew mo i think he's very he's very resourceful strong uh-huh quiet you know he's very quiet he's very chill that's strong, quiet. He's very quiet. He's very chill.

That's what I want. I don't want somebody yapping all day. You know what I mean? That's very smart. I think resourceful plus quiet. He's also a pilot, so if we do find a plane somewhere, we can get the hell out of there. You know what I mean?

It's very good. I need those skill set. And you consider Houston your hometown now? Absolutely, yeah, yeah. Okay, great. And would you recommend Houston as a vacation destination? need those skill set and you consider houston your hometown now absolutely yeah yeah okay great and would you recommend houston as a vacation destination yes if your vacation needs to be like around the most amazing food you've ever had in america like you would come to houston for sure like great houston is wildly underrated i think i truly has the best food anywhere in the United States.

All right. You can get anything you want. For some reason, Chinese food, not so great. But Vietnamese, Korean, kill it. Everything else, great. All right, great. Gotcha. And then Seth, you want to take it away here?

Mo, have you been to the Grand Canyon? I have, yes. And is it worth it? No, it's not worth it not really did you have a lot of build-up did a lot of lead-up were you excited for it and then let down or were you just i went to the biggest dry well of all time like what happened like it's not really great so happy i just hated it i so happy. This is what I came for. I wish we just flew over it.

It was actually better to fly over it when they were like, oh, there's a gentleman on the right-hand side. There's Grand Canyon. Like, yeah, great. Oh, yeah, that's cool. Wave, bang, done. Checked off the list. All right.

Mo, I was really enjoying this, but that's the real cherry on top, how quickly you gave a no to the Grand Canyon. No, I easily answer Grand Canyon. Waste of life. Yeah, no, it did not seem like it was causing you a lot of consternation. A waste of life. A waste of life, yeah. Those hours that it took me to get there and come back, I'll never get back.

And again, Mo sat in an Egyptian airport for 17 hours, and he didn't want to. It wasn't worth it to go to the Grand Canyon. Yeah, that was worse. That was much worse. I'd rather be stateless again. I'd didn't want to. It wasn't worth it to go to the Grand Canyon. That was worse. That was much worse. I'd rather be stateless again. I'd rather be stateless with no passport in the middle of the desert, cooking bread on old coal.

I would rather do that. I'd rather do that than go back to the Grand Canyon. Actually, they're both similar experiences. That would be the same thing, go to the Grand Canyon and being homeless. It's just nothing about it. Oh yeah, let me take a walk on this clear sidewalk that I could just be so close to death.

I don't want that. Who wants this? You can't believe how many suckers want it, man. Maybe if it was like my last days on planet and I was intending to jump off of the parachute off of it because I'm getting more risque because I don't have much time anyway. You know what I mean?

Maybe that's what I would do. Yeah, it's like an adventurous hospice. Yes. Yeah. Big fan of adventurous hospice. 100%! Those guys don't have much time. Skydive now. Let them live it up. I might die on the way down.

Great way to go. Yep. Great way to go. Thank you, Mo, for your time. It has been an absolute delight hanging out with you today. Yeah. Thank you, Mo. Thank you so much for having me.

Likewise. Thank you, guys. And congrats on the new one. Congrats on the baby. Thank you so much. He'll do the podcast next time. I got you. Be well.

Much love. Peace. Oh, move to Houston Two days before Halloween Nobody told him They tried making you

scream Kids went to the bathroom they called bloody mary that shit was scary what's wrong with these kids so now he works out Getting so jacked So if you try to scare him He'll put you on your back

He'll put you on your back He'll knock you on your back. He'll knock you on your back.