SmartLess - "Nate Bargatze"

Episode Date: July 15, 2024

Untuck your button-down; it’s Nate Bargatze. We discover the wonders of Magic, the Easter Bunny, a KFC-catered family reunion, and an elevator in the ocean. You can’t take your eyes off a mime… it’s an all-new SmartLess.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do you want anything? One second, I just want to... Do you want something? Okay. Can I get one crispy chicken? Two crispy chicken for you. Because I don't... You want two for yourself.

Okay. No judgment. That's fine. And ice cream. Do you guys even serve... You know what? Do you mind if we just do this after? Okay, no judgment. That's fine. And ice cream. Do you guys even serve... You know what? Do you mind if we just do this after?

Welcome, it's an all-new SmartList. SmartList. SmartList. SmartList. We were just talking about Shawshank and I was gonna say to Will, Jay Bertori came on, that my philosophy in life is kind of. Oh, this is good, hang on. No, this is good. This is good.

You like to get the pen out. Yeah, everybody pull over and get out the pen. By the way, this is Shawshank Redemption, I think, for Tracy, the film. So the end of the movie, so the whole movie, Morgan Freeman is talking about, he goes in front of the, what do they call it, the panel or whatever, the people who kind of,

the board, yeah, and he's the parole board, and he's like, he tells them what they think they wanna hear, he's like, no, I've been reformed, I'm good, I've learned my lesson. And they always deny his parole. And then at the end of the movie, he finally just is like, you know what, fuck it. This is who I am, you people are crazy,

I didn't learn anything, blah, blah. And then that's when he gets released. That's it. That's my philosophy for life. And that's what full release comes from honesty. Well, two ways, sorry. So everybody go ahead and put your car back in drive and toss that paper either out the window

if you still have an ashtray in the car, use that. Because we really didn't get an end to it. It's nice that Sean's philosophy on life is like, you know, like, don't try to be something you're not. Yeah, exactly. Right, I agree with you. Authenticity is a thematic that I'm on a project that I'm working on right now.

Oh yeah, very good. That's the theme of the thing. Oh, very good. It's a great evergreen, yeah. Authenticity. Hey Jason. Yeah, hi. Why did the man fall down the well?

Oh boy. Because he didn't see that well. That's exactly right. Oh. Wait, who, wait, Willie, you got, when we had Jordan Peele on his film, Nope, I always just thought it was just a fun way to say, yeah, no, I'm not comfortable with flying saucers,

it says the main character, and this shit freaks me out. But it's actually an acronym for? It's an acronym, well he said it's an acronym. And I just went, and I thought about it for two seconds, I went, not of planet Earth. Not of planet Earth. I remember the look on his face, he was a little mad I think.

Well, no, what you were seeing was the same look that I had, which is total shock at your level of intelligence. Like just like, stunning surprise. That's what hurt me the most was the stunning, the stunned look on everybody's face when I do something. Well, we're gonna have a stunned look at your guest when he comes home. Well, he's gonna have a stunned look at Sean.

Sorry Sean, did you have a lunch? He's gonna have a stunned look at your, when he heard your joke for sure, because he tells jokes for a living. Oh, shit. Yeah. Here we go. And he doesn't just tell jokes. Man, this guy tells jokes.

This son of a gun. This son of a gun, and that's kind of the language that he would use too, son of a gun. Dax Shepard's coming back. He, Dax does love son of a gun. He does. This guy uses, I don't know,

there's something about his everything that he does, his delivery, his turn of phrase, the things he talks about, the way he does it. A lot of people call him the nicest guy in stand up. I think of him as just the funniest dude I've seen in such a long time. And I remember the first time I heard about him

was through our old friend, Greg Garcia. Yeah. Yeah, and Greg was like, Greg reached out to me, he's like, you have to have this guy on blah blah blah and I made some glib remark, he's like, you're gonna regret it. I go, I think he's hilarious, relax Greg. And then JB, you and I had the pleasure of meeting him really, really briefly. I'm gonna make you repeat the glib remark right in front of you. We met him really briefly up at, last year up at Pebble Beach and he's as nice as he is funny

and it's all I love this guy he's so funny I love the Tennessee kid I love the Tennessee kid I love his new special hello world on Amazon he's about to go on tour in a new one guys it's none other than the hilarious Nate Borgazzi. Nate Borgazzi! Hello. Even better. Hey. I was ready for Ray. I love him.

Nate Borgazzi. I'll get Ray. Oh, how great. Nate, it's good to see you again. Good to see you, Sean. Hey, just a little fun note, never seen Shawshank, so. That's, wow. Well, you're young.

You're too young for it. You know, it's before your time. Wait, wait, how old? I'm 44. I should have. It's pretty young. You're too young for it. You know, it's before your time. You're wait, wait, how old 44? I should have hit young. You know what Nate? I didn't see Shawshank till I was 45. Oh, I'll do it next Anyway, yeah, Nate Varghese Nate Nate This is really nice great to see you again because we did meet. Yeah, we did meet up at Pebble Yep, do you live in a nice house or you you in a nice hotel room? Where are you? In a hotel room.

I'm in Syracuse. Okay. Working? I got a show in Syracuse. This is, can't make it here. Can't make it anywhere, you know? That's what they say. That's what they say.

I like, Nate, I like that Sean said, you said I'm in Syracuse and Sean goes, working? Nah. No. Just. He's just hanging out with the orange man. This is the vacations I can afford. He goes, it's nice, we took a bus.

We spent on the hotel room. Yeah, everything went to this. I have a family of 30s right off camera. They're just right there. I said, if y'all talk during this, I will kill you. When you are traveling around you doing these shows, what size is your group footprint? What's your posse size?

We have probably like 10 guys. Because I bring four openers. Actually tonight, we got a surprise opener. He won't be here until later. Jimmy Fallon. Fallon is coming to the show Oh, that's great. He's going to jump on the bus. Where do I know it? Tell me what we've been know him from that movie

pitch fever Jimmy right now by the way, he's hearing this he's sharpening his knife hearing us say this one day I have to say this, we developed the show together years ago. What? And you were very successful then, but to see you over the years, just kind of like, and then SNL,

and then like, it's so exciting to finally be like, yes, this guy has been brilliant, has always been brilliant, and now more and more people can see it. And you sell, Nate, you sell out arenas, like 20,000 at a clip, which is just unbelievable, and on top of this, and I'm gonna say this, and I've said it a bunch since it aired, when you were on SNL,

your sketch, your George Washington sketch, is to me, just in my opinion, the funniest SNL sketch I've seen in 15 years. Oh wow, I'm gonna look that up. I totally agree with that remark when you know your TV just went on which tells me I don't know what I turned on the fam the family's board. Yeah, the 30 men are getting itchy There's no one in just you and Jim Benheim, right? No, no, let's give me something to watch But you have to echo what Sean saying you have just like kind of finally thank thankfully the rest of America is just like

Understand what an awesome awesome hilarious dude you are so how do you start you're the Tennessee kid you're from? Old hickory, Tennessee am I right about that yes old hickory old hickory is it next to new hickory? No news a little bit was it ever new Hickory. Yeah, Old Hickory. Is it next to New Hickory? No, news is a little bit farther. Was it ever New Hickory? No, it was date old. He's got this great joke in his new special on Amazon Prime where he says, I'm from Old Hickory, it's where Andrew Jackson's from, and people are like, he wasn't a good guy,

and Nate goes, well, we didn't know him that well, but we didn't know him at all. It's hilarious joke. But Nate, talk to me about when you were a kid and stuff, like did you, were you always into comedy? Did you watch SNL? Like what were your inspirations? That's what I was thinking, that's what I was getting to me about when you were a kid and stuff. Did you always into comedy? Did you watch SNL? What were your inspirations? That's what I was thinking.

That's what I was getting to. How did you start? I just got there fast enough. My dad's a magician. What? And does comedy. Mine too. Mine can disappear in the drop of a hat.

Sean Hayes, you are talk show quick. Get out of here. Sorry, Nate. Thanks, you guys. Keep going. No, I grew up around that. I mean, so that was like, you know, it was funny but then also growing up around, you know,

my dad being a magician. You learned pattern. Yeah, it just kind of leads you to it, I guess. Wait, wait, wait, so Nate, so you grew up, your dad's a magician, he obviously loved you, sorry Sean, and he, I mean to the extent that he wanted to stick around. I'm friends with Sean's dad.

Yeah. Oh, so you know where he is. Yeah around. I'm friends with Sean's dad. Yeah. Oh, so you know where he is. Yeah, yeah, he's a pretty good dude. I go out. He gives you. Yeah. I don't know the whole backstory,

but I know, I just know from what R hanging out. He's got no tread left on his tires, but he's a good guy. He's, he's sex you a pin to his location. So what was that like growing up with your dad being a magician? That's pretty rad. An illusionist.

Yeah, yeah, it was the best. You know, I don't know if I even understood it. I'm sure, I think of it like, you have my daughter and I'm sure your kids, it doesn't seem not normal. Like it just felt like it's like that's all I ever knew. And it wasn't until you got older that you're like, yeah dude, nobody's dad's a magician. Yeah. Yeah.

Start saying you don't know when you're asked what your dad does. Right. Yeah. So he would make the living, dude. I mean, I have people do magic, like magicians would show me magic tricks. I've just seen them all too.

And I just, I'm just not a good person to perform for because I'm just like, all right. You know, it's like, is this your card? You's always by it's always my car it's always been my every time I see magic every time I see magic I freaking love it and I'll bet everybody listening loves it well I mean how can you not love when you see a magic trick I mean a good one a good one but I but I never think about it I never and I always make fun of it when I hear about it. It's like you hear about mimes.

But you know what, you can't take your eyes off a mime. Or a magician. It gets a bad rap. You can't take your eyes off a mime. Yeah, that's the quote of the day. Wait, so Nate, so your dad, Sean was gonna ask this, so your dad made a living as a magician. He did, he was a teacher too.

So he had a day job and then he would do that. And then we were always in Nashville. And so he's just always done it. And I mean, he's very successful. He's very known in the magic world. He comes with me and opens for me a lot on the road. No way. We'll do these shows.

And it's every little boy's dream, travel to your dad when you're 44 years old. So we got a little CPAP machine hooked up in a tour bus. It's a good time. You got some ramps on the side of that stage? Yeah, I mean we had our bus parked out one time and it was my dad, my mom, and my aunt, and I was like, people probably go by this tour bus

and they're like, it's pretty rockin' in there. And I mean, we got, it's lights off, quiet, just the roar of machines keeping everybody alive. And the smell of liniment. Wait, so did you ever perform in the magic shows with your dad? I did some, yeah. I would help him with magic.

You ever get cut in half? No, no, we didn't ever do that. We didn't, he never did that, go that far. He did a slight hand. A lot of slight hand and he does he does calm. That's my favorite Yeah, so then when you what what age were you when you were like? Actually kind of to what Jason you kind of alluded to but did you start just like being a wise ass on the on the side of Your dad's stage while he was doing magic like is that how stand-up started for you?

uh, I Think it was just being funny. We would like I remember how stand-up started for you? I think it was just being funny. We would, like, I remember seeing stand-up. It was just trying to, it was trying to make people laugh. I don't think I ever really made fun of anybody. Right. But it was like I would make fun of myself a lot, which is what I do now in my comedy show. Yeah, that's the best.

It'd be like, you'd be doing stuff like that, making funny. He had, I mean one time, I've talked about this in a special on one of them, but it was like he brought the Easter Bunny home when I was like six. He was at a mall doing a show, and the Easter Bunny needed a ride home. And my dad goes, I'll give you a ride home

if you swing by my house. And so I remember the Easter Bunny, we had like, my parents had this old red Mazda stick shift, you know, and the Easter Bunny's head was bent to the side because his head couldn't fit in the car. So he was just, he was sitting like this and then he got out and I met the Easter Bunny and then my dad drove the Easter Bunny home. So that started your, the Easter Bunny, you say, started? Yeah, that was the trajectory. I go, all right. I go, if I can beat that guy,

then maybe I can make it as a stand up. Now, what was your mom's attitude on her husband's career? My parents have been together since seventh grade, and they, my mom's very funny, but she worked at a bank. I mean, she's just been, I mean, it's just stuff. There's like, growing up, it's buying, you know, she has to go up to my dad and be like,

go to the store, I need you to buy 12 lemons. And he has to buy it for like his magic, or a bunch of newspapers from that day. It's like a bunch of random, and it's just normal conversations. You're just like, it's a Tuesday. You're just trying to grab some bread, milk, and 30 oranges, and then you get on out of there.

And handkerchiefs in six colors. You've got a lot of shows this week. So. It's just stuff like that. That's cool. Wait, wait, so Nate, so I want to kind of get, again, this is, we're the worst interviewers on the planet. We were just voted worst ever interviewers.

We nailed it. Of all time. But I want to go back, because we, again, because you play these huge Arenas and it's amazing and I don't I don't know if I've ever seen a comic so Comfortable you make it so intimate even though you're playing a huge there's something about it that makes it so personal and you and you You're so organic. Yeah, you draw us in as opposed to ask every time about authenticity You're very authentic. But you... that feels like you... that...

When you started, you must have started in clubs, like in smaller venues, right? Like most comics, I imagine. Oh, yeah. So I moved to Chicago first for a couple years. And then I moved to New York. And I was in New York for the most, for like eight and a half years. And so I did all the clubs and all the, like, going up every single night. I performed for one guy once. Oh my gosh, no way.

Like he wouldn't leave. We tried to get him to leave and he's like, nah, it's all right. And we were like, well, we don't think it's all right. And so I'm like, he really wasn't about him. You're like, what's up? I was like, I don't want to stand up in front of a guy. Regularly up in front of four people, five, six,

like, I mean, six people was like, got a pretty good show going on. You know, you were excited about six people. No way. Yeah, so you just get used to just being in these kind of, like, you know, it takes a long time before you're in front of, like, an actual paying crowd that's good. But what does that do for you, like, rhythm-wise,

et cetera, when you're just doing six people? Like... Well, I had to learn to get people into my rhythm very quickly. So since I'm talk slower and I was from the South and all this, I had to figure out, because I would follow like high energy acts, and then I'd come up and I'm like,

well, I gotta come up with a joke or I gotta say something. I just need you to hear my voice for a second so you can go like, all right, readjust and be like, now we're in this rhythm and then get into the first kind of, come up with a good opening little thing or whatever and just get rolling.

You know what always blows my mind about standups though? How you can just walk around the stage for two hours and always have something to talk about. Is it like a monologue you memorize? Or like how can you just go up and speak funny for two hours straight? Yeah, Sean, where do you get a load of her? He's gonna love show business, he's gonna love it.

Two thirds of the planet is water. There's a couple of poles. No, you know what I mean, that always blows my mind. Obviously you had material that you work on, but do you ever like- There's your answer. Go up and you're like, oh my God, I don't know what subject to talk about next.

Like the flow of it. Well I don't go up. Yeah, I go up prepared. I mean, I can't do the other, I can't really do like crowd work and go up and stuff. It's very, very- He's not freestylin' bro. No I know.

He's been workin' on it for months. I know but it's just- But Nate, do you ever switch the order based on the audience? Oh, yeah, this new hour, I've switched it a ton. But it's worked, because now I'm opening on a joke that I have closed on. So it's like, it's great to be opening on a joke

that I've actually had to have the energy and the rhythm of a closer, and then you just move it up, and now it's the front. And you're doing those decisions on the fly. Yeah, you just fill it out. It's kind of like a song. I'm in love with stand-up right now. I love it so much.

And the way I've looked at writing kind of is like, it's a movie. So I'm the main character of this movie, and I'm telling the story. There's a reason for me saying all this stuff. And everything leads into the other thing. So you want to make it where people don't realize you're into another joke.

But in my head, I could be on like joke five. But I'm trying to make it where like, and then that's how you remember it, because the only way, if you're talking about like riding a car, and then you're like, and then that's how you remember it, because the only way, you know, if you're talking about like riding a car, and then you're like, my wife bought a car. Well, now that's the only thing I could go into. Right, right.

And we will be right back. Thanks to Viori for supporting the show. Tired of the same old workout clothes? I am. I'm also tired of working out, but I'm going to do it. Then you need to check out Viori. Viori is your destination for high-performance active wear that's designed to look and feel great. Their pieces aren't just for the gym. They're so comfortable and stylish you'll want to wear them all day long.

Viori's innovative fabrics and thoughtful design ensure maximum mobility and breathability no matter how intense your workout gets. But the best parts? Their active wear doesn't scream, I just came from the gym. Whether you're hitting the gym, running errands, or lounging at home, Viori has everything you need to look and feel your best. For me, I like the Transit Jogger, and the color I like it in is ink, INK.

It's like a navy kind of color. But I love it because I wear sweatpants almost every single day, and I need a new one, so I got these Viori ones. Oh my God, I wear them immediately when I get out of bed, and I just wear them around the house or wear them to the store or wear them wherever I need to go and nobody knows the difference. They don't even question what my pants are, they just think they're really cool looking.

Viori is an investment in your happiness and they're hooking up smart list listeners with 20% off your first purchase at Viori.com slash smart list. That's a V-U-O-R-I dot com slash smart list. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you'll also enjoy free shipping on any U.S. orders over $75 and free returns. Go to vuori.com slash smartless and discover the versatility of Viori clothing. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

So I talked about this before, about comparing your life to others. It can be really, really dangerous and really, really unhealthy. It's almost inevitable if you're on social media, you're like, oh, why don't I have that? Why don't I look like that? Why was my life not as great as this person seemingly?

And that's the thing, it's seemingly, people just post the best versions of themselves or the greatest parts of themselves. You don't know everything about them entirely. So it's kind of bad to compare yourselves to it. But I understand it's easy to do so. But comparing yourself to others is a total joy killer. It's so easy to look at someone's social media,

like I said, and think that they've got it all figured out. But the truth is, everyone's got their own stuff going on behind the scenes that you can't see. So therapy can help you focus on what you want instead of what others have. So you can start living your best life. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Stop comparing and start focusing with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash smartlis today to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp, H-E-l-p dot com slash smartless. Smartless gets support from ZipRecruiter. Summer's finally here! What? And all those seasonal businesses are looking to hire. Everything from mule packers to drama camp leaders. That means if you've got those special skills, you're in luck. There's a big demand for people like you, and they're not exactly easy to find. Whether you're hiring for one of those roles or any other role, how do you find

top talent before the competition gets to them? ZipRecruiter. And right now you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com slash smartlis. Found a candidate that really stands out? ZipRecruiter makes it easy to reach out to them right away. Just use the pre-written invite to apply message to personally connect with your topics and get them interested in your opportunity. Gear up for summer with ZipRecruiter's high-speed hiring tools. See why 4 out of 5 employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Just go to this exclusive web address right now to try ZipRecruiter for free. ZipRecruiter.com slash smartless.

Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com slash smartless. Again, that's a ZipRecruiter.com slash smartless. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire. And now back to the show. Who was your main inspiration as far as developing that style of telling stories as opposed to jokes? Was it like a George Carlin? Because I seem to remember he was kind of like that too,

right? Yeah, well, a big, Cosby was one. Oh yeah, yeah. But like that, if you go watch his old stuff, it's very storytelling, all that kind of stuff. I'm a big Seinfeld fan. Seinfeld was, he was, I kind of think, because I always looked like I tell stories

but in a joke form. I try to never be too far from the laugh because the farther you are from a laugh, the bigger the laugh has to be and I don't want to put that much pressure on a laugh. So if I can just kind of keep it going and let it build, it's like, you know, it doesn't, you're just not putting the weight of the world on this.

You're like, you know? Because if you go silent too long, I mean, there's a point where you're like, you know, it doesn't, you're just not putting the weight of the world on this. You're like, you know? Because if you go silent too long, I mean, there's a point where you're like, well, this joke better be unreal. Yeah, yeah. Sean tried stand up, and we won't get to his opening joke, but he started so far from the laugh, and then he never got even to the same area code

as the laugh, you know what I mean? Like, he never had actual direct sight on the laugh. They never got a clean look at it. It turned into a lecture. And there's no way, you're like, no he's supposed to go, well he'll never get it now. Even with a series of mirrors, he couldn't see the laugh. It was so obscured.

That's how I drive around town, I only take right hand turns. But Nate, biggest bombing story, like did you just like, oh my God, this is the worst, like. Yeah, yeah, there's a bunch, I mean, you'd blame it on, I had one one time I thought it was the shirt I wore, and so I threw that shirt away. Yeah, I had a button down shirt and I tucked it in,

and I've never done that since. Oh, for real? Yeah, I was like, it wasn't me, I was just like, this shirt is killing me. Couldn't have been material, yeah, this fucking shirt is killing me. This guy's shirt, what is this guy's deal? I've done a cruise ship.

Say no more. Yeah, I won a contest and your prize was to set your career back five years and do cruises. And so I go out and I'm doing it and you gotta do like, you gotta do a bunch of shows. So you do 30 clean, 30 gotta do a bunch of shows. So you do 30 clean, 30 dirty. I never had dirty, so it's like I couldn't even,

and then you would do one, another show. So you needed, honestly, because sometimes these people would come back and watch multiple shows. So you needed to have two hours of material, or be able to mess with the crowd or something. And I remember we'd go up and you would do one show at the beginning of it, you'd do like five minutes each

and it's kind of just like, it's in the big theater and you're kind of just letting the crowd know we're comedians, we got a show back here, blah blah. So the other guy just was great and knew how to like, he shined a flash out on the crowd, like just knew how to like really play with the crowd. And he was like, come to my shows, every show is different.

And he made a big announcement how they're all different. And then I went up and I said, my, I go come to one, and maybe the other one will be the same. I had to like, I was like, do not come to all my shows, most will be the same.

I don't have enough material to have them all be different. So you can go to his shows, them all be different. So you can go to his shows. They will be different. Mine will be... And then I went and did a show and it was... I started it and they didn't laugh and I was like, oh, these people have been to every show and I'm not a crowd worker. And I'm like, so what do you do, man? And I've... Some guys like I'm an... he's an oil rigger in the ocean. It's actually a pretty crazy job.

And I was like, that's cool, and I just moved on. It's like insane. People are saying crazy stuff, like I'm a bank robber. I'm like, that's neat, man. What about you, ma'am? I had nothing. No riffing. And then I had to ride in an elevator with these people.

I'm in the elevator in the ocean. You think it sounds like I made it. And I'm just sitting there and I had a hat on and I just hear some guy just trashing me and my shoulder's touching him. And I just have to sit there and get off. Oh my God. But they do separate them between clean and dirty

on a cruise ship, that's exclusive to a cruise ship? Yeah, you would just have a show that's like, the kids can come to this show, your family can come to this show, and then you'd have like a night at you know, 11 p.m It's like an adult only show. Yeah, you still can't be that dirty, but it's the idea of it is a little more You know, yeah, you could have just dropped in a couple f-bombs. Yeah, I got a curse as I talk about parking I'm like you guys ever parallel part just know like this guy's filthy Yeah, I didn't even have any.

I didn't even have I had no dirty jokes. Like there's no I don't really I don't talk about sex or right. Like political or like there's nothing like really like that's kind of like this. What about political sex? Will you ever touch political sex? Is that something that you'd be willing to do? That I will. Yeah. If the right joke comes up. Sure. Sure. You know, it is funny.

It is remarkable how How clean your stand-up is and a lot of people it's such a weird thing to have to say to point it out But I guess it is worthy of pointing out and it is to me such a testament to how profoundly funny you are And honestly, and I hope it is a badge of honor for you It should be because it really you find ways to talk about stuff, and you hope it is a badge of honor for you, it should be, because it really, you find ways to talk about stuff and you don't need to swear it. I swear like a,

like a, you know, Cosby never cursed, right? Famously never cursed. Well, let's, again, let's not try to, you know, look at, so let's not. Yeah. But. No, let's go down the avenue of Cosby and clean, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. This guy. So Nate, wait, did you, so at home, what's it like at home? So like, do you check out, do you run jokes by your wife? Does she okay them? Is she sick of hearing them?

Like, what is that dynamic at home? I'll tell her, yeah. She knows about every joke that comes up. Because that's something I had to learn to when you make fun of your wife at the beginning, is you have to show love. Like, you have to show, you make fun of your wife at the beginning, is you have to show love. Like you have to show, because people, because I remember at the beginning the reaction would be like,

well why are you married? And so then you're like, well that's not, that's not what I want. You don't need to have that reaction. So you have to then make fun of yourself, but with her, and you got to do it in a way that where they're like, they can tell that you do love your wife. You love your family, you love your family.

And so it's just kind of like just making fun of each other. But yeah, I'll run by stuff. But that comes across, and you do that bit about the guy coming to replace the water heater in your other special. And you go, finally the guy realizes you don't know what you're talking about. He thinks maybe this is a modern relationship.

And he says to the guy, is your husband here? And then you go, yeah, I think she's here somewhere. It's so good. And it is, like you said, you're self-deprecating. You're the butt of the joke, which I think is always such a winning combo. You're not making fun of somebody. You're not having a laugh at somebody else's expense.

You're not putting somebody else down to make yourself funny, which is great. Yeah. I just never liked it. Like, I felt bad. I mean, I would, like, make fun of my buddies and comics and stuff. But in the audience, you just...

I just always felt, you know, it's like, this person's just trying to sit there. They don't need to be, like, big. What's your shirt? Your shirt's stupid. And then I got my shirt on tucked in, right? Don't we all got stupid shirts? Do you still live in Tennessee? Yeah, I moved back.

So I was gone like 13 years. And then we've been back for about nine. Yeah, I hear it's beautiful down there. Yeah, it's so good, right? Yeah, I'm born and raised there, it's great. We have as much of a normal life as it can be. We're gonna live in a cul-de-sac, the house at the top, so we have the leaders.

And we set the tone for it. I have a joke, I'll just say it's my new act, Russ, and we do all, in our cul-de court of state, we do all the right things. Like if someone pulls down there, we're like, what are you doing down our street? Any car we don't know, we just run out, and they're like, you better get out of our court of state. I mean, just furious if they come down there.

Brothers and sisters growing up? I have a younger brother and a younger sister. Oh yeah, so you're the oldest of the three. And do they, are they finding you funny all the time? Or like, yeah? Yeah, yeah, my brother's like three years younger than me. My sister's about 10. I've talked about her in a special,

and she works for me now too. So that's fun, I mean, you get yelled at by her. I mean, you got your whole family, you got your sisters working for you, and then you're on tour with your mom and dad and your aunt, and I mean. Yeah, I feel old though, that's cool. It's pretty rad.

I don't think you've said this, but you have kids, sorry, do you have kids? Yeah, I have an 11 year old daughter. Why are you so nervous to ask him that, Jason? By the way, he's married, he said he's not available. What are the kids' ages? I did say before, don't ask about if I have kids. Yeah, he's married. He said he's not available. What are the kids ages? I did say before don't ask about if I have kids Alright, I guess okay Yeah, I have one eleven year old daughter

Oh, okay, eleven year old daughter and what does it seem like she's gonna want to do with her life? Does she want to uh she loves horses right now? I don't know expensive. That's expensive. It is. I don't know why. Oh, that sounds expensive. That's expensive. It is. I don't know where... No one... We don't come from horse stuff, you know? You're not horse people? No, there's never horse people, but she loves horses. So right now she's kind of doing that stuff.

But she's very creative, very funny, and she, you know, will get me and my wife laughing a lot. You know, and like... I think I got you gotta teach her where to where the joke, you gotta be like, all right, well you gotta be serious. Yeah, isn't that funny? It's like there's the age when they learn sarcasm, they learn humor, but they don't yet know when to stop the joke, they don't know when to do the joke,

but you don't wanna shame them because you don't wanna kill their spirit or their sense of humor, so you just gotta kinda grin and bear, with so many things in their life. It's so incredible watching kids learn things that we forgot that we learned, you know? Like it's amazing, you know nothing until you learn it.

She can make fun of her friends recently, but then they all got like, it was like they did not like it. And I was like, and it was funny, I forget what it was, but it was something funny, but you're like, all right, you gotta understand. You're like, you gotta, some people will be able to handle it, like, you know, she just is all about the joke

because it's obviously just our, you know, her grandfather's a magician, a comedian, like, so it's a lot of joking. I think, yeah, I think that making fun of your friends is not a good path to go down. It's not a success right now. Unless it's Sean, I mean, it's such a big button to hit. No, I thought we were talking about friends.

Yeah, Sean is fun. Oh, right. Yeah, I feel warm inside. Where's that, what's after Syracuse? Where do you go next? Albany so Of course, yeah, and what and just fucks connected II like what are you doing, dude? Yeah? Yeah? This is the route I know we started last night. We were in Philly at the

Far like it was where the sixes play no way big thing and then it then it goes Syracuse And then I'll go Albany and then that's these are the two the Fallon wanted And then it goes Syracuse and then it'll go Albany. These are the two that Fallon wanted to come to, with Syracuse and Albany. Yeah, of course. Those are big venues. I think he's from up here. Yeah. He is.

He's from upstate New York. What arena or place are you playing tonight in Syracuse? The arena. The Carrier Dome, probably, right? Is that what it is? No. Is that used to be? No? Yeah. No, I've been to a game there. That's like a huge... You know the arena the carrier dome probably right is that what it is no Yeah, no, I've been a game there. That's like a huge

Okay, I've been a basketball game there you could fill in basketball courts set up It's your people buy tickets that are like I don't think they could see the court Right they're sitting like behind the court would there be a crowd That's just too big for for a comedy show was's just like, it needs to be a little bit more intimate, like 20,000 people is like right at the max, maybe, or no? Yeah, I mean, it's all about how you make it feel. We have, like, you know, the arena is we have these big screens, we have, I've put more speakers up so everybody

can hear it everywhere, and you really do try to make it intimate, I mean, you can tell everybody gets real quiet. I mean, that's the cool, it's one of the coolest things is when you're telling a joke and you're, this many people are quiet. Yeah. I really do try to make it intimate. You can tell everybody gets real quiet. It's one of the coolest things is when you're telling a joke and this many people are quiet. I could yell with no microphone and the top person could hear me. It gets that quiet. I could see it getting a little... And we're in the middle, too, of an arena,

so I'm a lot closer to everybody. Do a hundred thousand, do a hondo. Come on, do a hondo. Do the big house at Michigan. Have you ever had a moment where you kind of scare yourself a little bit by thinking about all the eyes that are looking at you and that they're not talking

and that it is silent and that you might not be doing well and you can't leave for another 45 minutes. Are you scared of the eyes? I mean, if you ever had a panic attack on a stage and know that you can't leave for another hour. I have. Yeah, I mean, you've done it so long now that you're... I mean, keep your knees bent. It's happened to me.

I mean, it's like... Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've done it now. It's like, yeah, I mean, you think about it. I had an SNL, like a little bit, when I did the monologue. I was more nervous with the monologue because it's like stand up and you're like, I'm supposed to be good at this.

And then you got to kind of deliver the jokes into the camera, but there's the crowd. And so like, it was very weird to deliver jokes to kind of a spot where no one's at. Right, and you're right on the heels of sitting, of standing back behind that flat, behind the band, right? That little narrow little plank. And the whole crowd is silent and they're counting down

to that live moment to America. Like it becomes really tangible. Like you're not just live in front of a crowd, it's beaming across the planet. Like it's real tangible there. Yeah, you're like I can say anything right now and they're gonna hear it right now because it's live.

Yeah, remember when I used to remember like 20 jokes when I was a kid, I used to love them. And now I can only remember like one or two, but from back then, no, they're not that great. Go tell one, Jay. Do you have any jokes? You wanna hear a guy tell a joke inside out? Go ahead.

I do get a little tripped up. Do you have a joke from when you were a kid that you'll never forget? You may not use it in your act, but it's just like, just a classic that was one of your favorites? Yeah, I didn't use it in my act. You say you do? I hang, no.

I didn't hang on to your like, I kept it. I still read a joke book when I was five and I'm closing on it. I remember the joke, I said there was a joke book or something and there was a guy goes, waiter there's a spider, or there's a fly in my soup. And then the waiter goes, well don't worry, the spider on your bread will get it.

And there was a picture of a spider bread. And so my dad always brings it. I remember that joke and then my dad brought it up because I was explaining why the joke was funny to him and kind of going through it. Here's why this is funny. So that one was the first one, but I let it go. I never used the joke.

Do you guys have jokes from when you were a kid that you'll never forget? One joke that's appropriate to tell? Is there one like a go-to that you remember? I had a joke book when I was really little. It was, you know. You have a joke book now, but anyway, keep going. It was, it's not funny.

It was funny when I was like six years old. It's like, where do dead people go in your house? And it was the living room. I have one which is like, people always say that ballet is really hard to do, and so I always say just don't do it. Yeah. Oh, see Nate laughed.

Nate laughed at that. That was Sean's opening joke when he did stand up. And what is it, this would probably be interesting for folks, including me. What are the, how do you do the economics of being a standup? I'm assuming you have to bear all the costs of the trucks and the infrastructure and all that stuff,

and then you get to keep whatever you don't spend on what it costs to put the show up, right? And you're making your money based on ticket sales and merchandise, perhaps, full stop. Yeah, yeah, I mean, merch is not the biggest thing in stand up. Why? Yeah, I don't know. We've had it, we've done it at shows,

and it's just, it's not like a concert, or people don't, like I was saying, stand up's still kind of, it's kind of a newer thing. Like Cosby's like one of the first, he's still alive. And like, you know, he knew Lenny Bruce. And then Carlton. Don't, you gotta, if I could give you one piece of advice. If we could just lose the Cosby references.

If we could get it. That was the multiple. Well, if we could get it down to single digits, it would be great. Yeah. You guys, all right. Or, you know what, I'm gonna just. Louis C.K. was.

I'm gonna send you a couple articles. Harvey Weinstein and I once set up an LLC. But, but, but, so But so you've got this huge. Apparatus. Yeah, apparatus, right? But you could do without it. You get like a deal. So you have promoters and then the, yeah, you are,

I think it's like the promoter's the one that's putting the money for like the renting of the venue. And then I'm paying, then it comes out of mine, the show budget of the speakers and all that stuff. And so you can have it go as low or as big as you want it to go. Who's your manager, who are your peeps? Brillstein, Brillstein in UTA.

Yeah. We'll be right back. Smartless is brought to you in part by Audible. Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new ways of thinking. Find the genres you love and discover new ones along the way. Explore bestsellers, new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts,

and originals that members can listen to all they want, with more added all the time. Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your daily routine without needing to set aside extra time. There's more to imagine when you listen. Guys, I'm listening to The Housemaid is Watching by Frieda McFadden.

I can make fun already, that title makes me freak out and spooks me out. It's really, really good. The New York Times said, it's an unbelievably twisty, tension-packed and globally best-selling Housemaid series. The book can be enjoyed as a standalone listen, and once you start, it will have you up all night

until the final explosive twist. You guys, you gotta check it out, it's so good. As an audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. New members can try Audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash smartless or text smartless to 500-500.

That's audible.com slash smartless or text smartless to 500-500 to try Audible free for 30 days. Audible.com slash smartless. free for 30 days, audible.com slash smartless. Smartless gets support from Vanta. Whether you're starting or scaling your company's security program, demonstrating top-notch security practices

and establishing trust is more important than ever. Vanta automates compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and more, saving you time and money while helping you build customer trust. Plus you can streamline security reviews by automating questionnaires and demonstrating your security posture with a customer-facing trust center

all powered by Vanta AI. Over 7,000 global companies like Atlassian, Flow Health and Quora use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1,000 off Vanta when you go to vanta.com slash smartless. That's v-a-n-t-a dot com slash smartless for $1,000 off. A little birdie tells me Colin that you, in your youth, were quite a promising distance runner.

Middle distance on Tell Cider. Which is something that Mo Farah managed to avoid. And really that's the only difference between the two of us. Everything to play for is back with a two-parter to celebrate Olympic summer, Paris 2024, on Mo Farah. Of all of the athletes we could have chosen, why Mo Farah? Well, he's a distance running icon. He did the double, double, 5,000 and 10,000 metre gold at two Olympics. One of those gold medals for him, part of Super Saturday, maybe the most famous day in British Olympic history.

It's fantastic to see Sir Mo Farah, but what a career Brendan or Steve. Follow everything to play for on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge seasons early and ad free right now on Wondry+. All right, back to the show. By the way, backing way up to the beginning of this interview, what is Bargazzi?

What is the nationality of Bargazzi? Italian. Oh, it is? First of all, don't spit it out like that. What is Bargazzi? What the fuck is haze? Son of a bitch. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Shunk, you wigged this hair. Sorry, Nate. Jesus. No, fucking Shunk. I mean, I do it, but I... And by the way, what the fuck is Bargazzi? Bargazzi. I've just never heard of Bargazzi.

This has really been a bee in my bonnet for a minute. How do you even spell that? I know, I can't even begin to spell it. I knew that, but I forgot that I knew that. Italian, wow. I think we say it wrong as a family, too. I think it's supposed to be bargotzy, and we say barget.

It's just we've southerned it up. Oh, I say bargotzy. Yeah, I think a lot of people would. Don't people say bargotzy? When I lived in New York, they would always be like, bargotzy, because it's like Italian, and I was like, you know. I was like, I don't like tomatoes.

Do you have family in Italy? I don't, you know. You don't know, yeah? I think we've all agreed to kind of go. We had a family reunion once, and we had family come over from Italy, and we got Kentucky Fried Chicken for them. And I think it was like, from that moment, was just kind of like, all right, y'all have a good life, from Italy and we got Kentucky Fried Chicken for them.

And I think it was like from that moment was just kind of like, all right, y'all have a good life. We did it. We're going to do our thing. We're going to do y'all's thing. And we just kind of got in our separate ways. Nate, what do you like to do in your free time? And you've got a lot of time like on a bus or you're touring or on the plane or whatever. What do you watch? What are the things, are you a sports guy?

Do you watch other stand-ups? Do you watch? Is it Candy Crush? How are you occupying your minutes? Yeah, I'm a big sports guy. So I watch a lot of golf, like any sports. Golf, UFC, Winslow UFC. Oh, you do?

Yeah, I'm a big fan of UFC. I wanted to peg that. I wanted to peg you for a big UFC. It's just the most, the honesty of it, with like, Dane the White just, and the fighters, they can say whatever they want. And so there's no, you know, like when Tom Brady is, he go retire, not retire. It's like, it's all kind of a game and a show. And UFC kind of really is like, we just got a dude that just says,

I want to fight this guy Right and then it just gets to it and you're I don't know I kind of like I love but there's there's no romance to that too though, right? Like they kind of there's the build-up to it I mean then they get in the you know, then they don't like each other and then you're you know And then you go in there watch them fight. It's not just watching a street fight You're watching two professionals that have to like fill each other out Yeah and watch them fight, it's not just watching a street fight, you're watching two professionals that have to, like, fill each other out. Yeah. So you watch, uh, UFC, you watch golf,

you like to play golf, you play golf when you're on the road? Some. It gets hard, but it's... because of the shows and stuff, but yeah, I'll play some on the road. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's, uh, it's kind of it. I mean, I don't know, it's like you're just running around, got a lot of stuff, got a lot of hanging out.

Like, the road is the most fun, because it's just, like, a bunch of dudes, and, you know, this's like you're just running around, got a lot of stuff, a lot of hanging out. Like the road is the most fun, because it's just like a bunch of dudes. And you know, this morning we went in, we're in Syracuse and this place has a hot and cold plunge thing. Sure. And uh, so I've never done it.

And then so, but they let us come in. So like we woke up and did that. Wait, who's Boo Weekly? I saw something. Oh yeah. What is that? So, this is another, I told it on Eskimo, I told it in my act too.

But Boo Weekly, cause I have a joke about fighting orangutan at a county fair. Okay. Okay. And where I read the story was, there's a golfer named Boo Weekly. And when he read, he said when he was 15,

he got in he goes this county fair he's from like Georgia like seven seven Georgia it's like the 80s you know and there you could pay five dollars to fight an orangutan orangutan would be in a boxing ring with boxing gloves so dude you pay five dollars to fight him and that's hysterical. Yeah, and then guys would get in there and this orangutan would just knock people out. Because when I say this, I tell the whole story in my act, but I say because we didn't have the internet to look up how strong is an orangutan.

You have, it was all word of mouth back then. So, you know, you had to meet a guy that just fought an orangutan. And he's like, he's stronger than you think. You know, but the arms are so skinny. You know, I know. That's what I thought as well. And the reach. It's the reach. It's the jabs. Look at his feet. His feet's bigger than you.

Yeah, that strength comes from somewhere. And they'll rip your face off too if they want. Well, that's what Buwigi said. He goes, that's not written everywhere back in 1982 when you're fighting a regular the guy that does this doesn't go all you sign a waiver And sure yeah, you don't realize till afterwards like that's why he has gloves on if this thing if it gets the gloves off There's a chance. It will rip your head off So but you know what are you, ride the scrambler again? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's really funny. Oh, I wonder if that's still in existence anywhere in the country. I bet there's still a place. So, I think PETA got ahold of a lot of this.

Sure, sure. They knocked those things down. And that one, they were like, you can't do that. We're like, all right. We thought they liked it. I'm glad you just had to tell us and we got rid of it. Fair enough. Nate, what are you going to do today before the show? Tell them you're busy.

It was this and then, yeah, it was just this. I don't have any like, I got to read, I'm messing up the order a little bit, so I'll do that a little, and then we're just hanging out and be at the venue if there's, we do try to shoot basketball, like some of these arenas, if they have a basketball goal somewhere, we try to like mess around, shoot basketball, just kind of, you know, do whatever until showtime.

And then you're going on tour, you got a new special, you're shooting a new special. In Phoenix, yeah. You love Phoenix, you tour, you got a new special, you're shooting a new special. In Phoenix, yeah. You love Phoenix, you did your last special in Phoenix. I did my last special there, and this one's gonna be in the Footprint Center where the Suns play. So it's, yeah, it's, yeah, I mean, it just kind of works out like touring wise,

like you just hit these towns like every two years or so, and so it's just kind of like. And your wise. Like you just hit these towns like every two years or so. And so it's just kind of like. And your family goes with you? Or do they stay home? They do some, yeah, yeah. We went to Europe, like they came to Europe. They come to the, you know, they're not here in Syracuse or Albany, but they,

if they're, I'm doing the Boston Garden, they're gonna come to Boston. Tell them to join you out in Phoenix and for some of the best pizza in the world as voted by the voters. By the people. At Chris Bianco's. At Chris Bianco's pizza.

Nate, can you do, I saw you do this one thing a long time ago. You don't have to do it, if you're like, I gotta go. But one of the funniest things I ever saw you do. Sorry, sorry, dude. You want me to stand up and do my act? Do you mind? I mean, can you just... Just show us your tits real quick and then go to show. Would you mind doing it topless? Sorry just... Just show us your tits real quick and then go to show us.

Would you mind doing it topless? Show us your tits real quick. No, one of the funniest things was, it was a story about your meeting your wife's ex-boyfriend. Yeah, on the boat? Yeah. I went, yeah, we went, I got to remember it, but we went to, it happened. We're on the lake, Old Hickory Lake. Is that true?

Yeah, and we're in, we're like in the water, and then it's, my wife's ex-boyfriend was on another boat. Right. And I didn't see him, and she pointed it out, like there's no reason to point it out. But she pointed it out. So then, yeah, like all I can think of now, like I'm thinking about him. And then I look at her and she's looking at him and I feel like she's looking at him to see what her life would be like if she didn't marry me. And I was looking at him to see what my life would be like if I didn't marry her. So we're both putting

a lot of pressure on this guy. And then my buddy told me, he's like, you should go fight him. And I was like, boy, he's on a boat. Like, I gotta swim over to that fight. Have you ever tried climbing a boat from water? It's not graceful, it's not easy. You don't come in with power.

I would need his help to start the fight. It's not easy. You don't come in with power. I would need his help to start the fight. I think that was it. Yeah. That was so funny. But I just, we can all relate to meeting exes. Our current exes.

I don't know if you guys did. It's never good. Yeah, I don't. I don't really have exes. All right. Well, Nate. What are you talking about, Nate? You're not king on a second.

I know, but that's what made it frustrating. I had no one to go show my wife, well here's mine. It was, I just got to meet. What do you mean? Cause what is she, your high school sweetheart or something? No, we started dating like 20, 21. We met at Applebee's. We both waited tables at Applebee's.

I was a host at the time. Oh, that's great. I love that host at the time. That's great. I love that. You don't need to scream. Yeah. I mean. Little stuff is going. Sounds like it's all good in the neighborhood.

What are we? Yeah, we're all in the neighborhood. We're all in the neighborhood or something. Yeah, in the neighborhood. But we're big fans. We took our daughter. What was your favorite thing on the Applebee's menu? Here we go.

They had the chicken broccoli alfredo. I'd get no broccoli, you know? Yeah, I hear ya. And then I'd say put it on the side just so the guy thinks I'm going to eat it, then he would just take a full plate of broccoli back after. I go, ah, I got full on the other stuff. Uh.

It's, there's. That's so true. Like we're worried what they think, yeah. Yeah. Watch this, do you think that's impressive? Sean, Applebee's menu backwards. Go. Cobbler, Applecobbler.

Of those kinds of restaurants. Chinese chicken salad, pretty good. I'll eat that. Every place makes a Chinese chicken salad now. That's kind of like the new molten lava cake. Every place has a Chinese chicken. What makes it a Chinese chicken salad? Just because of the ginger dressing?

They're the only ones that don't eat it. No. And those crispy noodles. The crispy noodles and the... Yeah, you get the crispy... Chin chin, no, listen, Sean, I don't have to tell you. Chin chin. Chin chin does the best one.

One of the best ones. One of the best ones. One of the best ones. Sean's telling his Chin Chin Chin. Wait, so of all those kinds of restaurants, I forget what you call them, are they big box restaurants? Yeah, chain restaurants. Chain restaurants. Have y'all not been to one in a while?

Like, you gotta just go. It's been a minute, but I did like to, and your new special, Nate says, everything I learned, I don't know a lot that came from a big, like a building, like a higher education building, everything I learned I overheard at a Target or a Lowe's. The Lowe's, yeah, the line at Lowe's.

Everything I overheard at a Target or a Lowe's. Yeah, we're big chain. I mean, I grew up, like we're, you know, I had an old joke about, like I was a big, I don't like mom and pop shops, because they can close, close just they're like we don't feel good today and they close like Walmart Walmart, you know, they were mom pop shops at some point and then they became they got it together and became unreal. Yeah So yeah, I like those. Yeah, I like mom. Here's what I like. I like chilies and I'm not afraid to say They have the great chocolate lava cake.

If you want one, go to Chili's. Go to Chili's. They used to have the Southwest egg rolls or whatever. They used to have those things. Me and Dax used to always go to, God, I love it, Chili's. What about Outback? They any good with the Bloomin' on you? Yeah, yeah, we go to Outback a good bit.

Scotty worked at TGIF. Oh, I used to love Out. That's good too, that's fun. That's an intimidating menu. Dr. Pepper's doing some pretty amazing things right now. So if you are into Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, they got some real good stuff going on. And some cherry, right? They got some, like some cream soda, strawberry stuff.

I mean, it's something, dude. They're showing off over there. Did we ever get any confirmation on the doctor portion of the Peppered? Like did we ever see documentation to prove that he graduated? He suggested diet. What kind of doctor was he? Yeah, I mean, I do like diet Dr. Peppered too. And I'm going to say this, I like their ads. I like their TV ads. I think they're funny, the College football ads. I think they're real clever.

Nate, before I let you go, how do you know Greg Garcia? How did that happen, this son of a gun, speaking of son of a guns? So I've tried to make a bunch of shows that are never gone. We've had one show that we shot a pilot. And so Greg came in, I did not know him, but he came in, Danielle Sanchez-Whitsell. She was showrunning it, and she's friends with Greg.

And so Greg came in to help us do it. And I knew Greg Garcia's work, but I didn't know him when he first came in. So when he first came in, he's like, he's going to help us. And I was like, I don't know who this dude in so before he first came in he's like he's gonna help us and I was like Oh, this dude is yeah I gotta listen to this guy and then we wrote our whole rewrote the whole script on his off Just his ideas because they were so good and Obviously, he's unreal and so we just become really close and become friends. I I was just with them this week

actually really close and become friends. I was just with him this week, actually, at dinner with him, because I had to go to LA for a second. So, yeah, we became friends like that. He comes out on the road too. I'm telling you, y'all should, y'all come out on the road. If you want to get away and have a little fun trip, come on out.

Dude, that would actually be really, really fun if you mean it. It's a fun day. If you mean it. I swear, Fallon's coming tonight. We have a fun time. It's you just, uh, we play cards and you play, uh, you know, like we went to a casino last night in, uh, uh, Sean. I mean, first of all, this is your dream. They go to casino and they're going to chain restaurants. I mean, you know, every single, every Cracker Barrel's got skin marks in front from Sean's carve.

Cracker Barrel is one we didn't touch on. I've not been there, but I hear that's the one. Anywhere that can handle bus parking, it's all chain stuff. Well, Greg Garcy is one of the all time great guys. Super, super funny guy. One of the funniest pranks, he always, I'm not really like a big pranks guy, but he is so funny, I had a long joke and a prank,

and I just, he's such a great guy. So yeah, that makes sense that you guys would be pals. Well, listen, I'm gonna return the offer and say next time you're out here in California, let's go play golf, man, and hang out, and grab some lunch. Such a huge fan of yours, dude. Honestly, you're just the funniest, funniest, funniest.

So funny, it's so good to see you. So exciting to see you, just more and more and more people. Appreciate you. Really happy for your success. Truly, truly, truly. Yeah, man. Thank you, yeah, thanks for having me on. Nate, thank you for doing this.

What a thrill. Thank you for saying it. What a thrill. All right, the great Nate Bergazzi. Thank you, buddy. Thank you, Nate. Thanks, Nate. Thank you, guys. See you, man this. What a thrill. Thank you for saying it. What a thrill. All right, the great Nate Burgoszi. Thank you, buddy. Thank you, Nate. Thanks, Nate. Thank you, guys.

See you, man. Have fun. Bye. The great Nate. The great Nate. The great Nate. God, is he funny. Yep.

Old, like old school, clean, good, hilarious, nonstop fun. Hilarious, God. He just seems like a real kind fella, you know? Yeah, I can't see him getting upset. I'm sure you could figure out a way to piss him off. How would you, what would be your strategy if you really wanted to get Nate pissed off?

I'd ask him questions over, I'd ask him the same thing over and over again like I didn't understand. No, I think he'd be very patient with that. I don't think that would be his button pusher. No, but like if you just went on and on about something like you just really honestly truly didn't understand, I think it pisses anybody off. I wonder.

Like what are you not getting, right? Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? No, but we have a pretty high threshold. We have a pretty decent amount of patience for you in that regard. What is the thing that gets you guys to anger quicker than anything else?

Stupidity. Stupidity, yeah. People who don't think like I do. I have a short fuse for stuff I don't suffer. I have a short fuse for like, yeah, people who are incompetent or like can't, like don't have common sense about like easy things. And then in the meantime,

I'm the dumbest person on the planet and I probably do the same thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hate when people like punch down, you know? Yes. When they're like mean to people cause they know they can be.

Oh yeah, well that's, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like so lazy. Yeah, yeah, it is. Punch down either, especially if it, you know, we do do a lot of joking around and we love to sort of rib each other and stuff, but anytime I see somebody who likes to,

and we talked about it with Nate, who likes to get a laugh at somebody else's expense. Yeah, yeah. Or you know what else pisses me off? Confident ignorance. That can also be super funny though. Yeah, yeah. Or you know what else pisses me off? Confident ignorance. That can also be super funny though. Yeah, sometimes. Well, in a character it can be.

Right, you have to do it on purpose. But yeah, a person who is much smarter, or much more confident than they have a right to be, is just grading. Because you have to spend an effort to convince them that you're buying it. Right. But if you have no dog in that fight and you're just observing that person, it can be hilarious.

Oh yeah. That is true. By the way, I love playing those characters. The character that's just an alpha everywhere, and then the tough guy walks in and then they're beta, hi, beta. Right, right, right, right, exactly. But Nate, we should go see his show when he's out. He's so funny.

I think we should meet him in Phoenix and go get some of that Bianco pizza. And then play some golf over there. You're not playing golf anymore. Not till October. I have to be disciplined. You know? I know.

I mean, we can go to Nate's We could go to his show and like participate or we can go and just be a bunch of by SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess. SmartLess is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Michael Grant Terry, Rob Armjarf, and Bennett Barbico.

SmartList If you like SmartList, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondry.com slash survey. Hey, it's Guy Raz here, the host of How I Built This, a podcast that gives you a front row seat to how some of the biggest products were built, and the innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists behind them. Every week I speak to someone new. Stories like Justin Wolverton's, a lawyer who just wanted a healthy alternative to ice

cream, so he created Halo Top in his Cuisinart. Or Todd Graves, who grew his fried chicken restaurant Raising Canes into one of the most successful fast food chains in the U.S. All of these great conversations can help you learn how to think big, take risks, and navigate crises in life and work from people who've done all of that and more. Follow How I Built This on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to How I Built This early and ad free

right now on Wondery+.