The real purpose of physical training

The real purpose of physical training

For me, it’s not really about weight loss. Training just makes me sharper and mostly increases my endurance. let me put it to you all this way: Trying to be a standup comedian for  a living, or beyond that, trying to pursue a life in comedy that has  longevity and bredth, is crazily hard. Lots of folks say it takes 15, maybe 20 years to make a great comic.  Lots of people start out with a lot of talent but by the time they hit  that many years they’ve given up, become bitter and crusty or have died  from ill health and depression. Outside of all that, it seems to me that if you’re trying to do  something extraordinary, which succeeding as a comedian is, if only by  virtue of the fact that...

Related posts tagged 'Stand-up comic lifestyle'

Drugs, physical health, and creativity

Drugs, physical health, and creativity

[In reply to Louis CK, who was leading a discussion about the importance of maintaining a physical training routine and its relation to comedy] Louis, I concur that poor health leads to sloth and effects your creativity. Repeating any behavior continually will effect your writing as it gives  you nothing new to say. I do drugs, yes I do but I only do them socially. Its the fact that I  talk openly about it that gives the impression that there is a  frequency. I’ve probably done mushrooms 6 times this year, acid once  (poor quality), coke maybe 5 or 6 times, and about three xanax a week to sleep. I dont smoke pot. So smokes and drink are about my only habits and the cigarettes  certainly n...

How he "maintains" his health

How he "maintains" his health

[In response to Louis CK's question: Are you a healthy comedian?] I try to do coke a couple times a month to get my heart rate up though Viagra can really get the ticker running at high speed especially if you are trying to come while you’re extraordinarily drunk. Cialis to a lesser extent but for a longer duration. Often times on the road I will take very long walks when I wake up and  don’t know where I am and need to get back to my hotel. Terror can at times be a great replacement for a sauna to help you  sweat out the toxins. Sushi is very healthy I’ve heard and will help clean out your system  the longer you leave it sitting around before consumption. Dry heaves  help keep the abs ti...

Maintaining health as a comedian

Maintaining health as a comedian

[Are you a healthy comedian? - Louis asked this question to those in the "Alt Standup Comedy Google Group"] I know a lot of you out there have a diet that consists of Hardees and Taco Bell with the occasional frozen buffalo wings heated up in the condo microwave, and that your exercize regimen… doesn’t exist. Personally, one of the reasons I chose standup as a life is because it allowed me to lie on a floor for several hours eating lard and crying, only having to pull myself together for an hour a day or so. But if you want to have any longevity as a comedian, or if you want  your brain and body to provide you with any consistent creative flow,  you have to eat somewhat right and do some ex...

On the pressure to always be "on"

On the pressure to always be "on"

yeah i would say I'm not "on" most of the time. those comics are insufferable.

Mark Normand

To be successful as a stand-up, you have to do much more than just stand-up

Mark Normand

To be successful as a stand-up, you have to do much more than just stand-up

Mark Normand

It’s crazy. Seinfeld calls it the “kit.” You’ve got to have a podcast, a web series, a TV show, you’ve got to be on social media constantly with Snapchat, Instagram, and tweeting all the time. You can’t just have standup anymore. That’s not enough. It’s a lot.

Related posts tagged 'General life advice'

Advice for a young comedian

Advice for a young comedian

I started when i was 17. I got a good head start, skill-building wise, but I sometimes think I missed out on a lot of “Life” that I could be drawing from now. Try to go to college and get some knowlege. If you don’t do that, make a deliberate attempt to read a lot and educate yourself, so that you don’t just become a siv for American pop culture. If you spend all your time on stage talking about the cover of People magazine, you won’t go far, you won’t last, and you’ll be bored before you get good. Take advantage of the head start you’re giving yourself by stopping as often as possible to live your life, explore America and grow as a person. When you go to some shit town to do a one-nighte...

Taylor Tomlinson

Quarter life crisis advice

Taylor Tomlinson

Quarter life crisis advice

Taylor Tomlinson

My advice is work hard to accomplish your goals, stay humble and try to empathize with people who hurt you. Because you will be hurt by friends, family, partners and it will feel very intense because you're young. Think about how awful high school was and how it felt as though it would never end and you never even think about it now - I think our twenties will be like that too.

Colin Quinn

Advice on moving to new area

Colin Quinn

Advice on moving to new area

Colin Quinn

My advice is when you move to a new area, put a rolled up newspaper under your shirt, knock on your neighbors doors and when they open it let them see the bulge under your shirt and tell them "this is what's up now". Then wink and snap your fingers and walk away.

Dan Harmon

Diamond in the rough of Youtube comments

Dan Harmon

Diamond in the rough of Youtube comments

Dan Harmon

After three years of reading youtube comments, I found one that didn't make me want to puke and kill myself. Some kid, talking to another kid underneath a music video: "first things first buddy, no matter how hard you try i guarantee you wont change the way anyone thinks or acts." If I could put that thought in everyone's head on a loop, I could save the world. But, like the kid says, I can't.

Amy Poehler

Choosing what to care about

Amy Poehler

Choosing what to care about

Amy Poehler

Decide what your currency is early. Let go of what you will never have. People who do this are happier and sexier

Related posts tagged 'Persistence'

Finding success later in life

Finding success later in life

Actually most comedians who's success really sticks come to it late in life. It takes a long time to make a really successful comedian and I've known that from the start, truly. I always expected that I'd work in obscurity for a long long time. It's waht it takes and to me it was worth it. I have also alway found new and fun ways to make a living, writing for others, ect.

Brody Stevens

The drive of Brody Stevens

Brody Stevens

The drive of Brody Stevens

Brody Stevens

Like I said, yes, it feels good [to be getting more popular]. I didn’t strive to have a TV show. I come from a sports background. I come from a work ethic background — a grinder, if you will. My goal was never to be on TV. My goal was not to have my own TV show. My goal was to be the best standup comedian I can be. Because I knew being a standup is the foundation to go into radio. I mean, back in the day, it was radio, go into hosting, go into being an actor. So I really focused on that. Of course you’d be on TV. I wouldn’t say no. If you’re a comedian and someone comes up to you, whether you’re doing comedy for a month or 10 years, most likely, for the most part, you would say yes. But that...

If he ever felt like quitting during his comedy career

If he ever felt like quitting during his comedy career

ups and downs are all part of it. you have doubts all the time. bad, bad shows early on are rough on you, but there's a balance to it all. you just try not to get too down after a shit show or too high after a great show.

Seth MacFarlane

How he avoids burnout

Seth MacFarlane

How he avoids burnout

Seth MacFarlane

I jump between TV and film for that reason. I felt fried after 12 years of Family Guy so I left to do Ted. At some point maybe I'll wind up writing for Family Guy full time again.

If he had a fallback plan once he started doing comedy

If he had a fallback plan once he started doing comedy