Stavvy Is Changing the World One Voicemail at a Time

Summary

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

Episode Title: "Stavvy Is Changing the World One Voicemail at a Time"
Release Date: October 23, 2025
Host: Jesse David Fox
Guest: Stavros Halkias

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Overview

This episode features comedian and podcaster Stavros Halkias, known for his time on Come Town and his hit advice podcast Stavi’s World. The conversation explores his unexpected transition from indie comic and podcaster to starring in a Hollywood film (Yorgos Lanthimos’ Begonia), the limits and legacy of Come Town, navigating internet fandoms and the responsibilities of public influence, and his philosophies on comedy, masculinity, and representation.

True to Good One’s mission, Jesse and Stavros break down craft, joke evolution, and the meaning behind the bits—while addressing the external pressures facing today’s comics, culture, and their audiences.

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Episode Structure

• [01:22] Introduction and Stavros' Surreal Rise to Hollywood
• [04:03] Begonia: Getting Cast & On-Set Realities
• [13:45] Legacy and Philosophy of Come Town
• [23:15] Stavi’s World: Purpose and Audience
• [26:25] Masculinity, Advice, and the "Anti-Incel" Podcast
• [39:46] The "Joe Rogan of the Left": Pressure, Politics, and Expectations
• [47:11] Comedy and Social Issues: Trans Rights, Clapter, and Responsibility
• [64:02] Comedy, Friends, and Controversies
• [71:08] Success Outside the System: Independent Comedy & Hollywood
• [78:08] Archetypes, Health, and Being a "Fat Comic"
• [83:18] Baltimore Identity and Community
• [88:19] "Laughing Round" (Lightning Questions)

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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[01:22] Comedy to Hollywood: "Begonia" and the Surreality of Being Cast

• Unexpected Break: Stavros shares the surreal, almost disbelieving experience of being cast in Begonia by Yorgos Lanthimos—feeling like an imposter, assuming he’d be replaced or his scenes reshot right up to filming.
• On-Set Vibes: The film set, despite starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, felt “indie,” laid-back, and artistically vibrant. Stavros highlights how the use of rare film stock (VistaVision) made him more anxious than the acting itself:

  “There’s a mechanical whir. If you fuck this up, that’s tens of thousands in film. That gets in your head.”
  – Stavros, [08:09]

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[13:45] The Come Town Experience: Internet Fame, Responsibility, and Growth

• Nature of Podcast Fandom: Stavros discusses how podcasting creates an unusually intimate (and sometimes unhealthy) relationship between hosts and fans:

  “The dangerous thing…is there is no separation of yourself and art…you talk for thousands of hours, but people think that’s you. They put their own bullshit on top of it.”
  – [15:24]

• Navigating Misunderstood "Edgelord" Status: He asserts that their intent wasn’t right-wing, but a reaction against “tattletale losers” and online purity policing. The show’s shock humor reflected “general knee-jerk rebellion” from a group of deeply imperfect but earnest comics.

  “We were mid-20s, broke as fuck, mean-spirited comedians who had a bad life. There was no grand theory. I’d have done a minor crime to make my family’s life better.”
  – [18:30]

• On Outgrowing the Show: Both for himself and the times, he believes offensive irony and Come Town-style podcasting is a “young person’s game.” He supports younger kids making their own transgressive comedy, but with the caveat:

  “Now doing the jokes we did isn’t the same thing. The equivalent would be making Charlie Kirk jokes…That’d be transgressive now.”
  – [21:06]
  “Our conversations aren’t far off from Come Town, but we’ve recorded a thousand hours—you don’t need any more.”
  – [22:49]

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[23:15] Stavi’s World: Building An “Anti-Incel” Advice Show

• Advice for Young Men: Positions Stavi’s World as a “real talk” resource for lonely or struggling young men—a show his younger self would have benefitted from. He critiques the “mean-spiritedness” of modern incel culture and offers simple, actionable advice:

  “Here’s the actual path to getting girls to like you…literally get a hobby, dress a little better, be fun to be around. The bar is actually really low for straight dudes now. Don’t go down the dark path, brother.”
  – [24:22]

• Comedic Maturation: Emphasizes growth: “Yeah, I’m still vulgar, still who I am…but now it’s: what would I tell 19-year-old me?”
• Podcast vs. Standup: Notes the sense of real connection with fans as something uniquely fulfilling, a form of social engagement and personal reward he values as much as performance.

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[26:25] The Left, Horniness, and Class: Comedy’s Role Post-MeToo

• Masculinity and “The Left”: Discusses the “sanitization” of left-wing spaces and desire for representational complexity:

  “What happened to: you can be a piece of shit and still want healthcare? You don’t have to read Marx to know your boss makes 400 times what you do. I want to represent being kind of a dirtbag and stupid and still having these beliefs.”
  – [29:35]

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[39:46] The “Joe Rogan of the Left”: Pressure & Limits to Political Comedy

• Reluctance to Be a Spokesperson: Discusses the worrisome lack of “cultural figures on the left” and why comics like him get thrust into the void:

  “If they’re coming to me…we need more culture. Journalism’s broken down. It shouldn’t fall to comedians. …My goal is to be as good at standup as I can, not a political commentator.”
  – [41:26]

• Artistic Integrity Over Influence: Strong distaste for careerist “moves” or leaning into politics purely for attention.

  “Once you think you’re important, you’re not. Pull the handbrake—you’re not funny anymore.”
  – [45:50]

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[47:11] Comedy & Social Issues: Navigating Clapter, Responsibility, and “Trans Jokes”

• On "Clapter": He’s uncomfortable with applause breaks that affirm ideology instead of landing jokes:

  “I can’t close on cheap applause. Even though the joke is good, it gets a boost it doesn’t deserve. I want to kill on the big laugh at the end.”
  – [62:33]

• Comedians’ Responsibility: Describes processing trans jokes and including positive bits on trans people out of necessity, not wanting it to feel like a “response” to the times, but recognizing it matters:

  “It's pathetic things are getting so bad that my stand-up comedy might matter. I hate that, dude...I want to be an idiot with the easiest job in the world.”
  – [60:03]

• Podcast Controversy & Friends: Defends friends and guests who say controversial things:

  “They become avatars for what you already believe...Just engage with them as people.”
  – [53:00]

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[71:08] Out of the System: Comedy Success and Hollywood

• Coming Up Outside Hollywood: Explains how Come Town and his first special blowing up on YouTube gave him autonomy and leverage within the industry.

  “Everything now’s house money...I’ll never get away from standup. The one thing acting taught me: I am meant to tell dick jokes. I’m not moving the form forward. That’s what I want to do forever.”
  – [71:47]

• Maintaining Independence: Because of podcast and standup success, he’s free to be “picky” about acting and brand opportunities.

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[78:08] Fat Comic Archetype, Health, and Audience Expectation

• On Being a “Fat Comic”: Aware of the dangers/comedic archetype and his own health struggles, including nearly dying from unhealthy lifestyle choices. Publicly documenting weight loss in “Stavi Gets Ripped” was initially cynical (“If I’m gonna lose weight, let’s monetize it”), but turned meaningful through audience connection and accountability.

  “John Candy, Chris Farley…as a fat child, you’re aware the archetype involves dying young.”
  – [78:31]

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[83:18] Baltimore Identity and Community

• Local Pride: Performing as a Ravens “white trash” fan character made him something of a micro-celebrity in Baltimore; he hopes to give back to the city’s kids through community work.

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[88:19] The Laughing Round (Highlights)

• Favorite Dirty Joke (from his Greek family, [88:49]):

  “Please tug on this once if you want to go on a date...if not, tug on it 100 times, and twice slowly.”

• Legendary Comic Story: Opened for Bobby Kelly, accidentally upstaged him via local crowdwork, was roasted by both Bobby and Colin Quinn on speakerphone as a lesson in road comedy etiquette.
• Joke That Never Worked: An observation about all major religions having “little hats for bald spots”—never quite lands, but he keeps trying.
• Thoughts on Other Comics’ Material: Sees jokes he’d love to steal (Dan Soder’s bit as example), but says it would feel wrong.
• Aspirations: Would host SNL or Spirit Awards, maybe do a book if it was genuine, but is wary of Marvel or overly commercial projects (“No Marvel movies for me”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Internet Fandom:

  “Podcasting is…a vaccine for getting ready for fame. Nothing matters what other people think of you. It rolls off my back now.”
  – Stavros, [17:08]

• On Outgrowing “Edgelord” Podcasting:

  “Saying 'F-you dad' is a young man’s game. 28 was probably too late.”
  – [21:06]

• On Masculinity Advice:

  “Youth is simple, man—it’s not that fucking complicated. Just don’t go down the dark side, brother, and you’ll be fine.”
  – [24:22]

• On Political Comedy’s Trap:

  “Once you think you’re important you’re not. It’s time to pull the handbrake—you’re not fucking funny any more.”
  – [45:50]

• On Legacy:

  “I was a movie nerd. Now I get to be in a Yorgos Lanthimos film. I can never act again—I’ve surpassed my wildest dreams.”
  – [71:47]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:22] – Introduction and preview (“Begonia” casting story)
• [04:03] – Getting cast in Begonia: “Your guess is as good as mine, pal…”
• [13:45] – On internet fandom, parasocial fallout, and podcasting philosophy
• [23:15] – Shift from Come Town to Stavi’s World; anti-incel, advice focus
• [26:25] – Masculinity, the left, and comedy’s role post-MeToo
• [39:46] – “Joe Rogan of the Left”? Media, responsibility, and artistic priorities
• [47:11] – Social issues in comedy: trans rights, clapter, and authenticity
• [64:02] – Managing controversy with friends and guests
• [71:08] – Navigating Hollywood from outside the system
• [78:08] – Fat comic archetype and health journey
• [83:18] – Baltimore, identity, and community impact
• [88:19] – Laughing Round: stories, favorite jokes, philosophies

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a rich, revealing, and often hilarious meditation on the evolution of a modern comedian’s place in the world—from the wilds of internet fandom to indie film fame, from mean-spirited early jokes to responsible advice for the next generation. Stavros Halkias demonstrates both self-awareness and resistance to easy hero narratives, refusing to be boxed in by labels—yet offering sincerity, perspective, and laughter for anyone along for the ride.

Transcript

[Jesse David Fox]

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[Stavros Halkias]

Morning Zoe.

[Jesse David Fox]

Jeff Bridges.

[Stavros Halkias]

Why are you still living above our garage? I want to be in a T Mobile commercial like you. Teach me something I couldn't possibly AT T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.

[Jesse David Fox]

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[Stavros Halkias]

You heard them.

[Jesse David Fox]

T Mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition.

[Stavros Halkias]

Check them out, see how much you could say versus the other big guys. @t mobile.com switch that should exist, but it also changes with the time, right? Like I don't think now doing the jokes we did is the same thing. Like honestly, like I think what it would be now would be like if some 20 year old the equivalent would be like making Charlie Kirk jokes at this point because that's what the dominant sort of like culture says you're not allowed to do.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is good one. I am Jesse David Fox, senior writer and vulture and author of comedy book. My guest today is Stavros Halkias. We talk about how he parlayed success in podcasting first with Come down and now Stabby's World to achieve the sort of Hollywood acceptance he never could have dreamed of. This is typified by Stabby's major role in Yorgos Lanthimos Awards buzzing new film Begonia, which stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemis, two very famous people. Stone plays the Girlboss CEO Michelle, who's kidnapped by Plemus's Timmy, a man who typifies the modern trend of lost men failed by society and the government who turn to the Internet for answers only to be swept up by conspiracy and multiple radical subcult cultures. It's a role being a podcaster surely prepared Stavie for. So here is Stavros Halkias. I'm here with Stavros Halkias. Thank you for joining me.

[Stavros Halkias]

Of course. Thanks for having me.

[Jesse David Fox]

What's the funniest thing that happened to you this week?

[Stavros Halkias]

It's been a. I mean, this has been a very ho hum week. I've been in the podcast minds. I've been in the podcast factory. So it hasn't been. I haven't really done a lot of, like, interacting as a human being. It's been mostly just like, watching tv and I guess it's more observational, which feels like this question, you know what I mean? Like, you know, what's. What's a premise, I guess.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

So I was watching TV and it's like, you know, football game something, and there's an ad for, like a dog food company. And. And. And it was really. It was a nice ad, you know, retrievers running around, cute stuff. And it was really nice. At the end, they're like. And we have like, our own charity where we help, you know, survivors of domestic abuse with dogs find homes. And I was like, that's awesome. That even though corporate, you know, corporate bullshit. I'm sure they're getting some tax write off. I'm sure a PR firm has done it. And that's really nice. Then I thought, like, what if the lady doesn't have a dog? Like, she's got to stay. Or worse, what if you go through the program, you apply, your dog dies the second you're about to get in the apartment. Does the company go, adopt the dog fast, lad. You're cooked, you know, and so I just haven't been able to get my. Because it's this awesome idea and then it's like, it's all contingent on a dog. Like, and I love dogs, but it's like, should we get this lady out of her abusive situation?

[Jesse David Fox]

Prioritizing the dog part.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. So that was the thing that struck me. I haven't been able to do standup since I've seen that. So this is kind of like a.

[Jesse David Fox]

Dry run with a good premise.

[Stavros Halkias]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Immediately, you're like all the directions. You go and you imagine this lady.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Rich. Thank you. All right, we'll try it. We'll try it on stage. I'll tell you how it goes.

[Jesse David Fox]

So we're talking. Begonia's about to come out.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

How did you get cast in the movie?

[Stavros Halkias]

Your guess is as good as mine, pal. It's been the coolest, most surreal experience of my life at every turn, where I just got a call from my agent who was like, hey, you know, are you. I. We think Jorhus Lanthimos wants to do a zoom with you. And I was like, what the fuck are you talking about? No, he like, it's got us. No, it's like, you know, this is the. One of the best, like if his generation, one of the most visionary directors. I'm a huge, I'm a huge fan of him. It's kind of compulsory as a Greek person. You just have to be. Even if he was bad, but I happen to love his stuff. And yeah, it was like this thing where at every turn I was like, oh, I'm gonna meet with him. He's gonna be like, no, you know what I mean? And it was just like, I was like, okay. He said it was gonna go, I'm gonna get an email. You know, we have this cool conversation. And again, it's surreal. I'm just talking to him and he's nice and a regular guy. And then I'm like, all right, well, you know, they said they're gonna email me. We're gonna have a zoom with like a stunt person. Like, that's not gonna happen. And then I'm getting like, you know, they do like a body scan for part where I was like, this, this, you know, they're gonna reshoot all my stuff with some British actor, You know what I mean? Like, and at every turn I was like, this isn't gonna it happen. And I'm there and I'm about to do a scene and I'm like, something's gonna, they're gonna fire me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is there a day on set that captures how, like, how what the experience was like for you to be stepping into this movie and how surreal it was, how different it was and everything else you've worked on?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I mean, what I will say that it has been the coolest. I mean, obviously it's. You know, up until then I made my own indie. I was in Tires, I've produced my own stand up specials. But it's like, you know, it's shit that's not insane for a standup comedian to do. And this was just completely. This was like my goal, the reason I make an indie movie is to show people like, hey, I can. I cannot embarrass myself on screen. So if you need a guy that kind of looks like this, if you need a diner owner, if you need a disgraced, you know, like, member of the community who's being, you know, shunned for sexual harassment allegations, you know, you need a landlord, whatever, in your small, a small part in a movie, maybe think of me someday.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And it was just this surreal thing where it was exactly what I had dreamed of. Just kind of got handed to me. Yeah. And I kept waiting for it to be weird. And to everyone's credit, I think it's the way they like to work. Like, it felt a lot like an indie when we shot it, because I think that's how those are the vibes they want to cultivate. And, you know, he was cool as shit. I mean, he's weird. He's a fucking director. You've seen his fucking movies. You know what I mean?

[Jesse David Fox]

It'd be weird if he's like the.

[Stavros Halkias]

Most normal guy and like, ah, fuck it. But he was, you know, he's fucking awesome and he was cool. And then really what I was nervous about, I don't know Jesse Plemis, I don't know Emma Stone. And they were like, so nice. It was like, I'm like, is this a dinner for schmucks situation? It's like, why is Jesse Plemis just, like. He knows who I am. He's like, happy to see me. Emma Stone's just like, we're just having lunch together. And she's cool. She's a normal person. How many Oscars, you know?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And it was like. That was the weirdest thing, honestly, about all of it is that the only thing that felt crazy was acting with Jesse Plemons. Like, as far as just hanging out, I was like, oh, this is kind of fun.

[Jesse David Fox]

Did it seem like they knew all of your career? Like, how much you feel like they had a sense of your.

[Stavros Halkias]

I think. I mean, I think they just kind of like, you know, I think they're like, cool people in that when they're gonna work with someone, maybe they, you know, will like, look at their stuff. And. Yeah, they. I. It felt like they'd maybe seen a couple videos. I have so much shit out there that they probably just watched a couple things. But yeah, they were most. It was awesome. And the surreal thing was just truly the moment that. That was the most nerve wracking. It wasn't even acting, because acting's fun.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

When you're doing it, it was the fact that they're using these cool cameras, right? They're using VistaVision. And. And like, you know, the camera department's doing out, you know, switching out film. And you could hear, like, when they say action, you hear a whir. There's a mechanical sound of. If you fuck this up, this costs this amount of film. Like, it's one thing when it's like, you know, who gives a fuck about gigabytes or whatever? But this is. Fuck. This is like, rare Film stock that they shot like Indiana Jones on. And so that was the thing that got in my head more than anything. Because other than that, I have to get, I mean, I was like, I have to give this guy credit. He knows how to make a fucking movie. But it was, it felt like there was no one really in this. You really felt like you were just acting. It was him and Robbie, the cinematographer, who's fucking incredible. And he, Robbie's on the camera. Like, it's not some other guy. Our cinematographer's on it and Yorgos is right there. Or he's even. Not even. He's behind you. He's just like. So they made it feel very like you're just a guy in this house having a scene. But that VistaVision can't film art. That's the shit that I was like, don't flub a line. That's probably 10 grand in film stock. That's more than what they're paying you. You this, you this, you fuck. This take up, they double.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's like, okay, so he caused this much. If he keeps on fucking up.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

It makes it be easier to bring in another one of him.

[Stavros Halkias]

100%. 100%.

[Jesse David Fox]

You know, there were there aspects of this character that were scary for you to do. Like, it's, you know, I don't want to necessarily spoil it, but there is a journey you have to go on. Like, were either doing it or how it'd be received.

[Stavros Halkias]

No, I mean, I didn't think about that at all. I thought about it as like a, an acting challenge or like, the scary thing was that, you know, I, I had a take on the, on the character. And I also, I think being such a fan of Yodel, I was like, he picked me for a reason. Yeah, yeah, right. So I was like, it kind of informed the way I approached it. Cause I was like, you read the script just as a cold read, and you may be thinking of the character in a different way. And then you think, like, why would this guy cast me out of the blue? And so I just approached it as like, I didn't really think about how it would be perceived. I didn't care about, you know, the type of character it was. I was just like, what is my skill set? What can I bring to this character to sort of like, like what is unique about me that just makes sense? And I just sort of like, you know, I, I, I am like a, like a fat buffoon from, from like, you know, a 2000 sex comedy. And it's like, you know, like, I play. I guess we could spoil. There's. There's pictures of it. I play a cop.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And what I thought is like, this guy is in super. His guy's a guy in Super Troopers, but we're catching the most serious fucked up thing in his life.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. And I just kind of played it like that. It's like, what if you were in Super Troopers? Usually you cast me and I fucking trip. I split my pants and a pie falls in my face. Right. What if that guy wipes his face, you know, gets new pants and then goes home when he's not being funny at all? When he's not. And that's just kind of how I approach it is like, you know, that's why you cast me. I think I could be completely wrong, but I was like, let me at least have a take on this. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was curious if he was considering whatever he too represented culturally. Like, oh, Stavros is his idea of what you represent as the themes of the movie, which are about conspiracy theories, people who like online subcultures, male loneliness. Did you have conversations around that? Do you feel like that was involved?

[Stavros Halkias]

No, we didn't. I mean, no, we didn't. I think that's sort of like the fun. Because, you know, I'm a movie nerd too, and I like thinking about the subtext of casting. And there's certainly stuff about that. I mean, like, you know, cometown, like, definitely represents a lot of, like, you know, in. In the mid 2010s, it was like we're. We represent, like, I don't know, like, sort of edge, Lordy trolley, like, anti. We were sort of like, we would never consider ourselves anti woke guy. Like, it was never like a political distinction for us. But we did hate, like, fucking tattletale losers. You know what I mean? Like, we did think that was annoying, you know, some of us more than others. But even I, who was like, my role in the show is to sort of like, rein us in. I was kind of the straight man a lot of the time. But even I philosophically agreed that, like, Shane should have not gotten fired for snl, you know, on snl, like, but, like, I don't think. I didn't think about that going into the character. I just thought it's a funny wrinkle. You know what I mean? And you could definitely think, like, what does it represent to have the role? I play a guy from the podcast, you know, sewers, you know, we've elevated him to be in this movie. What does that Represent. Yeah. Because in a lot of ways, it's like I, you know, Teddy could be. Could have. Daddy definitely listen to Cometown. Maybe it wasn't his favorite thing. It's like, on his. It's on his rotation.

[Jesse David Fox]

He definitely knew about it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Definitely knew about it. Maybe we don't see it in this movie, but maybe when they're just chilling, they're throwing it on when they're playing video games. You know what I mean? Like, there was definitely at least a phase because, you know, the character also goes through a lot.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Just a Jesse Plemis as character.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, Jesse Plemis character. Definitely at some point. Listen to Cometown for sure. If it exists in that case. Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

He acknowledges that he was. He was far right. He's far left. So at some point, he's like, oh, maybe my birthday.

[Stavros Halkias]

He caught us. Yeah. Yeah, he caught us somewhere. Absolutely.

[Jesse David Fox]

What do you feel like it was? What do you think you learned about Internet fandoms and subcultures from that experience of hosting Come Town?

[Stavros Halkias]

Oh, I mean, it's. I mean, it really was like. I mean, I never even thought about those things at all. Right. And I also think we were. The show was happening as all that stuff was emerging. It's like this type of fame because there's like, you know, podcasts, sort of 1.0. There was like, Marin. There's like, comedy Bang, bang, this American Life. I mean, I remember saying to Nick, I was like, dude, this is a waste of time, for real. I was like, podcasts are over, and thank God I didn't listen. And obviously it's been. It's been proven false. But I mean, you know, I just. How much it matters to people, how much, like, you know, how, like, how important, how. How kind of like, fervent a fan base can be. And then also, you kind of have to make peace with, like, you're not you to them. Right. To a lot of people, it's like even podcasting, which I think the dangerous thing of it, as a host of it, is like, it's not like other art forms where there is a separation of self and art, even if you're a standup. Right. There's a separation between my act and who I am, even. And for some people, the distinction is much, you know, smaller.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I think the goal of standup is to make it disappear. I think that's. That's how I approach it, is like, let's be. Let's be who we are on stage and offstage. That's the platonic ideal in my idea. But still, there's still a plausible deniability. That's not the same guy. But with podcasting, even though there's no way you would talk for thousands of hours earnestly as truly yourself, people don't really have that distinction, at least mentally speaking for themselves. And so they just. And then that's not who you are. They see a really small window of who you are in a particular context. And. And then they put their own bullshit on top of it because it's such a personal art form and because people are watching it in their. You know, they're doing dishes, they're going for a ride, bike ride, they're doing whatever the fuck it really. This little window of you plus people's, like, kind of deepest insecurities sometimes meld into what you represent to them. And I think if you. If you were like, that's not who the fuck I am. Stop holding me to this bullshit. That's. I mean, I'm a completely different guy. You'll go fucking crazy. And I think at first, little difficult for me, but then you just learn, like, that's not it. Who gives up? It was kind of extreme. Internet fandom, niche Internet fandom was actually really good for me in terms of. It was almost like a vaccine for getting ready for fame. I didn't. Never thought I'd be famous in this way at all. Right. Like Ty. I mean, Internet fame and then like social media, YouTube fame, and then like, especially tires in the movie. It's like this. I never thought in any way, shape or form, but it kind of prepares you because you realize, like, it doesn't matter what other people think of you, as corny as that sounds.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And you can say that intellectually, but when you. When you spend, like, the first two years of your career just having people tell you who you are and that's not you at all, it kind of naturally rolls off my back now a little bit where it's like, oh, yeah, whatever, man. I don't. I don't fucking care.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Cause I imagine, like, for example, you'll talk about how, like, you had an idea and most of your fans understood what you guys were trying to do, like, be offensive to a point of ridiculousness. And everyone is in on it. And then there's some people who are racist. We're like, oh, it's cool. There's this show where there are racists, of course, and I imagine one. It's weird for a bunch of racists to think you're being one of them, but it's almost like you're being misunderstood as an artist. How did you process? Was that part of the thing that you had to process, which is like, what are my goals are, my intentions? Are people getting it?

[Stavros Halkias]

Well, I will say I think philosophically, another problem I have a little bit with comedians in general is that I think there's a little too much self awareness. Right. Where it's like, I don't think it's the job of the artist to think about their place in society. I think it's your job to just do something right. And don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that when we started the show we had some grand theory to be like, oh, we're going to, we're going to get back at these people who are trying to get you fired for old tweets? No, we were mid-20s, broke as fuck. We didn't like those people. And we were mean spirited comedians who had a bad life.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And so we were just like, not. And there was no planning, no thought. Like I said, I thought there was gonna be 10 episodes of the show. Right. And also I would have done like, you know, I didn't, I didn't care if we were offensive. Like, I, I don't, I had nothing, I had nothing to lose. And also this, once the show started making me money, it was like I built my family a house, dude. Like I, I, like, I would have done actually awful stuff for like I got 30 grand off Cometown and then I bought, put a down payment on a house in Greek town and my family lived there.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I would have like done a minor crime for that. So let alone make fun of. I don't give a fuck about words. Right. So it wasn't like. But I do think we, but when you see where we were, where we were like these guys who don't have, you know, it was when Trump was coming up, we weren't fans of that. We were like, we did have left politics. We never really made that a focal point because I don't think that's what comedians should do. But I do think it's a natural thing where you get these, you get people who kind of didn't like what was going on culturally, who had trained in like open mics for a decade, who also had the chip on there. We just moved to New York shoulder where it's like these. Why do they have. We should have it. You know what I mean? We're funny. Yeah, yeah. You just had, you put that all in a blender. And I think you get naturally this kind of thing that it's a little bit. It's just kind of like general knee jerk rebel rebellion, which I think is important. And I think it is like something that like, I do think young people, young people should be able to make up jokes and it not ruin their lives and not be sort of like cast out as like a specific thing forever. And I think we were kind of rebelling against that. And I think when you combine it with the moment it was happening in where it was like you could really. There were like consequences to just saying anything, even a little if it caught in the right jet stream. Again, Shane being sort of like the sort of obvious example. It was like, you know, there was a little, there was a little stakes at being those guys. It wasn't, I'll tell you this one. It wasn't good for our careers.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I mean the second cometown ended, all of us had this experience where it was like people were like, dude, you guys are funny. But they just. For some reason what was going on, People couldn't bring themselves to have a dm where while cometown existed, you know, there was a timestamp where they told you good job. But the second I stopped, people, like mainstream people kind of came out of the woodwork. And I think we've all. I don't wanna speak for Nick and Adam, but I think we've all kind of had that experience to some degree.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, you also. Is it partly also why you said you couldn't host that show until you don't wanna be 40. And hosting Cometown, you're like, it's a show for young. It's a young person's game.

[Stavros Halkias]

It's a young person's game. Like saying like kind of being like you dad, you know what I mean? It's like you're gonna be 40. Being like you. I mean, you could argue 28 was too late. You know what I mean? We're just, you know, emotionally and mentally stunted guys. But I don't want to speak for, for Nick and Adam, but yeah, for me it was like. I liked the, you know, the show was really funny. It was per. Like when we were 26, 27, 28. The pandemic, I think was like a real demarcating line for everyone and everything. But like those pre pandemic years, it was like, yeah. And I want, by the way, I want 20 year old kids or whatever, you know, 20 even up 20 people our age keep doing that. That should exist. But it also changes with the times. Right. Like, I don't think now doing the jokes we did is the same thing. Like, honestly, like, I think what it would be now would be like if some 20 year old. The equivalent would be like making Charlie Kirk jokes at this point. Because that's what the dominant sort of like culture says you're not allowed to. It would be instead of like making fun of people who want to get you canceled, it would be like making fun of like, you know, this sort of weird culture that like people are taking their cues from the president culturally. Which is, I think pathetic. Right. Like it's the opposite of what, of what art should do in any. But it's like that would be sort of transgressive in the way that like ironic racism in, you know, I'm with her 2016 during Hillary's campaign. I think that's the flip now. But you know, that also could just be how I see things.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Also it's like you're allowed to mature. Like ultimately there might be some fans of yours who are like, I want. I still want to come down. You're like, cool, well, fine, whatever. The come down.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. Will be another one. Yeah, yeah. No and yes. From a personal level, it's like, I did that, it was awesome. But it's just like, that's just not. I also just don't find it funny anymore. Yeah, right. Like in the same way. Certainly. Don't get me wrong, the dumbest shit in the world is still funny to me. But to put it out artistically, like, you know, when me and Nick hang out or like our conversations, they're not that far off from Tomtown. But like, you know, we've recorded a thousand hours. You don't need any more.

[Jesse David Fox]

Go back to the beginning.

[Stavros Halkias]

Go back to the beginning. We were funnier then, I promise you. You know what I mean?

[Jesse David Fox]

You'll sometimes call Stavi's World, your current podcast, an anti incel podcast.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

What does that mean to you?

[Stavros Halkias]

I just think there's like a weird mean spiritedness amongst young male losers that is harming them. And I only say that because I was a young male loser, right? Like I was a guy who couldn't get. Who had no girl's attention. You know, it took me to like pretty late in life, like in with well into college to even have a little confidence and start dating. And then like my truly, my social life didn't really pick up until, yeah, I graduated and like, I was just more sure of myself kind of because of standup because I was just doing something I actually liked and was like confident in that. And yeah, I just, I think about what would have happened to me at 17 if there was somebody being like, if you're fucking mean to girls and you do and you're racist, they'll have to fuck you. I would have been like, nice. All right, I guess I'm racist.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, it seems easier.

[Stavros Halkias]

So much easier. That seems so much easier, like believing in myself, becoming a good person and like. Cause that's the thing. It's like the youth is simple, man. It's not that fucking. Everyone's like, there's a young masculinity crisis. It's like, I know what a young, what a 15 year old boy cares about. There is one thing he fucking gives a fuck about. And I just wanna say, like, here's the actual path to like getting girls to like you. And you know, yes, I'm fucking rich and I'm famous now, but I also wasn't, you know, I was in my mid-20s, broke as shit, and it was working for me. And I just wanna say like, you know, you don't have to. This is poisonous. This is not good for you. I promise you, long term you will just feel better by being a good hang if you're fun to be around. It's like the funny. Like the bar is actually really fucking low for straight dudes now. And it's like, just don't go down the dark side, brother, and you'll be fine. Literally. Get a hobby, start working on yourself. You know, dress a little better. There's like these minor things that you can do and you'll feel so much better and you'll get attention from women and you don't have to go down the. This dark path. But so, I don't know, I just feel like the way when we were doing Comet, it didn't feel like there was. There was shows where you were saying incredibly up things but you meant well. That didn't feel like it existed back then. Now I don't really feel like it exists. Where it's like kind of. This is kind of the maturation where it's like, yeah, I'm still vulgar. I'm still who I am. I'm still just like a idiot from Baltimore who thinks of things in very. I'm a glutton. You know what I mean? Like, I'm, I'm. I'm like, you know, I have these like, psychological problems with which I view the entire world. I'm not. I didn't Go to school or anything. I'm still the same guy and I'm still trying to be funny. But now it's like, all right, how can we be sort of like, how can I talk to the, to me back then? What would I tell, you know, 19 year old me or whoever? And I think it's just sort of like an advice show from your dirtbag older brother's friend or whatever.

[Jesse David Fox]

You know, I was thinking like, do you feel like in that time period that we've been talking, I mean the time period of your career that the left post MeToo could have needed to figure out a way of being more left, broadly defined, Being more what horniness looked like in a respectful way?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think so. Because I mean, I even have friends, right, who, who are like, like I have a, like, like Bobby Kelly who's, you know, I grew. He, he was like my comedy dad. He took me on the road, whatever he would. He makes the argument that I'm not, I don't really have left beliefs because I'm horny. He was like, you're a piece of shit. You don't really believe that. It's like that has nothing to do with it. It's like these are base human things. It's like, what happened to like, I mean, you know where catcalling started, union construction workers, you know, the whistling. Those guys were union men who told the boss to fuck off. And I'm not saying we gotta go all the way back, but I'm just saying I don't like how there's a sanitization. Cuz like I, you know, I'm Greek, my family is like, you go to Greece and it's like, yeah, it's a. Half the country is like descended from socialists, half the country is descended from fascists, right? And it's like there was a civil war post World War II. And it's like that's a lot of the struggle in that country. But a lot of the, like you think of like, you know, kind of like, hey sweetheart, those guys are socialists. You know what I mean? It's like there is a tradition of that and I just, there's this weird sanitization and like, sort of you have to be a like, loser. You have to be like, there's no, you can't be like manly. You can't be like. It's just like this, what it represents to be the left. Which by the way, when people are saying that, they're talking about corporate centrists, right? They're Talking about the, you know, something which I reject also. But it's like what that represents culturally. You're kind of a pussy, right? That's. And it's like, that's not fucking true. Because I want. I want health care. I'm a. I'm a bitch. You know what I mean? Because I want people to. Because I want maternity leave in America. It's like you can be a piece of shit. And I do think in a funny way that's sort of without meaning to. So much of my career is you can be a piece of shit and still want this thing, you know? And it's like, if I get to be that piece of shit, if it was first for like fucked up jokes, now it's for like, you know, not being mean, not being an in, not falling into the incel trap. And then I'm never gonna run it. I'm never gonna have an actual political career. But it's like, I do wanted that. I do want to represent that. You can be kind of a dirtbag and you can be stupid. Right? Right. Like, that's the other thing. You don't have to know theory. You don't have to read fucking Marx to know that your Boss has made 400 times what you made. That wages have stayed stagnant for the working class and they've gone up who knows how many fucking percentage points. You don't gotta read theory to know that's fucked up. Just look at the guy. You can't. Your car's broken down and this motherfucker just bought another yacht. That's all you need to know. And that's fucked up, you know, and so anyway, that's sort of in so much as I ever think about what I want to project. It's just that, you know, there's a.

[Jesse David Fox]

Lot of comedians with advice podcasts. It's amazing how many comedians have an advice podcast. And there's a lot of comedians that you do crowd work. What do you hope makes you and your audience different?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I mean, first of all, it's because it's fucking easy, dude. I mean, there's. There's a reason I did that shit, you know, it's like I was doing it on Twitch a little bit during the pandemic. But I mean, not to sound. I just don't think about that stuff, to be honest with you. It's like, I just. I think the. What podcasting and I think what, like, for better or for worse, it's about personal relationships to people. And like, I. I kind of designed this podcast, after Cometown, it was like, I learned a lot from doing it, but it's like, it's kind of exhausting when it's your friends and it's just you guys talking, especially when you want to tour, it's just like, you can't do it that way. And so this was like. I really just. I just sat down. I was like, what's the easiest way to be able to, like, produce stuff consistently, but that I could do in a way that I can still tour and I can. Whatever. And to be honest with you, I didn't really want to do a podcast when I started, but it was just like, I gotta pay the fucking bills. But in doing it, I just have. Actually because of that, maybe because I can do it on my own schedule and because, like, it might have started as, like, a cynical. Well, you know, whatever. It's like, fucking do voicemails. Who gives a fuck? But I actually have really enjoyed talking to people directly. And then we started doing live calls where it's like, I'm actually talking to these people, and some of them are return callers. And it's like. It feels like a genuine way to connect to your fan base where, like. Where it's like, you know, I'm not gonna. I don't know. There's just no real way to do that. I don't think so. And this is, like, a good way where it's like, here's a context where I actually can have some time and actually connect to, you know, the people that make my life possible, because I am very grateful for everybody. And so, I don't know. It's just. I think the only thing you can hope to make it different is that you're different.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I mean, the thing is, like, having consumed so many of especially, like, crowd work, it's like you are interested in your. The people in your audience. That. That is. It is amazing how different it is to, like, actually want to know if there's good stories out there.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And, like, obviously, you'll roast if there's people, Rose. But, like, caring. It's, like, such a big difference.

[Stavros Halkias]

That's a no. Totally. And I do. I mean, I have a little bit, like, I had a little philosophical conundrum of, like, am I just putting too much shit out there? Because part of what makes the live show special is some of these moments, and am I just cannibalizing? Even though I'm not losing material, Am I sort of leaking out some of the essence of what it means to Come to a live show. And so I kind of stopped doing that. I might start again. I just wasn't artistically interested in crowd work anymore for a while. And I'm starting to. I worked on the material for the next special a lot the last year, but now I'm kind of like, maybe it's now I kind of just miss it. So I might start doing it again. But yeah, I just think, like, you can't be. You have to be on a. On a, on a. Like, you know, it's gotta be a high wire act.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

You can't have like specific things to go to. You have to be discovering it with them. And that's why I don't like that it had like, putting it on the Internet. It's almost like. Yeah, you force yourself to look for the laugh in a way where it was a little more. The reason I would do crowd work, I never thought anybody would give a fuck about it. I just wanted it to get a better relationship with that room. Right. That's what's great about standup, is that every show is different. And I would just do crowd work. I mean, I've told this before, but it was like I would just do crowd work to warm up the. Almost as my own opener. Right. For my material or like stretching or whatever.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like before you're like, okay, time to get in.

[Stavros Halkias]

Totally, totally. Yeah. I have 30 minutes. It's like, let's kill 10 in a. Whatever. But. And then I just had all. And I was working on a half hour submission and I just had all the crowd work that I would do before, and I was like, fuck, I guess just put this bullshit up. And people liked it. And so. But it is the kind of thing where I do think about, is it just, are we just giving away. There's just no way to like really put out that much material. Even if it's not your jokes, you're giving away some of your essence in a way that I don't like. Right. But it's also you kind of have to do it for your career.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, Yeah. I think it's, it's, it's. It's the, the rhythm of how you would do it. Even if it's. Even if, like, unlike the people who are doing in. In hackier ways, which is like, what do you do for a living? And then they have whatever your job is, they have 10 jokes already written for that type of job. It's like you have a person's. Whatever experience you've never heard before. But even the rhythm of how you respond, they might get predictable. So I do think. Think, like, a good example, especially, like, with your specials, how you've integrated it. Like, I loved how you opened the last special.

[Stavros Halkias]

Thank you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Because I think you are really good at transitions in jokes.

[Stavros Halkias]

Oh, I appreciate that, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're. It's. I. I wrote down. It's like. It's elegant. You, like, don't realize different things. And I think what's amazing about the opener of that special is so essentially, you start. You make fun of certain audience members. You're talking about Austin, and you literally have no idea when the material has started.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And I think a lot of comedians don't know how to open a special because they're like, okay, how do I go from I'm a person to, like, the act? And I actually, literally don't know. I watch it. I was like. So it's. You essentially have jokes about Austin and Elon Musk, and you're like, did he. So that's my ultimate. That's my question.

[Stavros Halkias]

Sure.

[Jesse David Fox]

What was the starting point for that entire section? And how did you think about the structure for the opening?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, so that. That opening I'm really proud of because it was just. Those guys were magical, right? They're these guys in an orchestra box that are wearing, like, slipknot T shirts, and it's. If there's no more beauty. I mean, it's a filmmaker. It's a painterly image. You see my fat fans in shitty cargos and band T shirts in a ornate opera box that, like, has, you know, was built for classical music. You know, the aristocracy in Texas in the 1800s built this. And now culture has fallen so far that me and my fans are here, right? And so they were a gift, right? And when you're filming a special, you're like, I did four tapings. Cause I was like, I want magic. And those guys really. Those guys really did it for me. And I just did. Once I decided I was gonna do Austin, I was. I wanted it to feel natural. I appreciate that comment, because I do actually think a lot about transitions to the point where sometimes I'm like, stop. It doesn't matter. You could just go anyway. You know what else? And nobody would really give a. But forever, whatever reason, my brain won't allow me to do that. It's like a really specific. It's got to be some kind of psychological. So I have a. I don't know what my learning disability is, but whatever it is, it's, like, linked into that where I need things to be very orderly in a specific way with my standup, anyway. And, yeah, it was just kind of like that whole special kind of happened. It wasn't really planned. What happened was I didn't know if Netflix was gonna buy it or not. And I was doing let's Start a Cult, the indie movie. I was doing it. I didn't think it was gonna happen. And I basically was like, look, you're not gonna get. I'm nobody. You're not gonna give me. I mean, the thing ballooned up to. First they're like, we'll give you 200 grand. And then we were like, to do this, you're gonna need 750. And I was like, they're not gonna give it to me. So basically I was like, I have one month open. It's gotta be in June. We'll do it in June or else fuck you, right? Fully expecting them to be like, all right, well, fuck, who the fuck are you? And they were like, you know, we think we can make it happen. So then I was like, fuck, I have to star in a movie. I can't. And I hadn't. And I was like. And then I heard Netflix was interested in buying it, and I was like, I guess I have to do it before the movie, because I had. So I was still going on the road after the movie, but I was like. And Austin just happened to be the last place before the movie. It worked out great. The theater's beautiful. I love doing it in Austin. But it was sort of like. I kind of had a couple months to be like, you know, okay, it's Austin. And, you know, there was some stuff in the Zeitgeist that was kind of. I would come up every once in a while, and I did what you're saying. I was really cognizant of wanting it to feel natural. And, like, some of my favorite specials will talk about where they are.

[Jesse David Fox]

I'm saying Katt Williams.

[Stavros Halkias]

I mean, the Jacksonville one, where it's.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like, that's the pinnacle of it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Where he's just like, okay. That one's like, kat, I got it. You signed a deal with Netflix. I mean, what we just said about vamping to fill out your.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like.

[Stavros Halkias]

But yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, but that's a lot of.

[Stavros Halkias]

He is awesome. No, I love that song.

[Jesse David Fox]

He knows that many things about.

[Stavros Halkias]

He's the man. I'm a huge Cat Williams fan. But so it was sort of like, yes, I wanted. I actually was working on some Austin jokes. Cause I was like, this will be an easy way to get into my material. And I kind of. I was also cognizant of wanting to change the rhythm of my hour for the second special where I didn't want to start with fat jokes. I was like, my rhythm had always been, you know, fat jokes, because they're accessible ever since I was like a feature. I was like, start with fat jokes. Everybody likes them. Make them on your side and then you can try something. And this time I was like, fuck it. Let's try our views or whatever.

[Jesse David Fox]

Let's hit it with them before inside.

[Stavros Halkias]

Exactly. Let's try that just intellectually, just as a. And so it just felt like a natural way to do it. And then we got into the fat joke. Sex jokes, all the same shit. It's all the same shit. It's like my act is like Taco Bell where it's like, it's the same five ingredients. It's just which one you get in.

[Jesse David Fox]

We're going to open with sex this time.

[Stavros Halkias]

We're going to end with.

[Jesse David Fox]

I mean, a lot of comedians, you just sort of see them realize, okay, oh, these are. I remember us talking to Ronnie Chang. It's like, oh, I guess part of my act is I have to talk about recent technology. Sort of like a thing that happens.

[Stavros Halkias]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Speaking of Austin, this is the part of the interview where we talk about that. It's about a year since the idea of the Joe Rogan of the left was discussed about. Yeah, yeah, but I promise we're gonna talk about it so good you'll never have to talk about it again or you'll have to talk about it non stop. Yeah, yeah, but what does it mean to you or just mean that your name is a name that is.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thrown around.

[Stavros Halkias]

What it means to me is that, man, we're. If they're coming to me, if they're even like. If they're even sniffing around over here, it's like, really, we need some more culture, you know? Yeah, the culture, you know, we need some more cultural figures on the left or we. What it really means is like, journalism is broken down in a way in this country. That's pathetic. You know what I mean? Because everything is for profit and there's no. And more and more powerful people are buying our, you know, newspaper. I mean, you see it with Bezos buying, you know, the Post or. And. And like, it shouldn't. It shouldn't fault the comedians to have to make. To say what the fuck they think. And I also think part of it is because comedians have boosted Some right voices. It's sort of like unimaginative thinking to be like, well, we need our own comedians to do it. And look, do I feel a little pressure to be a little more clear about where I stand on things? I do, but I'll just. I just can't philosophically, like, I can't lead with that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I just don't think that's where I am in my career. I don't think. I haven't. I haven't dedicated my life to thinking about these issues deeply. Like I said, you can be stupid and know we're getting fucked. I'll tell you that. And I'll say, stop. Like, I'll say, get the ruling class's dick out of your mouth and just admit it's not immigrants and trans people that are the reason your life's bad. It's because there's tax cuts going to the 0.001%. It's because of inequality. I can say that, and I think that's true overall. But I'm not. I did go to school for, like, public policy, but when I was 20, I decided I'm gonna stop learning, and I'm gonna learn how to talk about my little dick for a living. And you want a guy who did that, who left academia and spent 10 years fucked up, get on, got on podcasts, and my skill set is, like, making fun of people and, like, making vulgar jokes and being quick at riffing. There are guys who stayed at academia. There are guys who kept reading, and I can't even say that. I don't think at some point in my life I'll sort of return to that, because I am passionate about that. And I. The way I look at it is I want to do it on a community level first. I grew up in Baltimore. We didn't have a lot. I do want to help kids in Baltimore. Like, this stuff I've been kind of thinking about is like, art programs. I was in some art programs that really helped me growing up. And. And I think. But it's. It's gotta start that way where it's like, I look at the arc of my life. It's like, I got educated, I had some beliefs, I got educated. I realized what I wanted to do had nothing to do with my education. But it's still kind of like. It sort of like, clarified where what I think about the world, what I want to happen, how I want people to be treated on a base level. And now I'm in the period of my life where it's like, okay, but I have a career to do. I have like a. I have. My goals are artistic. I decided I don't care about the world as much as I care about having a good time. And that's the thing about comedians. Like, I'm not a fucking social worker. In fact, I was a tutor in Baltimore City and I quit because I was like, I can't phone it in. When I phone it in, kids get fucked. Right? Like, these kids are behind because I'm hungover because I was in an open mic too late. I'll be a paralegal and phone it in. Cause fuck these guys. Exactly. And so that. And so that's the other thing is, like, comedians are selfish. Comedians decided, like, we want a fucking good time and have a nice easy way through life. And I don't think it's that hard to do, to be honest with you. Like, I think the average person, if they just said, I'm just gonna dedicate, I'm gonna take 15 years to be passable at standup comedy, they probably could. It's just a weird life that no one should sign up for unless you're mentally ill in a very specific way. So. So I am not that guy. Right. I'm not interested in that. If I represent something to you, as like I said, a dirtbag can still have your beliefs and you want to watch me because of that, great, but don't. I'm not a political comic. I'll never be a political comic. I don't want to be a political commentator. You know what I mean? If things come up off the cuff, because that's what podcasting is is guys talking shit about things they don't know that much about up. I'll give you my opinion real fast and then we'll move on and, you know, make fun of one of my callers for wanting to cheat on his wife or whatever.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's like, I fully believe you, but there is something about a person denying it that your brain goes. But then I got that call.

[Stavros Halkias]

Well, in another way, one thing that I don't appreciate, like I said about, I do think people are kind of self aware too much and they think about their careers too much. And cynically, I think it would be really good for my career if I brushed up on a little fucking policy, right? Like if I got a couple statistics together and I, like, went on some news shows and I, like, debated people. Because, by the way, yeah, comic, I wouldn't be nervous on cnn. I don't give a fuck about cnn. Right. I'M I am more entertaining and funnier than these people. And if I just. And they're not that smart, right? Like, if I studied for a month, I could do this thing and I think it would be really good for my career. But I despise that. I think, like careerist climbing bullshit. Like, I didn't get. I didn't start doing comedy to get successful. I would have had a real job. I really thought I wasn't gonna be like, I thought, maybe I'll be a headliner, that I just love doing it. Right. I never wanted to sort of like, if I was doing the smart thing, it wouldn't be this. Right?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And so I think my goal is to be as good at standup as I possibly can and like, you know, now act a little bit and be funny. My goal is to be funny in different ways, right. And to create stuff. And I don't like how. I mean, it's just. I mean, it is like a capitalist thinking where it's like, you gotta get as rich as possible, you gotta get as famous as possible. You have to do the thing that would get people, that'll get you more followers, that'll get you write ups. You have to do those things. And I don't like either. Even though it's like the beliefs I actually have. It's like the way guys are having Trump on their podcast. I just thought that sucked. Even if you like the guy, right? Which I don't, that sucks. You're not fucking smart enough to have like, a real journalist should be interviewing him. You're doing it because it's clicks, right? Because it's like. And because some comedians have deluded themselves into thinking we're important. Once you think you're important, you're not. It's pull the handbrake, you're not fucking funny anymore. And so I just don't want to do anything because it's the right career move or it'll get me more famous or it'll get me anything like that. I just want to do stuff to be funny, you know, and if you think I'm funny, you don't think I'm funny. That's totally fine if you don't think I'm funny, but like, my goals are artistic. As dumb as it sounds, where it's like my act is fucking stupid.

[Jesse David Fox]

So, yeah, I mean, like you on the Caleb Heron episode, you talked about how you were shocked and just sort of disappointed that Rogan endorsed Trump, let alone have him on podcast. Can you walk me through those feelings? And also, you endorsed Mondani in the New York City election. Can you talk about how they're similar, different, just sort of how you felt about all of these things?

[Stavros Halkias]

Sure. Well, I guess to me, what surprised me about a lot of, you know, about Joe, like, about, you know, whoever endorses Joe in particular. Because I do think, like, I do think we align on a lot. Like, that's the thing about it. I don't think he's, like, this far right guy. I mean, like, you know, he was a Bernie guy. I think, like. And I think it's not even that I was, like, disappointed in him. It was just, like, shocking, because he is kind of an avatar for a regular dude, because a lot of people do swing wildly. Like, they just like certain policies. He liked Bernie, he liked Trump. And I think there's a lot more people in America that are like that, right? And to me, it was more like, whoa, what the fuck? How did this happen? How did the sort of, like, Democrats allow this kind of thing? Because, listen, I would have understood. And this was my perspective on the election. I get being like, I fucking hate both these candidates, right? That was my position. That was like. And I got not liking Kamala Harris, but I did not in any way, shape or form understand being a free speech guy. And then being like, trump's my guy. That was really at the crux of it. It's like. And it's worse than even I thought, obviously, like, with these fucking ice pieces of shit with, like, you know, masked, take no due process in America. And, like, that's your freedom of speech guy. But it was like he was suing journalists. He didn't like. And it's like, I just thought it was a simplistic view of freedom of speech. That's like, essentially, we should be able to say slurs and, like, they're not that worth it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, take them back.

[Stavros Halkias]

Take them back, bro. I don't. You don't need to say them. Like, I would like due process and no slurs. You know what I mean? Like, I would like due process and bleeping out a couple fucking words. And that was really the crux of it. It was like, I didn't. I got being not liking either candidate because I do think the Democratic Party has. Does not offer fucking anything right now. I think you see it with Mom, Donnie, where it's like, clearly, people want. They are drawn to someone who's just like, I wanna make the working class's life better. I want to redistribute wealth in Certain ways to help people who take the bus to help mothers have daycare, all this kind of shit, that's the stuff people care about. And then you see Democratic leadership, on one hand, they're pretty silent on ice. In particular, to me is like, it's fucking insane that they're allowed to behave this way and that there aren't even symbolic gestures from Democratic leadership. And then on the other hand, not only are they not providing any stiff opposition to it, but when you have a candidate like Mamdani who represents something that is exciting to a lot of young people who's like, oh, how do we get people excited after running the stodgiest, most bullshit, like consultant driven campaigns possible. This is a guy who's fucking 35, whatever, how old he is, and who just like has excited people. They don't want that because they're also bought and paid for. You know what I mean? And so this is what I mean, where I have to be a little more. This is about as explicit as I'll get. But I do think it's important to show like in an election where, look, if I could have helped out at all, and I don't think they needed me. He's a fucking. The campaign is really well run. Yeah, yeah, but that's where I'll be like, hey, if I think I can make a difference in any way, even if it helps this much, I'll help candidates I believe in, or causes I believe in, or fundraise for things I believe in. But I'm not gonna have the politics hour every week on my podcast.

[Jesse David Fox]

I saw you on Blair Psaki's show for her birthday. She had.

[Stavros Halkias]

Oh, hell yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And she goes, she said something to the fact of, like, what does it feel like to be the last line of defense in the world of broad podcasting? And he said, everyone has idiot friends. It's just that my idiot friends have millions of listeners.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is different as the show was on the record, Jesse. I was speaking freely.

[Jesse David Fox]

But that's wild. Like, yeah, because we do have idiot friends. And you decide, oh, does their idiotness harm the world? And you decide, whatever.

[Stavros Halkias]

But like, and by the way, I am also an idiot.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure, yes.

[Stavros Halkias]

And my idiot friends have millions of listeners and that's fucked up. Yes, we really should just be dumbass comics who's, you know, who have specials, but that's about it. You know what I mean? We can't just like, sort of like not solidify, but like, you can't calcify and just. We're on opposite sides because we're not. I really truly in my heart think it's not. It's. You're falling for it. If you cut off your friends who don't share these same beliefs with you, what they want is to you divide you and your friends to destroy communities along these fake like culture war lines which ultimately these are not. I don't think these are hateful people. I think especially when you talk about entertainment industry, I think you get swept up in a lot of stuff and you especially depending on how into your career you are, you want to walk a specific line. And I think like I do think it's important to just be friends with people that have completely different thought processes.

[Jesse David Fox]

As you to that point. I was curious, like I think there are people on the Internet that lump. That are not as familiar with this world who lump everyone together. And like you're on tires with Shane and Andrew Schultz. I was curious, what do you think are people misunderstand about a lot of these guys?

[Stavros Halkias]

I mean, it's just that you automatically think you understand these people. You know what I mean? I also think to some extent not everybody, but it's just like you also have to understand that some of it is Persona, some of it is, you know, but I don't know, I just think they, they become avatars for what you already believe in and you don't engage with them as people. I mean, Shane's one of the best guys of all time. Like he's. He's just like a truly nice person who like tr. Treats his friends well. I mean, he puts his friends on a fucking neck, he gets a sitcom. You don't think famous people could have been on every one of those roles, but he took his friends with him, you know what I mean? That does mean something to me when he treats like a. Just anyone really nicely in a way that I've seen people that are not as famous be real pieces of shit. And I do think like, you know, some people just want to decide some somebody is the dumbest thing they've ever said or like, you know, put forward and listen, you don't have to like anyone. That's the other beauty of all this shit is like if you don't like someone, you don't have to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Like listen to them necessarily. But I don't know. I don't know what they. It is difficult because I, on a personal level, I really try to not live on the Internet and I. These are my personal friends and I do have really positive views of them. And maybe I'm being naive and sticking my head in the sand and not sort of like thinking about. And maybe I am going back to a time where I really think comedians shouldn't have pull, but they fucking do. And maybe I should just admit that to myself. But, you know, other than, like, I don't think these are not like, destructive. These guys are not the problem. I don't think. You know what I mean? And they're funny and like, you know, as human beings, good guys. And that is important to me just on a personal level. And I think to not go insane, that is sort of how I have to look at things. And again, there is, like I said, there's a line. There is like, if you, if you're outwardly, you know, racist, whatever, boot licking, whatever the. I'm sure there's a line with everybody in their personal relationships and it. But, But I don't, you know, these are just. I. That's the problem is that people just put their own beliefs onto these guys, I think. And, and that's not. Not saying you have to watch hours of their stuff.

[Jesse David Fox]

But, you know, you're gonna be in Austin next month. You'll think he'll go on Rogan if he's free?

[Stavros Halkias]

I don't think so. I haven't, like, I haven't thought about it. It's also like in the middle of a. I'm pretty. It's just like in the middle of a packed tour. And so.

[Jesse David Fox]

But I mean, one way or the other, it's not like on a principal reason, you're just like, no, it's not.

[Stavros Halkias]

And in fact, I would, you know, I, I don't even have to go on Rogue. And I would talk to him about, like, that's the thing. It's like, I'm not saying anything that I'm scared to say to anyone. And if, And I don't think no one's been like, what the dude? And I, I hope, I hope they would still talk to me. I don't think anyone, because again, these are my friends and the whole point of comedy is you. You should be allowed to be opinionated and hash things out. But yeah, it's not like I wouldn't go on the show. I just think that's also a big show and it's like you kind of have to prepare for it a little bit. You have to get in the zone for it. And I'm just really. Between Begonia the tour, I haven't really had any time off. It's kind of, like, you know, I didn't plan on it. I'm also kind of done doing promo and shit like that. Like, this is fun. I like having this conversation, but it's like, I don't. I like to get it all in at once, you know? Like, I'm working hard this week, and then I want to kind of fuck off for a little bit. So that's fair.

[Jesse David Fox]

When you're on certain podcasts, are you ever in your mind being, like, one way or the other, like, should I say something? Should I not? Like, I was thinking about when you co hosted Two Bears One Cave this summer. There's a time where you advocate for trans people in sports. Where I was like, I think you probably change people's mind doing, like, just because that's an audience who I think legitimately were like, that sucks. They shouldn't do it. Then you, like, gave Annie a pin. You totally changed Chris's mind.

[Stavros Halkias]

Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Not so hard to do.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Stavros Halkias]

Talk about simpletons.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is it a thing that you think about?

[Stavros Halkias]

I don't think about it. I don't think about it. It's just the way I think comedy should be. Like, you should be your authentic self. Like, if I thought about and prepared for every fucking podcast I do, I'd go crazy. You know what I mean? A long time ago, my philosophy was, like, it actually was around the time I did Rogan for the first time. Cause it's a huge show, and millions of people are gonna listen. And I was like, should I fucking, like, like, look up interesting videos to show him? Should I, like, do mushrooms so I have a story to tell? And then I was like, no, you're booked because of who you already are, right? And that actually was a moment for me where I was like. And I probably was already doing that a little bit with Stavi's World, too. At first, I was like, we're gonna research this. We're gonna. It's gonna be like a real. It's gonna be. I'm gonna have notes like you. I did.

[Jesse David Fox]

Maybe.

[Stavros Halkias]

I did that twice. We've done 200 episodes. And I was like, so where the. Well, you're from California. Oh. Oh, you. You grew up in Massachusetts. You know, I mean, like, I'm so. But I think, like, the whole thing is you have to just sort of pod all. All the world's a podcast, you know, And I'm con. I'm just try to be the same guy. Always that way, it doesn't feel like work. It's like, you could Call me. And if I'm free, fuck it, I'll do a podcast. I don't give a fuck. And so I just kind of try and be myself. And so. So if a topic comes up like that, I was particular. I do think the trans sports thing is fucking dumb because we're ultimately talking about it's not people's game. No one is gonna fucking get on hormones to win third place in some shitty trap competition. It's like, it's. I bet you a lot of them. I mean, Pablo Torre had a story where it was like, it was like one kid who sucked at fucking softball. And I bet you that's high school sports. Talking about high school, who gives a fuck?

[Jesse David Fox]

You know?

[Stavros Halkias]

And that's. And that's even that, you know, that's sort of. My stance is like, this isn't a issue. Who cares?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, I was thinking, as you said, you were talking about, like, in your stand up, you realize there are some expectations on you, there's certain responsibilities. And in that same Blair Saki show, I won't dox your material leaker material. But you did talk for a good amount about just how gay people are cool and trans people are cool.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they are. A lot of culture comes from them.

[Jesse David Fox]

Can you talk about what, what's inspired you to do those bits and get into how much you want to get into them?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I mean, I do. I do have some bits on the next special that, you know, I'm gonna kind of finish up. I'm still working on them, but yeah, I mean, that's what I mean. Where I hate that I have to do bits that almost feel like they're in conversation with stuff that exists. But it's like when so much of standup comedy is the, like, negative for whatever reason view on trans people, it's like, for a while, like, the last special, I was like, I can't have a trans joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's just.

[Stavros Halkias]

It's hack to even have one. Right? And then it's. And on this one, I'm like, man. And maybe, who knows? Maybe if Kamala won, I. I would have been like, I'm not doing it. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Like, but it's really pathetic that things are getting so bad. It's like staving stand up comedy actually might a little bit matter. I hate that dude. I despise that. Sorry. Yeah, I know. It's. I wasn't. I don't want to be important at all. I want to be a idiot with the easiest job in the world that gets to do it and get up and hang out with his friends afterwards.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's truly a not all heroes wear a cape situation. Or, like, not the hero to deserve right now.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, but. Yeah, it's just. I just felt those came out of, like. I kind of riffed current event stuff where I was in Florida. You know, I was in Florida during some, like. Like Desantis specific anti trans. It was just so much anti trans, anti gay was happening that, like, I would just riff on it to open the show. And some of it just became good material. Like, just became. That's. That's part of the process. Sometimes when I'm traveling, I'll just around with ideas at the top of each show, and then the good ones stick around and I see if I can put them in the act. And the bad ones, I'm like, well, that was fun to open up in Memphis, but it'll never see the light of day. But these just kind of had legs because the world keeps getting more homophobic and transphobic.

[Jesse David Fox]

It was. There's one bit that is about the idea of grooming. I won't get into it, but essentially, like is literally a thing you said to Theo Vaughn when Theo Vaughn asked you, what are transgender people?

[Stavros Halkias]

That's actually true that I came up with that. That riff happened from a theater.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was curious if you already had. I was like. I was like, it's the same. We're literally. Theobald goes, what is transgender?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Explain it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's. And that's. Look, that'll happen too, where it's like, if you come up with something you really like on a podcast, I'll be like, that could be a bit.

[Jesse David Fox]

You know, when I saw that show, there was a moment where people clapped. There was like.

[Stavros Halkias]

Like a. Oh, yes, there is.

[Jesse David Fox]

And how do you feel about that as a comedian who does not. I can't imagine you were hoping for that.

[Stavros Halkias]

I. It's one of those. I actually know the exact bit you're talking about, and I stand by it. Structurally, I think it's a good joke. And when the specials, hopefully in, like, June, I'm happy to come back and break it down because I do think there is something. I. There is something I'm doing there philosophically, but I don't like that to the point where that chunk I really liked and I considered closing with it, but I'm not going to do that because I cannot close on cheap applause.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Even though I think the joke is good. It gets a boost it doesn't deserve because people agree with it. So I'm just going to move that to the middle, have it. I don't want to. I want to kill on, you know, and I'm thinking about doing something a lot more divisive to end with because I want to really earn, you know, the big laugh at the end. But yes, I don't like it. But also it's like, yeah, as long as. As long as you don't make clapter jokes. Like, look, if people clap, they clap. I really thought about, should I cut it? But I do stand by it in terms of for a specific reason and all I'm gonna. As long as you don't make those jokes load bearing. As long as your hour doesn't. To sustain momentum. As long as it's a sort of cherry on top, fine. But if as the second, you know, that becomes, like, pillar, your act is supported by like four of these fucking cheap jokes. That's a problem. And getting a blood break is good on good jokes.

[Jesse David Fox]

They used to. Before the idea of clapter. That meant you did. You finished a full chunk that the audience is like, yeah, yeah. When the comedian Jordan Jensen was on your podcast, she said a slur about trans for transgender people in a very convoluted point you're making. And. And you stopped her and you sort of criticized her. I was curious how, like, for you, how's it different than there are times where people have said, like, the f slur on your show and you haven't been like, don't say that. Blah, blah, how is it different for you? Or how is the situation specific for you?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I mean, I want to talk about that because I feel bad for Jordan.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Stavros Halkias]

Because Jordan's a hilarious comedian. She's a good person. She's just, again, again, one of my friends. And we're all dumb, right? And we all say just kind of dumb shit sometimes. And I didn't. And I also want to be clear. I would never cut out a thing on a podcast to make one of my guests look bad. That was not like she went viral. Somebody took shit out of context and kind of posted it. And I think, like, in the context of my relationship with Jordan, she's been on the podcast a ton. We've been friends since I moved to New York. And I think, like, and I never considered that this would be a thing. And in the moment, I was like, my real thought process was like, let's get off this. It was really like, this is just not that Interesting. And let's move on. People think I, like, I'm not someone who's interested in scolding someone because of their language at all. I mean, I don't like. I don't like, you get kind of like a pass on a slur, but you can't keep hitting the slur button. You know what I mean? But I didn't think it was going to be. I really. And Jordan is a very. She's a thoughtful person who has interesting ideas about gender and about, like, your own representation and, like, the spectrum of gender and sexuality. And if I thought this was going to be a big deal, I probably would have, like, engaged with it a little more. But to me, I was like, fuck. Like, my real thought process. Like, dude, we just started the episode.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, it's right at the.

[Stavros Halkias]

Like, can we talk? Even if she had brought it up like a half hour in, it's like. But. But I'm literally thinking, dog, you're promoting your special. Let's start with some fun. Let's start with some fun, you know, observations about your niece or what? You know what I mean? And, like, I feel really. And then it happens. And I didn't, like, I didn't say anything because I remember the old days of Cometown, where it's like, like, when you enter the fray, when anybody. Like, there were moments where, like, some bad was some pe. Like, people were, like, harassing me and like, you know, Adam and like, Nick would, like, posted something that really had the, like. And he did it out of the goodness of his heart, but had the opposite effect, right? And to me, I was like. I was like, this is going to be a. If I comment on it now, there's fucking articles about, you know, and then there's a secondary round of it. So I figured, like, let's stay out of the fray because it's like. And that's part of the negative of, like, the. The whole world's a podcast ethos is like, I didn't think about. I truly recorded and did not have a. Didn't have a second thought. And I was. I was. I was out of the country. I was in Europe when it happened, and I wasn't really paying attention. And then. But I just feel. I feel for Jordan because it was taken out of context and I would never fucking do that to one of my friends. And I also. So if anybody ever wants anything cut out, of course I don't have a problem. The point of my show is to make you funny. Like, I wanna put you on display. I only have people I like on my show. So that was an unfortunate. Like. Cause she got caught in this. Like, it just happens. People get caught in the remnants of that. It kind of did feel a little 2016 cancel culture y a little bit.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, yeah, it was very much like someone's on. Anytime anything happens on Twitter, I'm like, it's wild that things happen on Twitter. But, like, if you watch it in content, especially like, when you say, like, Austin, trans brain or whatever.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

It sounds like a friend not being disappointed in their friend, but you're like, oh, my friend is happening. Something is happening to my. It doesn't feel like you're being like, Austin's bad and you're bad for. It sounds like you're like, oh, you are.

[Stavros Halkias]

I. I just look.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're noticing a thing that is happening to.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

A friend.

[Stavros Halkias]

Well, that. And that was the thing. It's like. It's more like. Cause I like, truly, on the record, I don't care if you say something I disagree with. As a comedian, I do think you should be able to. When I said Austin Transbrain, I wasn' saying we shouldn't be allowed to joke about this. It's just so hack. And no one has an interesting take.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And. And, like, I actually think, Jordan, maybe there is something there, but I'm also just, like, it's just. It's a little low. You know, really think about it if you want to do that joke, but don't riff it out.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Minute four of a. Of a podcast. And it was more like. Truly, my. My thought process was, Jordan, you're hilarious. Like, don't do this. Like, it was just, like, it's just not artistically interesting to the point where, like, I don't even have. Listen, I will. I. I'm not even saying I wouldn't laugh at a transphobic joke. If it was like. If it was like. Like, my always in. My example of this is like, Patrice o', Neill, right. Elephant in the room. One of the best specials of all time. One of my favorite specials. He says legitimately misogynistic shit, but his thought process and what it says about him as a human being and, like, it paints this hilarious picture that surprises you, and you're like, is he getting me to agree with him? Like, how am I laughing at this? And that's actually the hardest hurdle to clear. If you're making me laugh at something that I fully disagree with, you're really good. The problem is, I don't think any of that right now rises to that occasion. I think it's become shorthand to show I'm one of the fucking cool guys. And I just don't think that's interesting. I think it's like, don't do it. It's the same way it used to be. The conversation was like, should you be allowed to say the N word as a white comic? Right. Like, that really was. That really was the thing. And I would always be like. Or like open micros. Always be like, we gotta say people who, like, start doing standup because they want to identify as a comedian more than anything, because they want to be like a guy on Tough Crowd. It's like, yes, you can do it. But that's like saying, like, if you're, you know, your first day at boot camp, camp in the army, you get nuclear weapons. You don't, man, learn how to use a fucking slingshot. You're not fucking good enough to do this. And I think a lot of the Austin Transbrain shit was like, all these open micrs think they have an interesting take on a very divisive radioactive subject. And it's like, you don't have the skills for this yet, man.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're just writing off the heat of the subject.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. And just get better. And also part of the problem is, like, with clips and everybody having to put their shit online. I do feel for young comics, because I don't. I'd be mortified if people saw what I was like four years into comedy and I thought I was good. If I had the ability to, I would post all my shitty jokes. And so it's like, I do feel for that too. Cause it's a very tough time to just, you know, I think you should be allowed to bomb. I think Bill Burr's phrase, like bomb in like, anonymity or whatever. But it's like, you should be allowed to do that. And so that's part of the problem too. But anyway, I just do, like, Jordan is very funny. She didn't really deserve the pile on. And like, in hindsight, I wish we had maybe even cut it from the fucking episode because I wanted people to see her fucking special. It's a great special and she's really fucking funny. And so I hope people, you know, I hope people just fucking watch her stuff and engage with it for real. And I just also hope people just let go of the hack. Like just do something a little more personal, something a little more interesting. Like you're not saying anything interesting with the, you know, for the most part, I don't think you.

[Jesse David Fox]

You made your career outside of the system, the Hollywood system.

[Stavros Halkias]

You.

[Jesse David Fox]

You tell a story about, like, the greatest thing that happened to you is that you were going to do it. Comedy Central, half hour.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Then the pandemic happened. You did an YouTube history hour on YouTube, and then your YouTube has really helped push your career, and now you are, like, getting your feet into what we would consider traditional Hollywood. You know, what do you make of the end? What do you make of the entertainment industry and how you want to navigate it as a person who's uniquely situated right now where you could completely be like, bye, bottom up. Nah, I don't feel like doing the work, you know? How do you think about it?

[Stavros Halkias]

I think about it in that I'm incredibly fucking lucky, right? Like, I have surpassed every wildest dream in every fucking way possible. Like my fam. Like, my family doesn't have to worry about money. Like, if there's ever an emergency, we're good. I, you know, I can like it. It's, like, insane how much, how much I've just rocketed past my wildest dreams. And, like, the way I look at it is, like, everything now is house money, where it's like, I, I, I'll never get away from standup. The one thing thing acting kind of taught me when you're starting, you're like this, man, I'm a. I'm gonna be an actor, whatever. And then, like, you're like, oh, the road is hard. And then you do a movie and it sucks. And it's like, you have to wait there. You're not in charge of. No one gives a about you. You go from being your own little king in the castle to being like, oh, I guess I'll wait here for 12 hours in case they need me in the background of a shot. You know what I mean? Like, and it's like the hours are crazy, and, like, you know, there's more pressure to it, and the money's not as good, I'll tell you that. Much more, at least. No. Yeah, not anymore. Right? And. And I think the way I look at it is I'm really, really f. Like, I did this stuff, and it's great. And don't get me wrong, I want to keep acting, but it also, it's like a guy who, who, like, it's like a guy who's like, let's have an open relationship, babe. And then his hot wife, just a bunch of dudes, and no one will talk to him. I'm like, well, whoa, Acting is a lot harder than just, I love my wife of standup comedy. Why did I think I could do better than her? You know what I mean? And so. And we're sort of reconciling now. And I'm like. And also, I just know I love stand up. Like, certain people are meant for certain things. I am meant to tell dick jokes. I'm not moving the form forward. I love action movies that are predictable. You know what you're gonna get? You go see a Jason Statham movie movie. I'll watch every single one of them that I'm that for stand up. You're gonna get fat jokes, you're gonna get dick jokes, you're gonna get sex jokes. That's what I want to do forever, right? But there's a nice. This is just a fun bonus, dude. It's like I'm an incredibly. I was a movie nerd and I get to watch. I got. I mean, again. Now I'm. I can never act again. And I've surpassed my wildest dreams. And so I just kind of fucking. I'm gonna keep doing it. I'll never. Like I said, I'm so thankful. The reason I'm here is like the fan, the podcast fan base. And I don't think I'll ever stop doing stoppage worlds, truly.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, interesting.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I really love it's. I do it with my best friend. Eldis is my producer. We grew up. We literally went to preschool together. And I really like having that direct connection to fans and like, you know, ever. Who can say about ever, right? Like, maybe. Maybe I'm older, whatever. But I just. I like the direct connection to the podcast. I like. There's nothing like live performance. There's nothing like standup. And I'm really thankful for that. I wanna keep. I either wanna keep doing the podcast or making things specifically for the people that got me here. Whether that means indie movies that nobody's gonna make, making dumb comedies that I think people who like my podcast would like whatever it is. And the other. The beauty of it is because I'm financially secure through standup and the podcast. I have friends who are really talented actors who just have to do whatever the fuck gets offered to them, which sucks, you know, And I get to be just like, I get to be a little picky, I get to be a little choosy, and I get to just, you know, do stuff that I think is fucking cool. And my goal, why I want to act is cause I love comedy so much and I want to be able to get a laugh in every different way. And so I want to keep doing that, man.

[Jesse David Fox]

There's. I imagine you've already started having these meetings or your team is talking about all the sort of things that start happening. I'm going to run through those things and talk about your interests.

[Stavros Halkias]

Okay.

[Jesse David Fox]

And if your team's watching, then it can save them time. Major brand partnerships.

[Stavros Halkias]

It depends. Depends. I won't do gambling. I won't do crypto. Like, there's. There's things that I was advertising and I was like, why the am I doing. I hate this. But, you know, if it aligns in their. If it works. Yeah, I'm open to it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Book deal, Advice book or something.

[Stavros Halkias]

Maybe before I even started doing standup, my first kind of feel for creativity was, like, what I actually really wanted to be a writer. And I really liked, sort of like, I did like the essay, like, the personal essay a lot. And so that is kind of a thing comedians do. But I did love it. It wouldn't just be a. I would want to do it if it's not a pure cynical cash grab. Right. If there's a moment in my life where I'm like, I want to hit a fucking cabin. Up. Typewriter cardigan. I want to do the whole thing, then it. Yeah, we'll do it. But I'm not. I'm not, like, it's not on the top of my list.

[Jesse David Fox]

Host snl.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, for sure. Without question. It's, you know, it's still. It's still the, like, you know, the. The first. It's kind of your first entry to comedy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Live comedy in a lot of ways.

[Jesse David Fox]

Marvel movies. Movie.

[Stavros Halkias]

Nah. Well, I get. Nah, I don't think so. I don't think so.

[Jesse David Fox]

Dramedy either. Movie or TV, possibly with a 24.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I'm open to that. I'm open to that.

[Jesse David Fox]

I can see.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, see that. I can see that. I can see that.

[Jesse David Fox]

A remake. A reboot or remake of Big Fat Greek Wedding.

[Stavros Halkias]

Hell, yeah. Nia. Let me get the right. I'm ready to shoot five right now. You know, I'm ready. I'm ready to shoot.

[Jesse David Fox]

Like, I don't have the idea in my head.

[Stavros Halkias]

I don't even want a reboot. I want. This is the next one in the franchise. You know what I mean? Like, yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Big Fat Greek Wedding. Next generation.

[Stavros Halkias]

Exactly. 100%.

[Jesse David Fox]

Hosting an award show. I can imagine you hosting the Independent Spirit Awards. I was like, I can see them being like, who's a comedian? Like, what? Stop it. Was in.

[Stavros Halkias]

It's. It's a lot like, I actually have had that thought and it. I get the, like, stress in my chest that means I should do it. You know when it's one of those things where you're like, the reason I'm so scared of this is because I would be good at it. You know what I mean? And I'm like, fuck, I don't want to learn a new thing. I don't want to do all that work. But, yes, I definitely am interested in doing that at some point.

[Jesse David Fox]

I really enjoy Stavi gets ripped for variety of reasons. And I was curious because you seem particularly aware of the archetype that, like, you exist in comedy. And I was wondering, when growing up and you saw fat comedian, fat man comedians, were you aware, like, part of the archetype is. And they die young and you want it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. And you're aware that fast as a fat child. Yeah. Like, John Candy, Chris Farley. Right off the jump, I was like. I was like, oh, Like, I remember Chris Farley dying. You know what I mean? Like, because I was a little kid watching him on snl. It was fucked up. And I remember learning later that John Candy, like, I remember, like, watching, like, one of his movies and being like, oh, I hope he makes new movies. And my mom being like, I don't think that's happening. You know what I mean? Like, like, like, well, this guy's awesome. I 1. I hope he does another one. And it is weird, man. I mean, it is like, it's this really up thing where it's kind of hanging over your head and to the point where there was a moment, I mean. I mean, that year where I did the special and the movie and a theater tour and Ustavi's world started, I mean, I got really, really unhealthy. I gained a lot of weight. I was getting fucked up a lot. And there was nights where I was like, fuck, dude, you're eligible to not wake up right now. You're, like, on enough pills.

[Jesse David Fox]

You are that example.

[Stavros Halkias]

If I didn't wake up, there were nights where I went to bed. I was like, if I don't wake up, I'm not surprised. And that was like, a really fucked up moment where I was like, what the fuck? What am I doing? And I'm trying, really. I haven't gotten back there. I've at least I lost. I did actually do a good job of losing weight during the last tour, but I've kind of stabilized now and, like, I have let work get A little too much. It's talons in me again. And that's. I'm constantly cognizant of that. Because you do have to fight. I mean, it does feel, you know, I've been critical or whatever, people caring about their careers, but it's like, it's natural, right. You get a little success, especially. Especially in an industry where it's not. This could. This could be. It could never happen again.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, you. Whatever it's called. You plant. When the soil or whatever.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, exact. Exactly. What if that's totally. That saying? Like, it's really hard to say no to stuff. And I was good about it last, you know, last year. And, like, I want to. I basically have my. From now until May, it's pretty much locked in. And then it's like, all right, after that, we really have to do another round of. It's got to be about you and your health. But, yeah, dude, it's like this. I at least feel like it's not hanging over my head, but it's. It's pre. It's ever present. I mean, you know, I'm not young. I'm. I'm turning 37, you know, early. You know, I'm. Yeah. In February. And, like, I'm gonna. It's just like, I'm still really unhealthy. I'm better than I was three years ago, but I'm not good. You know what I mean? I'm at least sober now for. I mean, I just. For the most part, like, I. I had a sober year. I kind of did, you know, whatever, but I'm kind of recommitted to it recently. And, like. So, yeah, I feel a little. I feel a little better, but it's. It's scary. For real? Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And it's like, you. It goes back to the idea of, like, why you couldn't do Compton. It was like, if you're trapped in that Persona, it's, like, so hard if, like, literally every show you go to, people, like, be totally, totally. That's why we're here.

[Stavros Halkias]

Horny, glutton laugh, you know, giggle and that. I will never fully let go of that. But I just to want to reel it in quite a bit.

[Jesse David Fox]

And I do think it's, like, by doing it as a show, you're making the audience want the opposite from you. Right. There's, like, part of your audience who's, like, wanting to be the Gl. But now, because of this show, they're invested in your health. I know this is maybe a lame question to Ask you, do you think about, like, oh, if I had this example as a kid, it might be different. Like, I. This would be helpful.

[Stavros Halkias]

You know, I don't. I don't. I never used to think like that at all. And then people just have been like, thanks, man. In a way that I don't. I didn't expect. You know, like, to me, this was. To be honest with you, it's more like, it was a little cynical. And it goes back to being a workaholic, where it's like, well, if I'm gonna lose weight, let's monetize it, right? But then it became like, okay, I failed. I almost. I started this. If it ends without me losing weight, if I quit without, like, I'm. I have to. I'm trapped. But I do think. I don't know if it was like, if I was younger, but currently, I know, like, fat people have actually been like, hey, thanks, dude. Or like, the people being like, you've helped with my confidence, which is also hilarious. But, you know, it's a. I don't. I don't like when comics are like, if I could just. It's all worth it to put a smile on that janitor's face after he worked. No, it's. Fuck, that's not why it's worth it. It's worth it. Cause you're rich and your life's awesome. Be honest. But the older I've gotten, where I'm like, that stuff does matter. I'm like, fuck, that does happen. Or where I had really traumatic things happen to me. And like, dealing with loss and grief was like, oh, dumb comedy did help me. And Cometown's done that for people. Tire's done that for people. You know, Stavi's world, let's start a call. If I can do that even a little bit for people. I do. It does start to feel nice.

[Jesse David Fox]

You said that you're amount of famous, but in Baltimore, you are famous. People will stop you on the street. And it's because of the videos you do after the Baltimore Ravens wins or losses this season.

[Stavros Halkias]

There is a lot of losses.

[Jesse David Fox]

A lot of losses.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. See, I don't like to talk about.

[Jesse David Fox]

It, but I do feel like because of it and because Baltimore is such a specific place, you're. You're placing yourself likely in the pantheon of Baltimoreans, John Waters and stuff.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I guess.

[Jesse David Fox]

What then? Does that mean something to you?

[Stavros Halkias]

Totally. I mean, I love Baltimore. And like, again, it's another thing that's a complete surprise. I mean, this was just A dumb character I would do for fun with no expectation of anything. And then it's probably because I did it on barstool. I did it on. Pardon my take.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And it was particularly. I mean, Joe Flacco is also. He just fucked. At time of recording. He just had a vintage performance on Thursday Night Football. It was nice to see Flacco beat the Steelers, even though it wasn't for the Ravens. And I did this thing about white trash fans, and it just kind of took it to the, like, next level. And then that next year, year I did it so much, and then the Ravens started paying attention, and it organically kind of went viral in Baltimore because, yeah, we don't have. There's not that many people doing Baltimore specific Ravens jokes to a point where it's kind of taken on a life of its own. But, yeah, I love that. I love Baltimore. My family's always going to be there. I love New York. I want to. This will be my main. But I have a place in Baltimore. I never want to, like, I never want to fully leave. And I do. When I think about, like, doing community stuff, helping kids that weren't in great situations, I think about Baltimore, like, I think about going back to Baltimore and putting some of my. Putting some of my, like, you know, whatever money, connections, whatever I can do to help. That's what I think about. I don't think it'll always be this character. In fact, I'm getting a little. It's just like. It's just like the same jokes over and over again. Like, it's. And it's funny. It's good. I stand by the character. I stand by, like, the satire of this guy. But it does start to do the thing where people don't know it's a joke, where it's like. And it's like, I'm critical of the character. Is critical of Lamar. Lamar's my favorite player. I hate that people just don't think, you know, I've had people be like, he fucking sucked. I'm like, are you out of your mind? He's the best guy of all time. But it means a lot to me to be able to sort of, like, represent Baltimore. I never thought that would ever happen, but that is something I remember actually. Like, it's not that. Not the. Did I want a fat guy doing the most pathetic lat pull downs you've ever seen in your life? But no. But when I was growing up and I was doing stand up, I was like, has anybody from Baltimore ever done this? And the answer was no. I mean, Pat Nozzle was like, lived in Northern Virginia. D.C. obviously had Chappelle Wanda Sykes, but DC's not Baltimore. And I do kind of feel nice because I really didn't think this was possible at all. Being in Baltimore. I wanted to go to nyu, but I was like, I. I can't fucking poor both. No one both gets to go to nyu. I literally didn't think it was possible.

[Jesse David Fox]

Dude, your goals of like, I can't even go to nyu. The idea that you're like, you would be in a yoros. You mean up.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Like, and so that I do like that. It's like I'm from. And I'm not from the suburbs. You know what I mean? I'm from East Baltimore. You know, it wasn't the worst neighborhood, but it was. I grew up in the 90s in Baltimore. It was not good. Right? And so. So I do think that I do feel like if I can do a little something for kids in Baltimore, that's like, you could do this or you could do wild shit. That feels good to me. That's where I feel the most connected to that kind of thing.

[Jesse David Fox]

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[Stavros Halkias]

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[Jesse David Fox]

So now it's time for the final segment of the show. It's called the laughing round. It's like a lightning round, but because this is a comedy podcast.

[Stavros Halkias]

Sure.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's called a laughing round. Do your favorite joke. Joke. Like a strange.

[Stavros Halkias]

I do. It's pretty vulgar.

[Jesse David Fox]

They tend to be.

[Stavros Halkias]

So this. This is a good one because it shows you where I come from. This is my family. It's actually. It's actually like translated from Greek. This is a joke I was told by my older cousin when I was like, eight. Right. So this is where I. This is what. This is how you get this guy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Perfect example of this question. Thank you.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, there's a. So there's this guy, he's smoking a cigarette on his balcony, and he sees an incredibly hot woman sort of like, you know, going down the. He sees her one day going down the, like, the street. He fucking runs down, tries to talk to her. She completely ignores him. Same thing. Second day, you know, sees her, completely ignores him. Whatever. The third day, she comes to, you know, he sees her from the balcony. He's on the second floor, and he's like. Like, you know, he writes a note that he ties to his dick, and he says, I've been trying to get your attention. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. I'd love to take you out on. On a romantic dinner. If you agree, please tug on this once. Tug on it once. If you don't want to go out with me, that's fine. Please tug on this 100 times and two times slowly. And that. That I remember being like, hell, yeah. This is. This is where I come from. You know what I mean? This is.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's. It's so funny because it's like a different structure than American dirty.

[Stavros Halkias]

Totally, totally.

[Jesse David Fox]

Because you're like, wait, there. There's already. The dick is already.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes, of course we start with the dick. The Greek people don't. You know the joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

I learned so much. Is there a joke from another comedian you wish you could steal? You know, it's like another dimension where you get this joke. No one's mad at you. You just get to have this.

[Stavros Halkias]

I mean, my favorite. It. It's hard because I definitely see jokes all the time that I'm like, like envious of, like, sodor, you know, so just soder is like talking about looking at a hot woman and you react like a. Like a bulldog, you know, out of breath bulldog. You're like, you know, just like these little moments, like these perfect little jokes. But I just. Philosophically, it's so hard to be like. It just wouldn't feel right to ever tell a joke and be like, that's. You know, I can't pass this off as mine.

[Jesse David Fox]

All right. Do you have a short story of an interaction with a legendary comedian, living or dead, you are willing to share with us?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes. So I opened for Bobby Kelly for years, and Bobby's in. Like, I was a fan of his. You know, we became friends when I was. I guess I was like, 23 or 24. And he took me on one. We did, like, one real deal, long tour together where it was just me and him, you know, driving. You know, it was just like a very. We really hit the road. It felt like the road. And he's. I mean, Bobby's an incredible. You gotta see him live. He's an incredible, incredible comic. And I'm so naive. I'm young. Everything is fun for me. And there was one time. Time, right? There's one time, and I couldn't even come close to, like, bear. The idea of burying Bobby is insane. I was not capable of it. I don't think I'm still capable of it right now, like, at full strength. Bobby can. I've heard, like, the walls reverberate. He's just, like. He changes the energy, truly. And there was just one. One time where we are in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has a cult. Old, right? And I know what this is like now. I know what it's like to be. And here's what a classy guy. What a. How much Bobby didn't care about me. I'm basically doing shittier versions of his jokes. I'm stepping on his premises. It's all about being fat. Like, he never gave me a note one time, right? One time.

[Jesse David Fox]

A lot of kids would even have.

[Stavros Halkias]

Wouldn't even have. He didn't give a. And he was destroying, right? And just one time. He's got a cold. He's not feeling it now. Having been a headliner, I cannot believe how poor my etiquette was. Where it was like, I should have been like, fuck, Bob's barely gonna. You know, this is a tough one. He's sick. He's, like, drinking chamomile tea, whatever. And I never did crowd work, right? Never did crowd work, but all I have to do is 15 minutes. And we're not even in a club. We're like a rock venue. And it's. You know, it's a whole thing. It's like a pyramid. Grand Rapids is where Acme Started and it's like pyramid schemes. And I'm just talking about how dumb that is as a concept. And one guy's like, I'm from. You know, I did this. And I just. I don't remember what I said, but it was like, it was like me not understanding. I had this power. It was like not Spider man not knowing fucking, you know, webs come out. But I, by accident, destroy this guy, right? Destroy him. People are like, ah. You know, And I didn't deserve it. It was just. I didn't know what I was doing. And I crush. And you crush on crowd work with local references. That's the shittiest thing to do as an opener, right? And Bobby goes on and he's sick. And by no means did I bury Bobby in no, but he just for like, he's sick and he kind of has to struggle a little just to get them on his side for two minutes. And he's pissed at me for that. And now I understand how what bad form this man is just making it. So I learn. He's giving me a stand up comedy education. He's paying me. And then I have a friend who's a fucking idiot. She's drunk as fuck and she's first of all wrong. She's just like, you know when your friends come and they're like, you're funnier than the she says some shitty things thing to him. It wasn't like, I don't even remember what it was. And he's like, can you believe? And he's like. And through all this, we're driving in the car and he's like, he's not that he's not mad or anything, but he's just like, can you believe your friend? She was kind of a fucking asshole. And I was like, yeah, but you know, she's a little. And just the fact that I didn't throw her under the bus, he's like, okay, fine. He calls Colin Quinn on speaker and this is like a dream. I've never met Colin. I've met him in passing, whatever. And they are. Are destroying me. What an ungrateful like, oh, oh, she was drunk, your dumb friend was. And it was just like. And then they're just going into how dumb I look. And I'm just getting a roast session from Legends. And it's like a monkey paw wish of like, I want Colin Quinn to speak to for an hour, give me his undivided attention. And that's what I got. But it was destroying every element of my fucking being. And it was. Was like. And it worked. I felt bullied and. But I really learned my lesson and in hindsight, Bobby's completely right. I've apologized to. That was such poor etiquette as an opener to do crowd work and local references and then your stupid. Who I didn't. I like my. She's more of a friend. Why didn't you fucking. Why did I support her? It was just bad bro code. Anyway. So it was like this monkey paw wish of like Colin Quinn decimating me and what a piece of shit I was. And it felt, you know, it was a good moment for me. I needed that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have a joke that never worked? You tried a few times. You think it's funny. The audience does not like it, but you'll go to your grave being like, I was right, they were wrong.

[Stavros Halkias]

I have something that's like a piece of something that I keep trying to get to work where basically my. The joke is like, I think it's pretty clear that all religious rules were written by like insecure ball, like men in like middle aged men. And I think the, the, the, the like the clear, clear. The clear sign of this is that every religion has a little hat. It covers your bald spot. Every single one. Yarmulke Kufi, the Pope's got one of those little hats like your turbans. Like it doesn't matter. Everyone. God says, oh, that's gotta. We gotta cover that up. You know what I mean? Like that's so clearly like the guys writing the rules were middle aged and insecure about balding. And then there's some tags. It's like, oh yeah. And God said, stop trying to fuck my wife. I'm cool with it. But he's saying stop, you know, like, and it just. I don't. I still, I won't completely retire it. I'm still praying just the right spot because sometimes you have these little ideas and they've been kicking around in your act for years and you can't. And then just something beautiful materializes. But I think it's funny. I just can't figure out the context to get it to work within an hour.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I believe in it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Thank you, dude. Appreciate it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thank you so much.

[Stavros Halkias]

Thank you. I had a blast, man. Thanks for having me.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's it for another episode of Good One. Good One is produced by myself, Zachary Mack, Neal Janowitz and Ann Victoria Clark. Music composed by Brandon McFarland. Write a review and rate the show on Apple Podcasts. Five stars, please. I am Jesse David Fox and you can follow me at Jesse David Fox. Buy my book, comedy book, wherever books are sold. Thanks for thanks for listening to good one from New York Magazine. You can subscribe to the [e-mail] pod we're back with a new episode next week. Have a good one.