When starting out in comedy you will find very few opportunities to do a booked show in front of paying guests, that many will quit before they even gave it a fair chance. And I get it. Toiling in the sewers of the stand up world, buying an item, paying $5, or just waiting for a bucket filled with tickets to determine your fate like a Magic 8 Ball sounds awful. So you try to fast track your success by taking a class, befriending more successful comics, or doing the infamous bringer shows. The first option (class) is probably the best way to meet like minded people and at least get some guidance, if only for a one time experience. The second (attaching to a headliner) might feel like a fast track, but can lead to a lot of heartbreak and demoralizing activities. And the last one (bringers) will make you quit after a while, but only after making you feel taken advantage of and left potentially friendless. Forget the short cuts to success, and remember, slow and steady wins the race, and Bringer Shows are NEVER THE ANSWER. 

Soft Bringer v. Hard Bringer 
Often, comics will call every non-paying show a bringer, and that isn't true. A hard bringer is when the producer tells you to bring X number of guests or you're off the show. A soft bringer is when the producer says if guests don't come, then there is no show. When I was Flappers, late shows (or last shows) were canceled because there wasn't enough guests to justify keeping staff around to serve 2-3 guests. But during my time, no one got bumped for "not bringing." But many were not booked again for a while - and that is a different conversation for a different article. 

Hard bringers are more sinister. This is where the show has plenty of guests, but the bringer producer/booker kicks you off the lineup for not making him enough money. Even if you think these shows are helping you, they are not. They actually ruin the comedy experience for newer comics and force older (age not experience) comics to maintain a roster of friends to bring to shows to get their 5-7 minutes of stage time. They take away the joy of performing and replace it with the burden of promoting. 

Bringers Make Authentic Shows Feel Less Than
When you perform in a bringer show, you are depriving yourself of a real audience. No one came to see comedy. The guests there create fragmented audience pockets only there to support their friend. Spending money on tickets, drinks, food, parking, etc. - they put money in the pockets of the producer and the comics on the lineup don't meet comics getting booked on regular shows with comics playing the grind, meeting other bringers instead who learn about other bringer bookers. 

Yes, the bringer producer got you on a stage in a big comedy club, but the only one watching you are other bringer producers or an unscrupulous comedy school teacher who tells you about their class and how it showcases in front of industry at The Comedy Store or Improv. That industry? Just more bringer producers who funnel young comics into their system. 

Bringer producers run their own classes, pitch fake schools, and, of course, run bringer shows. They get washed up hasbeens like Tom Arnold to "headline" it. And while it might be exciting to feel like you are on a big stage, the sad reality hits that your comedy didn't get you there. It was your five friends.

Bringer producers would book your grandma if she brought 5 friends from church before a ten year vet from another state without any local fans or friends. Think about that. No really. Think about the absurdity of that.     

A veteran comic who has played all over the country but is unknown in LA will be told by bringer producers to DM him after he gets a few "local fans" to support him. 

But what makes these experiences worse is they create unrealistic standards if you want to build a career. Because once you do the main stage at The Comedy Store or Ice House, you won't want to do the real work in smaller venues. Comedy careers aren't built in the fake bringer rooms. They are built in the back rooms of restaurants, bars, tiny night clubs, casinos, and strange venues you didn't even know existed. 

Because that's what the road is. Weird little venues where audiences demand excellence. Besides the venues mentioned above, I've played camp sites, RV parks, shopping malls, gyms, theater lobbies, elk clubs, old folks homes, golf courses, and rotary clubs. And each of them paid me good money. Good money most of the time. I've also played a lot of road clubs. But before I got to play the big rooms on the Main Room showcases in 2018-2020, I did the dirty work. I was ready to handle anything. And I savored the opportunity more. 

Bringer Producers Ruin Comedy For Your Friends and Family And You 
The structure of a bringer show is essentially like a multi-level marketing scam. Imagine you got a job at McDonalds and you had to bring five friends to buy food and drink. And then your boss told you if you didn't you wouldn't get paid your wage and you'd be taken off the schedule until you felt ready to promote the McRib better? You'd walk away laughing. 

Imagine if you got a job where it was commission only but there was absolutely no marketing behind the product and anyone could work there regardless of their sales experience or skill set. You'd think the place was the Titanic. A sinking ship.  

The old con artist line, "There's a sucker born every minute" applies to everyone involved in these bringer shows. The booker cons the comics willingly. The comic unwillingly cons their friends into giving the booker their weekend money. And after they spend $20 on the ticket, $50 on the food and drink, and $20 on parking, it's a $100 a person easily.

Eventually, the bringer comic needs the rush of the sexy venue and begins to beg friends to come see them. Because they don't want to lose the booking. Some comics even buy the tickets up front after being harassed by the booker and give them to their friends for free. Like a drug addict, looking for their hit, many bringer comics I know bought 10 tickets ($100 total) and then showed up to perform 6 minutes and the booker said no one showed up so you don't get up. Because while the bringer comic got the ticket sales, the venue didn't get their food and drink money. There's more to it than just selling the ticket. It's a vicious circle of exploitation.

If bringer shows worked then your friends would keep going and you'd build a fan base out of those crowds. But the data proves otherwise.

Then there is the treatment of comics by bringer producers. The constant harassment and texts asking to confirm guest lists. The way bringer producers like Vargus Mason and Jimmy Shin and others will threaten to pull comics from the lineup if they don't get their friends to come is both unethical and cruel. I've seen the texts.

Many of them are infamous for trying to sleep with comics, use their bringing to attract other comics to do their shows, and the hound them for stage time as openers on the road is a perpetual circle of comedy sleaze. Shin is currently being exposed all over the internet for his crimes, and his fat, bald, middle aged hack male bringer comics are defending him. Because if he goes down, they lose their spots they kidnap their families to see. Such sad, little men. You can track this on IG: MicCheckMvmt 

I've already gotten one guy to take down his comments. And I encourage you to share your stories with that account if you know anything else.      

Why Do Comedy Clubs Allow Them? 
That is a great question. Because...money. Selling 4 shows a night in a two room club or six shows a night in a three room club or even two shows in a one room club is really hard. There are only so many locals and a lot of options for entertainment. In Los Angeles alone there are theme parks, multiple sports teams, restaurants, movies, night clubs, church events, and live music all over town. Plus there's three major comedy clubs in Los Angeles, various B clubs, and theaters with major headliners selling tickets for big profits. We haven't even discussed Pantages Theater, the Hollywood Bowl, and every museum and art gallery to visit. 

And most of these options have huge marketing budgets, with digital marketing, billboards, and a team of experts. They offer better food, cheaper drinks, and bigger names. So the bringer show appeals to the empathy of your friends, wanting to support your new venture - until they can no longer support, and just like you don't want to cancel the booking due to lack of support, your friends don't want to cancel on you due to lack of funds and desire. So they start to ghost you, avoiding the "no" to save a friendship that has become transactional. 

So comedy clubs will take the promises of a con man and prostitute the room for a little extra dough. And while they would never say they support the tactics used to coerce comics into dragging friends and family to see them, through text threats to empty promises of fame, they will look the other way, distancing themselves from the devil they made a deal with.     

So What Should Comics Do?
First, there is no timeline on being successful in comedy. Since I started 12 years ago, the entire landscape changed. The writing jobs I wanted are gone. The late show opportunities are dead. And the comedy clubs care more about the wrong metrics than the long lasting ones. 

Yet, the tried and true methods still work. Go to open mics. Enjoy and embrace the grind. Network with other likeminded comics. Get a good five to ten minute tape. And build a reputation that gets attention. And be prepared to have your heart broken by a system that changes it's mast every few years due to the winds of industry temperament. 

But if you can build an act that bookers trust, you can get a lot of substantial work. You can play venues that just want the best comics. There are road clubs and bookers that just need great hosts, features, and headliners. And no one got there by being a bringer comic. They played all the rooms they could find. Took pride in their work. And didn't try to buy their way to the top. 

Be weary of a booker that puts himself at the center of show. Be weary of a club owner who needs to be the face of the operation. Be weary of those who will discard others as soon as they have no financial value. Because when you no longer bring, they'll cast you aside too. 

Are There Any Exceptions to Bringer Participation? 
Yes. If you are over 70 and know that no one is going to give you the opportunity to work up to being a passed member of a club. That's it. Or it you're dying. And your dream was to play The Comedy Store. Then fine. So old age or the insurmountable looming reality of a near and fateful death. 
After that, just do open mics and build a network. Either you die the headliner or you live long enough to become the bringer producer. 

Final Thoughts 
Why anyone would want to work for a comic who has a reputation of exploiting comics and discarding them after sucking their friends dry needs to see a therapist. In the words of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, "You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away—a man is not a piece of fruit!" Don't let anyone treat you that way, and don't support those who do.

Don't be swayed by false promises or delusions of grandeur. You're better than that. Yes, you will see comics get to play big rooms, but it isn't real. It might last a year, and then they get out. They don't survive. They get burned out. They become frustrated and quit. And the idea of starting over at open mics and trying to rebuild a brand of comedy that they can take anywhere becomes overwhelming. 

Now, you aren't a bad person if you do a bringer show. You aren't going to hell. The producers of them...they're cooked! God will judge them, no doubt. 

James 5:4: "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty."    

Deuteronomy 24:14-15: "Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy..."

2 Peter 2:3: "In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."

​I've said this before and I'll say it again, Comedy is a marathon, not a sprint. So run the race with dignity and pride. No reason to run with the foxes when you can fly with the eagles. Nothing against foxes, but there's a reason we ask "who let the fox in the hen house?" when talking about destructive souls. And when you play with fire...well you know how that cliche ends too.      

It was the summer of 1994. The New York Knicks were playing in Game 7 of the NBA playoffs. I was 12. Why was this LA Native rooting for the Knicks? Well, because Pat Riley, the Godfather, was their coach. Raised an LA Laker fan through my early 1980's childhood, my father decided if the Lakers couldn't win the title, at least the man who lead them a few years ago could. So I rooted for the Knicks. They lost. But thus began my obsession with New York, both the city and the mythological qualities of the NBA team that embodied the soul of the city's people. I rooted for them through the 1990's, not as a bandwagon follower, but as a legitimate fan. And they broke my heart for years. But on June 13, 27 years since last making the finals, and 53 years since winning their last NBA title, the team finally did the impossible - they won the NBA Championship - resembling a Hollywood movie ending - proving that anything is possible in this crazy world.

Symbolically, the Knicks winning a title was a hybrid of Ted Lasso, Rocky, Seabiscuit, and Space Jam. The ultimate underdog story. An undersized guard, a discarded coach, a group of second round draft picks, and a team that hasn't been to the finals in 27 years or won a title in 53 years. They played against a literal giant in the 7'5" Victor Wembanyama, who just took out the defending world champions Oklahoma City Thunder. No one had New York winning this series except for a few broadcasters who felt like they were plants to argue on ESPN and Fox Sports.

They were like a second version of Seabiscuit, the wounded horse that inspired the world during The Great Depression. 

Yet, here we are with the Knicks having won in a 5-1 series where they were down double digit points each game. In Game 4 they were down 29 points, eventually winning, in the single greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. Disney couldn't write a better script. 

Somehow this Knicks victory hit me in ways no other title ever has. I graduated high school in 1999. It was a transformative year for me. My father and I became estranged. I graduated high school. I quit my first job. I started coaching wrestling. I asked out my first date (she stood me up). I started college. And I watched Fight Club that summer. And I watched the Knicks become the first 8 seed upset the 1 seed (Miami Heat) and run the table to the finals, only to get pummelled by the San Antonio Spurs. Somehow the thing that really stuck with me, all those years later, was that Knicks run.

For 27 years I watched them come up short, lose players, change coaches, and eventually end up in a desert full of dreadful, awful, no good, back luck - missing the playoffs for years at a time. 
Yet, despite their bad management and uninspiring play, the team never tanked. They just were bad. Like a real life Mighty Ducks. They just needed some coaching and a little luck. The last three seasons a new uptick in their post-season play began. Once Jalen Brunson showed up they made it out of the first round. They beat Boston in 2025, in one of the biggest upsets ever, only to lose to their greatest antagonist - The Indiana Pacers. Like the poem Casey at the Bat, "there is no joy in Madison Square Garden, the mighty Knicks have struck out." 

But little did they know that the basketball gods had a few tricks up their sleeves. When Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton went down all season, the Pacers were out for a year. The Boston Celtics had to release quality players due to salary cap restrictions. And last year's darlings, the Cleveland Cavs, took a big step back, panicked, and brought in team cancer spreader James Harden. Suddenly, fate and desire met at the right time. Like the last season of Ted Lasso, they figured out team ball on a level that can only be described as a symphony of the divine, going on a 16-3 run in the post season, scoring +283 points over their opponents, including a 13-0 run.       

As the final seconds of Game 5 played out, the last 27 years of my life flashed before my eyes. The heartbreaks, the rejection, the sadness, the injuries, the heart failure, the diabetic attacks, the endless job cycle, the stand up journey...everything that felt unfair and undeserved left my body. A resurrection of my soul began to form, like a cocoon opening up and a butterfly of reformation was released. I can't really explain it, except it felt like something out of Tolkien's mythology. My life restarted. A certain "stuckness" became "unstuck." It was like anything could happen now. 

Let me stress this point, so you can get the magnitude of this moment. The Knicks have been the laughing stock of the league for so many years. The Clippers of the Eastern Conference. One way to describe them is how Billy Bean in Moneyball described the Oakland A's, "The problem we're trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there's fifty feet of crap, and then there's us." New Yorker Knick fans could not fear hell - they lived it season after season.  

So if the New York Knicks can win the NBA Title in an epic historic run, defeat Goliath, and raise a banner, then just maybe I can get the gig, win the heart of the girl, buy the house, and become the man I was destine to be. The New York Knicks winning the title isn't just about basketball, it's about closing the chapter on a life I want to forget and walking into a door I can't wait to explore.   
Since much of my life is connected to my relationship to popular culture, I want to share a TV show scene that I was reminded of while watching the Knicks win the championship. 

I fully understand the clip I'm attaching to this article may seem odd, but hear me out. In The People v. OJ Simpson, Courtney B. Vance as Johnny Cochran gives an amazing speech to OJ Simpson (Cuba Gooding, Jr) about how his play one day gave him hope at a dark time in his life. Below is the clip. Understand that this seems to be the emotional journey of many men. They see themselves in their sports gods. Gene Hackman in Hoosiers says it best, "You know, most people would kill... to be treated like a god, just for a few moments" when the other school teacher criticized how men love sports.      

​And that is the beauty of sports. That in the end, we can still find a way to win. Because if the New York Knicks can win a world title, then you, my friend, can do anything too. Never forget that. Let the summer of 2026 be a life lived in the glorious reflection of this moment. I truly believe on a spiritual level, the New York Knicks won so we can run. 

There's a new discussion within the film community, and surprise, it's about paying people a proper wage. Say what you want about art, the love of art, and the romantism of art, but at the end of the day it's all about the Benjamin's. Today's topic came to light when the new hit horror film Obsession went from being a $750,000 budgeted indie film to a $200 million blockbuster, even outgrossing Star Wars domestically. After three weeks of breaking box office records, the Obsession art director, Sally Choi, went to Instagram and complained about the harsh working schedule and the $300/day pay rate, totally $6700 after taxes for a month's worth of work. 

Sally discussed in the IG post how she had to wear many hats and clean up after the destruction of a set, etc. Anyone who has worked in TV and Film understands this pain. I was a PA on big budget TV shows and I've directed/produced short films. Everyone has responsibilities beyond the role they were hired for in the entertainment industry. It's the nature of the beast. So I can empathize with her over the difficult working conditions and feelings of being underappreciated when the party was over and all that was left was fake blood all over the set. I once had to pull literal shit out of a port-a-potty in 100 degree weather so the crew could work outside for a day. It's part of the misplaced romanticism of the industry.

But where her story went viral is in her attempt to ask why doesn't she get paid more now that the film has become a smash hit? It feels like a fair question. She worked hard. She helped bring the vision of the filmmakers to life. Why shouldn't she get a bigger cut after the film succeeds? 
Because, simply put, that's not how math or the industry works. In Hollywood, comedy, music, etc. you don't get paid what you are worth. You get paid what you negotiate. You get more work because of what you're worth. But you still have to negotiate the deal that maintains civility and a maintainable working environment.

Let's Breakdown the Profit Argument 
Choi argues that since the film is a huge hit, the crew should see some reward for their contributions. But she was rewarded. She made approximately $10,000 for 30 days (before taxes). This was her first feature film. The film's overall budget was $750,000 and according to her there were PA's and volunteers making $0 outside of gas money. So it appears she was already getting more money than those willing to work for nothing to get experience and build a filmmaking network. 

The film sat for TWO YEARS without a buyer, playing in midnight screenings at film festivals. The director, Curry Barker, was a YouTube content creator with sketches and YouTube films posted online in attempt to get noticed. Choi and select crew got guaranteed money - the producers and financers did not. Had the film never got sold or distributed, she wouldn't have had to give the money back. 

Eventually, the film was sold to Focus Features for $15 million. Focus Features teamed up with Blumhouse to spend an additional $50 million on advertising. So when people think Obsession made $200 million, it did at the box office, but the producers and filmmakers only made $15 million. Focus Features took a $65 million risk and it paid off. Focus Features doesn't know who Choi is. No one involved is purposely screwing anyone over. Considering only 1% to 3% of independent films make a profit at all, this film is lightening in a bottle.      

So even if Choi is in the right, and she should get a bonus, is it from the $15 million, the $200 million box office, or from both? 

That's the problem. There was no negotiation up front that if the film made a certain amount of money, the crew of 100 should all get a cut of what - $5,000, $10,000, $1 million? Should it be a retroactive union rate? It's an indie film - not Transformers 7. There was no way to think this would make more than $10-$20 million at best.

She Tried to End the Film Before It Finished
Obsession was a non union film. Non union films are a way for people to break into the industry. Indie films are not meant to be big time money makers. They are meant to be calling cards for everyone involved. Choi should be thrilled she got a foot in the door with a project that took off, and call every production designer she's met and tell them how hard of a worker she is and wants to be their art director. 

What Choi admitted in the post is sort of terrifying and could have ended the film's production, costing everyone on the financing end their money and ended Barker's career before it started. Her post adds: "I did know the rate beforehand and agreed to it, but atp (at that point) I was living paycheck to paycheck. This is the reality of most filmmakers especially those who work below the line. We become a line in the budget sheet to keep as low as possible. I kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened."  

Flipping the production would mean the crew would have demanded union wages, which would have required the stopping of production until more money was raised to pay a union wage. Most films that have this occur stop the financial bleeding and filming stops immediately. She admits out of her own ignorance she tried to destroy the film before it wrapped.

A Breakdown of Why Bonus Structures Don't Work 
So many people think it's easy to see the $200 million and just give it back to the crew. And there are structures that would allow some sharing of the wealth. 

1) Choi could have worked for sweat equity. She basically would get nothing up front and ask for a percentage of what the film sells for or makes in theaters or on streaming. 
This pathway is a huge risk. And with funny accounting, she might have never seen a dime. Did you know the Tolkien estate never got extra money from the original Lord of the Rings films because of Hollywood accounting? So Choi might have never seen a dime. 

2) Choi could have asked for pay plus "points" on the back end. This is similar to sweat equity but the film would pay her back through revenue earned, not just profits.     
This is how actors make more money usually. In fact, Inde Navarrette, the breakout star of the film was only paid $20,000 for the role. I don't know her deal, and she appears to be smart enough not to complain online. 

Now, these structures are better suited for big budget films. Not indie films. But once a big studio buys the film, trying renegotiate a crew bonus is impossible. And many films don't tie in bonuses for good reason.  

Let's say Choi got a deal where she gets money from the box office. Then Focus Features would have potentially passed on it, in fear they'd be giving money to Choi the rest of her life. Because films don't just make money in theatrical runs. 

Films make money in licensing, streaming, hard copy media, merchandise, re-releases, etc. Plus when Focus picked up the film, they didn't even know what the film would make in the long run. And now the film has additional costs unseen at the time of purchasing the rights. 

Obsession started out as a $750,000 film and now has to worry about:

• Marketing costs
• Domestic Distribution costs
• International Distribution costs 
• Post Production updates 
• Awards Campaigns
• Streaming deals 
• Any Deal Made With Original Writers/Directors/Etc.

What's paying for all that? The profits from the film. The unforeseen awards campaign is going to cost another $50 million at least. Lawyers are going to be working around the clock to protect this film from copyright enfridgment. This film has a whole new life now. People who put up millions will now try to recoup and make more to produce more films. Choi spent hundreds on getting herself to work and got back thousands. She got back a return equal to the financial investment she made. She now has a hit film to put on her resume.

Even if the film flopped, she still got to tell people she worked on a feature, even if it never went beyond a Tubi or Roku feature. She's lucky to be part of a film everyone in the country is seeing. Because this whole Hollywood industry is ran on luck. This should only produce bigger opportunities and paychecks down the line. 

Is There Room To Change the System?
Here's where most people are getting the wrong idea about Choi not getting paid accordingly - it's AN INDEPENDENT NON UNION FILM. If Universal or Fox or A24 was making this film, they'd be sued for such treatment. But non-union films exist so small time financiers and filmmakers can get the experience they need to be able to make studio backed union pictures down the road. 

There are changes in the system - they're called Union productions. Choi now has the opportunity to get into her local union. For anyone to have a chance in this industry, they have to be willing to work in harsh environments, because that's the BUDGET these films have been able to acquire.
People think every part of Hollywood is the same. But if Disney is the absolute top of the food chain and two high school kids with an iPhone is the bottom, in between are many levels. To get to the highest levels, writers, directors, producers, actors and crew have to start somewhere. 

What Curry was making was essentially a student film. A calling card for himself and all involved. If you take away the grind of independent, non-union, low budget filmmaking, you destroy a bottom floor people can start on. 

Unions are great. Unions make sure people get paid accordingly. I even think stand up should have a place for unions. But there has to be a place where unions aren't allowed, so creative people driven by gusto and caffeine can thrive before given the keys to the kingdom.

How This Relates to Stand Up     
This mentality that everyone needs to get paid equally all the time is what keeps a lot of comics from succeeding in comedy. They get into year one and think they deserve big pay checks from shows. Let's say a show makes $1,000 in ticket sales, and the headliner makes $200 and the feature makes $100 and the host makes $50, that's 35% gone. What about ads, showroom rentals, mic equipment costs, and the fact not every show makes $1,000 - some make $500 and now the producer is at a
loss.

If everything becomes about profitability at all levels, then there will be no producers willing to make the investment in comedy shows. It's too risky.

Imagine a world where there are no open mics - just paid gigs or no paid gigs. How would young comics get their opportunities?

If there was no entry level position, then it would be based on IG and TikTok followers and your hard work and reps would mean nothing. 

And if you are 10 years in still taking non-paid gigs, that's on you and your boundaries.  
To everything there is a season - and those who want to go straight into management don't respect process.     

Final Thoughts 
So often we want to feel the victim. And yes, it is weird when a project or job succeeds and we don't feel that benefit. But if you work a job and the company gets sold for billions, unless you got equity when starting, you get nothing from that - despite being a part of the success. 

​People online are saying Hollywood has to change. But this wasn't Hollywood. This was a student film turned into phenom. It became Hollywood years later after everyone moved on. Only a few films reach this level. And after it was sold, the filmmakers only got a percentage of the overall box office. 
You can bitch and moan about the unfairness of it all - and trust me, I have too and been the victim of it in ways most never will experience - but for the wheels to turn, the unfairness string has to be thread into the system.

While I can feel for Choi and her plight, a better way to handle that situation would have been to call Barker and say "We made a hit! So what's the next project, boss? And can I have a raise?" 

As I see you entering adulthood, or some version of it, I would like to give you some unsolicited advice that I think will benefit you greatly. I can’t help you become a millionaire, as I am not one. Although I’ve worked with many and they don’t seem very happy. I can’t help you find a spouse, because I’ve never had one. But if you ask me, most seem to have some version of buyer’s remorse with regard to who they chose. I can’t give you any parenting advice, as I’ve never been a parent, but as a teacher and coach for almost 20 years, I can say: Make sure you put their character development above their accomplishments when noting why you’re proud of them. And I can’t tell you how to climb the corporate ladder, because I never wanted to, nor was I good at kissing butt when a kick in the same area was in order. But I have learned one beautiful trick that, if applied to your life, will help you immensely. 

And that one trick is to be content in a world always thirsty for more.

As you enter the workforce or more schooling, the world will always tell you to want more, get more and pursue more. It is a lie. In the words of Admiral Ackbar from “Star Wars,” it’s a trap. Always wanting more will ruin everything you ever try to go after. They say the enemy of good is great, and that is so true. You’ll get a job and everyone will ask you how you plan to move up. You’ll meet your person and everyone will want to know when you’re going to get married. You’ll buy a condo and they’ll ask when you plan to buy a house. You’ll have children and they’ll ask if you are trying for more. They’re exhausting. 

Here’s my advice: Don’t listen to them. If they want to run like hamsters on a wheel in a cage, let them. But as for you and your life, just do you, boo. 

Life is overwhelmingly underwhelming. Dream vacations destroy your finances and thinking overtime shifts will impress your boss leaves your food and marriage bed cold at home. Nothing you do will meet anyone’s expectations of you, and while you think one more gift, one more compliment or one more Botox job will get you what you want, it won’t. But if you sit back and just think of what makes you tick and brings joy to you, then better to have a life filled with tiny pleasures than one big moment you will regret forever. 

Our world keeps screaming at us to get the followers, win the algorithm and buy the stock. But the happiest people I know are the most content with just being the person God made them. They enjoy their own brand of tomfoolery. Like Gandalf the Grey, their true magic is in embracing solitude when needed and adventure when called upon. White knights might fight dragons, but they also die in battle for a fair maiden who begged him to never go in the first place. Wizards find the best in people and pluck it out of them. Men like UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, TV characters like Ted Lasso and icons like Mary Poppins are beloved because they are true to themselves, find the best in others, and come in and out of people’s lives as needed. Never underestimate the impact you can have on another life in a short time. 

The world is a dark and scary place at times. It is also a beautiful place, filled with the wonders of nature. In the novel “Life of Pi,” Pi was asked by a group of engineers why the boat he was on sank. They commented, “Everything was normal and…” only to hear our hero say “…and then normal sank.” And such is life. Normal will sink many times, but if you remain calm and see every ending as the start of a new beginning, you will find life much more digestible. 

Regardless of if you choose to get married, work a 9-to-5, become an entrepreneur, have kids or become a celibate monk, never stop learning, loving and being. Yes, just being. There will be disappointments, but be content with those, too, because they are lights keeping your pathway clear from the roadblocks of other people’s unfair expectations. In the end, don’t be a knight. Be a wizard.

This article originally was published by the VC Reporter on May 28, 2026.
https://www.vcreporter.com/opinion/purple-is-the-new-party-to-the-graduating-class-of-2026/article_7da58992-4dea-4c10-a790-4994ca998042.html

​I recently got one of the most absurd emails in a long time. I had booked a theater show in Arizona through a booking agency. I've done a ton of shows over the last 5 years with this booker, never getting a bad review from the venue. I say that because other comics I've worked with have gotten bad reviews, even getting asked not to come back. So imagine my frustration and unwanted surprise when the booker told me the venue canceled the show (a high paying gig) because they saw the online clips of the other comics opening it and decided to just cancel the show. Yes, I'm not making this up. Instead of requesting better comics to join me, they just decided to not have comedy at all. So because of a bad booking and a bad YouTube clip, I'm out a gig I was looking forward to and money my landlord was looking forward to. For the record, the comics are very funny but apparently their older clips are not. So here's a few rules when posting clips online and on IG - they might be a few years old, but they're fresh once your name is being specifically looked at.  

What Clips Should Go Up?
I see a lot of comics posting a ton of clips for the algorithm. And I get it. More clips. More views. More push by Meta. But not every booker, old school headliner, and venue will understand your thirty second bomb being ironically posted isn't a methodical cry for web validation. In fact, unless your plan is just to work the 1am Comedy Store showcase set and bar shows, you will find your attempt to find an online fanbase might lose you paying gigs down the road. 

As much as I'll sound like an old school boomer, stick with clips that have...wait for it...laughs. 
You might have the best joke in the world, but if there's no laughter on the clip, then it will look like you don't connect with audiences, or worse - the audience turned on you. 

There's a very funny sketch comic Malcom Warner who puts up an impression of bad alt comics posting hot takes to silent crowds as a form of ironic content. Even when it's clearly a staged Andy Kauffman like parody of bad comedy, the comments on Facebook and IG are hysterically off base, telling him to die and quit comedy. Any person with half a brain gets the bit, but in an industry ran by people with less than half a brain, it's a hysterically risky move if stand up comedy was his prime goal. I for one, love the material and payoff, but others do get confused. Malcom wants that response, but if your goal is to get booked by cool venues, that same response would be a nightmare.
In fact, I know a lot of comics I started with twelve years ago who started posting bad clips on purpose, thinking it would be fun, only to quit comedy over time, finding it harder and harder to get gigs when everyone thinks you're going to burn down their room. 

How Long Should A Clip Stay Up?
I have a general rule that I take down clips that I posted on my YouTube within 5 years. It gets more tricky with clips from venues and clubs. If you put my name in a YouTube search you'll find clips by Dry Bar, Flappers, Power to the Punch, The Clean Comedy Podcast, and Filmer Stevis. They got permission from me to own clips for their platforms. I'm perfectly fine with them posting clips and sets, but there is the risk that others will see my earlier work and not think of my comedy as polished as it is today. 

Right now I only have three clips up from my personal page. They are also jokes that best reflect my cleaner side of comedy. I've taken down all my student showcases from 11 years ago and my earlier Burbank Comedy Festival sets as well. It's not that I dislike the jokes, in fact I still use a few of them - it's that my delivery is better now and I physically look different.

One thing to consider when posting clips is the level of clean v. dirty you want out there. And when you're in your first few years looking for fans verses looking for bookings, post what you want. But once you're submitting yourself for work, beware of clips that reflect a side of you that can scare away big pay days. 

When you have a fanbase, that's not as important. But if you're funny and have an hour of material but lack a fanbase, then be methodical in what you put out there. Comics with huge fan bases have thousands of people judging them, and many show up. Comics with little to no fan bases have 50 PEOPLE judging them - the 50 bookers who can fill out your calendar. That's a smaller population you can't afford to scare off. 

Your Career Should Dictate Your Online Presence
Each of us is in a different stage of your career. Some of us are trying to build online fanbases. Some of us are trying to get 5 minute showcases. Some of us are trying to fill our schedule with paid gigs. Some of us are doing the 9 to 5 dance along with the comedy career. For those of you still in the workforce, you have other choices to make on what you want out there. Just a little FYI, HR is not a fan of stand up.

But for those looking to get more corporate gigs, please beware of what you and others post of you online. I know that if you need a club to take down your clips because those jokes will be on a future professional platform (a special, late night) or they can hurt your career aspects, most will take them down ASAP. If they can't or won't, you can always contact YouTube. 

But this means you have to be selective and think about where you want your material platformed. During the Covid-19 era a lot of comics filmed mini-specials which looked great, but the audiences were indifferent and the jokes came off as wooden, which I think hurt the people who I recently was supposed to work with and they got us all fired. What was meant to be a career boost became a career killer. I once heard a booker say it's better to be seen three years late than three years early. I think that applies to the situation I'm talking about now. 

Final Thoughts 
Getting a great clip always feels like magic. I can't tell you how many times I set myself up for a great taping, only to fall flat or have the show go off the rails. And of course there are sets that from the stage that feel like magic - but the tape can't capture that. Remember, many specials are cut, edited, sound mixed, and laughter is added to match what mics can't capture. So your iPhone clip is never going to be perfect. 

Yet, that's no excuse for letting old clips ruin new opportunities. And if you are trying to gain paid bookings, then clip dumping every joke might help with algorithm wins but not with booking better shows.

I know your favorite comics post clips that feel short or incomplete, but if they're monetizing clips, that's a different story too. 

​Regardless of where you are at, always ask if this clip is going to help or hurt your career more than if it's going to help or hurt your social media views. Because trust me, you never want your attempt to grow your career be the thing that stunts your career.