The WILD Side of Brazilian Culture

Summary

Camp Gagnon Podcast – The WILD Side of Brazilian Culture

Host: Mark Gagnon
Guest: Rafinha Bastos
Date: January 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this vibrant and candid conversation, Mark Gagnon welcomes Rafinha Bastos—Brazil’s top stand-up comedian, actor, and former host of Brazil's SNL—to Camp Gagnon. The episode explores the distinctive elements that shape Brazilian humor, happiness, cultural resilience, and language, as well as Rafinha's journey of reinvention as an international comic performing in English. Together, they examine the interplay of national identity, cultural outsider perspectives, the pursuit of fame versus artistic authenticity, and the nuances of connecting with audiences across continents.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rafinha Bastos: From Brazilian Superstar to International Comic

• Rafinha’s Background: Brazil’s biggest stand-up star, former SNL host, television personality (00:00)
• Building a Global Audience: Bilingual journey, unexpected reach (02:03)

  "I was trying to conquer an American audience, but I was able to build like an Amsterdam audience. I wasn't the plan, but they happened." (Bastos, 02:03)

• Audience Connection Shift: From widespread fame to more engaged, loyal fans (03:34)

  "Now I have an audience that really, really are with me, you know? They see themselves in me." (Bastos, 03:34)

The Humor and Happiness of Brazil

• Why Brazilians are So Funny:

  • Joy as a survival mechanism amid hardship (06:16–08:31)

    "Brazilians are happy... It’s a poor country... but people find ways to have fun... Surviving is not just food—it's also laughter." (Bastos, 07:03)

  • The double-edged sword of happiness: Can blind people to real problems like corruption

• Nickname Culture & Ruthless Roasting:

  • Giving friends sharp, lifelong nicknames based on appearance or quirks (10:18)

    “I had a friend in Brazil in the wheelchair... His nickname was Lie because light doesn’t go too far.” (Bastos, 10:55)

  • Brazilians embrace humor in adversity and often use nicknames that might be taboo in other cultures

• Term ‘Resenha’: The art of conversation/hanging out (13:11)

  "The resenha was amazing." (Bastos, 12:56)

Navigating Between Worlds: Outsider Perspectives

• Always Outside, Always Observing:

  • Both Mark and Rafinha never felt fully "inside" their own cultures, leading to their comic perspectives (18:51–20:26)
  • Roots in multicultural, outsider families: Mark’s French-Canadian background, Rafinha’s mixed heritage

• Religious Experience and Identity:

  • Mark’s Catholic vs. evangelical upbringing in America (23:38)
  • Rafinha’s secular Jewish heritage and family migration story (28:05–29:33)

    "I never had, like, a religious education... Religion was not a thing for me." (Bastos, 29:33)

The Jewish-Brazilian Comic Mix

• Jewish Cultural Traits: Neuroticism, sarcasm, humor, borrowed from dad (30:14–31:55)

  "I have the same sense of humor, but a little bit of a different persona in my country than I have in this country." (Bastos, 38:43)

Observations on American Culture

• Arrogance and Insularity:

  “There’s an arrogance in America that I think is funny... America knows nothing about the rest of the world.” (Bastos, 63:57)

• The Fragmented Audience:
  • U.S. culture lacks a central "mainstream" now; media and fame are fragmented (58:46–59:15)
• Obsession with College Sports and Success:
  • Mark’s confusion over college football and cultural emphasis on “big dreams” (71:54–73:23)

    “You gather around to watch children play a game for free... stadium of people... makes no sense.” (Gagnon, 71:59)

Fame, Success, and Artistic Authenticity

• Fame vs. Fulfillment:

  • Rafinha’s journey from chasing stardom to valuing honesty and creative satisfaction (80:52–84:43)

    "Power sometimes comes... with imprisonment... I feel free now. That’s a choice I made." (Bastos, 81:01)

  • Fame feels more meaningful when it's a byproduct of great work (82:27–83:32)

    "The goal is to be so good at stand up that consequently you become famous..." (Gagnon, 82:27)

• Audience Connection:

  • Joy of connecting with people who genuinely relate to your story/creativity (83:32–84:22)
  • Artistic choices: balancing mass appeal and personal integrity

The Comedian’s Journey: Humiliations & Hopes

• Reinventing Yourself Abroad:

  • Choosing humility: Rafinha started from scratch in the US, didn’t leverage fame for spots (89:16–89:18)
  • Enjoyed “bombing” at first—found it motivating, unlike many visiting comics (93:40–96:35)

    "Coming here and bombing in the beginning, it was like, that's awesome. You made me excited." (Bastos, 93:40)

• Learning from the Best:

  • Opportunity to grow by observing New York comics, beyond just celebs (99:03–100:14)

    "I wanted to learn... I was always the reference in my country. I wanted to see here..." (Bastos, 99:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Turning Pain to Comedy:

  “People are making jokes in favelas, they give ruthless nicknames to their friends, and they oftentimes turn their pain into comedy before it becomes despair.” (Gagnon, 00:00)

• The Bitterness of Happy Places:

  “Happy people sometimes have a hard time to see real problems, you know... People have dance and have so much sex and they're like, oh, corruption, who cares? I'm fucking like. Well, they don't care.” (Bastos, 07:01)

• Brazilian Nicknames:

  “In Brazil, you have Castle, which is a guy who never had sex. That's like... we do that.” (Bastos, 11:58)

• On Audience Loyalty:

  “I feel like for a while I was just a famous person... But now I feel like my audience really likes me, you know, like they enjoy what I do, they follow my journey. It's crazy.” (Bastos, 03:49)

• Comic as Outsider:

  “Comedians, in my opinion, always exist on the periphery of culture that you observe...” (Gagnon, 18:51)

• The joy of ‘bombing’ in the U.S.:

  "Coming here and bombing in the beginning, it was like, that's awesome. You made me excited... I'm gonna prove myself." (Bastos, 93:40)

• Fame in America vs. Brazil:

  “I was able to make a little bit of money, so I wasn't worried... I was never caught by the frustration.” (Bastos, 94:44)

• Artistic Integrity:

  "If you gave me an option of like, hey, you have to do stand up in this specific way and you'll be super famous. Or you can do stand up the way that you really want to and be much less known... I think the second is way better." (Gagnon, 84:26)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:00–02:03: Rafinha’s tiny intro, career, and audience growth
• 06:07–08:44: What makes Brazilians funnier/happier, happiness as survival
• 10:18–12:24: Nicknames in Brazilian culture—humor and savagery
• 18:51–20:26: Comic as cultural outsider; parallels in Mark’s & Rafinha’s upbringing
• 28:05–31:55: Jewish heritage, family, and impact on humor
• 38:43–41:35: Developing new material in English & shifting comic persona
• 63:57–66:20: Rafinha’s observations of America—arrogance & ignorance
• 80:52–84:43: Fame, fulfillment, audience connection, and honesty
• 89:16–96:35: Reinventing oneself in the US comedy scene; embracing humility
• 99:03–100:14: Making the most of learning from the world’s best comics

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Tone and Style

Candid, irreverent, and richly observational. The conversation is layered with sharp wit, cultural insight, and genuine warmth, typical of both host and guest.

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Summary

This episode is a masterclass in the comic's outsider gaze, exploring the balance between roots and reinvention. Rafinha Bastos offers priceless insight into Brazilian resilience and humor, why “happiness is a choice,” and how the pursuit of an honest voice can supersede the allure of mass fame. Both Mark and Rafinha dissect cultures with warmth and skepticism, finding comedy in the tension between fitting in and standing apart. If you’re curious about the wild side of Brazilian culture—or what it takes for one of world’s best comics to start from scratch—this is essential listening.

Transcript

[A]

This is Rafi Bastos. He is the biggest stand up comedian in Brazil. He's hosted Brazil's version of snl. He's an actor, a television personality, and he has now built an entirely global audience, purely in a second language. He taught himself English just so he could travel the world and do his passion. He grew up originally in Brazil, a country where life can be hard and laughter is survival. People are making jokes and favelas, they give ruthless nicknames to their friends, and they oftentimes turn their pain into comedy before it becomes despair. But what makes Rafi different is that he's always been a little bit outside of Brazilian culture. He's always been a little more skeptical. And of course, that makes him so funny. He's like Brazilian Larry David, right? He's an immigrant comic that now is in America that is discussing American life and American culture and the English language and why airplanes are so crappy for tall people. In today's episode, we talk about why Brazilians are so funny and why happy cultures can sometimes ignore real problems. And what happens when a comedian stops trying to be viral and starts really being honest. Rafi is just a brilliant guy. He's one of my favorite stand up comedians. I get to watch him every single week at the Comedy Cellar. And on top of that, he's just a truly amazing person. So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode half as much as I enjoyed having. So, without further ado, sit back, relax, and welcome to. Rafinha. How are you, brother?

[B]

My pleasure, bro. Thanks for having me.

[A]

Of course. Thank you for joining me. I'm. I'm very excited. This is not, not always that I get a comedian superstar like yourself in the room.

[B]

Superstar. Wow.

[A]

Superstars.

[B]

I got to tell the bookers, it doesn't matter. They're not going to book me.

[A]

Maybe they're listening. Maybe they're listening. Who knows? Not only are you a superstar in America, but in Brazil.

[B]

In Brazil.

[A]

One of the biggest comics in the whole country.

[B]

Yeah, I would say one of the biggest comics. I would agree with that. Yeah.

[A]

You even said to me that your American Instagram has now just now gotten on par with your Brazilian profile.

[B]

Because it's not actually in America. It is in English Fair. So, people, I have, like, followers from all over the world now. Like, it's crazy. I did, like, a tour in the Middle East. I go to Italy and I have Italian people watching me. That was not the plan when I built, like, an Instagram in English, because I was trying to conquer an American audience, but I was Able to build like an Amsterdam audience. I wasn't the plan, but they happened.

[A]

You know, it's crazy and it's interesting. Anytime someone has a massive audience and in a very specific sub region of the world, right. Like I was hanging out with an Australian friend of mine who is a very big comic in Australia, but has only like, you know, 600,000 followers on Instagram.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I was like, I know people. I know like a makeup influencer with three times this. But this guy, when we walk around Australia, shuts it down. Like everywhere we go, there's kids running up to him. Can I have a picture? Da, da, da. Because it's such a small country that when you're. When you have 600,000 in a country of 25 million.

[B]

Small in population.

[A]

Exactly. Huge.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Geographically it's too big. But he's so famous in this population. So I wonder, when you walk around Brazil, are you. Are you being accosted on the street? Are people stopping you? Are you getting photographs non stop.

[B]

Well, and I'm not going to say that every people approaching is the nicest one. Fair, because that now, but it is. I have a very nice audience in Brazil. And because of the options I made in Brazil, in my career now, I have an audience that really, really are with me, you know? Yes, they are. They are with me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Support me. It's not only like, ah, but that happened too. Oh, how are you, Rafi? I'm a big fan. But now, like, people who pay to watch me, they're like, bro, that's so good that you're here. I kind of. I see myself in you, so I see that a lot now.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I feel like for a while I was just a famous person, which is also a good position to be in. But now I feel like my audience really likes me, you know, like they enjoy what I do, they follow my journey. It's crazy.

[A]

It's crazy.

[B]

It's not as big as it was like 10 years ago, but I feel.

[A]

Like it's more engaged, it's more honest, it's more. It's more connected.

[B]

It is, yeah, no doubt, no doubt. For sure, for sure. But. But yeah, like the problem in Brazil, like, we are very isolated. It's a huge country. We have, I don't know, 350 million people in Brazil. But if you think about it, we are the only country speaks Portuguese in the area. So it's us. Like a Brazilian comedian can only tour in Brazil. Portugal. Yeah. Well, Angola, if he wants to. I don't know, to make Just a few bucks, because the money is not that much. The currency sucks. You can go to Cabo Verde. Like, there's, like, just a. Like. Like a few places that we can go, you know? So for me to do in English was a way for me to just go, you know, to do more than just my people.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Because we are very limited because of the language.

[A]

But this is one of my favorite topics, because I've maybe shared this before on this show, but I'll share it with you. My father traveled in Europe for, like, his work, and so growing up, he would come home and he would tell us stories from all the places he went.

[B]

And you probably have brothers everywhere in the world.

[A]

Exactly, exactly. I hope. And I hope to meet them. Please reach out to me. Okay. Hopefully they book some shows. It'd be nice. But he travels all over, and every time he comes home, we sit at the dinner table. He comes home, he brings gifts. He brings, you know, souvenirs from wherever he went. And he tells me stories about. This is why the Dutch are funny, because they're very serious. And here's why Germans are funny, here's why Italians are funny. And then you go to North Italy and you go to South Italy. They're very different. And he would just explain these cultural stories and the whole family table, all six of my siblings, we would just sit there and laugh. And I became so obsessed with cultural perspective through a comedic lens. It was my favorite thing, which is why I love talking to comedians that have dominated a specific culture, but just, in any sense, come from a different part of the world. Because you have a lens on not only America as an outsider, but on Brazil.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And the Brazilian people as an insider. So I'm curious, maybe just to start, why are Brazilians funny? What do Brazilians do that you find funny?

[B]

We more than funny. Brazilians are happy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

We are a happy population. You know, because it's still a poor country. You know, it's very difficult to live in Brazil. It's not easy to live in Brazil. It's a poor country. But people find ways to have fun. You know, it's a hot, like, a tropical country, which already helps you. We see, like, some similarities with Australia, like, with the weather and stuff. So, you know, that helps a lot, you know, because, like, being on a winter for, like, three, four, like in New York, five months, people are angry all the time. But in Brazil, it's a hot country. People find ways to deal with adversities in a very fun way.

[A]

Okay, like what?

[B]

Because there's a lot of poor people living like in dangerous areas. You need to find ways to survive. And surviving in Brazil is not only being able to pay for food, is having fun, is entertainment, is being entertained. So there's a lot of funny people all over the country, like musicians. Like, you see those guys, the country guys in Brazil, the certanejos, they don't know how to tell a joke. You know, they have fun with each other. You see in the favelas, like I did a stories in the favelas. The favelas are the slums in Brazil in the mountains. Like, you go inside and you see people like sharing a tiny little place with 12 people and then find ways to crack jokes and to be funny because that's the way we are able to survive. That's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. I even say this on stage. Happy people sometimes have a hard time to see real problems, you know, so it's. That's what I say on stage. People have dance and have so much sex and they're like, oh, corruption, who cares? I'm fucking like. Well, they don't care. So it's. We find ways to. To have fun. Of course there's People worry about different problems in Brazil, but when you're too happy, sometimes you have a hard time to see, like life is hard and you have been taken advantage of. Happens a lot in, in Brazil, you know.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we need, we need to balance the fun. The fun, the carnival, the dancing on the streets, the bbls with searching for a better life for ourselves.

[A]

Yeah, you need both.

[B]

Yeah. So Brazilians are fighters. We are fighters. We are. We find ways to deal with life in the most fun way possible.

[A]

I mean, top five happiest countries in the world.

[B]

Oh, yeah, we are on the top five.

[A]

Yeah, you have.

[B]

No, we are not in the top. We are.

[A]

Yeah, you have Nicaragua. You have Brazil, Slovakia, Latvia and Uzbekistan.

[B]

Oh, so we are the seventh place.

[A]

No, no, there's a lot more. Yeah, you. You've misled me. You misled me.

[B]

You're telling me that Denmark.

[A]

Forget about the ranking, Go to the top. Go to the actual.

[B]

Forget about those ranking. Fire. Chris, Horrible website. You're telling me that we lost to Iceland, bro.

[A]

Yeah, they don't have any butt lifts over there, bro. And somehow. And you're trying to convince me they're happy.

[B]

Probably the saddest place in the world.

[A]

I've never been. I've never been, but this just seems like this was paid for by whoever does like healthcare there's like, yeah, if you have healthcare, you're happy. Sure.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

There's no carnival in Iceland.

[B]

Oh, yeah. No, they're not.

[A]

They're missing it, bro.

[B]

Happiness at the end of the day, even in the worst situation, end up being a choice. And I think we kind of know that Brazilian people, you know, so in the worst adversities, we are able to have a good life, to be connected with our families, to have barbecues like Brazilians, they work the whole week to be able to pay for a good barbecue on a Sunday and share, you know, laughs and share music and dance. So it's. It's amazing.

[A]

Is it a nickname culture? Like, I have friends, like, specifically Jamaicans and Mexicans, I've found, are nickname cultures where people will give you nicknames based off of, like, one thing that happened to you or, like, how you look. Disability or a disability. So there's a few I can think of. I had, like, Mexican friends. Like, if you were fat growing up, you were gordo. Like, you were just. You just were fat. And that's how they. Gordito, maybe. And then, like, there was a guy, a Jamaican guy I knew, and they called him Buckets. And the reason is because he had one leg that was shorter than the other leg. So every time he walked, it looked like he was carrying a bucket. Yes, that just was his name.

[B]

I had a friend in Brazil in the wheelchair. He had, like, half of the legs. And his. His nickname was Lie because light doesn't go too far. Yeah, we make fun of disabilities. I had a friend that his nickname was Zedu Relogio. Zedo Gelojo is like Joseph of the watch, because one day he showed up wearing a watch, and that was his nickname for, like, 25 years because he.

[A]

Just had a watch.

[B]

We didn't know him. We didn't know his name. Ze is like, something used for anyone. Like, if you show up with a hat, you'll be there of the hat. So he was there off the watch. Ze is a very, like, common name that you use for anyone.

[A]

This is. Italians do the same thing, right? Like a New York Italians and be like, yeah, that's Joey Donuts.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And why is that? Well, you see the donut. It's just. This is why I call him.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

It's the same culture. It just kind of changed a little bit.

[B]

Same thing.

[A]

That's so funny.

[B]

They have nicknames, but it's crazy because in America, you guys are very, like, nicknames are short and. And respectful, like Mark, Marky, yeah. John. Johnny. In Brazil, you have Castle, which is a guy who never had sex. It's like, why you go, yeah, we do that.

[A]

That's so funny. Just Johnny the virgin. Like, he has two kids. You're like, yeah, but he used to.

[B]

Be a virgin 35 years ago. Yeah, he's still there. That.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

There's term in Brazil, and I'm going to pronounce it incorrectly, and I might need you to Google it. Okay. It's. I believe it's called.

[B]

When people sit down, just have a conversation about a topic.

[A]

That's what this is. Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

[B]

Is like, it's a fun conversation that you have with your friends.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, like, what? Like, how would this be used? Like, hey, we're. We're doing.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Oh, the gazania Yesterday was amazing. Like, you and another guy had a conversation. How was yesterday at Joseph's house? Oh, the gazing was amazing. Like, the conversation, the talk.

[A]

Just. The hang.

[B]

Yeah, the hang.

[A]

The hang.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Ah, I see. It's a great term. Like, it's. It's great. Yeah, because that's, like, the point, right? It's like, okay, we're gonna get together. Is there food involved? Is it, like.

[B]

No, no. It can be just people talking.

[A]

Just talking.

[B]

You need to be talk. If you just go eat, there's not a. It needs to have a. Like, it's connected to a good conversation.

[A]

Can it be bad? Can you say that was bad? Or is it. Is it implicit that it was good?

[B]

Yeah, no, it can be. Can be bad. Yeah. And. And also, you can. You can use. If you say, like, someone that talks too much, There he goes with his gazania. It's like, too much, you know?

[A]

That's so funny.

[B]

So it's talking. Talking.

[A]

The Brazilian accent is fantastic. It's one of my favorites.

[B]

You think so?

[A]

I do. I grew up in Florida. I grew up in Florida with. I don't agree, but a ton of Brazilians.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

My. My. My coach growing up, Marcos Machado.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And he said, marcos, you need to pass the ball. You need to move with the ball. You move.

[B]

Soccer coach.

[A]

Exactly. And it was like that.

[B]

So you play soccer?

[A]

Of course. Were you good in my youth? I was good in my youth. I was good from, like, 10 to, like, 14.

[B]

Then people got better than you.

[A]

And then people got way better. And I also. I lost the spark, I think.

[B]

You didn't want to do it.

[A]

I just got a little, like, burnt out. I was. But when I was like 12. And I don't want to brag. I was on.

[B]

You can brag the best podcast. You brag.

[A]

That's a good point. You know, I needed that.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just When I was 12, I was on the best team in the country. And, like, we would play in, like, these national tournaments. We go up to, like, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

[B]

Where was it?

[A]

This was in Florida. This was my team.

[B]

Which city?

[A]

In Orlando.

[B]

And so you're telling me that Orlando had the best soccer team in the country?

[A]

It's hard to believe. We'd go down to South Florida, we'd beat up the Brazilians down there and the Haitians and the Jamaica. Everyone. We would. We were bagging everyone. Everyone on that team ended up either playing professional or D1. I was one of two kids that said, you know what? I'm good. And I. I filtered off. So I was the worst.

[B]

You just got tired or you just got bad?

[A]

It was a little both because I was. I was starting, and then as I got to, like, 13, 14, I was like the first sub off the bench.

[B]

Well, the. The bench in soccer sucks because sometimes you just don't play.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

You go travel somewhere. You just don't.

[A]

Yeah. Step on the court, you put on the warm ups, and then you just stay in the warm ups and you never. You never tear them off.

[B]

You just.

[A]

You just sit and warm. But it was. It was. And then I moved to another team that was worse, but I was playing more. And then I just kind of filtered off. But I played soccer all growing up, and I had so many Brazilian coach. As a matter of fact, this is another brag. All right, you can brag. I played with a guy whose last name was Nacimiento.

[B]

Well, there's. There's maybe the most common last name.

[A]

In Brazil, but there's one Nascimento.

[B]

But that was like my. My friend station. It doesn't mean.

[A]

But his father. I didn't swear to God. His name was Josh Nascimento. He's a great guy. He was. Yes. And it was.

[B]

Pele had like 155 kids. So your problem is not why I'm lying. Maybe I'm his.

[A]

Maybe you're too tall.

[B]

Josh Nasim.

[A]

Yes. I could. I'll FaceTime him right now.

[B]

You have a search for Josh Nasiment? Oh, yeah. There is Josh. So he was born in America. Oh, yeah.

[A]

He looks like p. Oh, yeah. And he. And Pele came to a game.

[B]

He did. He came to one game, played here.

[A]

You know that for the Cosmos. Cosmos in New York City.

[B]

I was in New York. I didn't know.

[A]

Yeah, the New York Cosmos. It was a. This is back before mls. It was like the usl, I think.

[B]

So there was a league here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Look at this. Look. Just like Pele.

[A]

Yes. And he was the best.

[B]

There's a picture with him. Impeller. Probably in the time that guy was playing with Mark.

[A]

Yeah. Honestly, probably that was me. That might have been at the game. I'm gonna be in the background. Yeah, maybe I might be. But all that to say Florida has tons of Brazilians.

[B]

Yes, I know that.

[A]

So many.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I've just. I had a very.

[B]

Too much. By the way.

[A]

Well, only. Only at Disney spread. At Disney. It's too much because you guys walk around with the flag.

[B]

But now there's a lot of Brazilians moving to Florida. A lot of Brazil.

[A]

Yeah. Well, it makes sense. I think Florida is very transient. It's very free. It is a lot of corruption.

[B]

Yeah. So. So you used to live in Orlando.

[A]

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Right. And Brazilians, I would see them all the time because they would go around the tourist sites and there'd be 50 of them, all in matching T shirts with one leader talking very loud. Talking very loud with a giant flag. And you just wave the flag and they would all just follow.

[B]

That's. But let me tell you something. This is my people. That's not me. You know, it's crazy because I love them, but I was never that guy.

[A]

In what way?

[B]

Brazilians are loud. Brazilians are happy. That's.

[A]

I'm quiet and I'm sad.

[B]

I'm not sad. But there's. There's. There's something in the Brazilian culture that I never connect that much, that I admire from a distance, but that was never me. So when I come here and I go have lunch in a restaurant and nobody cares about me, I'm happy.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

So. But I love my people. If I go and I. People comes to support me, of course I hug, we kiss. You know, it's a completely different. Like after every headlining gig I do here, at least I would say 90 of the Brazilians, the Brazilians who showed up on the show, they take pictures with me at the end. Ah. So they saw. Is like we take pictures and we hug and then we talk a little. We are these people.

[A]

But I think that's what makes you a great comedian. Because comedians, in my opinion, always exist on the periphery of culture that you observe. And even myself, I am American. I lived here most of my life, but I never Fully fit into the American ethos. Like how. I never cared that much about, like, American sports, okay? My parents were always, like, sort of politically disenfranchised. They never liked whoever the president. Like, they never got involved in politics. They were never like the stereotypical American, okay? And so, because, you know, they're French Canadian. And so there was a lot of.

[B]

I'll give you. I'll give you that.

[A]

So I existed in the culture and I spoke English and I, you know, I. I was ever. Everyone saw me as American, but I would sometimes feel like I don't. Whatever this thing is, this evangelical Christian American patriotism completely. It never was downloaded. My mom is telling me, like, oh, look at this foreign war. This is. You know what I mean? There was always kind of like skepticism. And as a result, I've observed American culture more than I existed within it.

[B]

So do you think this. Because that's the way your parents kind of behave, made you a curious guy because you're curious human being?

[A]

Absolutely. And especially my mother. My mother was like, very conspiratorial. She would love reading, you know, fringe theories and getting into all sorts of stuff. So everything was questioned. And then on top of that, my parents are very Catholic. I went to a Protestant school. And so I would come home and I'd be like, mom, is this true? And she goes, no, that's not true. Read this. And then I was also homeschooled by this woman. So she would just tell me stuff, we would argue. And so it made me kind of exist on the outside, similar to you where you're living in Brazil, growing up around Brazilians, you yourself are Brazilian, but also a little bit observing the culture.

[B]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

I wonder. Tell me if I.

[B]

But now I kind of. I need like. Like, I. It's difficult because sometimes I didn't feel as comfortable as I wanted to be. So a few things kind of annoy me a little bit, and it shouldn't because it's my people and it's my country. You know, this is the way my people behave. But the education I had, my father and my mother, they never cared that much. It was never the ones going to parties and drinking beer and having a barbecue, right? It was never my family same. So I felt like I was. I was never comfortable in those situations. I never drank. I don't know even how a beer tastes. That's me. So I'm. I don't. I don't match. Because this is Brazil. We get together, we have a resigna. That's a barbecue we are drinking beer all day long. We start putting the meat in the fire at like, 1pm it's ready at 5, because people are talking and drinking. And I was like, just go to a restaurant. Yeah, yeah, I just want the. I just. I'm hungry.

[A]

But did you have moments? Like, I remember as a kid, I told my mom, like, oh, my friend wants me to sleep over at his house. And she goes, why? Like, why?

[B]

She asked you why?

[A]

She was like, what is. Why would you sleep at his house? Like, the idea of a sleepover for her was just strange. She was like, what are you gonna do? And I was like, I don't know. He wants me to sleep over. And they're like, but what is the purpose you have? You. You sleep here. You have a bed here. Like, it just was never a thing. She grew up with, like, going on a sleepover. I don't know if it's generational or cultural, but she was like, this is just we. And then I remember going on sleepovers and, like, I would hang with them and they would eat different food. Even, like, my. My parents always, like, cooked every meal. It was always, like, very nutritious. But then I'm going to my friend's house, like, eating chicken nuggets, like, watching football, and I was like, this is bizarre. This is not at all. I. I even remember.

[B]

Did you feel comfortable? Yeah.

[A]

Like, it was never, like, actual discomfort, but I just remember being like, I. This is all strange. Like, the idea, like, this is a very bizarre specific one. I remember going to sleepover. It's like 10 kids, 10 dudes, like, kind of from the neighborhood. And then, like, a bunch of the kids would asleep in their underwear. And I remember being like, this is very. No one in my family ever slept in the underwear. But then it's kind of an American thing. You're like, yeah, you sleep in your.

[B]

Underwear and you were. Slept with a pajama.

[A]

Yeah, I had specific pajamas that I wore. And I was like, this is what you wear to sleep is pajamas. You have to dress up to go to sleep. But all my friends in America, they don't wear pajamas. I don't know. It's just like. And I've never even. I mean, Chris is. You sleep in underwear. Like, is that like. I mean, you're Greek. You're not even American. I don't even. I wear boxers. You wear boxes. Did you do that as a kid? No, this is.

[B]

I remember having pajamas when I was a kid too.

[A]

But I was like, 12, 13, maybe when this is happening, so I'm like, that was.

[B]

Oh, weird. It's weird. But I'm like, there's even a size for, like, the pajama size 12 Euro.

[A]

My mom had them. My mom got them from. And I was like, yeah, this is what you wear. But it's little things like that where I was like, oh, I'm not this type of American.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You know what I mean? Like.

[B]

But then you felt like, they're weird, or you're like, oh, I'm weird.

[A]

I thought they were weird. And then we would pray before.

[B]

Can you put your pajamas?

[A]

Exactly. And then they pray before dinner, and they're like, lord Jesus, like, just be with us. And I'm Catholic. I'm like, this is not how we pray. So the whole experience, I was like, I am. I feel like an alien.

[B]

How did you guys pray?

[A]

Like, the Catholic way, you know, I mean, I guess, yeah, you're Jewish, which I think is an element of this. But, you know, you'd say, you know, sign the cross, and then it would be a sort of a ritualized prayer, you know, like, blesses our Father for these, thy gifts that we're about to receive from thy bounty.

[B]

Oh, there's. There's a. There's a prayer. Specific.

[A]

Exactly. And. And, like, it's a specific, like, before dinner prayer, but it was ritualized, and everyone knew it, and they would recite it together.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But then I go to my evangelical friend's house, and they're just like, lord, bless this food and be with us. And Timmy has a broken leg, and heal his leg and just let him feel your presence. And the whole time I was like this.

[B]

Yeah. The evangelical church now is huge in Brazil. Hu. It. Yeah, huge. Huge. With, like, big leaders and, like, guys doing this, like, mass of people that they are, like, cheering and they sing songs. It's a whole thing. And they stole a lot of people from the Catholic Church. I don't know if they stole or they. Or they just gave them a better option, more entertaining option.

[A]

It's a you. I think with Protestantism, if I may, you can experience divinity more quickly. So, like, Sufi Muslims have a similar thing where Sufism is kind of like a. A more mystical version of Islam. And so you can experience the divine in this reality right now. And with Catholicism is very ritualistic. It's kind of like there's a tradition. But, like, with evangelical Christianity, you can feel God, and he's in this room, and he's here right now. And I think for a lot of people, that's very Attractive, you know, because like, that experience is so sought after. I have a relationship with Jesus. Whereas Catholics are a little bit more like, yeah, we love Jesus, we worship Jesus, but the priest is. Yeah, we, you know, it's kind of a little bit disconnected.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And so I think that's why it sweeps up so much. That's my perspective. Maybe it's the one true church. Who's to say? But that's. That's the way I see it. But. But like this type of thing. I remember going to this school. This is where I was going to school.

[B]

Brazil, right? This looks like a Brazilian. Yeah.

[A]

And it was like, very vivacious, speaking in tongues, stuff like that.

[B]

But they're on tv, by the way. There's a. There's a church in Brazil, the Universal, that in here is known as Pari de Soufrir. There's a lot of Paris here in America. There's even one on second street close to my house. This is. There are spread all over the world. So if you go to Europe. When I tour in Europe, I remember I would turn on the TV at night and there was a Brazilian guy, like, clearly a Brazilian guy speaking French. And he. And it's crazy because it's always like after 2am because that's when, first of all, it's cheaper to buy. And the desperate people are woke at that time, they are, you know, they can't sleep because life is hard, right? They don't. They are desperate. So then they see someone on TV talking to them and they're like, their problems. You know what? Come to the church tomorrow, 6am I'm gonna talk to you. And the guy's like, can't sleep because his life sucks. And there's also, in Brazil, a lot of people, when we found out that they were like using the money to their own, you know, to buy big houses and mansions and stuff. But I remember there was one interview with one of those guys who is like the. One of the biggest leader, Koijir Macedo. So the biggest leader of the Universal. And he said something that kind of makes sense. He said, like, well, you know what? I do. Because people are like, like talking about the 10% because you need to give the. I don't know how.

[A]

The tithe.

[B]

Tithe?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We call in Portuguese, Gizimo. So you give 10% of everything you make. So people like criticize like 10%. It's like a fee you need to pay the church. So nothing happened. And the guy said something that kind of makes sense. It's like okay, this guy, he arrives in the church desperate. He's hitting his wife. He doesn't have a job. He doesn't have a connection with his kids. His life sucks. He's addicted to crack. Then I clean everything in his life. He's back at the house. He treats his kid with care. Now he has a good relationship. He got a job. Some of those guys got a job and got promotions, and I get 10% of what he makes. That's a very good deal. And if you think about it, you know. Yeah. If you're saving people's lives, who am I to criticize him? Right? Because some people need to believe in something, and that's okay. And that's okay. That's not me, but that's okay. I completely understand.

[A]

Curious for you, because your. Your mother's Jewish.

[B]

My father is Jewish, so I'm not.

[A]

I see.

[B]

They never baptized me in.

[A]

Into Judaism.

[B]

Nothing interesting. Nothing. They were like, let's. Let's wait for him to decide. And then at 18, I was like, you know what? I kind of understand. Like, I connect more with the Jewish people. And they're like, no. So, okay, that's. So now I have to cut your cock. And I was like, I think I'm okay. No, I think I'm okay.

[A]

Wait, did you get snapped? No. To this day, yeah.

[B]

No.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

We don't do that if it's not for religious purposes.

[A]

Right. Well, that's so interesting. Well, yeah, that's. If anyone doesn't know, like, Judaism is typically what they call matrilineal. It's. It's tracked through the mother.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And most. Most other, like, cultures. Religion. What is the matrilineal? So, like, matriarchy, like, the mother's the head. It's like the lineage through the mom.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Where most of them are patrilineal, where it's like through the dad, Islam and things like that. But it creates an interesting sort of culture. But you. With your dad being Jewish.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Was he raised in Brazil as well, or did he immigrate?

[B]

He was raised in Brazil. His father was from Argentina, and his grandfather was from Russia. So they went all the way from Russia to first Argentina before the. The. The war. That was before the war. So they saw. They were like, oh, something's weird is happening. So they all vanished.

[A]

I see. This is probably like Russian pogroms, like the. The persecution against Jews in Russia.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

That's when they leave.

[B]

It was like, in the 20s.

[A]

Yeah, I think it was in the.

[B]

20S or even before that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

They Left. So I never had, like. I never had, like, a religious education, you know, My father knew that I wasn't Jewish, so he waited for me to be curious. My mom never wanted to baptize me. So at the end of the day, it was just like, religion was not a thing for me.

[A]

I wonder if that also contributes because, like, Jewish culture specifically has. Has a certain flavor, you know what I mean? And in New York, there's so much of that. And I actually think a lot of people, like, describe New York culture and they're kind of describing Jewish culture because it's so imbued. So I wonder for yourself, even though you weren't, like, raised Jewish, part of that, like, the Jewish affect and, like, look on life. I wonder if your dad passed that on to you.

[B]

Oh, for sure.

[A]

And, like, that also would make you feel a little bit on the outside, you know, and.

[B]

Yes, yes. The way to look like. Well, my father is a different human being than I am. We have the kind of. The sense of humor is kind of similar, but he's a completely different person. My father is the typical Jew. He suffers a lot.

[A]

Really a lot. Neurotic.

[B]

Neurotic. And he thinks everybody's against him.

[A]

That's so funny.

[B]

Everybody. You wanna. So now he's 80. 80 years old, and he doesn't have, like, one friend, really, because he thought everybody wanted. He was a politician for a little bit, you know, in Brazil, so. And he was involved in a corruption scandal that he never did anything, never stole a little thing, nothing. So it was very difficult for him to deal with that. And he was depressed for a good 10 years, 15 years, I would say, because he was involved. Here's the thing with politics, you know, you need to understand the game, right? You know, you need to understand the game. You need to play the game. I'm not saying being corrupt, you don't have to be corrupt, but you have to understand corruption. My father was just a doctor that went and decided to be a politician. And then he was involved in some type of. That. He was never actually inside. And then he was like a list of people who. My father was, like, depressed for 15 years, and he was convinced completely innocent. So he was very brutal for him. So if he already felt persecuted because of the history of the Jewish people, that was bonus extra.

[A]

Yeah, it proved him right.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

Oh, that's interesting.

[B]

So now my father is by himself, living by himself. It's difficult.

[A]

Is there a Jewish community in that part of Brazil?

[B]

Yeah, there is, there is. There is yeah, There's a lot of people who came from Argentina and moved to Hugo do suddenly. Because I'm from the south of Brazil. I'm from the last state in Brazil. So my culture, actually from my state is closer to Buenos Aires than it is to Rio de Janeiro. We have this mix of the happiness of the Brazilian people, but also the stubbornness and the irony and the sarcasm the Argentinian people have. So it's. We are in the south. Brazil is such a huge country that you have different cultures inside of the same place.

[A]

That's so interesting.

[B]

Huge. Brazil is huge.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

It's a huge country.

[A]

What's up, guys? We're gonna take a break real quick because we gotta have some real talk. All right? If you've ever brushed off white flakes from a black T shirt. Okay, that's not dry scalp or whatever you're telling yourself, right? That's dandruff. And dandruff is caused by a fungus. Now, most shampoos don't actually fix that. No, they just dry out your scalp even more. So you just keep on buying the shampoo. And honestly, a lot of these formulas haven't even changed since, like, the 1960s. Every big shampoo brand was developed then, which is also when doctors were like, hey, take a cigarette for some stress. And that's why I like Flakes. See this right here? This is Flakes. It is an anti dandruff shampoo and conditioner that actually targets the problem. It's got two times the active ingredient, perithione zinc, than the standard drugstore brands. And it was developed by a top dermatologist out of New York City. Now, here's the part that most people miss. Scalp health is hair health. That dandruff fungus irritates your scalp, which then causes you to itch it all the time. Then it leads to more inflammation than even shedding. Yes. It even can cause you to lose your hair. Clear the scalp and your hair will look better and fuller and healthier. And flakes to something that's great. They don't do, like, the two in one lazy thing. No. Shampoo clears the fungus and the flakes. And then the conditioner puts moisture back into your scalp with MCT oil so that your hair actually stays soft and flexible instead of breaking off in the shower. Also, it smells great, like, clean. You know, it's not medicinal. It's not overpowering. There's no harsh junk in it that makes your scalp even worse off than it was before and keeps you in the cycle. I mean, Straight up, I just used flakes today. All right? I'm telling you, it's the, it's so moisturizing. It makes your hair feel great. Even if you don't have dandruff, it's great for your hair and it'll keep you from ever getting dandruff. It is dermatologist developed. It's already used by hundreds of thousands of guys and honestly it's just a grown up move. And right now you can get 20 off plus a free scalp brush. All right. And a 30 day money back guarantee if you use the code camp. That's C A M P. And if it doesn't work for you, you're not stuck with it. Yeah, that's right. The promo code camp, C A M P for 20 off, free scalp brush which feels incredible on your scalp and a 30 day money back guarantee. There's literally nothing to lose. Give it a shot. You're going to get 20% off and if you don't like it within 30 days, just tell them, hey, this wasn't for me. You're getting your money back and nothing is going to be lost. Except obviously the, the flakes on your shirt that you've been brushing away. So look, take care of the roots, get better hair. Your black shirts are actually going to be black again. The itch on your scalp is gone. That's the flakes promise. Now let's get back to the show. But I think that also contributes because like this is my theory as to like why so many stand up comedians are Jewish because like it is such a, in my opinion it's comedy is like a very Jewish art form, like the borsch belt, like Catskillian upstate New York. Like go to a, you know, a summer camp and you entertain like your people when they all leave the city and all like Hannah Youngman and you know, Milton Berle, all like these famous Jewish comedians. And I think it's a mixture of like being integrated into a culture but not fully being in it. You know, like an outside perspective but in the way that like, you know, black people have an outside perspective and they make great communities as well. People see them and they might behave differently because you know, oh, this guy's black. So like I'll speak differently. You don't fully get, specifically back in the day you don't fully get a transparent view into white American society, but Jews did as long as they didn't know you were Jewish. And so if they don't know then you know, they're talking regular and there's an observation of American culture, but still with a Jewish lens that kind of puts you on the periphery. And so I think there's an insider, outsider perspective that created so many Jewish comedians back in the day.

[B]

I got it. Yeah, it makes sense. And it's kind of crazy because now, if I think back in the past, it's like, I never had a Jewish education, but there's a lot of things of Jewish culture that was embraced in my house. Right. The way we see the world, the humor, you know, the observations, the isolation.

[A]

You know, so, yeah, like, even, like the Larry David stereotype of, like, being bothered by little things.

[B]

Mo, that's totally me.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Even as you're describing it, it's me.

[B]

You know what's crazy? It bothers me, but it doesn't make me an unhappy person. That's a difference. I'm a happy guy. Yeah. But I hate when I have a T shirt that kind of like, you know, I don't know how to say. Pinika. How to say when, you know, like, I put this church that kind of, like, it's weird fabric.

[A]

Yeah. Sort of like, stick to a little. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

If it's too hot, if the AC is not working, I get bothered. So I get bothered, and I make everybody's lives around me a living hell. But I'm at the. But deep inside of me, I'm so happy.

[A]

And this is the Brazilian Jewish mix.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Bothered by things.

[B]

Bothered by things.

[A]

But you're having a great time.

[B]

But that's not. But that's not Brazil.

[A]

No, because they're not bothered.

[B]

Oh, Brazil. They. They sit down together in a group, like in a round group, and they play the guitar. I want to kill myself. I want to go with horrible. That's. Everybody's happy. I'm so miserable.

[A]

There's one mosquito that doesn't leave us alone, and no one notices it.

[B]

And also the people. Happiness Bothersome too much. You know, I love my people, but, like, the happiness sometimes is a little too much.

[A]

But you're not brooding and you're not. You might not be anxious. You don't let it get you down. No, no, no. That's the Brazilian side.

[B]

I'm not depressed. Never took any medication. I can choose to be happy in a second if I want, but things bother me a lot. Yeah, but that's why I was able to create comedy. Yes. You know, it's kind of crazy because I feel like I almost have. I have the same sense of humor, but a little bit of a different Persona in My country than I have in this country.

[A]

In what way?

[B]

Because in Brazil, I was always the sarcastic guy who would make the jokes that nobody want to make, the guy that is a little bit more controversial with no limit, and the guy who get bothered by. By little things. In America, I feel like it's. I mean, maybe not only because it's America, because I got older and other things start to interest me, and I start to bring a little bit of my daily day life to my comedy. I still have a little bit of that, but I felt like I was able to, you know, to go. To do more.

[A]

Right. Like, even in, like, you have so many bits that have, like, gone so viral, to the point where I judge virality less on views more. If my immediate family sends it to me. And my aunt sends me your clips. Oh, yeah, she does once a week. This is a French Canadian woman. She's not Brazilian at all. And she sends me the clips because I think she identifies because again, Montreal has a huge Jewish influence. So there's like a bothersome kind of like, let's go, come on, speed it up kind of thing. But she also immigrated to America. So she sends me, I dance, we dance, he dances. And she goes, I've been saying this for years. It makes no sense. Why do you people say this? And she sends it to me. But I think when you're doing the bit, it kind of comes across. And I think a lot of people like, oh, he's being funny. I think you're actually bothered by it.

[B]

I bother you? Oh, yeah, of course I am.

[A]

You're like, this language makes no sense.

[B]

No, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. But I felt like talking about language was the first instinct that I had when I moved here. I was so involved in learning English and learning as much as I can to be able to express myself in English, perform and perform that. I felt like analyzing language was something that. That it was. It was. It was the thing I did. Now that I'm here for, I don't know, six years already, I'm trying to run away from those bits, you know, because I felt like I did. It was enough.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, and that would build me my audience. Like, that's why I'm able to do shows at the Middle east. Because they are also learning English.

[A]

Yes. And they also see how absurd it is.

[B]

They also see how absurd it is. So they like what I do. So that's why I was able to build an international audience. But now I feel like I. I'M trying to be more personal, you know, telling my stories, talking about my marriage and talking about having a kid. I'm trying to be more honest with my, with my stories than just having an outside perspective of American culture and of the language. I still do it. I still have ideas that come, but I don't, I don't spend that much time anymore focusing on, on that which I, I like. I'm not, I'm not against it. I like it. And it was important, but it's not. I feel like it's not me anymore, you know?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. What bothers you now? How often are you bothered on a day to day? Well, did anything bother you today, bro?

[B]

What? You know what bothers me? I was just talking. I was just talking to my wife. I feel like economy class because I'm 6 7.

[A]

Yes. Which I need to explain that to you.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You told me there's something special. I didn't know that. Okay, so I'm flying. When I'm flying, I always fly economy. I feel like economy now is not like, like business is not a better version. I feel like economy got worse, you know?

[A]

Yes, exactly.

[B]

It's not like, oh, I'm gonna give you a better seat. No, I'm gonna give you a normal seat. I'm gonna make those 85% suck now.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That bothers me a lot. Flying bothers me. You know what? Also bother a tiny little person in the emergency row.

[A]

Yeah, you can't do that, bro. Yeah, Every. Every seat's an emergency. Every seat. Every seat's emergency for you. Yeah, yeah. You got to be. Be in the regular seats.

[B]

Be in the regular seat.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Emergency road should be reserved. Be like, okay, you're too poor or too cheap, but you're also too tall.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

This is where you go.

[B]

Oh, yeah, that's what I think.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And also, I don't need you to ask if I'm willing to assist.

[B]

Yeah, that's too much. I'm not gonna, I'm gonna lie. If the plane goes down, you think I'm gonna be like, well, I was instructed to save your guys lives. Yeah. So now I can leave?

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

It.

[A]

Yeah. What are you on the hope for.

[B]

That I can, I can go there and just leave? No, no, no. I, I have a mission.

[A]

If you leave, do you get sued? I need to know, like, because, like, what happens? Like, hey, 50 people died because you didn't assist. And you go, well, I should have.

[B]

I do know.

[A]

Yeah, no, I'm out I'm out.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Is it the guy who, like, the. The plane crashed and he was the only one who left the plane?

[A]

11A. Seat 11A. 11A on India Air? Yeah. Yeah. He was the only one.

[B]

You see the image of him just like. Like, leaving the. The fire. You see that?

[A]

Yeah. If this is the same flight, everyone else on the flight died. One guy lived.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

11A.

[B]

But did you see him? An interview right after the. No. Oh, no. There's an inter. Please search for this guy. There's an interview of him leaving this mess, and people are like, where are you? I was like. I was in the flight, like, with his senses and talking and just walking.

[A]

No, he was in the exit row, bro.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

And he lied. He was in the exit row. Because that's what I would say. If I was in the exit row and I left, I'd be like, no, I was in first class. I just. Yeah, I popped out. I didn't have any obligation to assist these people. I didn't agree to anything.

[B]

He explained there's an interview with him in the hospital, too. Oh, this is him. Oh, look at this. This is him leaving the. Oh, look at this. He's just walking. Oh, look at those guys. They all died.

[A]

That's crazy.

[B]

And I'm leaving. And then now there's an interview with the guy, and he explained what he did. Whoa. How can you tell. Oh, how can you tell this guy that God doesn't exist? You'll never be able to convince him.

[A]

There's gonna be some Christian missionaries that go down there. Like, I. Look, I know you believe in. Krishna. Was his younger brother. All right. Don't make it too sad. Come on, Chris. Yeah, don't make it too sad.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

Stop it, stop it, stop it.

[B]

And also, if you're the only one who survives. Whatever, my brother.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[B]

I'm sorry, brother. I'm not gonna cry for you. It was like. That's like 155 people died. I'm the lucky. Don't make me feel bad about you dying. Yeah, don't bring it up.

[A]

Just be happy for me, right? Why is no one happy?

[B]

Why do they have to talk about his brother? The guy is ecstatic, and now he's depressed. Yeah, right?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Like, this is the perspective we need on life, you know? Like, look how great it can be.

[B]

Of course.

[A]

Think. Pray to Vishnu, pray to Shiva, whoever you need.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

It saved him.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

That's so funny.

[B]

I agree with you. Yeah.

[A]

It's also one other thing. That bothers me is that my wife will insist that we sit together on the plane.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And so I say, okay, well, where do you want. How do you know it's three seats and three seats? And she says, well, we'll just get two seats. I go, but one of these seats is the middle seat. Seat. And she goes, yeah. I go, well, you want to sit together? I'm fine to sit window and window. We can, you know, pass snacks back and forth. But you want to sit with the middle seat? She goes, yeah, it's fine. And so she always sat in the middle.

[B]

That's okay.

[A]

Until we had a baby. And now she has the old rules. But she goes, well, with the baby, it's easier if I'm next to the window.

[B]

So you sit in the middle.

[A]

So now I'm in the middle seat with a baby.

[B]

In your seat with the baby.

[A]

And then she passes me the baby and goes, oh, he wants to be with you.

[B]

You.

[A]

So now I'm in the middle seat with the baby. And then she's on the side just having a great time. No, no, no. We gotta re. We gotta revisit these rules. I think the best way, we both get aisles, and then we're on either side of the aisle. Right. Because then we're together, but we both get a little arm room, you know?

[B]

Well, I travel with the dog.

[A]

Really? A big, big dog?

[B]

No, no, but it's a dog big enough because he. He doesn't go in the. In the little crate. Yeah, it goes in my wife's lap.

[A]

I see.

[B]

Because she has emotional. I don't know, something. Emotional support dog.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And. And it travels. But it travels with her.

[A]

It's not emotionally supporting.

[B]

It.

[A]

What is your emotional support?

[B]

I pay. That's such a support. It's also a synonym of supporting someone. Yes, actually. Pain.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You know, so that is.

[A]

That is hilarious.

[B]

I'm supporting a.

[A]

You pay for the flight. But then she's like, I need more support.

[B]

I pay for the flight. I pay for the dog. But the dog is expensive. So every time I got to go to Brazil, I need to go to the vet and got some, like, extra documents. Every time we fly, I have to pay for the dog. At least, like, a good 350, 400 bucks.

[A]

Really? For a passport?

[B]

No. For what? Dogs don't have passport.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

No, it's. It's like an authorization that a vet. Authorized vet needs to give it to.

[A]

You in order for your flight dog on a flight. It has to be. It has to be a good dog.

[B]

It's a good dog.

[A]

That's fine if it's a good dog. I just don't. I don't know how you can test for this, but I think it's a good dog. Yeah. There needs to be some type of process to screen if it's a good dog or a bad dog. Because I've been on flights with bad dogs.

[B]

I've never been on flight with them.

[A]

Really?

[B]

What was the bad dog doing?

[A]

It. Yipping. I had one dog that. And then they picked it up. You took a. Yeah, but I was like, you can't be on the. This is insane.

[B]

You know what? That's bad.

[A]

It's a bad dog.

[B]

If it takes a. That's a problem.

[A]

Turn the flight around. It was.

[B]

They. They optimize.

[A]

No, turn it around. We got to turn around. Imagine if a human did that. What would they do? If a person just on the plane, right? That person.

[B]

What do you think?

[A]

They get arrested? Go to prison? El Salvador.

[B]

The guy really wanted to take a. That was an accident. Well, that happened not because he took a. That, like, just to mess with people.

[A]

Did you see this? This happened on a. On a flight to Paris, I think. What's up, people? We're going break real quick because this episode is sponsored by me. Yes. Camp R D. That is the merch. That is the threads that we'd be wearing around here at the campsite. And we got all sorts of cool stuff. My buddy Zach just cooked up a sick UFO collection. You can go check it out there at Camp R and D. I really appreciate you guys. We had so many people that came through for the holidays and picked up their threads. It's awesome. We got hats, hoodies, T shirts, all that. And if you're still listening to this and you didn't skip through, congrats. You got a promo code? All right, what do we do? Christos? 5% more. How much five more? 10%. 10%. Final offer. You won't go higher? You tell me. What. What do we give them? 12%. All right. We're doing 12% off. Should we go more? Hey, it's your world. I'm just living in it. Let's round up 10%. No, 15%. If you use the promo code. Camp 15, you're gonna be getting 15 off. Yes. I think we should also do Camp 10. Just if someone doesn't want to take too much. Camp 10 or Camp 15, those are the only two that are available. And then maybe we send a little something extra to the ones that do 10. If you do Camp 10, maybe there's something extra. No promises, but it's an interesting experiment. I just am curious to see what you guys do. Camp 10 or Camp 15 at Camp R D? When you check out, you're gonna be getting those discounts. Thank you so much for rocking with us and wearing the threads. It keeps the lights on. It keeps. Keeps the fire burning. Anyway, let's get back to the show.

[B]

What happened in a plane?

[A]

This situation here. It was forced to land because, oh, a dog relieved itself in first class. This is even what I was talking about. There's a woman that had explosive diarrhea and ruined the whole aisle of the airplane. And then they just, like, had to clean it up. Like, it was a whole. It was a whole thing. And the plane was like, what do we do? Is it a medical emergency? Like, at what point are they going to save more money because they have to refund people's flights? Because people are complaining. Do we save more money turning this whole flight around, or do we just give everyone a free ticket?

[B]

What did they do? They just.

[A]

I think that one. They finished the flight, but they had to refund everyone, which is kind of. Honestly, depending on the flight. I'd be okay with that If I spent $3,000 for a first class ticket. And then they said, you have to be near some, but we'll refund you.

[B]

Oh, I would fly. Well, bro. Then I would eat the.

[A]

If it's fear factor, I'll do it.

[B]

You know, I broke my. My. My collarbone.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And I had to fly to Brazil because I. I broke my collarbone. And I flew to Brazil the next day to have surgery in Brazil.

[A]

So you flew with the broken column?

[B]

Yes, and I'm gonna tell you, I bought a business flight. Flying with a collarbone on business flight. Much better than flying economy with the perfect normal color. There's no comparison. I'm telling you. I'm not lying. I found a good position, and then I was like. Then I was. I slept really something I didn't do. I never. I never do when I'm on economy class.

[A]

Yeah, of course not. Did you explain to everyone as you're going through, you went through tsa, and you're like, my shoulder's broken. Like, did you tell people this?

[B]

No. No. Why? No.

[A]

Well, I mean.

[B]

No.

[A]

They try to pat you down or something?

[B]

No, they didn't. Oh, if they did, I had to. To tell them, but I just told. The only person I told to was because they gave me a seat. Where am I? Like, this was the. There's a little table right on the business class. So this was where the table was. I needed the table to be here, so I changed the seat with someone that the table was.

[A]

And you explained the situation?

[B]

I explained the situation. The person understood.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah, that's okay.

[A]

I had someone explain a situation to me. I was flying during COVID I had the aisle seat woman in the middle seat her husband in the other aisle. And it was like the big plane. So we're in the middle and she gets up to go to the bathroom where I'll have our masks on. And I'm like pulling mine down to like, eat whatever, drink water. Take a second, put it back up. And he leans over to me, goes, hey, dude, I don't give a. But my wife is super crazy about this covet thing. Can you just, like, be cool? I was like, what do you mean? And he was like, I just saw you, like, with your mask down. I don't care, but she's gonna freak out. The last flight we took, she made a whole scene because the guy next to us had his mask down. Just. Just put your mask up like, I'm telling you, she's just going to lose it. And he was confiding in me like, I can't control this lady. I need you to step up just to be a hero for me. And I was like, all right. And I kind of did it cuz I was like, I don't feel like having a moment. And if I did take my mask down, she. I felt her staring. I felt the glare, the heat.

[B]

Ten minutes later, the girl, the woman was like, my husband here is going to create a whole story. It's going to create a whole story. Please don't believe me. I couldn't care less about COVID He's neurotic.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. They're both just putting on each other. It was so terrifying. I was like, oh, gosh. But I felt like I should step up, you know, I should do the right thing.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

But it's specifically economy class for you because you're so tall. Because you are 6 7.

[B]

But also, I'm flying. It's okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, now that I moved to New York. Yeah, it's not a good flight, but 10 hours sitting down to go and see my son. You know, at the end of the day, it's like, life could be worse.

[A]

I need to explain the 67 thing to you.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I think you'll find this also, if column's out there, you should bring Column in here. Because Column speaks Portuguese.

[B]

Oh, he does?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. He's kid Super. He's the guy that built the whole building.

[B]

Because you're gonna say something that I'm not gonna understand.

[A]

Exactly. I need him to translate. No, I'm. He would just love to speak to another person. He loves. His favorite soccer player of all time is Ronaldinho.

[B]

He. Did he come from the same city, really? In the south. Porto Alegre. I actually saw Ronaldinho playing when he was like, nine years old. No. Because I used to play soccer too, but I was in a. We were like, my. My. My class was like 13 and down, and he was like nine and down. He was a little younger than me, and I remember him playing, and he would do. He would make like 12 goals a game.

[A]

Really? He was that good.

[B]

Team would win like, 15, 0. Everybody. He would. They would. In everybody really procergs. That was the name of his team. And they would. They would be everybody and Ronaldinho. At that time, Ronaldinho was known as. As brother because his brother was a soccer player too. We didn't know about the kid. We just knew that his brother was the guy.

[A]

No way.

[B]

And then now the brother is kind of his manager, I think.

[A]

Oh, that's awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And how do you pronounce it? Wow. So he did a collab with Ronaldinho.

[B]

Oh, he did, he did.

[A]

He did. Like. Like, it was his dream to meet him. And then not only did he meet him, he did a whole fashion collaboration with him, and he was a part of the show.

[B]

Did you know that Ronald Gino was in jail, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

He spent time in jail in Paraguay.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

You know why? Because he used a fake passport.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And guess what? To go to Paraguay, if you're a Brazilian, you don't need a passport.

[A]

What is he doing?

[B]

Also play too much soccer.

[A]

Of all people. He's the most famous guy in the world.

[B]

You went to jail.

[A]

They would look at it and go, well, your name's not Stephen. We know who you are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He has a unique Clarissa. Yeah, it's crazy. That's so funny. But the six, seven thing, okay, this is a. This is a Gen Z meme.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

So there's a song that came out, and it's funny because at the show that you said, oh, I'm six, seven, A bunch of people in the audience, you didn't notice this? They all went like this.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

It's from this meme that means nothing. So Chris means nothing. You do this so literally, they. I don't even know how to Explain. There's a song that came out that says, you know, six, seven. And it's. It's by this guy Skrilla. He's a rapper.

[B]

And so the guy with a long hair.

[A]

No, different guy. There's a. There's a. A famous rapper. Not dubstep. Do you think of Skrillex?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No, no, not the dj. He's a rapper. His name's Skrilla.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And he does a song where he says 6, 7. And it became a meme. And so now like Mellow Ball, the basketball player, he's six, seven. So he'll walk out on the court and everyone will go, six, seven. And now it's just a meme. Anytime people say six, seven.

[B]

What does that mean? What is this?

[A]

I just became a thing. And it kind of means this movement.

[B]

It'S just connected to this.

[A]

That's what, six, seven. It's just an inside joke, literally, to just go six, seven, seven. So you might notice now when you go on stage, you say six, seven, will be one young kid with a broccoli haircut. And he'll go like this. And now you know why it means literally nothing other than when people say six, seven. People go, it's just an inside joke with the kids.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

And they do this all the time. The Gen Z kids will try to make memes to make people like this rapper Skrilla.

[B]

Look at that. The phrase originated on the song Dot Dot sixty seven by Skrilla.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Which became popular in editing featuring basketball players. Lamelo ball. A lamelo ball.

[A]

Yes. Because he's 6, 7, people are like, oh, there he goes.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

So now he'll do, he'll do. And then everyone will go, six, seven.

[B]

Nice, nice. They could do a collab with me.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[B]

A little bit of followers.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. You're success.

[B]

It's difficult to get followers in America, bro.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Because. I don't know, I feel like it takes more for people here follow you. It's not that. I just like one thing. For example. I'll give an example. Like Big Brother, the TV show.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Big Brother is still a big show in America. I got a friend of mine, she was like third place in Big Brother. She left the show with 120000 followers. In Brazil, the last place of Big Brother lives at least with 3 million, you know, because people follow you. People want to see what you're doing.

[A]

I think the culture is more consolidated.

[B]

The culture is more social, you know, like India. Brazilians are like Indian people is the Same thing. We are very connected to our phones, so we want to follow you, want to see what you're doing. So that's why I was able to have a career after tv, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to survive.

[A]

But I think America is also much more fragmented. Like different parts of the country, people, different people have different algorithms. They all talk about different things. So you might be the biggest show within a thing, but you're not the. There's very few times where everyone knows everything.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Whereas I feel like in different cultures, things are a little bit more consolidated. More people are like mainstream.

[B]

Is more mainstream.

[A]

Yes, exactly. America doesn't have a mainstream anymore.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

There's no more mainstream, in my opinion. I don't think there has been for like seven years.

[B]

You think so?

[A]

Six.

[B]

Seven. What about like, six? What about talk shows and.

[A]

Yeah, I don't think there's a. There's not a monoculture, you know, so your dreams of being on the Tonight show, it'll be. It'll hit people that watch it, but it's not going to be like, not gonna be.

[B]

I understand. Yeah.

[A]

We're back in the day. There was a monoculture. You went on the Tonight show, you were out of here.

[B]

Of course, you know, now you need to have your own people.

[A]

People. Exactly.

[B]

You need to connect directly with your people.

[A]

But I still want to see you on the Tonight Show.

[B]

I'm not gonna do Tonight Show. The guy hates me.

[A]

Come on, bro.

[B]

The guy hates me. It's okay.

[A]

We can make it happen. Maybe he's listening.

[B]

It would be amazing. I wanted to do it because it would be so cool in my country, you know? Can you imagine? Because they know that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

They know tv. Yeah. So it would be everywhere. If I tell them I'm regular at the seller, they're like, huh? What? Where? Show me this little 100 seat room in the basement of a restaurant. This is the most important place in common America. You are doing gymnasiums here. You're doing like fucking arena arenas in theaters. Why is that? So it is important. What about Jimmy Fall? I'm not gonna do Jimmy. Oh.

[A]

But maybe never say never. You never know.

[B]

Well, let's see. I wish I could, but so many people did. And I just think it would be cool for comedy in my country, you know?

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

Other comics to be like, oh, this is. Yeah.

[A]

Is there anything you miss about Brazil? Like, I know you go back so often, but living here, is there elements of the culture, the friendliness of the warmth that you feel like it is Nice. I do miss this. No, really, you like the American affect. It suits you.

[B]

Like the people. And I've been able to connect with my people doing shows everywhere in the world, because we are everywhere. So I like my people. I love Brazilian people. There's nothing in the country that makes me miss, you know, like, oh, my God. Because I'll give an example, okay. If I go to a. Like a. Like a. Just like a bar in America, okay. I'm gonna sit down and I'm gonna be by myself, eating meat, drinking Diet Coke and watching. One TV has baseball, American football, the UFC 5, NBA games. I was like, oh, that's heaven for me. The same bar in Brazil has, like, someone is singing karaoke. The other one is playing a shitty guitar. The other one is drinking caipirinha and getting drunk and screaming and someone. It's much. And the TV has this shitty soccer game that nobody cares about, where people are, like, let go. And they don't even know the team. It's another vibe. It's. It's a different thing. I connect more with this.

[A]

Yeah, but I love the people, of course.

[B]

You know, the people. The guy screaming, the. The happiness. It's lovely. That's what I like. So what I miss is the warmth of the people. And that's what my also like for my wife. My wife never lived in Brazil. She's there now, but she spent all of her life outside of Brazil, so she lived in Ecuador until she was 18. At an 18, she moved to LA and she lived in America the whole time she moved, she spending time in Brazil. Now when we come back here, then we are like, oh, the treatment's so different, man. You go to a restaurant, the way a waitress treat you, it's different, really, you know, oh, do you. In Brazil, it's like, do you want this? And do you want that? Do you want to add some more stuff? Oh, they know your name. They call you by your name. I go to the same place in New York, and people couldn't care less about me, which is. To me, it's fine. But I can see why in Brazil, people are like, oh, this is so different. This is family. Yeah, yeah, this is family. Yeah. But the anonymity, the same. So I'll go to a restaurant. I don't know how to say this. When you go to a restaurant and they know what you're gonna order.

[A]

The usual.

[B]

The usual. That's everywhere there.

[A]

I am your host, Stassi Schroeder. Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. What's the most unhinged thing of season three, Steven. Because he's so evil.

[B]

I do think he is misunderstood. You see everyone face consequences. It's intoxicating.

[A]

The writers just know how to trick. Yeah.

[B]

There's always a twist in this show. It's nothing you would expect.

[A]

Tell me Lies, the official podcast now streaming at and stream the new season of Tell Me Lies on Hulu and.

[B]

Hulu on Disney plus.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

You know, everywhere you go to a place three, four times, they already know what you want. The usual, you know, so it's. It's a. It's a. The people are more. It's a warmth, you know, it's more warm. It's. That's different.

[A]

How are Americans funny? Like, what do you observe about American culture, specifically in New York, that you find hilarious?

[B]

There's an arrogance in America that I think is funny.

[A]

Like, we're the best.

[B]

Like.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I think. I think it is. It's delusional, but it's funny. It's funny. You know what I also think is funny? The fact that America know nothing about the rest of the world.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think it's funny, and I kind of respect that. It's like, I'm so big leg. I'm so better. Whatever Brazil was next to Italy, I couldn't care less. There's a side of me that the ignorance, it's like, it's okay. You have everything here. Why would you need to go somewhere else? Yeah, it's okay. I understand the feeling, the ignorance. Of course, it would be amazing if you go out of your. You know, your country to know more about the world. But at the same time, I see that I'm like, yeah, it makes sense.

[A]

That's. Do you notice it when talking to people that, like, you'll describe something, they go, yeah, well, obviously, America is the best, you know?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But I think it's speak of the devil. Speak of the devil. Yes. Please interrupt. This is my buddy column. Column is AKA Kid super, but also used to live in Brazil.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Salvador, Bahia.

[A]

Yo, what's up, brother? How are you? We're on the pod. We're live right now. Welcome. Yeah, this is Fabian.

[B]

That would be. You live in Salvador.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh, we're on the mic.

[B]

Follow B. Follow. He speaks well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. With a. With a weird accent, but it's. It's understandable.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I have an accent in English, so, like. Of course.

[C]

I thought you were going to say that. I thought you were going to say the accent's perfect.

[B]

No, no, it's good. It's good. It's good. Yeah. He lives in Salvador. Salvador is the. It's where, like, that's Brazil, which for me is a nightmare.

[C]

I thought it was going to be so positive. Where are you from?

[B]

Too much.

[C]

Where are you from?

[B]

I'm from Porto Alegri.

[C]

That's where, like, the pretty people are from.

[A]

Oh, that's what.

[B]

But I, I, that's what I was saying to him. Like, people from Bahia, the stainless. Lovely people. Yeah, yeah. So nice. So lovely. But it's a lot. There's this thing called Olo Doom. Yeah. In Salvador. It's like people that. It's a group that has like. How do you say this in English?

[A]

Drums.

[B]

The drums. And they are all over the city of Salvador and it's noisy. It's unbearable. Horrible.

[C]

On the positive note, if you've ever seen the Michael Jackson music video where he's in Brazil, it's all the drummers from Odum. So he has a really, really negative outlook on Brazil, where most people would have a positive.

[B]

If you go there and spend a week, you're going to love it.

[A]

This is why he's a comedian.

[B]

Try to spend a year there. You're going to.

[C]

I spent one year.

[B]

One year. Okay. Did you ever go back?

[C]

Yeah, now I go back, but now I went to.

[B]

But it's a beautiful place. It's an amazingly beautiful place. Yeah.

[C]

I think it's the best place in Brazil. Sao Paulo feels like New York now.

[B]

Sapol is like city of Mexico. Yeah. Yeah, I see that.

[A]

And he said he used to watch.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As a kid. Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Nine years old.

[B]

Because when we were. Because in Brazil you play soccer and you, you also play football. The salon. I don't know how to. Yeah. So futsal. He was playing futsal and he was like, much better than everybody else. So his team would win every game, like 12, 0. And he would make like 11 goals. But at that time, I was telling him he was not Ronaldinho, he was assist brother.

[C]

And Asis is the manager now.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And Asis is also amazing. And I was talking to them and I was like. Because they love footballing now, which is like volleyball with their feet. And I'm like, do you guys ever play together? The brother's like, you mean we would never lose? Because the brother's lefty. He's like, I'm lefty. Ronaldo's righty. He's like. And then I go, what's the difference between you and Ronaldinho? And he's like, I He's like, ronaldinho has my skill, but then the light of God. And that's the difference. But his brother was like an epic soccer player.

[B]

He played in Italy. He moved to Italy when he was like, at that time, people would go to Brazil and. And get those 14 year old kids and take to Italy. And he was one of those guys. He moved to Italy when He was like 13 years old. You know those people who would watch games and get the talents and they would. They. He moved to Italy when he was like, like really, really, really young.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

So everybody would go to him like, you're amazing. He's like, if you think I'm amazing, wait till you see my little brother.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, that's awesome.

[C]

And now you know. But no, best guys ever. Ronaldinho's my God.

[A]

Yeah. And. And Rafi is your new uniform.

[C]

So you're a comedian, but do you do comedy ever in English?

[B]

I do exclusively in English. No. Now. Yeah, but I did it for 20 years in Portuguese. Okay. And then you're like, no, no, I still do it with my people.

[A]

But he goes to Brazil and does Arenas.

[B]

Okay, Yeah, I wouldn't say arenas, but.

[A]

Big theaters, stadium theaters.

[C]

Because I went to a comedy show in Brazil when I was living there and I didn't understand a word.

[B]

You know where it was?

[C]

I was in Bahia, but I don't know. I don't know where it was. But the jokes are all about like, well, if you grew up in this city, you're like this. And I'm like, I don't know what that is at all. Or they'll be like, like making fun of the different accents. So, like, you don't get any of the jokes. But how much did you have to, like, learn about American culture to end up becoming a community?

[B]

We all know, okay about them. You know, we get the music, we get the, the movies. We know what's New York. You know, the difference between New York and la, we kind of all know a little bit. But living here then I had the experience of like, you know, get to know the country, get to know the people, and then you start having ideas. I think to. To be able to do comedy in English, you need to. To move to a place that speaks English, you know, to develop the language and also to be able to observate the world a little better here, you know?

[C]

Yeah, it would be funny if you translate your exact Portuguese jokes just in English.

[B]

I did a few of those. Okay. If it's about family, marriage and relationships, it works. Yeah. I wouldn't say all of them, but it can work. Some of them did. Some of the talk about your wife being pregnant. Those jokes, you know, that can work, that can't be translated. But if you talk about accent or a supermarket that you love, cookie that your mom used to me, well, that. That nobody cares.

[C]

Yeah, that's funny. All right, guys, thank you.

[B]

Nice meeting.

[C]

We have a soccer field on the roof if you want to play.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I'm gonna take them up.

[B]

Awesome. That's awesome. Take care, man. Take care.

[A]

That is kid super. The guy who put together this whole building.

[B]

Oh, he's the. The owner of the business?

[A]

Yes, he is the. The man, the myth, and just a great friend of mine.

[B]

I don't think he liked the fact that I don't like Salvador. He was really offended at first, and then he started liking me from the middle to the end.

[A]

Well, that's the thing, I think when people. He now is like, very comedy fluent. Like, now I've brought so many comedians around, he's like learning. But I think he's so used to meeting Brazilians and he's like, oh, I lived in Salvador. And they go, oh, it's beautiful. It's amazing. The typical Brazilian response. Yeah, yeah, we got to see a real life. A real life distinction between the Brazilian mindset and the r mindset of Rafi.

[B]

But I don't. But I don't want to talk about my people also, you know.

[A]

Of course not.

[B]

So you understand, like, there's something. Some things that I don't connect, but other things that I just love.

[A]

This, this is the comic, though. Like, if you ask me about America and they go, oh, what do you think about California? Ah, they're all stuck up, you know, California.

[B]

What do you hate about America?

[A]

What do I hate? Oh, man, that's an interesting question. I've never thought about that. Okay, what do I hate?

[B]

Yeah, hate something that you despise. They're like, I can't believe we are just. We are like this.

[A]

I find college football so strange. I find I never understood it. Like, I would go, what about professional football? A little more. Because it's like, yeah, they're paid, but like, you get a stadium of people that gather around to watch children play a game for free. And then these men are losing their minds over watching an 18 year old throw a ball. And they're like, no, how could he do that? And kid that's doing it for a scholarship and the whole thing. I'm like, this, this makes no sense. This is an amateur game and there's a stadium of people. 40, 000 people to watch unpaid players. It doesn't exist anywhere in the world.

[B]

Now they can have money with the nil and with sponsors and.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And posts on Instagram.

[A]

And even that is interesting because it's like. Like these kids are just not. I just don't understand it. It doesn't exist anywhere else. My family did not watch it growing up. They don't have my neither. My parents. Parents went to college.

[B]

And people talk about try to make mental health like something in this country. We are discussing about mental health. We need to take care of people's mental health. And then you turn on TV and see those games with teenagers knocking their heads against, like, monsters. And then the guy just passed out. The American football is amazing because you see someone passing out on the field and the guy goes, let's go to our commercials. They couldn't care less about that guy. So normal for someone to just pass out on the field.

[A]

And then the commercials for, like, some hospital. It's like, yeah, go. Go to this, you know, Cedar Sinai, whatever. And it's like, how is this all happening at the same time? There's also, like, commercialism in America that I find really funny. Cue to an ad, please. What's up, guys? We're gonna take a break really quick because you know what time it is. It's time to level up. And bluechew just dropped something. Been wild. Okay. Bluechew's been rocking with us from the beginning, so of course, we have to rock. Pun intended. With them. All right? And what they've just done is changing the game. All right? This is next level. Gold metal energy. Okay? I'm this bluechew gold. If you've never heard of it, this is the newest innovation from the number one chewable Ed brand. All right? This isn't the little blue pill that your grandpa used. This is the four in one beast that is setting the gold standard for performance. We're talking two ingredients to keep keep the good times rolling, okay? Mixed with apomorphine and oxytocin that are going to turn up the arousal and the connections in your brain as well as the ingredients to keep the blood flow to keep everything pumping. Okay? Blue chew Gold dissolves into your tongue and works in as little as 15 minutes. And that means you're going to be rocking quicker and staying in the game longer. Bluechew is the ultimate service to get you these chewables to your door in a discreet way to keep the bedroom on fire. Blue Chew has officially turned bedroom performance into an Olympic sport, okay? And just like the Olympics, you want to go for gold. All right, people, I'm telling you, this is the number one chewable tablet, okay? And let me just say, that's how we put this tent up every single episode. We give Christos a Blue Chew. And you know what? We have this 10 rocking all year round, okay? That's what it takes. Now, I recommend this in a, you know, a married, Christian relationship. But you know what? You guys can do whatever you want, okay? This is a free country. So if you're trying to, you know, spice up the bedroom with your girlfriend, your boyfriend, whoever it is, is, this is the Chewable for you, okay? And we have a special deal for the listeners of this program. You're going to get 10 off your first month of Blue Chew gold if you use the code Gagnon G A G N O N. That's promo code Gagnon G A G N O N. You can visit bluechew.com for more details and important safety information. And thank you so much to Bluetooth for keeping the lights on and making this show possible. Now let's get back to it. But like, like, everyone in America's, like, obsessed with like, you know, making money and like this and that. Like, it's nice because there's dreams. People believe that they can do something. And that's why I love being here. That's why my parents came here, because anything's possible. But sometimes too many things are possible. And every person you meet's like, yeah, I got this business I'm gonna start and it's gonna do this, this and this. Just wait. And like you have someone post on Instagram and it's like, you know, big things are coming. And then it's another picture of just like a T shirt with like a logo printed on. On it. And you're like, really? And they're like, big things. It's going to take over the world. And you're like, all right, there's. There's almost too much self belief where everyone believes that they can do anything. And a little part of me, the comic part, is a little bit like.

[B]

Okay, but now I want to. I want to ask you something because I feel that that's You. You criticize a little bit. You're a little more alternative.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But also you deal with people who want to conquer the world.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

Like, even though the Andrew. Andrew is a guy who thinks big.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

He is conquering the world.

[A]

That's why we work so together.

[B]

She wants to do people and people dance. In the beginning of his show, it's like, it's a lot and I think that's them. But how, how do you know that's.

[A]

Why we fit so well together, you know, because he will be like, we're going to do this and anything's possible. And then part of me is like, well, let's be realistic, okay. And, and then, and then we find a little middle ground and then we, and then we make great stuff. But like I'll. I feel like even in that regard, like I'm much more insecure. Like I, I have much more like self doubt. And that self doubt can be really helpful because I'm a good editor predator. But sometimes it can be inhibiting because I'm not, I don't dream so big, you know, and maybe I should dream bigger. But I surround myself by people that dream big and it inspires me.

[B]

At the end of the day, what are we here for? To be happy. That's what it is, right? Some people are happy with a lot.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But then it becomes a hustle because you're always searching for something bigger. So you're never satisfied. Yeah. So when are you going to be? So it's good to be searching, searching for this, looking like, trying to reach the stars. But what about if you reach the start and that's not enough and it.

[A]

A lot of times it isn't right. Like think about like they call it gold medal depression. Have you heard of this? This is like an affliction that'll happen to Olympic athletes where they train their whole life and they go through everything, five years old, broken bones. They go through all the stuff, they win the gold medal and now and then they're depressed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they thought, oh, once I achieve this, then I'll be good enough, I'll be worth it. I'll have achieved everything I want. And then they find themselves at the top of the podium going, mind, is this all there? This is it.

[B]

That's why it connects what I was talking about, my people, because my people, I feel like we don't need that much to be happy. You know, we made the choice of being happy. So that's why I come from a happy country. We struggle. We know that it's almost for, for people don't have sometimes opportunity to reach the star.

[A]

It's almost hopeless.

[B]

It's just like I need to get enough to be able to eat. But when I do that, when I, when I'm able to eat, what do I do? I Just do a barbecue, a good resin with my friends, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm also like, sometimes I ask myself, where is the happiness for me? Because I'm. I feel like I'm a happy guy. Like, but why did I move to America? Am I searching for something bigger than I had before? You know, so when is it gonna be enough? Now I'm thinking about doing shows in Spanish. Vanish. Is this me searching for happiness or is just me having fun with life? That's a question I ask myself all the time.

[A]

I don't think it's always bad. Like, again, I think some people just have a natural disposition for, like, conquest. And I don't think that it's good or bad. It's just kind of how it's directed. And I also think there has to be a little bit that's like a little stoic part of you that's like, okay, I'll be, you know, I'll free myself from desire. I can just be happy with what I can control, and that's good enough, enough. And again, don't get me wrong, I sort of like, you know, kind of poo pooing this American sensibility, but I have that also. Like, I have ambitions, but a lot of it comes from, like, an acceptance of death where I'm like, I'm going to die. I might as well try as hard as I can right now and give him my best shot and see what happens. But there's also part of me, and I kind of lean almost more to the Brazilian affect, I think, where I'm like, I have a son that I love and I love spending time with my wife. Like, if I had the opportunity to just like, like, do this podcast, do flagrant, do stand up, and everything's the same. I think, like, I would be like, I'm living my dream now. You know what I mean? But part of me is like, I need to dream bigger. That way I can do more. But I'm completely content. Like, I'm so happy with everything that's happening in my life at this exact moment.

[B]

I think also when you have ups and downs in your life, you're able to appreciate more the ups, you know, or choose some moments to be considered as ups. It's like, okay, this is. I'm happy. I'm just happy. It's. I felt like in my career I had moments when things weren't going that well for me. And then you have to make a choice. Do I just get depressed because things are not happening because I was canceled because of this and that, you know, but at the end of the day, you just look at your son, you look at the audience, you have people that like you, you maybe, you know, also searching, like, with. With entertainment sometimes in order for you to be big. I don't. I think you guys here in America, you can be big without being mainstream.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

In other countries, it's difficult. In order for you to be really big, you need to play the game a little, you know, which I could.

[A]

See that being frustrating.

[B]

It is very frustrating. You don't feel free, right? I feel free now. That's a choice I made. I had few moments in my life where I could make the choice to be a mainstream guy, and I didn't fit. And people are like, you have talent to be like, one of the biggest, the best communicators in this country. I'm like, so I'm gonna have to say what people want me to say. Am I going to be able to do the jokes I want? No. So power sometimes comes not with a responsibility. It comes with. What's the opposite of freedom?

[A]

With imprisonment.

[B]

Imprisonment.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. That is true. That is true. Specifically where you are. There's people in America that have very successful shows and entertainment, or they have great businesses and no one knows who they are, and they're not the richest guy in the world, but they're completely. All their needs are met. That. And. I don't know, part of me is like, I'm. I'm. I'm fine with that. I don't. Again, I. I don't chase fame. Like, it's not an interesting thing. Like, I almost look at. Like, again, I would love to perform in front of big audiences and have people come to my shows, but that's fame. But to me, I. And again, I don't. I haven't worked this out completely, but, like, my feeling is that I. I see fame as a consequence of doing something what? Well, and so, like, if I can become so great at stand up that people want to go see me, that is good. It's a byproduct.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

The goal is not to be so famous that people come see me do stand up. The goal is to be so good at stand up that consequently you become famous. Like, I don't know if they are connected. Of course they're connected. But I don't know if Ronaldinho was like, I'm going to become good at soccer so I can become famous in the same way. Like, Steph Curry is like, I'm not going to become great at Basketball. So I can be a famous person.

[B]

Person.

[A]

I find that a lot of people, entertainment are like, I'm going to become a famous person, and this will be my way to do it. Maybe I'll become a streamer. Maybe I'll become a podcaster. Da, da, da.

[B]

I think when I started, I wanted to be famous.

[A]

Yeah. And I think that's a common feeling.

[B]

I wanted to be famous.

[A]

And don't be wrong, there was a part of me when I was 18, doing stand up, I was like, oh, maybe I could be famous. As I've become more known, the appeal of fame has really worn off. And if it's a byproduct of our consequence, then so be it.

[B]

It.

[A]

But I'm also completely fine going to a restaurant, waiting for a table, but also not being, you know, interacted with all the time or being with my family and that's okay. Or like, not having my son have to deal with the consequence of my success.

[B]

And also, it's cool when people know you because of your creativity.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

You know, they know you because they kind of agree with you, because they like something specifically you did not. Because it's just you're there.

[A]

Yeah. I don't necessarily need to be like, oh, that guy. I would love for someone to come up to me and be like, like, you did an episode on this super specific thing that no one ever talks about that I thought was amazing. And then it's like, oh, let's have a conversation. Because you're like me. And I love to have human connection that's predicated on things that I'm interested in. Of course, like, all people. And so if someone comes up to me and they're like, oh, you did this podcast on Hinduism, or, you know, on Napoleon, and then they talk to me about Napoleon, I'm like, oh, this is great. But if some guy's just like, you're.

[B]

That guy, then it's not pleasing.

[A]

It's fine. It's nice to always be known. And there's always something nice about. About, you know, being acknowledged in a universe that doesn't really care about you. But it feels deeper when someone knows and they go, hey, I had that same experience that you talked about on stage.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

And now there's a connection.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

And so fame for fame's sake seems a little fruitless.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

It's also completely intangible. You can't really aim for it. You know, like, if you gave me an option of like, hey, you have to do stand up in this Specific way and you'll be super famous. Or you can do. Stand up the way that you really want to and be much less known, but way more connected with your people because you're being honest. I think the second is way better.

[B]

Right?

[A]

For sure. I think.

[B]

Well, but that's the. The problem is there's a risk. If you make that choice, people don't connect to you. The first choice, not the second choice.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Because, okay, you're doing the way you want. Does that mean that people are gonna like what you want?

[A]

You hope that there's enough.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

You can live.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And if.

[B]

I feel like if you search for the people goal, it's easier for them to reach more people.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

You know, you're searching for a big audience, even if you don't get 100 of what you're aiming. If you get 20 is already a huge audience because you're thinking big.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

If you're thinking just like, little connections and people are like, you know what, you and your Brooklyn.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Then you're like, by yourself. But when I have my integrity. So nobody cares. Exactly.

[A]

And that's where I think it's a spectrum, and I think you kind of have to choose where you to be on the spectrum. And I think I lean a little more towards, like, you know, I have my people that listen to this show and they like it, and I'm. That's great. You know, and if. If the option is like, hey, change the show completely and you get everyone or keep it how it is and you maintain.

[B]

Be like, do you have people who watch flagrant? And they're like, I don't like this guy. Or. Or do you have people who watch you and they're like, please leave that shit. You have that too.

[A]

Never. Like, I like them both. I think, of course, two completely different.

[B]

The. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm thinking about them and their perception.

[A]

It'll never be dismissive. Like, it won't really be dismissive. I'll. Every now and again, I'll meet people at shows that, like, afterwards, I'll do, like, a Q A thing. And, you know, people ask about flagrant, of course, because that's a big population of people that come to the shows. But every now and again, it's not very common, but every now and again, there'll be someone that comes up to me, they go, hey, I love camp. What is flagrant? It's very. It's very rare, but it'll happen. And I go, oh, whoa, that's how did you even find this? Like, it's like bizarre to me that found them, but they did. And it's a specific type of person, person that's interested in like, you know, like interviews and long form stuff and culture and religion and history and stuff. And then flagrant people will be, you know, much more like comedy centric. They like current events and like hot takes and stuff. And so. And a lot of most of the audience is an overlap of both and they watch both and they like both for different reasons. But yeah, there's a contingent on the one side that's like, we only watch flagrant. I didn't know you had a podcast that's just you. And then there'll be a very smaller. A much smaller portion that's like, just watch the camera. Camp stuff.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then I tell them, like, dude, check out flavor. You might like it, you know, but it's very rarely, like, it's very rarely like with any type of animosity. But it is interesting to meet only the camp people. It's very funny.

[B]

Yeah, I was just thinking that, like, there's some. Because doing flagrant probably gives you very good exposure. And that's good for you, of course, but. But also there's controversies there that you're like, all of a sudden you're in the middle of this couch and you're.

[C]

Like, I don't know, whatever you got.

[B]

You know, this is gonna be on me. I was like, which is part of the.

[A]

It happens. But to me, I'm like, so long as I'm being honest, then it's okay. And if the honesty is like, I don't know what's going on, I don't have a take on this, then so be it. And if, and if I'm going to like, insert myself, I just need to kind of reflect and be like, is this really how I feel?

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then if that's the case and you. And I'm involved in the controversy and people don't like me for that reason, I can live with that because I was being honest. But so long as it's consistent. And that is like, I think, a human journey that people go on. But being in the public eye, there's a much more of an obligation to reflect on what you actually believe, you know, Like, I wonder if that happens for you. Like, is there a version of you that like, you come to America and people don't know about any controversy in Brazil, or you go to Brazil and people don't know about anything in America?

[B]

When I When I moved to America, I never used credentials to get anyone everywhere. When I started, I wanted to do this club and that club. I wanted to my career in America. Of course, people end up kind of finding out, but, like, I got passed at most of the clubs without people knowing who I am. Sometimes I'm with a friend, I'm talking to a friend. It happened a few times. Someone come up to me and they're having my friends for like one or two years, and they're like, I just. My Uber guy was from Brazil, and I asked. And I asked if he knew you, and he was like, oh, my God, you're friends with Rafi. And he. And then they come up to me like, who are you? What is. What is? I was like, you're. That. You don't need to know. I didn't come here to be the same. I've come here to, you know, to actually try to express myself in different ways. I. Otherwise I would be the same guy.

[A]

That's really cool.

[B]

You know?

[A]

That's really cool.

[B]

I had an amazing opportunity, Mark, which was start my life again. And I wanted to actually do it from scratch. I'm not able to because I'm still big in Brazil. If I go and I do Orlando, I do Miami, 80% of the people are going to be Brazilians. You know, that's my honest. And I love them. But, like, when I'm in the scene here, nobody knows who I am. The other day, Esty, the booker, the comment seller, found out that I did SNL in Brazil. There's a picture. Put a. Put a SNL because I'm Hafinha in Brazil. You're gonna SNL Brazil. I think you're gonna. So I did SNL in Brazil, which is the same stage and everything else. Someone told her that, and I was like, yeah, I did it. And she was like, what if people don't know this? They don't have to.

[A]

But that is.

[B]

I just wanted to conquer because of the quality that I'm doing. Exactly.

[A]

But that's a commitment to the craft. Right?

[B]

Like, that's why I moved here. That's all. That's exactly why I moved here. I wanted to do this in the biggest. I wouldn't say biggest stage, but the most professional and with the. The best people.

[A]

Do you notice a difference with American comics and Brazilian comics in terms of technique?

[B]

Oh, look at this. Look at this. This is. This is.

[A]

Oh, wow. It literally is, like, the same.

[B]

Yeah, that was our first show.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Our first show. And we premiere SNL In Brazil is the same thing, the same band, the same.

[A]

How old are you here?

[B]

I. This was 200, 2014, so 11. 11 years ago.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So that was like our first show.

[A]

Were you. Were you a part of SNL starting there?

[B]

Like, I was the Lord Michaels of snl.

[A]

Were you really?

[B]

I hired the people and I also did the Weekend Update.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And I hosted the first show.

[A]

How long did you do it for? For.

[B]

We did it for like one year and a half, I think it was not that long. It didn't work that well.

[A]

Really.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But it was a big deal when. I'm sure it premiered. Like, people were like.

[B]

It did. It did. Yeah.

[A]

It made a splash.

[B]

It did. But also, like, nobody cared that much about the fact, if you think about it. Yeah. The media care. The com. The comics care. But it's Brazil. They don't even know. Like, most of the people don't speak English. So the name of the show was Saturday Night Live.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, they don't know this. Most of the people don't know this. And the show was not even on Saturday, was on Sunday. And after two months, he wasn't even live anymore. No. Yes.

[A]

Oh, that's so funny.

[B]

So we did sketches. We did a lot. It was. It was cool.

[A]

That's so cool. But I could see that coming over in the summer in America being like.

[B]

Yeah. So people don't know. I did so much, bro. I had my own talk show on tv. Like a daily talk show. I was like Jimmy Kimmel in Brazil for a while. It was. Yeah. And. But I moved here and I'm like, people don't have to know this. I just want to step on stage. I don't want people to think about credential, what I did or I didn't do. Because. And. And also I felt like it's. I see a lot of like every. I wouldn't say all comics, but most international comics who come to this country end up in my. In my vicinity, in my atmosphere. Somehow they cross paths with me. Mainly the ones who don't speak English. Irish and Australian. They speak English. That's not a thing. But like, people from South America, people from, I don't know, Russia and all those places, Germany, they all end up close to me. And most of those comics, they get frustrated really soon because you're famous in your country, you have an audience, and then here you send a message to the booker of the Stand Up New York, and he doesn't answer and you're like, what am I doing here? I'M already two months in this country. I don't have any spots scheduled. What am I gonna do? And that happened with me in the beginning. But I was so focused on making this happen that I never second guessed myself.

[A]

Did you ever have bad shows? Oh, yeah, that did it. Ever cast death out?

[B]

No, but it. Here's the thing, Mark. In my country, for years, I would step on stage, and everybody knows, knew who I am, who I was, you know? So the experience was a completely different thing.

[A]

Is it weird?

[B]

So coming here and bombing in the beginning, it was like, that's awesome.

[A]

Really.

[B]

You made me excited. I was like, this is amazing. I'm gonna prove myself to these people. Yeah. So one day I'm gonna be in the big clubs. One day I'm gonna conquer this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I could send emails saying, oh, look at how many followers I have. And that could open a few doors. But I was like, I'm not gonna do that. Let the life take me to this also. Okay. One thing that helped me, I was able to make a little bit of money, so I wasn't worried about having to pay the bills. Right. You know, I didn't have to get a job in a restaurant to pay my bills. That helped a lot. Okay. But I was never, never caught by the frustration. I remember there was a show here in New York at the Nitty Factory.

[A]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

Every Sunday down the block. Okay, Every. Yeah, every Sunday. And I remember one day, someone booked me on that show, and I went there. I was. Of course, it was like 20, 19, I think, or 18. As soon as I moved here, someone booked me, and I. And it's like a long show, two hours and a half. I was sitting there there, just waiting for the guy to call me, because at the beginning, I was like, oh, I'm Rafi. I'm a comic. Oh, you can stay here. And I stayed there two hours and a half. And at the end of the show, thank you very much, guys. See you next week. The guy never called me. And I was like, you have to be standing in a corner for two.

[A]

Hours and a half, a little nervous. You're like, all right, here we go. I want to go.

[B]

I want to do it.

[A]

I want to.

[B]

He never called me. And at the end of the show, went up to the guy, was like, bro, what happened? What happened? What? I was like, new Year. Same extra value meals at McDonald's. So now get two snack wraps plus.

[A]

Fries and a medium soft drink for just $8 for a limited time only.

[B]

Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska, and California. And for delivery, you never called me. I was like, wait, what? I. Are you going to perform? I was like, yeah. Because a friend of mine in la, they got me the spot. Jade. Jade Caraprera. She's a very good friend. Oh, yeah, yeah. She helped me a lot in the beginning. Oh, yeah.

[A]

She's Brazilian, too. Yeah, she's great.

[B]

She was born in Brazil. She never. She lived just a little bit there.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So she helped me with that show. And at the end, it was like, bro, I don't know who you are. I'm sorry. Oh, Jade, I'm sorry. I think she actually talked to me. Oh, I didn't know. And I remember leaving that show. I even did the stories. Like, this is amazing. They don't know who I am. The guy didn't call me because he didn't know if I was famous or not. He didn't feel bad for me or anything like that because, oh, he's famous. So we have to treat him with care. No, no, no, no. This. I'm not gonna. He didn't call me. That's awesome. One day I'm gonna be in the clubs in New York, and then they're gonna see me, and one day I'm gonna be in a position that they are not gonna prove myself and I'm gonna be better than them. It was like. It was inspiring.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So. But this mindset I didn't see in any other comic coming from other country here. Most of the comics who are from other countries that are able to make it here are not big in their countries, so they kind of, like, started their careers here.

[A]

But what's interesting is that the ones that I think are big, at least in my experience, I can think of only a couple.

[B]

But.

[A]

But there is a humility, because you already have the confidence to know, I did it once, I can do it again. Like, I don't know if you know Jonas Joseph.

[B]

No.

[A]

Could you pull up a picture of Jonas? He's a. He's a Norwegian comedian. He's technically Somali is where he is, where his family's from. But he grew up his whole life in Norway. He's a massive comedian in Norway. He does theaters all in Norwegian.

[B]

Crazy to say. I saw a video of this guy today.

[A]

Not. Not anything.

[B]

I think I saw a video of him today. Hey.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Someone say. I didn't know who he was.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Was it you?

[A]

No, no. Jonas Joseph, comedian.

[B]

Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, I saw the guy. Like, skinny guy.

[A]

Yeah. And he's Great. And he's the nicest dude ever. And he's so famous in Norway. And I met him at an open mic. Okay, like, literally, like an open mic base. It wasn't literally, but it was basically an open mic. And I don't even think he was going up. It was like a small club over here. I was working out new stuff, and I met him, and he was like, hey, man, what's up? Like, I, I, I ran into him one time when we were in Norway, something like this, and he was like, dude, I'm a. You know, I watched your stuff. Great to meet you. And I was like, oh, great to meet you also. And then we got to talking, and I prided out of him. I was like, have you done comedy before? And he's like, yeah, I'm just getting into it in New York. I was like, from where? He's like, well, I've been doing it for, like 14 years in Norway. I was like, oh, okay. And then it came to be that he's written multiple shows, he does theaters. He's, like, so famous, but he had a humility when he came here to be. I was even asking him, I was like, why are you here, here? And he was like, well, I want to earn it.

[B]

I was like, that's what I did. That's what I did. Yeah, that's exactly the same mindset. That's awesome. I'm gonna, I'm gonna hit that guy up.

[A]

He's great. He's great.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, I saw, I saw a video of him today. It's amazing.

[A]

He's. He's awesome.

[B]

He's going to be in Brooklyn performing here.

[A]

He's the best. He's a great guy, and he's extremely funny, and he's basically. I don't want to say you specifically different paths, but he's kind of in that same mindset. This was maybe like a year ago. And he was like, I want to earn it. I want to go to the open mics.

[B]

I want to grind mind.

[A]

I want to, I want, I want to eat, and I want to get better, and I want to do it the right way.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

And I was like, you're gonna be okay, you know?

[B]

Well, at the end of the day, if everything goes bad, you can always come back to your country, you know?

[A]

Well, that's.

[B]

We are safe at the end of the day. I think the person who was trying to make it for the first time have a much bigger chip on his shoulder than me, you know, but also some People can look at me and be like, well, you can bomb in another country, so why are you messing with this? I felt like the challenge was inspiring for me, and also I wanted to learn, you know, I felt like I was always the reference in my country.

[A]

Yeah, do it right.

[B]

I didn't. I don't. Yeah. Oh, look at the. For. For. For a few years, there was people, like, doing stand up a little bit of. With my tone, you know, So I was the reference for years. I wanted to see here. If I didn't move. If I hadn't moved here year, I wouldn't have the chance to meet so many people and watch people that are like, who is this guy? Yeah, you know, because we know. Yeah, we know the big names. Probably I would know about Bill Bohr and Chappelle, but, like, I wouldn't. I would never know about you. I would never know about Laney Marcus. He's an amazing writer, and every time.

[A]

I see him, Greer Barnes, one of the best.

[B]

Those guys. I would never know about this guy. So it's an opportunity for me to learn more about my craft. This something I love to do, you know?

[A]

Well, it's amazing, and it's. It's awesome to watch you on stage. Every time I get the chance to pop into the. Pop into the cellar and see you, it's. It's truly a pleasure.

[B]

Thank you very much.

[A]

Thank you for having me, brother.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you.

[A]

Thank you for coming. I'm. I'm so inspired by it.

[B]

Just one block. It was just one subway stop from my house.

[A]

Well, let's do it again soon.

[B]

Thank you, brother. There's a world where legends race across city skylines. Romance blossoms in glittering ballrooms. And there's magic around every corner. It's a world known to many as Great Britain. You've seen the action on screen. Now visit the real star of the show. Visit Great Britain. To discover more, go to tripadvisor.com Great Britain.

[A]

Thank you, brother.