Are You Garbage? Comedy Podcast

Episode: Gary Owen!

Hosts: H. Foley & Kevin Ryan
Guest: Gary Owen
Date: February 8, 2026

Overview

This episode of "Are You Garbage?" features the legendary standup comedian Gary Owen. Hosts H. Foley and Kevin Ryan put Gary to the test to determine if he's "garbage" or "classy," digging deep into his upbringing, career, family drama, and material success. The episode offers a hilarious and honest portrait of Gary’s trailer park roots, Navy years, rise to fame in comedy, and eventual evolution into his current, more upscale life—all in the show’s signature blend of roasting and affection.

Gary Owen's Early Life & Upbringing

Childhood & Family Dynamics

• Gary grew up on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio, in a setting that shifted based on his mom’s relationships.
• “It was outskirts vibe. I always say it’s depending on who my mom was dating. Kind of moving around.” (02:28)
• At age 10, his family moved into a trailer park in Hamilton, Ohio. He describes a chaotic home life, with multiple half-siblings from both his mom and dad, whom he didn’t really grow up close to due to big age gaps: “19 years between me and the youngest.” (07:01)
• The family vacations were minimal—a single trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida, crammed into a non-air-conditioned station wagon. It was memorable chiefly because Gary saw his first sex worker there at age 10.
  • “That’s the first hooker I ever saw. Cocoa Beach.” (08:46)

Stepdad Drama & Family Ties

• Gary’s stepdad, Rodney, featured prominently in his childhood stories.
  • “If you have… those of you who don’t have kids yet, don’t name your son Rodney, because as an adult, you will get this phone call: ‘Hey, did you hear what happened to Rodney?’” (05:27)
• Rodney and Gary’s mom are still together, but the family has seen its share of hardships: one brother died of a heroin overdose, and another is permanently brain-damaged after a violent drug incident. Gary is now estranged from his entire family.
• Falling out happened after a 2014 BuzzFeed profile upset Rodney:
  • “That’s when my mom and Rodney went—left my mom especially, because I kind of—the family secret got let out. Rodney’s an asshole, but everybody knows he’s an asshole.” (13:43)

School Days, Social Life, & First Jobs

School Experience

• Gary was an average student (“right in the meaty part of the curve" (14:44)) but popular, named Prom King and class clown.
• He didn’t attend prom by choice, nearly going to a Reds game instead, and only went because he landed on prom court. His date was a last-minute setup, which led to a comically awkward night and a surprise “full circle” moment (16:25–17:40) years later:
  • “Guess who my green room waitress is—the girl from prom.” (17:04)

First Job

• Worked at a strawberry farm as a teenager—getting up before sunrise, earning $11/hour picking berries, and getting paid under the table, along with a payday candy bar.
  • “Lunch was amazing. It was like out of a movie. Picnic table, chicken salad sandwiches, iced tea with the big glass lemons…” (22:24)
• Never took the SAT or ACT; instead, took the military’s ASVAB to join the Navy.
  • “My best friend…woke me up one Saturday morning…‘Gary, you gotta get out of here’... him and his dad drove me down to the recruiting station.” (23:27)

Navy Years & Stand-Up Beginnings

Military Service

• Navy for six years—initially in the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, D.C.
• “First duty station was Washington, D.C. I was in Honor Guard…spinning the rifles.” (24:51)
• Participated in Clinton’s inauguration, military funerals at Arlington, and White House ceremonies (27:11).
• Then transferred to San Diego, became Navy police, and started doing stand-up comedy.
• His first attempt at stand-up—for the legendary Comedy Store in La Jolla—was disastrous, resulting in being immediately kicked out for a joke about underage drinking.
  • “The lights went off, the mic went off. Two guys came out of nowhere, grabbed me by the shirt and winged me out the front door.” (31:36)

Breaking Into Comedy

• Got back into comedy doing black rooms in San Diego—crucial in shaping his career niche as a white comic in a black comedy world.
  • “A lot of white comics didn’t want to go there. So that’s really what got me started…in all the black shows.” (32:36)
• Regular at karaoke/comedy hybrid nights and eventually got back on stage at the Comedy Store after apologizing.

Career Success, Money, and Star Encounters

Comedy Rise

• Broke in with TV (BET Comic View, movie with Jamie Foxx) and quickly saw more money than he ever had.
  • Bought a Rolex after his first big checks. “It was an expensive one, but…I bought a nice little watch.” (55:44)
• Received a $150k holding deal from Quincy Jones after an unlikely set of performances at Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival:
  • “He wrote the check and handed it to me. And my manager goes, ‘Oh, this never happens.’” (60:55)
• Spent months at Quincy’s house.
  • “The stories he told—I’m not going to share them all, but they’re true…like Frank Sinatra and Orson Welles and Michael Jackson…” (62:10)

Present-Day Life—Wealth, Family, & Taste

Upscale Living

• Lives in Houston suburb Sienna:
  • “There’s no Rodneys in the neighborhood.” (35:39)
• Building his own house with a custom pool, sunken outdoor game area, and a connected hot tub.
  • “Always wanted the sunken area to watch the game.” (36:37)
• Drives an Audi S8; his partner drives an electric Escalade because of their two-year-old twins.
• Notable “glow up” from his roots:
  • “You picked strawberries and grew up in a trailer park. Now you’re building your own house and have a pool with a waterfall.” (38:01)

Vacations & Perks

• Annual family trips to the Bahamas:
  • “I do the Bahamas twice a year—I do July 4th and I do Christmas at the Bahamar.” (42:05)
• The arrangement: he performs one show, gets all rooms and food comped, and brings the entire extended family.
  • “They give me a cabana at the pool…just took great care of us.” (44:58)

Food, Drinking, & Personal Style

Diet & Indulgence

• Eats clean, rarely fast food, enjoys masa chip nachos at home (65:03), collects wine but is more a social drinker.
  • "If other people are around...I get horny when I drink, so I don't want to just be drinking by myself." (65:56)

Barbers & Grooming

• Struggles to find a reliable barber in Houston, prefers “quick, simple cuts” and is annoyed by extensive barber “events.”
  • “Black barbers…take a long time and it's an event.” (47:16)
• Has a temperature-controlled wine display by the front door—“…it's like 104 [bottles] and I think I'm at 98, and I've bought like six of the bottles.” (50:44)

Travel & Flying

• Flies United (“can get everywhere direct out of Houston” (52:18)), up front whenever possible, conscious about putting his airplane seat back:
  • “I see who’s behind me. I’m very cautious because I don’t like it when somebody just goes [slams seat back]…” (53:08)
• Prefers snacks over meals on planes; not a “bring-my-own-meal” guy.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Growing Up

• “I am the only guy that’s in the top and bottom half of the meaty part of the curve.” (14:44)
• “One vacation. Cocoa Beach, Florida. I saw my first hooker.” (07:53)

On Rodney

• “Rodney had every bad black stereotype…no job, in and out of jail…I go, that’s Rodney.” (09:03)
• [On stepdad fighting his real dad at his wedding]: “Rodney sucker punched my real dad at the wedding, bro.” (66:42)

On Comedy Beginnings

• “First day in San Diego…called the Comic Castle. Guy goes, ‘Hold on, let me check.’ He comes back, he goes, ‘I can't find him’…he was looking for a superhero named Open Mic.” (30:15)
• “I got kicked out of the Comedy Store, but I knew I could talk shit, so I took a little solace out of it.” (31:50)

On Making It/Having Money

• “Once you go up front [on a plane], you can’t go to the back.” (53:00)
• [On his resort deal]: “You’re on vacation. You’re like, ‘I don’t wanna pay for this thing.’ ‘Wipe it up. I’ll do 45 [minutes].’” (44:46)

On Black Audiences

• “No matter what you do in life, whether you’re playing basketball, telling jokes, you’re at a wedding, dancing—if there’s nothing like black people hyping you up…” (70:34)
• “It really does hit different.” (71:05)

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [02:25] — Gary describes growing up in Cincinnati-outskirts, trailer park living.
• [07:53] — Only family vacation; sees first sex worker at age 10.
• [14:44] — “Meaty part of the curve”—average in school, class clown, prom king.
• [22:01] — First job: picking strawberries; paid in cash and a candy bar.
• [23:27] — Getting pushed into the Navy by a friend.
• [24:51] — Honor Guard experiences, Clinton inauguration, Navy police stories.
• [31:36] — Getting kicked out of the Comedy Store for threatening to call the cops.
• [42:05] — His Bahamas gig-for-vacation arrangement.
• [44:58] — “They just took great care of us”—cabana, rooms, food at resort.
• [55:44] — First splurges: Rolex and Quincy Jones $150k deal.
• [60:55] — “He wrote the check and handed it to me…” Quincy Jones deal story.
• [66:42] — Rodney sucker-punches Gary’s real dad at his wedding.

Is Gary Garbage?

Judgment:

• “[You] started Rodney in a goddamn trailer park. You’re allowed to ask for the Mountain Valley water…Now you’re building your own house and have a pool with a waterfall.” (52:02)
• Final verdict (comic): “You’re trash, buddy. The great kind…You redeemed yourself. But you’re dirt. A goddamn gentleman these days!” (73:20)

Takeaway

Gary Owen’s episode is classic “Are You Garbage?”—a raw and hilarious deep-dive into hardscrabble beginnings, colorful family history, hustling toward success, and ultimately growing into serious comfort without losing perspective (or self-deprecation). Listeners get both outrageous anecdotes and a sense of triumph, all bathed in the show’s signature trashy-classy analysis.