Club Shay Shay - Ryan Davis Part 1

Summary

Club Shay Shay - Ryan Davis Part 1

Podcast: Club Shay Shay
Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Ryan Davis
Date: January 14, 2026
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours

Episode Overview

This episode features comedian Ryan Davis in an in-depth, candid conversation with Shannon Sharpe. Covering Ryan's journey from internet virality to stand-up success, challenges with imposter syndrome, interactions with celebrities and other comics, and his perspectives on the evolution of comedy in the digital era. The discussion is marked by Ryan’s unique blend of humor, honesty, and candor—offering insights into his career, personal life, beefs and friendships in the comedy world, co-parenting, creative process, and the values he carries into his art. The tone is conversational, insightful, and often laced with both wit and vulnerability.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Imposter Syndrome, Early Experiences, and Digital Breakthrough

• Ryan describes his introverted nature:

  “I'm introverted. I don't take pictures with nobody.” (00:00)
  “I think I'm still dealing with imposter syndrome… This is the first time I'm actually get to be like really candid about who I am.” (02:10)

• Shannon’s introduction of Ryan’s accomplishments:
  Lauds him as a pioneer in digital comedy and a leading storyteller (00:49–01:57).
• Transition to going viral:
  • Ryan was inspired by seeing DC Young Fly sell out shows due to social media videos (03:18–04:04).
  • Pivoted to online commentary because it matched his journalism background (04:04–05:24).
  • His viral breakthrough:

    “Within a year, gained a million followers. Then it started to take off.” (05:24)

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2. Navigating Celebrity Interactions and Online Feuds

Odell Beckham Jr.

• Ryan’s first viral video was about Odell Beckham Jr.; initial negative response turned to understanding after conversation:

  “He didn't take it well in the beginning, but after we had a conversation, he was really cool about it.... I never said anything else about him. Because one, I understand. Everybody just doesn't take it well.” (05:28–06:50)

Kevin Durant

• Social media spat with Kevin Durant over ‘defense wins championships’:
  • KD called Ryan a "trash comedian," to which Ryan responded sharply:

    “Well, it's this type of thinking that may explain why he hasn't won since he left the Warriors. Not the nicest thing.” (09:17)

  • Discussion about defensive vs offensive teams winning championships (08:03–10:50).
  • Reflection on how the conversation went viral and the nature of online conflicts.
  • Ryan’s basketball takes are rooted in love for the sport and respect for athletes:

    “Athletes are like...the greatest people in the world to me. It's a different kind of genius.” (13:26–13:43)

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3. Navigating Comedy Relationships & “Beefs”

Corey Holcomb and Comedian Road Etiquette

• Ryan explains that misunderstandings, not real beef, are common:

  “We all are like brothers and sisters, man, for the most part.” (18:31)

• Details a falling-out with an up-and-coming comic over tour etiquette, with Corey Holcomb’s mentorship as the backdrop (18:49–25:01).
• Ryan’s approach to handling such situations: patience, understanding personal growth, and remaining open to reconciliation.

  “Some people go, well, that's not really loyal. You don't know how you will respond in these situations.” (25:47) “That's always gonna be my brother.” (25:59)

Faison Love

• Another supposed feud “was just a misunderstanding”:

  “Faison likes me… It’s just the delivery was so bad…” (28:24)

• Acknowledges generational differences in comedy and evolving industry standards (29:25–30:08).

Ali Sadiq

• Ryan expresses deep admiration for Ali, who supported his new special:

  “Can’t nobody tell me nothing about Ali Sadiq. I flip every table. I cuss everybody out. You gonna have to fight me about Al. That’s my brother.” (30:20)

• Collaboration and mutual support in the comedy community (32:48–36:30).

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4. Community, Collaboration, and the Myth of Comedy "Beefs"

• Ryan’s journey is characterized by widespread help and mentorship:
  • Help and advice from Matt Rife, Ali Sadiq, Roy Wood Jr., Royale Watkins, Chris Burns, Jill Scott, Chico Bing, Andrew Schulz, Charlamagne, Kevin Hart, Method Man, Gilbert Arenas, D.L. Hughley, Naim Lynn, and others.

  “So this idea that we're beefing or whatever… I had help every step of the way.” (38:58)

• Shifts the perception of comedians as rivals; emphasizes the real support network within the industry (41:19–43:26).

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5. Navigating Industry, Independent vs. Streaming, and Creative Ownership

On Self-Financing Specials

• Explains the rationale behind releasing his own special and turning down big platforms for greater creative and financial control.

  “Independent. Always do it independent. They'll come with the big check if you do it independent… Netflix… art and capitalism do not belong together.” (43:44)

• Critiques the current state of platforms like Netflix and Fox for chasing celebrity at the expense of content quality (44:11–45:41).

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6. Legacy and Personal Impact in Comedy

Helping the Next Generation

• Country Wayne and Funny Marco attribute career success and industry navigation to Ryan’s mentorship:

  “That's my legacy more than anything is that my peers respect me enough to feel like they can learn from me.” (47:17)

Navigating Fame, Social Media, and the Public’s Relationship with Artists

• Ryan dissects parasocial relationships, their downsides, and maintaining boundaries with fans:

  “I want people to become fans of mine. I want people to be elated when they see me win. … But I don't want them to believe that you get to have a say in how I live my life.” (79:22)

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7. Personal Reflections: Co-Parenting & Sacrifice

• Speaks candidly on the challenges of being an involved father while pursuing a demanding career:

  “I've been there every step of the way financially. I haven't always been there the way that I should have physically, but I wasn't always allowed to be there like I could have been physically.” (51:45)

• Emotional discussion on losing emotional closeness with his daughter due to absence:

  “To watch that daddy's girl go from, I just want to be around him... to, hey, if he ain't buying me nothing, I really ain't trying to go. Like, I lost her. It takes a long time to get him back.” (55:05)

• Ryan and Shannon bond over the difficulty of balancing work, time, and family (52:52–56:02).

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8. Mount Rushmore of Social Media Comedians

• Ryan’s picks:
  1. DC Young Fly
  2. Himself
  3. KevOnStage
  4. Jess Hilarious
  5. (Hon. mention): Country Wayne, Desi Banks, Drewski (58:27–62:43)
• Reasons include cross-platform success, innovation, mentoring, industry impact, and community-building.

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9. Industry Reflections, Preparedness, and Public Critique

• Commentary on Kai Cenat and the expectations for research and professionalism when stepping into major media environments (64:40–70:11).
• Ryan advocates for preparation and humility:

  “It's your job. So my thing is that speaks to the era that we're in, where it's just good enough to be there. But don't you want to be the best at what it is that you do?” (66:09) “Once they told me, Beyonce introduces herself, I will always introduce myself.” (70:17)

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10. Comedy and Boundaries: Where’s the Line?

• Where Ryan draws boundaries:

  “You don't talk about people's kids. You don't talk about their parents unless the parents involve themselves...But leave people’s families out of stuff.” (72:12)

  • Stresses research and audience understanding before telling potentially sensitive jokes (71:01–72:47).
• Gives grace to young artists, speaking on personal growth and learning (72:47).

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11. Personal Growth, Criticism, and Living Publicly

• Being vulnerable as a public figure: anticipate being misunderstood, judged, and even attacked for openness.

  “Most people are dumb. So whenever you post something, there are people who are dedicated to misunderstanding what it is that you're saying.” (75:24)

• Shares lessons from Charlie Murphy on sharing your life with the public (74:33–75:09).

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12. Inspiration and the Power of Representation

• On taking the leap into comedy after seeing Kevin Hart’s 2013 special:

  “I watched it, and he sold out Madison Square Garden multiple nights. He's crying at the end. And I saw in real time what it looked like for somebody to have a dream and then make it beyond their wildest dreams…” (83:00)

• The importance of being the spark for someone else’s breakthrough.

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13. Comedy Heroes and Mentors

• Dave Chappelle:

  “Dave Chappelle is the greatest thing in the world, man…Dave had his own green room. Everybody is, like, huddled around. Dave walked by. He's so nice… he said: 'huge fan...your writing, you're brilliant...come to my green room'...” (87:26–88:41)

  • Dave and Kevin Hart as supportive and genuine mentors (90:42).
• The legacy Ryan wants:

  “My legacy will always be how much I loved [comedy].” (90:42)

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Timestamps of Notable Segments

• Imposter syndrome & self-intro: 02:10–02:27
• DC Young Fly’s influence: 03:18–05:24
• Odell Beckham viral story: 05:28–06:50
• Kevin Durant online spat: 06:51–13:22
• Comedy beefs & working with others: 18:16–25:59
• Ali Sadiq partnership: 30:20–36:32
• Help from comedy & music community: 36:30–43:26
• Independent vs. streaming special: 43:44–45:41
• Mentorship & supporting up-and-comers: 47:14–49:00
• Co-parenting struggles: 50:16–56:02
• Mount Rushmore of social media comics: 58:27–62:43
• Industry research & being prepared: 64:40–71:01
• Boundaries in comedy: 72:12–72:47
• Dealing with public scrutiny: 74:33–75:35
• Taking the comedy leap due to Kevin Hart: 83:00–85:13
• Meeting Dave Chappelle: 87:26–91:08

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Notable Quotes

• On Keeping Perspective:
  “I'm still dealing with imposter syndrome… this is the first time I'm actually get to be really candid about who I am.” — Ryan Davis (02:10)

• On Going Digital:
  “Within a year, [I] gained a million followers. Then it started to take off.” — Ryan Davis (05:24)

• On Athletes:
  “Athletes are like...the greatest people in the world to me. I love athletes. So, you know...it's a different kind of genius.” — Ryan Davis (13:43)

• On Comedy Collaboration:
  “Too many times people like to have offers about, like, too much conversation about the split. I don’t care nothing about that. I got this body of work...You have an audience that you have curated...” — Ryan Davis (32:48)

• On Independent Specials:
  “Always do it independent. They'll come with the big check if you do it independent anyway.” — Ryan Davis (43:44)

• On Boundaries in Comedy:
  “You don't talk about people's kids. ...Leave people’s families out of stuff.” — Ryan Davis (72:12)

• On Time & Family:
  “You can't supplement time… Time is the most valuable commodity.” — Ryan Davis & Shannon Sharpe (53:13)

• On the Power of Influence:
  “I want to be the person...to ignite that thing in somebody that makes their whole [life change].” — Ryan Davis (82:21)

• On Vulnerability:
  “Most people are dumb. So whenever you post something, there are people who are dedicated to misunderstanding what it is that you're saying.” — Ryan Davis (75:24)

• On Living Authentically:
  “My legacy will always be how much I loved it [comedy].” — Ryan Davis (90:42)

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Memorable Moments

• Ryan’s candidness about his introversion, imposter syndrome, and past beefs set a disarmingly honest tone for the conversation.
• His recollection of the emotional collapse when his daughter began to see him as an ATM rather than a dad (55:05–55:51) was especially poignant.
• Ryan’s respect for mentors like Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart, and his joy at being recognized by them.
• Multiple moments where Shannon and Ryan relate on the personal cost of ambition, and on the necessity—but tragedy—of time lost with children.
• Vivid storytelling and advice for up-and-coming comedians punctuated the episode, alongside wisdom on humility, preparation, and reverence for the craft.

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Closing

The episode ends with Ryan reflecting on the importance of using his platform to inspire and support others, and with Shannon teasing part two of the conversation.

Transcript

[Ryan Davis]

Went to go see Tracy Borga. A couple of people on his team recognized who I was. And then they're like, hey, Ryan, you want a picture with Tracy? I'm introverted. I don't take pictures with nobody.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me guess, you said no.

[Ryan Davis]

They said, ryan, you want a picture with Tracy? Of course he want a picture with me. He been puppy dogging me all night. I'm the reason he do stand up. I used to do the same thing with Eddie and Martin. I get it. Of course he wants a picture with me. I was like, who? Nobody has ever watched my comedy and went, tracy Borgin, you're not one of my influences.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Big dog. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price Wanna.

[Ryan Davis]

Slice, got to roll a dice that's.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why all my life I been grinding all my life look. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price Want a slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life Hello. Welcome to another episode of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharpe. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shay Shay. Stopping by for conversation and a drink today. He calls himself the goat of his generation. One of the industry's most talented and up and coming comedians. He's been on acclaimed shows such as Curb youb Enthusiasm and Insecure. He's a pioneer in the digital space. He's redefining what it means to be a standup powerhouse in the digital era. He's the first person to look for commentary on trending topics. He has a knack for making people laugh online, quickly transition to to sold out shows around the country. He's lauded for his razor sharp wit, unmatched storytelling, intellectual humor, uncanny observation in turning everybody's experience into a viral goal. He's a versatile comedic style that has attracted a diverse audience and spans across continents. Your favorite comics? Favorite comic. There he is. My guy. What's up, bro?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, what's up, man? I was listening to the intro, like, man, this dude sound all right. He like, that ain't me though. Yeah. Nah, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So when you hear that, like, well, damn, I'm that I did all that.

[Ryan Davis]

And it's so soon. Well, I think I'm still dealing with imposter syndrome. That's what it is. It's like, that's why I'm glad we gonna have this conversation. Cause it's like this is the first time I'm actually get to be like really candid about who I am.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I Like that.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I'm really, like, introverted, so a lot of people don't really know. And part of the reason people don't know is. Cause I don't say anything, right? Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Until you get on stage. But then when you off and people see you, you like, off to yourself, man. You keep looking at that. You want to go. Let's go ahead. You know what? Congratulations on all your success and continued success. Let me know what you think. I know you like Brown, but this is the best that you're going to taste now.

[Ryan Davis]

Oh, great. I ain't got a lot. It's great. Yeah, that's good. Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I appreciate that, bro. So I'm just trying to figure out, how did you jump into the, like, you know what? I'm going to take a different approach. Trending topics, viral videos. That's what I'm going to do. How did you stumble on that? Did you stumble on that? Was that by happenstance or was it preconceived?

[Ryan Davis]

Well, it's so funny. I saw the shift happening.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

And that was because of DC Young Fly, really. I just like to create. So I started creating content, but I didn't really see the power of it until DC. It was probably like 2014. Me and DC was doing a show together in West Virginia. Charleston, West Virginia. Wow. And he sold out a convention center. He had just got Wild N Out or something like that then. But they weren't there because of Wild' N Out. They were there because of the Instagram videos, the vine videos. And he had pretty much sold out a convention center. And I was like, wait a minute. I know people who are on television who don't sell these kind of tickets.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

And I saw the shift happening, and I'd already started creating content. But that's when I made up in my mind, oh, okay, I'm going in that direction. I'm going in this direction. Cause this is different. This is different. And the reason I do commentary is. Cause that's really my wheelhouse. So I wanted to be a journalist, so I wanted to go to school. I was in college. I ended up dropping out. But I was in college for communications, getting a communications degree and a minor in journalism. Okay. Yeah. So, like, hearing that, some people will hear that and be like, oh, that makes sense. Because of my style. But I always had, like, a reporter, like, style to, you know, how I deliver things. Yes. So it was just. That was really in my wheelhouse. I didn't know that people would gravitate toward it. I actually thought that People were going to see me as too boring or too mellow. Because in our community.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We need elevated voices.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Loud and high energy. Yeah. That's what they told us we liked. So I didn't see where I existed in these spaces. But I love to create, so I was like, let's try it. And I mean, within a year, gained a million followers. And then it started to take off. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You remember your first viral video?

[Ryan Davis]

Absolutely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So who did you do?

[Ryan Davis]

Odell Beckham. Odell Beckham. Shout out to Odell. Cause he. Did he see it? Oh, yeah, yeah. Me and him had a conversation.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, come on, man.

[Ryan Davis]

Odell. Odell's a good dude. Out of all the people. Like, he didn't take it well in the beginning, but after we had a conversation, he was really cool about it. Cause I told him it wasn't personal.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

You know, he may not even remember. Cause it was a back and forth on Instagram. Oh, okay, okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you didn't have an actual conversation.

[Ryan Davis]

No, I haven't met him. We had a back and forth on Instagram.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn. That's a. That's a public. Y' all couldn't even be in the public.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, he didn't want to do it private. He didn't want. He came straight to the page. Like, damn. Yeah. But after I explained my point of view, he was like, I get my point of view. And then he put me on to his point of view. Because at the time I was like, I didn't understand his level of fame. It wasn't that what I was doing was so bothersome. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. He has to continuously see himself. People saying.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then now making fun of.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. And then everybody's gravitating to this way. He's like, man, I had enough. And then he just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He snapped on me.

[Ryan Davis]

He snapped on me. Yeah. But after, you know, the back and forth, he was like, you know, I get it. And then after that, I never said anything else about him. Because one, I understand. Everybody just doesn't take it well.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

So.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So if somebody doesn't take it well, you're done with them. You don't.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, yeah, I'm done. I'm done. Cause it's not. Cause one, I would like it for. Whenever I joke about things, I do want the people that it's about to be able to laugh at it. Unless you're a person that I believe is not a good person. Because then I'm talking about you. I don't care how you Feel you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Will keep it going.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, but I didn't have a problem with Odell, so. Yeah, if I don't have a problem with you. But you have a problem with you not able to laugh at what I'm doing right then. For me, it's not enjoyable for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you got into it with Kevin Durant.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. He deserved that, though.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How you figure? The man deserved it.

[Ryan Davis]

He deserved that. Cause we had a difference in opinion about basketball. That was it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, what was your opinion?

[Ryan Davis]

Defense wins championships.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Are you some Kendra Draymond?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Defense wins championships. And it wasn't just that. The stats proved that. You know what I mean? Defensive teams win championships more than offensive teams. You need both.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You do.

[Ryan Davis]

You need both.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But I think he's looking at it from the point of view. He's like, okay, y' all had this great defensive team. You were up three, one.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got walked down, and you guys didn't make it to the shower. You was blowing up my phone. Yeah, me and my mom and my family, we in the Hamptons. We enjoying some wine and some cheese Chartreuse. And here y' all go, knocking on my door, coming to get me. I ain't no defensive. I've never been on a defensive team.

[Ryan Davis]

That's true. But you know when he got his best defensive stats on that team? His most blocks, most everything. Best defensive efficiency while with the Warriors. So it wasn't that he was a defensive player, but he sure helped on defense whenever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How was the offense?

[Ryan Davis]

How was the offense? Well, kd.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Steph Clay.

[Ryan Davis]

It's kd.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's what I'm saying.

[Ryan Davis]

Kd. Just like he told them, like with Patrick Beverly. And they would say, I'm Kevin Durant. You know who I am. You know who I am, right? That's the thing when I joke about people, I ain't forget he was Kevin Durant. That's Kevin. That's Mr. Durant.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

That's the Durantula. Look, whenever I joke about people or say these things, I would. Kevin. Listen, Kevin, I would have never said all that. You called me a trash comedian. Damn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I was out the rip.

[Ryan Davis]

I mean, that was out. That was the first response. I was like, well, I ain't gonna say what I said wasn't the nicest, but I did. Yeah. So what I said was because he was like, offense wins championships. Okay? And I said, well, it's this type of thinking that may explain why he hasn't won since he left the Warriors. Not the nicest thing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, it wasn't Not. You have to go there. You know, that's. First of all, you know, that's a touchy subject.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you went there.

[Ryan Davis]

You poking the bare holes in my defense. I ain't know he was gonna see that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So, you know Kevin Durant's on social media.

[Ryan Davis]

It's a lot of comments. It's a lot of comments, Shannon. So.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you got a blue check mark by your name.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, so he gonna see that.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. So in my defense. Right. That's why I said before it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but it wasn't. I didn't attack him. You did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't see it. You said that explains why you haven't won a championship.

[Ryan Davis]

Outside of the mindset. I think the mindset needs to shift. I think the mindset needs to shift. That's my basketball opinion. I never said he was trash. I think Kevin Durant's one of the top 15 people to ever touch a basketball. Okay. You know what I mean? I think very highly of his ability on the floor. I think the mindset is wrong. I think he got two rings on a team that did really well on defense, in addition to how good the offense was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And the only team in the history of basketball who won without a good defensive efficiency is the Lakers. And we ain't. That's two of the top five greatest players of all time on one roster.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But when you look at Kevin and you look at what he's able to do, I think it was. And you're never going to get a consensus on this. Golden State needed Kevin Durant as much as Kevin Durant needed them. So it was ordered to. It was. What it did is enable Golden State to complete the dynasty. And it gave Kevin Durant validation because he had rings, because he was going to be the greatest player to never win a championship had he not got those. That's bestowed upon Barkley or Karl Malone or someone like that. But he got those rings.

[Ryan Davis]

I hear you. But think about this. I believe. Cause you remember he was up 3:1 against the warriors that same year with Oklahoma City. Yes. I believe Oklahoma City gets it done. I think he brings one home to Oklahoma City. I really believe that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. I think he had gotten to the point that he didn't believe that he could get it done because he was up 3:1. He's like, if I'm up 3:1 and I got games on my home court and I can't get it done, the likelihood. And it's not gonna get any better.

[Ryan Davis]

See, I Don't believe. I believe he could have got it done. I believe that Oklahoma City team wins one if they stay together. The reason I come off so harsh in the video is cause he said I was trash. Shannon, you can't say that. I'm a trash comedian. Cause then I gotta show you how good I am at this. I gotta. So I had. And it was so funny. Cause when I saw it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you went deep, huh?

[Ryan Davis]

Oh, when I saw it, I had my children with me. So I couldn't even respond immediately. But I was taking them to their moms the next day. I was just hugging them. I was like, man, your daddy about to go viral. They have your daddy about to go viral. And a bunch of people hit me. They were like, did you see this? We were like, you know, I saw it. And the thing. I'm a nerd, so research is fun for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

So I couldn't wait. I was like, oh, I can't wait to tell you about yourself. Let me tell you all the things I know about you, Mr. Durant. And when I released it, it went crazier than I thought. For me, it was. And it's so funny. I think people think I think about these things more than I do. After I make the video, I'm done with it. I'm done with it. I don't care. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What is it with you and athletes? Why you got me going, digging at them?

[Ryan Davis]

Because I love sports. I love sports more than anything. It's like yesterday I took a meeting and they were like, what TV shows are you watching right now?

[Shannon Sharpe]

None.

[Ryan Davis]

I watch sports. I love sports. Athletes are like. They're the greatest people in the world to me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. I love athletes. So, you know, and for me, it's just like. I think it's a different kind of genius. You know what I mean? Like, when I'm watching just Kevin Durant, when I watch him do what he do, pain, it, like, it gets on my nerves when somebody goes, ah, he does that. Cause he's seven feet. You know what I mean? Seven feet. Seven foot players played in the NBA. How many of them played like Kevin Durant before Kevin Durant? Zero.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Exactly.

[Ryan Davis]

Exactly. It's him. He's brilliant at what he does.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

So that's the thing. And I appreciate watching people's gifts. I like experiencing people's gifts. So have you seen him play in person? Yeah. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That was before or after you made your video? He might fire on you. He see you in the. He see you in the stands now.

[Ryan Davis]

I don't be hard for him to hit. Yeah, he got me by like a foot. Like, yeah, he got to swing down to really get me. But I think I saw him before. First time I saw him, he was with the Nets.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

I made the video when he was in Phoenix.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, okay.

[Ryan Davis]

So I did see him before that and I've seen him after that. Yeah. Now when I go to the game, I just like zoom in on the ball spot on his head and then.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I go, man, you got to let that go bad. You go, you still jugging?

[Ryan Davis]

And then I posted it. I posted in my stories, like, guess where I'm at, guys? And then they like, oh, you're at the Phoenix game. And no, it's like a Where is Waldo for my fans.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, they. They know who you are. This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. Whether you're starting a new routine, making player picks for the first time, trying something new can be hard. But in life and on Prize Pick, it always feels good to be right. With high pressure playoff matchups every weekend, elite hoops action almost every night, the action never stops and prize picks lets you take control. Football playoffs are here. Buffalo Bills football and playoffs Josh Allen, James Cook, Dalton Kincaid. Bill's Mafia is ready. Russian TDs, passing TDs, rushing yards, receiving yards. We're hitting more, more, more all damn day. Find your community on Prize Picks with new social feeds feature. You can share prize picks with friends. Copy lineup from winners with a single click. Copy lineups you like. Use them as inspiration for your own picks. You can of prize picks partners like yours truly and tail or fade our picks with just one click. New feature alert. Prize Picks has early payouts. If your lineup gets off to a hot start, you may now have the option to cash out those winnings early before the game even finishes. Prize Picks is simple to play. Just download the Prize pick app today. Use Code Shannon to get 50 in lineups after you play your first five dollar lineup. That's code SHANNON to get 50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup for prize picks. It's good to be right.

[Ryan Davis]

Hello.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got a video of me?

[Ryan Davis]

I got a video of you. Yeah. I talk about.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wait, let me see what you talking about in the video.

[Ryan Davis]

I talk about. So usually if I talk about anything that's going on, my thing to talk about is I'll use whatever's going on in society at the time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And then I'll tie it to something historical. So a lot of times. So one of the things that I point to, like, if I was to create something about you, I would create something about the irony of somebody being on the cusp of getting all the things they deserve. And then magically it disappears. It disappears because all of a sudden, all of a sudden, these things about this person comes about. You ain't never heard none of this stuff about them ain'. Reputation is pristine. And then all of a sudden.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So that's in your standup, huh?

[Ryan Davis]

Huh?

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's in your standup?

[Ryan Davis]

No, no, no. You gonna make the next special. But you. But I use it to move to something else. It ain't about you per se. It's to move on. Cause you didn't. Cause you didn't have the roughest year.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Who had the roughest year?

[Ryan Davis]

Bad boy for life.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh.

[Ryan Davis]

He had the roughest year.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So yeah, yeah, I be the top five.

[Ryan Davis]

No, yeah, that's why you made it. That's why you made it. But no, no, you ain't had a roughest year.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now I see why. How long you been a comedian? A decade?

[Ryan Davis]

Yep. Yep. 12 years.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you all, you, you and you got comedy beefs all over the place. You and Cora Holcomb going back and forth. Dig out disagreement.

[Ryan Davis]

This is the funny part is I really don't have comedy beefs. It's always misunderstandings.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's what y' all call it? A misunderstanding, huh?

[Ryan Davis]

No, no.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's what you call it.

[Ryan Davis]

No, the funny part is in the comedy. We're so, like, connected in the comed, man. We all are like brothers and sisters, man, for the most part. And then, so the Corey thing, Me and Corey shared a mutual friend.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay?

[Ryan Davis]

And our mutual friend, he was. He was dissatisfied how he was being treated. He felt like he was being treated on the road. Cause one thing about young comics, they're hungry.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

They want opportunity. Yes. So he's on the road. Corey's on the road. He's going out there. But Corey says he's not ready.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, okay.

[Ryan Davis]

So in. And I understand this. This is just some big brother type shit. So for Corey, it's like you're not ready. I'm protecting you from yourself. Because failure can ruin your self esteem and ruin everything. And people remember your bad performances. They don't necessarily remember your good ones.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

They always remember. So I understood the concept, but he came to me and he was disappointed. And I was like, yo, I'll take you on the road. So I took him on the road and it was clear he didn't have, like, road etiquette. So we would be out. Like, you got a team. Everybody on the team represents you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct. That is correct.

[Ryan Davis]

If they do anything, it's me, it's Shannon. They don't even think.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They don't even mention it.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, they don't even mention their name.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And he was still moving as an individual on my tour.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. To the point where, you know, we constantly kept bumping heads. And then he had one night where things really went left, and I, like, had enough. And, like, I.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you sent him home.

[Ryan Davis]

I suspended him indefinitely. And see, you could have just listened.

[Shannon Sharpe]

To Corey, and then everything had been okay.

[Ryan Davis]

But the thing was, Cory is still like a big brother to him. So I believe. And I'll never, like, I never got to know if this is real or not, because me and Corey didn't talk. We squashed it or whatever, but we ain't really talked. But I could tell by the podcast that he was telling Corey. So I'll give you an example. So after I suspended him, I was gonna take women comics out on the road. Cause they. I felt like they were lacking opportunity. And I was in Ontario, California, and one of the ladies that I had on the show, one didn't show up, one showed up late.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. So there's a transgender comic by the name of Pink Fox. Okay. It's my dog. Fox was there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you.

[Ryan Davis]

Hey, come on. Come on, Fox, get on. Thank you. Save me. I got a host. Okay. And he was there, and he was like, dag, you ain't ask me to go up, or whatever. He was like, yo, my mom here, my sister here, like, whatever. And I'm like, them being here doesn't leverage anything.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct.

[Ryan Davis]

Because you gotta learn from your mistakes. You still suspend it. Right? And then I was preparing for my special, so I was doing all these shows in the House of Blues around the country. And I did House of Blues in Houston, and then he showed up in Houston, and he was wanting to go up, and I didn't let him go up.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, you suspended.

[Ryan Davis]

You suspended?

[Shannon Sharpe]

If you suspended, you don't get to come to work.

[Ryan Davis]

So he kept telling Corey about the times he's coming out and I'm not letting him up and who I'm letting up instead of him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But did he ever tell Corey that you had suspended him?

[Ryan Davis]

I have no idea. Oh. So I'm watching, and it looks like Corey is, like, trying to defend him, but also is, like, talking crazy about me. And I'm like, that's cool. He's sitting right there. He'll clear it up. And he sat there week after week after week and did not deny anything Cory said, even though he knew it was all lies. Heartbroken dog. That. That hurt me. That hurt me for real. It was. So when everybody was watching it, like, oh, they beefing. I ain't never. I ain't care nothing about what Corey was talking about. And I'm like, bro, you my brother. You know, he lying. You know this thing, the things he's saying is not true. You know what happened. But you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So in other words, they're making it seem like you gatekeeping, like you trying to prevent him.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

From getting on stage, from shining.

[Ryan Davis]

Like I'm doing him wrong. And I'm like, bro. And then Corey, you know, go to his Ryan's gate and he's like, yeah, he rolled with the transgender comedian or whatever they probably deal with. That's the go to. And I was like, you know, the funny part is out of that whole scenario, the only person who didn't switch up on me was the trans. How ironic is that? The only person who didn't switch sides on me. So it was so.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So have you had a conversation with Corey?

[Ryan Davis]

We squashed it long ago. He called they. Actually, it was called. It was a three way call between us and it ended up getting squashed and then they ended up falling out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But did he ever tell Corey, Corey, I was moving in a way that wasn't beneficial for this man. Because when we on the road, if I'm headlining the tour, if he's headlining the tour, and he brought me along, anything that goes sideways is on him. And I was moving and I was moving. Not according. Not in the best interest of Ryan.

[Ryan Davis]

Okay, so you're a little brother.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Does a little brother always see what the big brother sees from him? You see what I'm saying? So I think he just. It was just I looked like a hurdle to him instead of somebody who was trying to teach him. And it's so funny. Cause he got like his career picked up enough to where he was going out on the road. And then he would come to me and tell me about his road experiences and things. And I wouldn't say anything, but I would laugh because I would listen to him, dealing with him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And he would be talking to me and not even understanding.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And not understand that, bro, this was you.

[Ryan Davis]

You're describing you. But you know, he's still. And some people will hear this story and be like, yo, dag, bro, I never deal with dude again. But you gotta understand the type of person I am. This person moved from where they came from across country to make it. And then right now, their career, they found a pathway to their career, and it's ascending more than they ever did. They're responsible for themselves, their mom, their sister, all of these things. And if in this one moment of defending me, it could set back all the years of work that you've done. That's a hard position for some people.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And some people go, well, that's not really loyal. You don't know how you will respond in these situations. I don't know the type of pressure he was dealing with sitting there. It could have been killing him, not saying nothing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

You know, he had to go live with that and sit with that or whatever. It affected our relationship. It affects it to this day. But that's always gonna be my brother.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

You know, and, you know, I try not to, you know, as people grow, I try to be like, hey, okay, he'll, you know, one day we'll have a conversation later whenever he's in a certain cause, I think you just have to get in certain shoes. You know, you've been everything. You were the rookie, you were the veteran. You did the big contract, and you did the. You know, now you're the guy with the expectations. When you're in the Ravens, this is. This is our primary target on the offense, you know, and if Ravens u was talking to rookie U. Y' all ain't even.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No. We two different people.

[Ryan Davis]

You're two different people. So, you know, part of me being older is understanding that he had some growing to do. And whenever he grows to a certain point, we'll revisit that conversation and he'll be able to accept it better.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right? After watching a close friend grow through a loss. A few years back, I saw how quickly grief can turn to financial stress. No one deserves that feeling I saw him feel. And I mean no one. No matter what I offer to help, it wasn't enough. I promised my family I would never make them feel the same way my buddy felt. Trust me, that experience of watching a close friend grow through financial stress while grieving changed how I think about protecting my family. Life insurance isn't about expecting the worst, but it's about making sure the people that you love are supported no matter what. That's why we at Club Shay Shay recommend life insurance through Ethos. Ethos makes life insurance fast and easy. 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and the same day coverage. How much easier can protecting your loved ones get. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Now by going to ethos.com Shay Shay In a little as 10 minutes, you can get a free quote and up to $3 million in [e-mail] Shay Shay. That's E T H O S.com Shayshay again, that's ethos.com Shay Shay application times and rates may vary. You and Faison had a situation. How so many people beef with Faison?

[Ryan Davis]

Oh, Fazon, man. This is the thing about Faison, man. Me and Faison didn't really have beef.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's a misunderstanding, by the way.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, no, I know, but Faison likes me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He like you now.

[Ryan Davis]

He always liked me. The thing about Faison, it's his delivery. It's so soon as Faison talk about anybody, they go, oh, he don't like him. That's not what it is. He's just. His tone is real negative. His delivery is real negative. But it's like he was trying to look out for me. Okay? It just. The delivery was so bad. People were like, dang, Faison talking Chuck about you. But he really was Faison cool. Faison is cool. The thing with Faison is I think people don't understand his perspective.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Faison, he was there for Def Comedy Jam. He was there for Friday. He's been in hit movies. He did sitcoms. Parenthood was a successful show. He's seen all part of what this industry is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And so he's very knowledgeable about what it is. But it shifted.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. So it's a whole different from when he started to where it is now.

[Ryan Davis]

It's a whole different thing. So the things he'll say stuff that's true, but it's not.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's not true in today's time.

[Ryan Davis]

It's not true in today's time. And it would actually benefit my generation to learn some of what he's talking about, to be able to utilize it today. But he would have to understand that, that is. Things have changed a whole lot since then.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

You know, but I think it's just a generational thing. And that will always be a thing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is.

[Ryan Davis]

It will always be a thing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There's a gap. It's kind of like now, but I get it. Ali Sadiq. I had Ali, and he's great. He actually put your special on his page.

[Ryan Davis]

Listen, can't nobody tell me nothing about Ali Sadiq. I flip every table. I cuss everybody out. You gonna have to fight me about Al. That's my brother.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Hey, the thing is, with him, you know exactly where you stand with him. Listen, it ain't no misunderstanding, like, man, I want.

[Ryan Davis]

That's what I'm saying. You see, we talk about me having misunderstandings.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

I ain't got no misunderstanding with Ali Sadiq. Me and Ali Sadiq. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? I'm not that hard to understand if you a straightforward person. So the thing is, Ali. So me and Ali. People don't know how far back my special goes. My special just dropped. We shot it in 2023, back when he shot Domino Effect, right? Yeah. That's how long ago it was. Me and him, like. So he called me. He was like, got me one. He was like, ryan, I'm telling you. And Ali. Ali isn't shy about how good he is. He knows he's good. And he was like, this might be my best work today to date. And I was like. I was like, ali, Mexican got on boots. It's crazy. He was like, it's the best work. Yeah. And then when Domino Effect dropped, I watched it. I was like, he's out of here. He's out of here. It's one of the best specials I've seen in 20 years. Yeah, it's phenomenal. And then he was like, I'm waiting on you when yours coming. And I was like. We shot it. And then, like, he was with me. I kept talking to him about all the, like, stuff I was running into, man, all of the ups and downs and how difficult it was for me. And then, even if I was wanting to follow his blueprint and take it to my YouTube, I lost my YouTube page. How you lose your. Lost the YouTube. Not lost it like that. Lost the. The email address. So we tried everything. I went through agents, I went through people who worked at YouTube. Everything. Just kept getting this runaround and everything. And then I dropped it on Patreon, and it did really well. And Ali, me and him talked about it, and I was wanting it there on Ali. I wanted to work with my brother, but I didn't know if he would be up to it, so. And then we talked about it, and he was like, nah, I think this is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This is the move.

[Ryan Davis]

This is the move. And it was so easy. It was so easy. He came to me, he was like, this is the deal. It was like, what do you think about that? I was like, I accept the deal. The thing about me is collaboration is collaboration. Too many times people like to have offers about, like, too much conversation about the split. I don't care nothing about that. I got this body of work that I think that I want to put out. That I want to put out that I think is phenomenal. You have an audience that you have curated that likes stand up comedy. I have an audience to also add to this audience. Let's make this. And we both have had our run ins with the industry not respecting great art, where it's just about, like, how many people you can move and it's not about how great the body of work is. And so there was. I had had offers. There's this idea that I didn't have nowhere to take it or nobody wanted it or nothing. No, no, no, no, no, no. Like, there were plenty of people who saw the value in it. But I understood.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you also understood the value in it.

[Ryan Davis]

I did understand the value in it. When I made the announcement that I was just gonna keep it to myself, Dave Chappelle text me and was like, this is how you do that. And that's when I knew I was making the right decision. Because I was like, so I know it's getting around and it's being seen. Cause how'd it hit your desk? So I was like, all right. And that was when I put it on Patreon initially, when I moved to Ali Sadiq, that's when I was like. And me and Ali have always respected each other and respected our crafts. It's a perfect marriage of people who love this, love this, respect this, and respect each other and want to see not only the art, but our people grow and get.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Thrive in this.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Thrive in this. Yeah. So it's like, this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning. I want to be able to do for others what Ali has done for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. I think the biggest thing is that we want you to do well. We just don't want you to do better than us.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because then if you do better than us, man, you. The first thing, man. You know, I put him on.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Ali don't ever do that. Wow. He'll never do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you recoup your investment?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah. But. And that's the thing about the whole comedy beef thing, right? Like when you say I bump heads with people. I got so much help on this journey. This is literally what the journey looked like. It was at first we went to shop me. It was people, they were like, ah, I don't know, Whatever, whatever. All right, so like, we'll shoot the special ourselves. The day I decided to shoot the special myself. Started to have the conversations walk. I was walking in la, ran into Matt Rife. Damn. Yeah. Matt Rife was like, I got two specials on YouTube that I shot or whatever. I can walk you through it, tell you all the things. Here's my information. Boom, boom, boom. You know? Cause we beefing out here. So he did that. Ali walked me through, told me how he did his, and then I was like, okay, so I'm gonna shoot. I need somebody to do. So I went and performed. My manager had been introduced me to Royale Watkins. Royale Watkins directs a lot of Mike Epps specials for Netflix. So he knows, you know, he know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All the people to get that you need that's set up and everything.

[Ryan Davis]

Everything, right? He was like. He started flying out to different cities to watch my set. He was like, yeah, this is something special. Let's do it. And we worked together. And then my manager, Drew Tillman, he introduced me to Chris Burns over at Live Nation. Chris Burns at Live Nation was like, I really. I've seen you work. We became cool. We became friends, and he appreciates my comedy. So he was like, yeah. So he set me up with Live Nation in Live Nation to start doing the House of Blues. Yeah. So I was like, okay, so now I'm getting theater work. I can prepare for this special. I was like, I don't sell enough tickets to do theaters everywhere, though, so I ain't gonna get as much run as I can. Phone rang. Hey, Ryan, this is Jill Scott. I was wondering. I was wanting to do comedy for my opening act for the 20th anniversary of my first album. And this is where the funny part about me and the whole, like, imposter syndrome, I was like, that's dope, Jill. You should get a comedian to do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You should.

[Ryan Davis]

Whoever. I know some people who are she. I know she was sitting on the other side of the phone like, this boy, so dumb.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I called you.

[Ryan Davis]

I called you. It took me 10 minutes to realize she was asking me to do it. But she put me on the road with her, and we did. I did, like, 10, 12 cities with her. So now I'm getting all the reps, right? And then I'm like, but I gotta rock in front of a music audience. I don't know how to rock in front of a music audience. Call Roy Wood Jr. He was like, this is how you do that. So this idea that people don't help each other, I had help every step of the way. When it came time, a comedian walked it into Netflix. A comedian that Netflix rocks with. Put the. Was putting themselves on as an executive producer. Walked it through the door. So my agent sent it, and this comedian walked it through. Wow. Yeah. So this whole idea that we're beefing or whatever, and then whenever they were watching it, and I was like, okay, if they accept it, I don't even know how to handle the deal or whatever. Chico Bing gave me advice on how to handle the deal. Matt Rife gave me advice on how to handle the deal. Andrew Scholz offered to take me on his infamous tour that he had. That was his first deal with Netflix that he ended up buying back from them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

When I told my story, Charlamagne helped me. He always looked out, put me on the Breakfast Club. I had a podcast in tandem with my special. It was supposed to drop with the special. Charlamagne was like, nah, there's more money to be made. There's more opportunity for you. Let me hook you up with some people to even grow this. So. And then when I was like, okay, I'm gonna do my underrated podcast, I was like, man, I don't even know who to have on it. I was like, I'm gonna just throw Hail Marys. Call Kevin Hart. Of course I'll do it. Method Man. Of course I'll do it. Gilbert Arenas. Of course I do it. Gilbert was like, hey, come on. Gil's Arena. We did Gil's Arena. I think this idea that we're not all on the same team and we're not helping each other because people like Kevin Hart and Issa Rae, they had talked about it. People sit on there, ask all the time. Just ask. They might say, yeah. See, the thing is, people want support, to look a certain way. None of these people offered to post me on their page. They never offered to give me shout out, but they gave me time and they gave me advice. Neil Hughley gives me advice all the time. Anytime I see him, he takes me to dinner. He told me one the importance of owning it and when to sell it and how to sell it, depending on what it is you're seeing through your analytics and timing. I've gotten advice every step of the way. Wow, that's great. So, yeah, it's a blessing. And the funny part is I can say all of this, right? And when people watch this podcast, they're gonna go, who is this dude? I've never heard of this dude. Because I don't share that. This is my. This is my story. This is my life. This is what a lot of people think I'm Just some dude sitting in my house, not doing nothing, hoping to make it. People see me in the street, be like, man, I hope you make it someday. I'd be like, me too. Me too. Me too, man. So, yeah, no, I had a lot of help along the way, man. I did even this, man. I'm so grateful that you provided a platform. Because when you think about it, there's not a lot of platforms that has given comedians the opportunity to be seen in front of hundreds of thousands and millions of people.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because do it consistently. You guys have very interesting stories, and you can tell it. Yeah, not everybody can. Everybody has a story, but everybody can't tell their story. Everybody can't be entertaining. I found out early on. Cause I like comedians. Cause I have a sense of humor myself, but they can tell a story.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, man. It's. The thing is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you're entertaining because your job is to entertain.

[Ryan Davis]

Bore people to death if you don't. And that's one of the hard things with my style, too, because it's not energetic. It's for people who can be entertained by words, Right? Yeah. So that's the one thing I love about comedy. I just wish we lived in a time where people didn't hate so much. Because, like, let's say you watch one of my clips or you watch my special. Let's say you don't like it, right? Instead of going, hey, this dude isn't funny, go. Hmm. When you think he not funny, you know who I think is funny? Go watch their stuff. Go comment on their stuff. Go give them the engagement. Instead of hating on.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, so instead of being negative towards me, somebody that you do like, go be positive for them.

[Ryan Davis]

Go support them. The negative cause, the people you don't like that you being negative, you're giving them engagement. Go give that engagement to somebody you actually want to see win. I never want my fans to be on somebody else's page going, they not as good as Ryan. Mm, mm, mm, mm. As soon as you think that, come on to Ryan's page and go, ryan is the best. Ryan is my favorite. Go do that. Go tell somebody. Go share my special with somebody. Go do that. Look, I'd much rather you be. You use that energy to elevate somebody else.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Elevate me. You can elevate me without trying to suppress somebody else.

[Ryan Davis]

I hate that. I'll do a show and somebody will be like, this is the best show I've ever been to. This is way better than I'll stop them. I'm like, not necessary. Just say you enjoyed me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, that's it.

[Ryan Davis]

Just say you enjoyed me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So now that you've kind of done this and you kind of have the way to navigate the way around, what do you think? Independent or streaming service? Because everybody seems to want those specials. Everybody wants to get on that big, you know, get that big. That want Netflix to come that big check, it's over.

[Ryan Davis]

Independent. Always do it independent. They'll come with the big check if you do it independent anyway. You do it independent. They see the numbers because it's turned into capitalism. You know, Netflix, a lot of man, this is art and capitalism do not belong together. It ruins great things. Like we're not even gonna go to Netflix. Let's give an example of Fox, okay?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Fox was new Simpsons, Martin living, single New York living. You see what I'm saying? Boom. It was. Cause it was just good. And then you make so much money, they left the audience. That made them what it was. Netflix Orange is the new black. Tom Segura doing special giving specials to Tom Segura. Sebastian Maniscalco. You know what I mean? Ali Wong. Before they were big, they were just good. And then you gave them a good product and then it blew up. And then Netflix was making money hand over fist. And they were like, let's give specials to people who ain't done comedy in 15 years. And just give them millions upon millions of dollars in hopes to get people to subscribe to it. When in fact, the way that you keep an audience, an audience engaged is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Just to give them more what day.

[Ryan Davis]

Just give them good content. People respect good content. People know when you lying to them. People know when you're cheating them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

So just don't cheat them. You know what I mean? And too many times it's like, how can we make more money? Well, you lose when you do it that way. Now people aren't checking Netflix for specials like that right now. They gotta bring somebody on just to keep the eyeballs. Cause they don't even know how to invest in up and coming talent anymore.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, I had Country Wayne on and Country Wayne said you taught him how to monetize. And now Country Wayne's a multi man.

[Ryan Davis]

I appreciate my brother so much for saying that. I did not expect him to do that. Cause the level of honesty is what I didn't expect. Wayne was facing hard times. Whenever he came to me for that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Had he not gotten to comedy, he was really gonna be facing hard times.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, yeah, Wayne. Cause the well was drying up and he was like. But the one Thing about Wayne, boy, if he don't know how to do nothing, he know how to make money. He know how to make money.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A hustler gonna hustle, boy.

[Ryan Davis]

He know, listen, like, I can't. Like, he came to me for advice. I didn't come to Wayne for advice. But Wayne, if I ever get to a point where I got $5 in my pocket, Wayne, what you do with $5? This is exactly what you do with $5, right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Flip it, Bumpy. Wayne.

[Ryan Davis]

Yo, yo. He'll tell you how to flip. By the end of the day, you'll be like, thank you. Thank you. Wayne. That man, and he's so funny and he's so skilled, but, like, this platform is so huge. And like I said, I'm introverted, and a lot of people don't really understand. So when Wayne says, like, when you say, ask who helped you understand in this empire you built? And he said my name, that was so crazy to me because I really didn't expect it. But me and Wayne have been tied at the hip the whole time. Wow. A lot of people don't know. Me and Wayne talk all the time. Me and Wayne talk a lot. Me and Desi Banks talk a lot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Funny Marco just did a Breakfast Club interview. They was like, who helped you navigate? You're going on stage and stuff like that. He said, I call Ryan Davis for advice. That's my legacy more than anything is that my peers respect me enough to feel like they can learn from me no matter what the level they can call you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like, they don't know. They're like, you know what? I might not know, but Ryan knows. And if he doesn't know, he'll find out and get back to me.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. And everybody needs that person.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

And the person is never who people think it is. When you see Funny Marco and his huge success and country Wayne and his huge success, and they're like, who do they go to for advice? I know people would have wrote down a lot of names before they wrote down mine. Correct. And then if, like, I stubbed my toe or hit my head or I put out these pieces of content where it was like, man, you shouldn't have done that. It's a guy named Naim Lin who tours with Kevin Hart and he has a show with Tyler Perry that's doing well. That's who checks me every single time. Naim Lin has the best advice in the world. That's who helped me navigate this space without me asking, I'll put out something. And he was. And he'll come straight up. He'll hit me and be like, I'm not telling you what to do, but look at it from this perspective. And I. Ah, thank you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Appreciate that.

[Ryan Davis]

Appreciate that. Cause I would have bumped my head a lot harder on the way up. I know I've lost opportunities running my mouth. For sure. For sure.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You had to learn the hard way, huh?

[Ryan Davis]

I learned the hard way. You don't. Everything ain't for you to talk about. Go talk to your friends about it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You said, you said to the mother of your children, Wayne lied. I said I made $20, not $20,000.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, Wayne. Yeah, boy. What?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wayne. Wayne be messing up your. He be messing up your pocket, man.

[Ryan Davis]

That man said he got on the podcast, and when he said, yeah, I was like, dad, Wayne, thank you for sharing, man. You know, but I didn't realize. I forgot about his reach. Soon as he said that, my DM blew up. Hey, man, teach me how to make money online. I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not what I do. That's my friend. Right. But, Wayne, why did you say I made $20,000 off the Internet? My baby mama watch this. And I don't use the term baby mama. The mother of my children.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

I was like, your co parent. My co parent. She watches this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

She know I ain't broke, but I don't think she know that I got it like this. Yeah, I got it like that. Cause she know I make tour money. Cause I'm always on the road. She know, like, supplemental income. Look, like, what are you doing? So. Nah. But me and her, like, I have a great co parenting relationship now. It's so tough early on.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is tough. Cause you're both young.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. It's so tough.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you both want to be right.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's the hardest part.

[Ryan Davis]

And it's a lot harder to be more right than them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because you don't realize you tugging, but you're not pulling at each other. You're pulling at the child.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And that was a harder thing. But I wanna be right.

[Ryan Davis]

Her need to be right was greater than mine.

[Shannon Sharpe]

She probably would say, your need to be right was greater than hers.

[Ryan Davis]

Nah, she can be honest. Like, if she. When she. It depends on how mad she is. If she's not mad, she can be honest about it. But the things, like, she just. She's just like, I'm mellow. She's on the opposite side. So you're a volcano.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, that's why you guys worked at the beginning.

[Ryan Davis]

That's why we work. Yeah. So but like we're just working through like getting our custody agreement together now, you know, And I told you I'm gonna be more candid on here than I've ever been. I never talk about my co parenting situation, but whenever me, I have two children. I have an 8 year old son and a 10 year old daughter. She's about to turn 11. And it's been rough. I've been there every step of the way financially. I haven't always been there the way that I should have physically, but I wasn't always allowed to be there. Like I could have been physically too.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But those are the sacrifices that you gotta make because it all depends on how successful are you trying to be. It is hard because the greater the goal, the greater the sacrifice needed to reach said goal.

[Ryan Davis]

And nobody talks about what it is to be in this space. I appreciate people like Kevin Hart and others who give candid interviews because you don't. Nobody prepares you for what it is to fly to a city, a bunch of people to a city you've never been to, a bunch of people paid, got dressed to go. Enjoy what it is that you do. You enjoy what you do. You love what you do. You take that money home and you give it back to your children and their mother for them to have a better life. But the children don't feel as close. Cause you're going on the thing. Yeah. She feels abandoned or feel like she's doing it on her own. Because even if you're doing it financially, you can't supplement time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No.

[Ryan Davis]

And when you're carrying the load financially, you don't want to hear nobody talk about how you not doing your. What you're taking care of three households?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Exactly.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm not doing my part. It's hard for you to, you know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

It's hard for you to see because.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Time is the most valuable commodity.

[Ryan Davis]

It's the most valuable commodity. So then I ran into this thing where my daughter went from I love my dad to let me see what I can get out of here. And when she started looking at me as access to like material things, you were atm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now all of a sudden you weren't dad, you were an atm.

[Ryan Davis]

Broke me. Broke me. Cause it was like I only want to be around him if I can get something out of him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So let me ask you this. Did you have that, did you sit down and have a conversation? How did you come to the realization that it was, yes, this is my child, but my child only wants to be around Me. Because of what? The access that she has to things. Perfume, jewelry, clothes, makeup, whatever the case may be. Right.

[Ryan Davis]

It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking. Cause it's like. It's heartbreaking because it's like, my daughter saved my life. I'm not a very motivated person. And when that we went and got that ultrasound and they said it's a girl, I knew I couldn't be a mediocre man anymore because it would affect how she viewed men in general.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then she'd have been okay with.

[Ryan Davis]

That, and she would be okay with a mediocre man. And I worked harder than I ever worked in my life because of her. Like, she's my reason and then for my reason. And she was a daddy's girl. Big time. Oh, big time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's my oldest.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. She my oldest. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And to watch that daddy's girl go from, I just want to be around him. I just want to touch him. I just want to sleep on him, be cuddled up to him, to, hey, if he ain't buying me nothing, I really ain't trying to go. Like, I lost her. It takes a long time to get him back. And so for me, that was the one thing about this whole custody agreement that was, like, so important for me. It was like, while we're going through what it is, and then she. Me and their mother was talking, and she was like, dang, it's like you're trying to get so much time. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that's all I. That's all that matters now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause once it's gone.

[Ryan Davis]

Because once it's gone, it's gone. It's like you had so much of the first half. Just let me. Please. Let me just get. Let me get more on the back end.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You do realize that what comes with that. There are gonna be some times that where you probably wanna be on the road and should be on the road. You're not gonna be on the road right now.

[Ryan Davis]

Nah. The summers is theirs. They got it. I'll never. Like you'd have.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Or you have to take them on when they get older, Take them on the road with you.

[Ryan Davis]

And it ain't take them on the road with me. You gotta pay me to supplement the fact that I'm bringing them with me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

If it ain't that, it ain't worth it. It ain't worth it. Because, like, my son, thank God I got it right before it happened with him. Like I'm Superman in his eyes, right? Like he was like, ah, his dad, like, when he look at me, I just be like, I'm not the person you see.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Got him fooled.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, but he just. And she used to see me like that. And my daughter, like, I get glimpses. So I still get glimpses. There'll be times like she'll get her hair done or get new earrings or whatever. She cares where I was. Like, these are cute. I got nothing. Yeah. She's like, she wants me, but there's the fear of giving her all to me and it being taken.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you're gone again.

[Ryan Davis]

And I'm gone again. And how do you explain to a 10 year old, you know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

But they don't understand. They don't understand, Ryan, because they don't understand the private schools. They don't understand the access that they have. It's because of you. Oh, man.

[Ryan Davis]

No, they homeschool. They don't know. Ain't none of your peers homeschooled. Ain't none of your peers like, have.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Access to things that you have. It's because do you know you live.

[Ryan Davis]

In a house with a parent that ain't never got to worry about nothing. Nothing. You know how many people get raised like that? Not many.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Not many.

[Ryan Davis]

Not many.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nope.

[Ryan Davis]

They don't. But it's not for them to get right. You gotta meet them where they are. It's just like it's a child.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you gotta get on a child's level.

[Ryan Davis]

You gotta get on a child's level. It ain't the time to pat yourself on the back.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. So, you know, I gotta do the work.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Give me your Mount Rushmore social media comedians that. There's a lot of them out there.

[Ryan Davis]

Mount Rushmore. So we gotta go. Yeah, okay. Mount Rushmore. Geez. Okay. I'm gonna go. DC Young, fly.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Got to. Man I'm talking about went from social media to Wild N Out to being almost the face of Wild N Out hit movies. You know what I mean? And then 85 south moves on from that, doing arenas. You know, if there was ever a dream of what.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What's possible?

[Ryan Davis]

What's possible? A man. So definitely him. I'll go DC social media comedian. I'm gonna go me. Okay. And the reason I'm gonna say me is because the side by side commentary, especially you see it so much now, people doing commentary and funny commentary on what that was not a thing like D.C. was doing roasting.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Nobody was really talking about like popular topics, political climate or anything. That was me. And then I've Turned and like, I've turned that into being one of the most respected standup comedians in the game. You know, I wouldn't want to necessarily name myself. I'm really like, I really do a good job of not naming myself in spaces like this, but I'm tired. I'm tired.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nah, I'm gonna pat my damn self with the bike.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Nah, I'm gonna come get what I'm owed. Kev on stage.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

Kev on stage. Man mogul. He won't let me call him that. But, man, we talking about a guy who worked at Boeing and then talked to his wife and was like, we gonna throw it all the way to make YouTube videos. What you think? And not only that, we talking about viral videos on all platforms. Millions of followers on all platforms. Made his own network, sold TV shows. He's won NAACP Image Awards. He's put other people on some comics. Best tape that they have first television experience. First television reel is from whenever Covid hit. And he did his comedy show through Covid, right? And then it got picked up by Amazon. It's their most comics. A lot of comics that did it, their best tape. And they get bookings from Kev on stage, putting other people on.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Ryan Davis]

He's second season of Churchy on bet. This dude is just. He's just dominating, right? So he's on the Mount Rushmore. I'mma go, Jess. Hilarious. Okay, Jess. Hilarious.

[Shannon Sharpe]

She was amazing. I had Jess on. She was amazing.

[Ryan Davis]

We talking about going from that to doing national sold out tours, doing the sitcom with Religion now on one of the highest syndicated radio shows, Breakfast Club in the world. Who did it like that? Wow. Who did it like that? So, yeah, that's the Mount Rushmore right now. And that's on some OG stuff. You know what I mean? Really? Country Wayne deserves to be there. Country Wayne deserves to be there more than me. It was just. I got tired of not saying, but Desi Banks. You could say Desi Banks. You could say Drewski. You can have, you know, anybody. But, you know, I'd say those five, including me, is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I read that you said D.C. was the reason that you started posting on social media.

[Ryan Davis]

Man, DC is. Can't nobody tell me nothing about that dude. Him or Wayne. Can't nobody tell me nothing about them. Anything can happen with them in their career.

[Shannon Sharpe]

See them Georgia boys.

[Ryan Davis]

Hey, we. Hey. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

One from atl, the other from Twain's brother.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm tell you another thing. Them boys don't ever get away from God.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No.

[Ryan Davis]

No matter what goes on in their life.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, you right.

[Ryan Davis]

They don't ever get away from God. Whenever I go, whenever I'm like, I don't. Cause I don't necessarily tell people when I'm going through it. And I'll just end up running into them or talking to one of them when they go. First thing that come out of their mouth, man, you know, God is. You know what I mean? I'm like, you know what? And the more I lean into God, the better life always get. They definitely help me with that. You know what I mean? But, you know, all southern boys, my guy Schuler King is phenomenal, Phenomenal, you know, and in Georgia, you got guys like, you know, Ronnie Jordan. Amazing. I wish people would. That's another reason why I like your platform and you highlighting comics. Because the general public really don't know who's really like that out here.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Ronnie Jordan is really like that. He's been voted like the best comic as far as college touring. And Ronnie older than me, which means he can rock an audience that's older than me, better than me, and he can rock the college kids. I don't even like doing college shows. He's one of the best all around comics in the world. It's just the world. We don't live in a space that shows these type of people in that light. And your platform gives me the opportunity to say their name. And for me, that's really important. You know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know if you saw this, but Deon Cole was very critical of Kasanet. He said he should have done more research because when they had him on the show, then they were bringing people up and he was like, I don't know who that is. I don't know who that is, man. Don't be mad at me. Cause I'm young. And I remember going through a very similar situation. The image were on Fox and I was a co host. Me, what's Osborne, Kelly Osborne, and a couple other people. And I remember they sent me a packet. Cause at that point in time, I was at Undisputed. And all my focus is on Undisputed. I need to do this research. I need to be good, get good at this. But they asked me what I do and I said, yeah. And so they sent me a packet of people, potential people that I would interview on the red carpet. I had to watch a bunch of shows. So now I ain't watching none of these shows. Now I gotta go and I gotta watch all these shows. Because when I meet these People, I gotta say, oh, I love your character. I love this. I love that. I love that. So you do your research and you don't use. Well, I play sports. I don't know who you are.

[Ryan Davis]

Excuse me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What's your name?

[Ryan Davis]

Mm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't. And I get. I understand what d. I understand what Dion was saying. Now, I don't know if Kai took it like that or he's taken it like, when you go to a space, when you go to do something. If I go do, like, ufc, I can't. Like, man, I don't. I gotta do research, and I gotta know who these people are. If I go do the Emmys, if I go do the Oscars, if I go do something like that, you probably should do research on it, right?

[Ryan Davis]

Ain't no probably. It's your job. Yes. So my thing is that speaks to the era that we're in, where it's just good enough to be there. This.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's my name. My name is.

[Ryan Davis]

It's the clout era. Yeah. I just want to say I was there. I just want to say I was part of it. And this is not a knock the Kai. I'm talking about the environment that we're in now where it's just like. But don't you want to be the best.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

At what it is that you do. And that's a thing with me. Like, I'd lose my mind if I was on the carpet and somebody walked by and I didn't know. I'd be like, I failed. But that's not what it is now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is not. It was such a big. Ryan. It was such a big deal that people would come up like, I know who you are. I had no idea that you know who I was or you watch my work.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And, yeah, I had to cram all that in six, seven weeks. But still, I'd have been so embarrassed if I didn't know who I'm actually talking to. And then I'm like, who is that person?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, it's like, when you there and they give you a job, they give you a mic. If you just in the audience, that's one thing. You a filler. But you got a microphone and they bringing people up. You're gonna probably have to know who these people are.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Kai needs a right hand. I ain't never seen him with a right hand man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. All of them stream, so. All of them. Somebody, he needs a. Like, I got a teesprings. Yeah, teesprings. If the red carpet's coming up. He'd be like, you look at that packet. You look at that packet.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Exactly.

[Ryan Davis]

Don't go out there and play yourself.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I understand, like, streamers, though. You know, you gotta stream 10, 15, 20 hours a day. I get all of that, but if you're not gonna, you know, hey, God, link it.

[Ryan Davis]

Go over the packet with your streamers. Yeah. Say the name. Be like, where y' all know them from? Anybody watch this? Or whatever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay. Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Should I get. Content is content. They've already. This is the thing, Kai. People pay money to see you hang out with your friends.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

Think about that, Shannon. Did you ever think that that was gonna be a. You could become. How'd you become a millionaire? Well, I let people watch me hang out with my friends, play video games.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know, play pranks on each other.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Hey, just do some work. It's cool. Just do. Hey, bring them on. This is the funny part your audience would love to see. Cause they don't get this opportunity. They don't know that we get handed a packet. And you have to go through all of this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You have to study it.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. You have to study that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

They would love to go through that experience with you because they don't have access to. You would be giving them access to that. But. And also, it's my thing. Like, I don't know if Kai was working that night. Cause I kept seeing, like, he was in the stream and he was walking around. Was he working? Did they hire him to stream or did they hire him to interview? Now if he's on a spot and he's interviewing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

That's it. Cause there's two different streams he did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

There's one, like, where he ran into Wale and all of that stuff. I don't think he was working. I think he was streaming. But if ever you have to hold a microphone when you need to talk to people, you gotta do. And if you don't know, it's fine if you don't know. But don't come in unprepared. There's no excuse to not.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, he probably. He probably. They probably just had him there because of his name and the eyeballs that was gonna. That follows him.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause that's what it is. But when I go to an event, especially, you know, if I don't, my job is like, who's gonna be here?

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause when I see that person, hey, I'm such and such. I always identify myself. Hey, I'm Shannon Sh. I know who you are, but I'm not arrogant enough to believe that everybody does, But I'm the type of person that, hey, how you doing? Such and such, blah, blah, so forth and so on. Cause I. That's just. Why you laughing?

[Ryan Davis]

Cause in some spaces, people laugh at me for introducing myself, but I always introduce myself. Always, always.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Every time.

[Ryan Davis]

Once they told me, Beyonce introduce herself, I will always introduce myself. You ain't gonna get. I'm not gonna give nobody the opportunity to play, like, be on some. You know who I am. And they go, no, no, go to the back of the line. I refuse to be that guy. I'll go to the back of the line and get to the front. And y' all go, why'd you wait in line? I'd rather do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

Than be at the front. What?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Who are you?

[Ryan Davis]

Who are you? Yeah, yeah. I don't even want to deal with the embarrassment.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned Drewski earlier. Drew Ski caused some backlash. He dressed up in white face.

[Ryan Davis]

And.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is there a line that comics shouldn't cross? Or how far is there a line that Ryan wouldn't cross?

[Ryan Davis]

For me, research is the most important thing when you're doing something. You got to research who it's going to hurt and why it's going to hurt them. And then you make a decision on how you go about it, because you can still go about it and do it in a way that that group of people appreciate it. And if you can do it in a way that the people who it would normally offend appreciates it, then you've done it correctly. Okay, So I defend comedy over everything. I'm more of a comedian than I am a person. I'm working on that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Cause somebody will be like, you hear what that comedian said? I'll be like, I heard it Funny, too. It was funny. That was pretty good. They're like, it hurt a bunch of people. Yeah, I could see that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

But did you see what he did, the way he flipped it? Yeah, that was skill. That was skill.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is it a line? Have you gotten to the point there? There's a line. There's a joke that you won't tell. There's a line that you won't cross.

[Ryan Davis]

You don't talk about people's kids. Okay. You don't talk about people's kids. You don't talk about people's kids. You don't talk about their parents either, unless the parents involve themselves. And then we're all adults.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

But leave people, families out of stuff. You don't bring up. Like, I'm sure one Day I'll get to the pinnacle of my career and people be like, ryan, you remember when you said that? And I'll go, yep, I was a very stupid person back then. I was a very immature and stupid person. You know, also give people the opportunity, like. Like when we were talking about Kai. Also give people an opportunity to grow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, Kyle's Kai 24, if that.

[Ryan Davis]

You know what I mean? Yeah. Give people opportunity to grow. Like, that's the thing. I hope. Like, when. Cause it's easy to get defensive videos. It's very easy to get defensive when somebody talk about you. Cause I'll talk about my life and people will take a very small window without context and then make up this whole story around it. Okay. And. And I'm not like, I'll talk about my relationship with my mother and how it's estranged or whatever. And then I'll talk about the things she dealt with being married to my father and their relationship. And I'll be like, oh, your mother was a victim. Have some grace. I was like, I do. I even did a Vlad interview where I said, because my parents had a age gap, that was inappropriate. And I said I would give my life and not be here if that meant my mother could be protected and could have her childhood back so she wouldn't have the demons that she has to live with. No one sees that interview. They see the interview where I say, we don't talk much because of that. And then I talk about what she's been through. No one ever goes, the reason he's discussing what she's been through because he understands it's because of what she's been through, you've been through that he doesn't hold it against him because people will view your life through their trauma lens. And I'm learning that being a public figure, that once you say something and you allow yourself to be seen that way, they're going to have opinions.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They're going to have opinion of it.

[Ryan Davis]

And that's why I never did it before.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Ryan Davis]

You know, I never did it before. Charlie Murphy actually told me that. I was sitting with him. Amazing guy. But he said. Eddie told him that. He said, once you talk about your life, you give people the license to comment on it. So he said, Eddie didn't talk about his life, and that's why he don't talk about his life. And he was like, so if you're going to talk about your life, be ready for what comes with that. He taught me that over a decade ago. And he didn't even know who I was. He didn't even know. He was just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Just having casual conversation.

[Ryan Davis]

Casual conversation.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's interesting. It's like people. People post stuff, and then when people comment. Yeah, well, you posted it.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

And people have to understand. Most people are dumb. So whenever you post something, there are people who are dedicated to misunderstanding what it is that you're saying.

[Shannon Sharpe]

People looking to be upset about something.

[Ryan Davis]

They are dedicated to misunderstanding it. They have no desire to get what you mean.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When did this happen? When did me going to the store offend you? Upset you? Oh, look at him. He going there. He going into Whole Foods, paying all that money. He could get the same stuff.

[Ryan Davis]

What do you mean? How dare you carry your dog and wear a sweatsuit. Shannon, what's wrong with you?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Not me having. Okay, when I was a kid, my grandparents, we didn't allow dogs in the house.

[Ryan Davis]

Mm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm not a kid anymore. It's my house. I allow dogs in the house. I allow my dog to sleep on the bed. We didn't allow dog. Obviously, the dog wasn't in the house. He wasn't in the kitchen. Okay? I have dogs. It's my. First of all, it's my house. It's my kitchen. And what do you think the likelihood was that you were ever gonna be in my house, in my kitchen to say, oh, this is terrible.

[Ryan Davis]

This is nasty, but this is what they'll say. I wouldn't dare eat off them plates. You were never gonna be here. You would never gonna be here. And I forget what it's called. It's a parasocial relationship, okay? That's what it is. Everybody feels like they're attached to people. I ain't gonna lie. I dealt with it, too. I'm a huge fan of yours. So the live incident.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

I was so mad at you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I was mad at me.

[Ryan Davis]

I was so mad at you. And then my best friend Austin had to pull me to the side and be like, nigga, this ain't got nothing to do with you. This ain't got nothing to do. I was like, yeah, man, but tag. Shit, man. What did the. He was like, man, you do not know that, man. You do not know that, man. Cause you had turned. You started doing the T shirt thing. I was like, he monetizes it. Come on, Shannon.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I think the thing is that you try so hard to be perfect.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I remember having a conversation with my sister. She's like, shannon, you tried your whole life to be perfect. And once you realize that, you're not perfect. And you're never gonna be perfect. You're gonna be okay. Yeah, it's hard because you study. You want to be the best football player. You wanted to be perfect. You didn't want to drop any passes, you didn't want to make any mistakes. You didn't want to miss any blocks. You wanted to be on time. And I did everything I possibly could. I've done everything in my life to try to be perfect, only to realize that I'm never going to be perfect and I'm a flawed individual.

[Ryan Davis]

That's crazy. You ain't even know how much I needed that when you just said that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's what, that's what, that's the hardest part about this life. Because over the last three to four years, more people know who I am in the last three to four years that know me in my whole 14 year NFL career.

[Ryan Davis]

And you're arguably the best to ever play your position.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And people, People, Ryan, people don't even. A lot of people don't. When they meet me, they don't even know, have no idea that I played football. They would ask, like, how do you know so much about sports? I like, I study. You just.

[Ryan Davis]

I mean, geez, that's so crazy. I was like. I'd point to a. He'd be like, you see this position?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gonna play it.

[Ryan Davis]

There ain't three people in the world done it better than this guy. Yeah, man, it's just. And they don't know it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They don't.

[Ryan Davis]

They don't know it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you know.

[Ryan Davis]

But they know Lakers in five.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They know Lakers.

[Ryan Davis]

That's the. So it's. Yeah, it's. Man, this is just navigating. This space is a parasocial. Relationships is a thing. And I pray my fans don't do that. I want y' all to take this journey with me. I want people to become fans of mine. I want people to be elated when they see me win. I want people to not be okay with seeing me fall.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

But I don't want them to believe that you get to have a say in how I live my life. Don't do that. You know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

People do.

[Ryan Davis]

They do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They do.

[Ryan Davis]

Because they're so invested. They're so invested.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's why the streamers do so well. Because people get an opportunity to see.

[Ryan Davis]

Man, he just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, he going to the refrigerator. Oh, he playing a game. Oh, he on the phone.

[Ryan Davis]

It killed fame, though. It killed fame. I missed the days where I knew nothing about the people. I. You Know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

The real, real famous. You still don't know a whole lot about Beyonce, and I love it, you know, on stage, you don't know a whole lot about Hov or LeBron or Denzel or Oprah. You don't know a whole lot about that.

[Ryan Davis]

But you see how much bigger they are than everybody, because that is. It's so important. But the reason I share stuff. And like I said, this is the most candid I've ever been. I don't. There's a lot of people that's gonna watch this, like, God, I didn't know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He really opened up.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah, he really opened. Cause also within my comedy, somebody else goes through this, and they may just need to hear this. It might be the. I might say the thing that clicks to them, that changes everything around for them. And if I got to take some type of bullet or criticism or whatever, but I help somebody, then I think that's what God put me here to do. And to give people some type of levity in their life doing that, you know what I mean? I had a moment where everything clicked for me. Like, I talk about my boy T springs, me and him and friends. I was four. He's man, my right hand. Like, I was doing comedy. I was trying to make it. And he. The Comedy Zone in Charlotte had their own podcast, and it was a guy named Will Jacobs that used to do it, but he was out of town working, and they were like, ryan, we need you to do the podcast. They would do interviews of whoever was coming to perform there that weekend. And I was a pharmacy tech technician, and I had to be at work in the morning, and I said, nah, I can't do it. And it was John Witherspoon. I had an opportunity to interview John Witherspoon before he passed. And you know what John Witherspoon means to our community.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Ryan Davis]

Pops. Pops. It would have been everything. And I put work before it. And I was at work and I was just like, eh, you know, slinging pills, whatever, you know, T was like, what's wrong with. I told him what happened. He said, hey, do you want to be employee of the month or a comedian? I never worked again. The day.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You left that job for years.

[Ryan Davis]

I literally walked out that day. But you need somebody to say the thing that ignites the thing in you. And so no matter what anybody thinks about me, I want to be the person and to ignite that thing in somebody that makes their whole cause. Kevin Hart also did it for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You said that you've given flowers to Kevin. A lot of people do that. Kevin was the reason why you started standup.

[Ryan Davis]

Mm. I didn't even ever think about doing stand up, ever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So did you. Did you see him on stage? Did you watch one of his specials? Did you meet him somewhere? What was it about him that made you think, I can do that?

[Ryan Davis]

I didn't. I think comedians are the most brilliant people on the planet. I never thought I could do that. I wanted to be Stuart Scott. That's who I wanted to be.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Ryan Davis]

That's who I thought I was gonna be. And then I watched. I went to theaters to see Let Me explain back in 2013, and I watched it, and he sold out Madison Square Garden multiple nights. He's crying at the end. And I saw in real time what it looked like for somebody to have a dream and then make it beyond their wildest dreams and cry tears of joy, but also see everything that he.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like.

[Ryan Davis]

I'm telling you, I could see. It felt like I could see everything. I could see his mom not being there, his relationship with his father, the hard work, the what he went through in his marriage, raising children, you know, traveling to do comedy, coming out of Philly, going to New York all the time, not necessarily being accepted, all the no's. He's been told. And in this one moment, I did it. I did it. And he's crying, and I'm looking at him going, you need to go accomplish something. You need to go set goals and accomplish something. It wasn't even. I didn't even choose comedy because Kevin was in comedy. Comedy just happens to be my calling. If I could cook, I would have went to the Cordon Bleu after watching that, you know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You would have won the James Baird Award. A bit about Michael.

[Ryan Davis]

Yo, listen, I would have had a Michelin star restaurant, everything. I was so motivated. But I got on stage three days later.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you?

[Ryan Davis]

Three days later?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Had never been on stage before.

[Ryan Davis]

Never been on stage. Nothing. Got on stage three days later.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You do realize how strange that is, man?

[Ryan Davis]

I was that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's like going to watch a football game and say, I ain't never played football. I'm going to football. I'm gonna be a football player.

[Ryan Davis]

Telling you that's how. Can't nobody tell me nothing about Kevin. Kevin moved me. And that's how I hope to do. Like, that's all just, you know, words. Can't I see you talk about your brother? Yeah, can't nobody. Like, every time I see it, man, I hate that y' all be making me cry, but I know what that is, to see somebody. And when you be, like. When I sit here and talk about, like, how amazing you are, and I know you sit there like my brother. Best football player I ever seen in my life. You know what I mean? To have that person. You know what I mean? I'm like that with Dave Chappelle, right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Ryan Davis]

Dave Chappelle is the greatest thing in the world, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Chappelle is. He might be the goat. I mean, I watched him in. I watched him as Tully in Blue Streak. I watched him as Reggie.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah. Reggie Warren. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Should I get him? And to see. Because the way he can storytell.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The way he can take actual events. I mean, he. And. And he can take real events where these trucks And I know some people get upset when he talks about the trans community and he talks about the Jewish community, but the way he can. That monologue that he did on Saturday Night Live might be the greatest monologue that I've ever heard.

[Ryan Davis]

They don't understand what Dave. Nothing is on accident. That's the part that makes me. That bothers me when he gets criticized. Cause people act like he's doing thoughtless comedy. And y' all gotta understand, a lot of thought, a lot of research and a lot of care went into what he's saying. It's not for no reason.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It ain't happenstance.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's calculated. He gonna force you to think.

[Ryan Davis]

Yes. And my comedy is that way. And Bill Burr's comedy is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I love Bill Burr, too.

[Ryan Davis]

And so Patrice o' Neil's comedy is that way. Chris Rock's comedy is that. And those are the people who influenced me the most. So meeting Dave Chappelle, 50 cents did his. He did this show in Louisiana. Cause he's opening.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. That big festival.

[Ryan Davis]

The big festival.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep.

[Ryan Davis]

And shout out to CH who got me on that show. And I went down there and Dave came. Dave had his own green room. Everybody is, like, huddled around. Dave walked by. He's so nice. It's so ridiculous how famous he is. It's how accessible he makes himself in moments. He ain't super accessible, but in moments. In moments, especially with comics, he makes himself accessible. And he came and said hey to everybody. And he said hey to me. And he took two steps to walk away. And he stopped and turned and was like, huge fan. I was like, ooh. And he was like. He was like, oh, man. He was like, your writing. He was like, you're brilliant. Come to my green Room, man. I was like, what? And I told you I got imposter syndrome really bad. I was like, there's no way he talking to me. Yeah, and then we went in the green room, and we're talking. He was like, yo, I see your stuff. He was like, I think you do comedy the right way. You're a brilliant writer. He was like, take my number. If you need anything, let me know. And I'm just like, this some Hollywood shit. He don't mean it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Ryan Davis]

Then 50 Cent came in the room, and he was like, Hey, 50, if you do anything comedy, you need to see if you can hire him. He's an amazing writer. He gets it. Or whatever. And I'm like, I think this dude is serious. And then so, like, Dave, he was. I was like, I don't have my phone. He gave me his number. And then, like, when my special was dropping, he reached out whenever I went to see him in Atlanta, and I was just like, oh. In my mind, I'm like, oh. He. You know, whatever. He invites me to go do Firehouse, his club in Ohio. I was like, ah. He just says that. And then when he sees me, he's like, hey, man, when are you gonna do Firehouse? Hey, man, I told you you could. I was like, oh, he really meant it. He really means it. He's a genuine person.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because you've been in a situation where people say things and they don't really mean it.

[Ryan Davis]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They're just saying it in, and they're.

[Ryan Davis]

Not at that level. And him and Kevin really be like, reach out. If I can do it, I'll help you. I'll help you. And they really mean it so to, like, the guy. I never even thought I would even know these people, and they respect. Like, I went to go see Kevin one time, and Kevin was like, hey, I need you to see this set and give me your opinion on it. I was like, me, Kevin Hart. But they know I care about this. That's why I think my legacy will always be how much I loved it. And I asked Dave. I was like, how? Cause he's been doing it since he was, like, 13, 14. It's like, how are you still doing it like this? He was like. Like, it's been good to. I've been. Like, I've been. I've given it my all, and it's. And it's given its all back to me, you know, it's been really good to me, and I love it, and it loves me back, and that's something I want for myself. You know, I want to love this thing more than anything in the world. And the thing is, when you love it so much, you don't even care if it loves you back. I just love it so much. I just want to do this forever. That's why it's so important for me to make timeless bodies of work. So important. I want my bodies of work. When I'm no longer here, people are like, man, I wasn't around for it. But that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That was.

[Ryan Davis]

That. That, dude, that was special.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted, and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listened to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shay Shay Profile and I'll see you there.