496: Camping (w/ Brooks Wheelan)

Summary

High and Mighty: Episode 496 – Camping with Brooks Wheelan

Release Date: December 12, 2024
Hosts: Johnny G and Arthur Gabris
Guest: Brooks Wheelan

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Introduction

In Episode 496 of High and Mighty, host Johnny G welcomes comedian and adventurer Brooks Wheelan for an engaging discussion centered around camping and outdoor adventures. The episode delves into Brooks' experiences with bike camping, his upcoming rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, and his foray into creating a national parks podcast. The conversation is a seamless blend of humor, personal anecdotes, and insightful reflections on the benefits of embracing nature.

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Bike Camping Adventures

Johnny G introduces Brooks as a seasoned bike camper, highlighting how Brooks has transformed his Trek bike with panniers to embark on multi-day adventures:

Johnny G [01:45]: "Brooks, since the last time you were on, we talked about camping and because I was. I'm new to it, I guess I would consider myself still new since I'm not racking up experience. But I've also started following you on social media after that and your Instagram. I obviously have DM'd you every single time you posted something about it. But you've been bike camping a lot."

Brooks Wheelan shares his enthusiasm for bike camping and explains its advantages over traditional backpacking:

Brooks Wheelan [02:05]: "It's new and it's fucking rad. And it's my new favorite thing in the world. Yeah, I like. Carl Hess is another friend of ours. He got a mountain bike. Then I was just. Then I kidded out my Trek and got a basket, got the panniers on the back and we load it up and we just take off and go on bike camping trips now, which is like backpacking but with a bike. So you can get a lot of miles and it's freaking rad."

The hosts discuss the physical demands and rewards of bike camping, emphasizing its ability to cover more ground with less exhaustion compared to hiking.

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Challenging Expeditions: Donner Pass and Beyond

Brooks recounts a particularly grueling bike pack through Donner Pass:

Brooks Wheelan [03:19]: "And it was the fucking hardest thing I've ever done."

He describes the intense two-day, 70-mile journey with significant elevation gains:

Brooks Wheelan [04:16]: "Yeah, I could if it's a normal. If it's normal out, like normal conditions, I could ride a bike 100 miles in a day and that would be a bitch. But no problem for sure. But what was hard about this is we did 8,000 foot elevation gain. So we like when climbed over a mile on really bad roads with loaded bikes."

Johnny G empathizes with the difficulty, highlighting Brooks' immense effort:

Johnny G [04:40]: "Brooks, since the last time you were on, ... But you were saying like we did it. It was not fun. It was brutal. It was really hard."

The conversation underscores the physical challenges of such expeditions, contrasting them with the enjoyment of bike camping.

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Upcoming Rafting Adventure: Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon

Brooks unveils his ambitious plan to raft 18 days down the Colorado River:

Brooks Wheelan [06:13]: "I'm about to do this crazy trip 18 days down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon."

Johnny G expresses both admiration and envy:

Johnny G [07:10]: "And I want to say, Brooks, that right there is one of the things that makes. Is one of the things I like about you is that my guess would be I have a bunch of friends that I would say, without a doubt, would choose SNL networking opportunity over literally anything else like that level."

Brooks discusses the mental and physical preparation required for such an expedition, emphasizing the solitude and disconnect from technology:

Brooks Wheelan [08:23]: "It's truly the best thing in the world. I, like, I would. I was telling Carl because we've been back. We've been bike packing so much. I was, that's. That's what came for this podcast idea."

Johnny G reflects on the therapeutic aspects of prolonged camping trips, noting their positive impact on mental health:

Johnny G [09:04]: "But part of what I like about camping is that, like, my phone, like, I like, tell my wife, okay, I'm pulling. I call her. I'm like, all right, I'm about 20 minutes from the campsite. I'm gonna lose you if you don't Hear from me by noon tomorrow, then you are allowed to start worrying. But I will get in touch with you by noon, but don't you worry. And then I'm just like phone off. And it feels so fucking awesome."

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Creating a National Parks Podcast: "Harder Than We Thought"

Brooks reveals his side project, a national parks podcast aimed at exploring every national park through adventurous undertakings:

Brooks Wheelan [02:43]: "We're trying to do this podcast, the side producer project called Harder Than We Thought, a national parks podcast where we go to every national park and do what we think we can do."

He emphasizes the fusion of comedy and outdoor exploration, positioning it as a unique niche:

Brooks Wheelan [12:23]: "It's truly the best thing in the world. ... We're not the best comics. We're not the best fucking backpackers, but we're definitely the funniest backpackers."

Johnny G highlights the importance of monetizing passions and maintaining authenticity:

Johnny G [13:06]: "And then when you choose to do something that you just love and try to make money off of it, you're like, any money I make, me and Carl would have been out here anyway. So, yeah, like, this is already, like, it's all gravy."

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Personal Anecdotes and Shared Experiences

The episode is rich with personal stories, including Johnny G's memorable experience watching Gladiator and Brooks' humorous escapades ringing bells in Alaskan bars. These anecdotes provide a glimpse into their personalities and the camaraderie between the hosts and guest.

Johnny G shares a nostalgic memory of watching Gladiator with his brother:

Johnny G [19:12]: "I was in seventh grade ... I was all sad. ... I was just like, man, now I can't even go to Hawaii. ... I will never have a better movie going experience in my life."

Brooks Wheelan recounts a humorous incident at an Alaskan bar:

Brooks Wheelan [42:17]: "There was this one town, like Los Las Arenas ... a couple that had recently got married were on, like, their honeymoon. ... I was like, you have to buy everyone in here a drink. Ring the bell. ... And the woman's like, no. ... I just imploded a marriage. I was like, I got it. I'll buy it."

These stories not only entertain but also highlight the hosts' and guest's adventurous spirits and ability to find humor in challenging situations.

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Notable Quotes

Throughout the episode, several standout moments encapsulate the essence of the conversation:

• Brooks Wheelan [02:06]: "It's new and it's fucking rad. And it's my new favorite thing in the world."

• Johnny G [07:37]: "Or something like that level. And not to mention a cast member, former cast member. But the fact that you would say, like, yeah, I'm going to do the 18 day trip, which would give most of my other friends insane anxiety and PTSD."

• Brooks Wheelan [12:23]: "And so is stand up. And we're pretty good at both. Let's just be the best at this weird little small thing."

• Johnny G [18:56]: "It's my post divorce plans. Yeah, I just got a Maui beach bum. I'll be like, yeah, you need a."

These quotes reflect the candid and humorous tone of the episode, underscoring themes of adventure, authenticity, and the pursuit of personal passions.

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Conclusion

Episode 496 of High and Mighty offers listeners a compelling blend of comedy, adventure, and heartfelt conversations. Through Brooks Wheelan's tales of bike camping, formidable rafting expeditions, and creative ventures into podcasting, the episode inspires a deeper appreciation for nature and the joys of stepping outside one's comfort zone. Johnny G and Arthur Gabris effectively steer the dialogue, ensuring that even those unfamiliar with camping can find value and entertainment in the discussion. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast or simply seeking a good laugh, this episode delivers on all fronts.

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**For more adventures and insights, tune into the next episodes of High and Mighty on Headgum. Don't forget to check out Brooks Wheelan's special, "Alive in Alaska," available for free on YouTube through 800 Pound Gorilla, and support the show by subscribing and becoming a patron on Action Boys.

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Note: Advertisements and promotional segments have been omitted to focus on the core content of the episode.

Transcript

[Johnny G]

This is a headgum podcast. What's up shitheads? Welcome back to another episode of High and Mighty. It's me, your boy. The number one fuck boy, Johnny G. From the south shore of Nassau County, Long Island. Standing 6 foot 2, 299 pounds. No, he's like to. It's still 306 or something. He's trying boys from the south shore of NASA. I said all that. And also joining me in the hi mighty studio is my nearly silent co host, Arthur Gabris. Arthur Gabris, RIP he is beyond the Rainbow Bridge or Rainbow Road in Mario Kart, wherever dead dogs go. But he's up there licking some dead podcast guests shin. Licking all the lotion off of it. He's here in spirit. Jaxton Main is not here. The guy from A Star Is Born. He could not make it this afternoon. But who is here? Why am I still going when I've got such a fucking funny guest? We should just get to the conversation he's been on before. He's your resident comedian adventurer. He's a fucking hilarious standup and I love talking to him about early jobs. It's Brooks Wheeling.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Hey, John. How are you?

[Johnny G]

I'm wonderful, sir. It's so nice to catch up again. I always love running into you even. And so arranging a conversation for an hour sounds even better.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, we should hang out in real life. What part of town are you in? I just moved.

[Johnny G]

I live in WeHo. What about yourself?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Okay, I'm in Echo park, so let's make it happen.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, let's go urban camping in the middle.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, sounds great.

[Johnny G]

Brooks, since the last time you were on, we talked about camping and because I was. I'm new to it, I guess I would consider myself still new since I'm not racking up experience. But I've also started following you on social media after that and your Instagram. I obviously have DM'd you every single time you posted something about it. But you've been bike camping a lot.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yes.

[Johnny G]

Is this new for you?

[Brooks Wheeling]

It's new and it's fucking rad. And it's my new favorite thing in the world. Yeah, I like. Carl Hess is another friend of ours. He got a mountain bike. Then I was just. Then I kidded out my Trek and got a basket, got the panniers on the back and we load it up and we just take off and go on bike camping trips now, which is like backpacking but with a bike. So you can get a lot of miles and it's freaking rad.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, you can get pretty far from your car or from civilization because you rather than hike a trail and then you could probably. It's a little less exhausting carrying stuff on the bike.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean. Yeah, it's like we just did. So we're trying to do this podcast, the side producer project called Harder Than We Thought, a national parks podcast where we go to every national park and do what we think we can do. Like not. We're not going to climb El Cap, but we'll do like a five day backpacking trip where we climb Half Dome and then go through the valley and through Clouds Rest, all that stuff like that. But we did a proof of concept where we did. And we didn't want to knock out a national park and our proof of concept. So we bike packed through the Donner Pass. Like where the Donner. And it was like 70 miles over two days. And it was the fucking hardest thing I've ever done.

[Johnny G]

I saw you posting about this. I didn't know what this was in reference to. But you were saying, you kept saying like we did it. It was not fun. It was brutal. It was really hard.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It was the worst. It was like at the end I wanted a Coca Cola so bad because we were just drinking out of the streams and stuff, filtering water for two days. And I don't know, I was just craving a Coke. And I went into this gas station when we got back and I was so dusty and stuff and disheveled. I like got a Coke with ice. I love a fountain Coke. And took it up to the front. The lady was like, that's okay, you can just have that. She thought I was homeless.

[Johnny G]

Well, you briefly were. You like, you know, like that's true.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I was sleeping outside.

[Johnny G]

What. What was very hard about that? I mean on paper, Riding your bike 70 miles in two days sounds awful, but like you're. You're in decent shape. I know you like run hangover marathons and.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I could if it's a normal. If it's normal out, like normal conditions, I could ride a bike 100 miles in a day and that would be a bitch. But no problem for sure. But what was hard about this is we did 8,000 foot elevation gain. So we like when climbed over a mile on really bad roads with loaded bikes.

[Johnny G]

Oh fuck yeah. That must. Are you walking your bikes for check at that point?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Dragging a grocery cart up the mountain is all it was essentially. Dude, it fucking sucked. So bad. Um, so yeah, so but. But we're going to do. I was just riding bikes with Carl, just now, and we're going to bike pack around Catalina in two weeks. Catalina is really good. If you ever do it, if you're a listener and you want to get into bike packing and you live in Los Angeles, Catalina is the perfect starter place, Right?

[Johnny G]

Because you can, like, if you. If you hustle on foot, you can, like, hike across it in, like, with one overnight or something like that, like, right?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yes.

[Johnny G]

Because I know that people who I've been talking about trying to do a backpacking trip, and everyone keeps saying, like, Catalina is probably a good start for that, because you just. It's like, one. It's kind of hard to get lost, and there's, like, water along the way, too.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I did Catalina. My first ever backpacking backpacking adventure was Catalina, because I was told the same thing, and it was a perfect starter.

[Johnny G]

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, I got to do that. A buddy of mine. A buddy of mine who I'm not friends with his other friends. Him and his friends do these big backpacking trips for, like, for once a year for, like, 20 years now, and I can't jump into that, but I'm convinced him to take me on, like, a junior backpacking trip, so.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Oh, dude.

[Johnny G]

Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Like, yeah, Next small one. I do. I'll take you for sure. I'll let you know. Like, because it's so fun.

[Johnny G]

That's, like, a new gear setup, right? Like, you need, like, lighter gear at that point. Like, because I just always car camp, so I. I guess, like, I would. I could carry my tent. It's not, like. It's crazy heavy, but it's too. It's a little big to be bringing around.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. You need some. You got to go to REI before you do that.

[Johnny G]

God forbid. I didn't get. You know, I didn't not get into it for the gear, so.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Right is my favorite place in the world, man. I'm about to do this crazy trip 18 days down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. One of my friends won the permit. It got drawn, and there's, like, four of us going. It's gonna be insane.

[Johnny G]

Is that on raft?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah.

[Johnny G]

Holy sh. And getting out and camping, like.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. For 18 days straight.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. Oh, my God, dude, I can't wait. Yeah. That's fucking crazy. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

We leave, like, February 1st, and so it'll be a little cold. And then I. Then I was like, I also got invited to the SNL 50th, and I was like, oh, should I go to that? And I was like, or should I go on this Rafting trip. And I was like, one of them will give me PTSD and stress me the fuck out.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. And that's anxiety leading up to it. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

And the other one is me rafting down the Colorado river for 18 days. So I'm gonna call, I'm gonna. I'm gonna raft down the.

[Johnny G]

And I want to say, Brooks, that right there is one of the things that makes. Is one of the things I like about you is that my guess would be I have a bunch of friends that I would say, without a doubt, would choose SNL networking opportunity over literally anything else like that level. And not to mention a cast member, former cast member. But the fact that you would say, like, yeah, I'm going to do the 18 day trip, which would give most of my other friends insane anxiety and ptsd.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, they're probably rich, though. They're probably working actors.

[Johnny G]

Wait, so now. Now we're really unpacking it. Here's what I like about you the most, Brooks, is that you're not rich. Yeah. That sort of is a trickle down effect. Pun intended for the economics part, but it's an effect of. Turns out a lot of people I end up really liking are not wealthy for some reason.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Well, we just. I don't know. I don't want to. I would go. If I wasn't doing this rafting trip, I would totally go just right. I would rather do a life. I mean, both of them I would remember, but one of them, you know, I was like, I told myself, it's really hard to, you know, draw the get in the lottery to raft down the Colorado river. And it's also pretty hard to get invited to that.

[Johnny G]

But both rather exclusive opportunities, to be fair.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I really think it would be better for me mentally to just go, like, have no service for 18 days. Like, dude, during that, like, thing, I didn't have any service and my phone died for two days. And I was like, whoa, this is great. Like, two days. I can't imagine what 18 days gonna be like. How addicted are to your. Are you. Are you to your phone. Like, I look at it so much.

[Johnny G]

I'm addicted. And I will. Like, this is something I wanted to bring up on this call on this episode. So I'm so glad you said it. Part of what I like about camping is that, like, my phone, like, I like, tell my wife, okay, I'm pulling. I call her. I'm like, all right, I'm about 20 minutes from the campsite. I'm gonna lose you if you don't Hear from me by noon tomorrow, then you are allowed to start worrying. But I will get in touch with you by noon, but don't you worry. And then I'm just like phone off. And it feels so fucking awesome. It's such a minor part of it and because like literally what I was going to say is like 18 days in, just sleeping under the stars is so good for your mental health. Like that's crazy to do it all together. I mean you're going to come back like that. This is like a changed. Is this your longest camping trip before.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I. Oh, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. It's going to reset. It's going to recalibrate my brand, dude, and it's going to be great.

[Johnny G]

I'm so fucking envious. I could not actually handle it skill set wise. But it does sound. Fuck, it sounds like a good goal to have in life.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean I've always wanted to do it. And then I got asked and I was like fucking yeah, dude, it's like three grand is what it costs. But I was like, I think I spend a three grand in 18 days. If I was going to New York anyway, right?

[Johnny G]

Yeah, yeah. Not including your hotel, that'd be like three, three grand in vapes and pizzas.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, exactly. So that's what I'm really looking forward to. That. And then also who all do you camp with? What all do you camp with? Any comics?

[Johnny G]

No, I don't. And that's what I gotta start doing. I camp with like my weird non comedy friends. I mean that guys I know from back east who like we like, we moved here around the same time. They were like Boston guys.

[Brooks Wheeling]

But the crew I'm going on this 18 day trip with are a bunch of just pro skaters that I've befriended skateboarding around.

[Johnny G]

So I'm like, yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

So I'm like, no comics. New skate pals. This is good.

[Johnny G]

This is all good. Yeah. 18 days with comics. I mean there are a handful that I are my close friends I could do that with but I wouldn't be like, hey, it's a comics river cruise. I'd be like, I'm going to kill my fucking. No for sure.

[Brooks Wheeling]

But you know what happened to me the other day? Just speaking of cruises, I was at the Comedy Store and I know Felipe Esparza a little bit, you know, just from doing shows around town. And I really think he's so funny.

[Johnny G]

He's so funny.

[Brooks Wheeling]

He was like, he was like, he was like, hey man, what's up? And I was like, yo, he's like, dude, we met. We did that cruise together, right? And I was like, yep, I've never been on a cruise. But I was like, that's sure. I'll let Felipe think that I crushed it on that cruise.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, I'm not going to sit here and unpack now. No, I'm actually. I've never been invited to do a cruise, but, you know, no reason to get into this here.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I was more of like a dude fuck cruises, but I was like, he seemed to really have a good time and he thinks whoever he thinks I am killed it, so I'll just be that guy.

[Johnny G]

That's fucking awesome. Now what is it? Like, I feel like more now than ever. And I don't know if it's my age or if it's like, the time we're in, but it feels like being in nature is so, like, counter, you know, like, antithetical to, like, what we're, like, what it feels like we're supposed to do. And it almost feels like. It feels like, so powerful to make the choice, to, like, put so much time in the wild. And I'm sure there are people, like, you know, people who don't live in a major metropolitan area and work online for a living who are like, I get plenty of fucking outdoors time, but you can find yourself not. And then you seek it out and you're like, oh, fuck, this is like. This is the antidote. Like, this is like, no, it's.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It's truly the best thing in the world. I, like, I would. I was telling Carl because we've been back. We've been bike packing so much. I was, that's. That's what came for this podcast idea. I was like, we have to monetize what we love, Carl. Like, we. I was like, we're not the best comics. We're not the best fucking backpackers, but we're definitely the funniest backpackers. Like, do this.

[Johnny G]

Like, grab your fucking niche, dude.

[Arthur Gabris]

Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. I was just like, nobody can do this is really, really difficult. And so is stand up. And we're pretty good at both. Let's just be the best at this weird little small thing. And, yeah, I like. I don't know. We. I just love fucking going and traveling and seeing the world, and if we can figure out how to break even doing it, like, that's what all I'm all about.

[Johnny G]

That's what's gonna say. The other part of it is, is we're chasing all this other shit about, like, I actually need to make money and sure I'll be in this TV show. That's an amazing opportunity, but, like, I don't care about the comp. Like, I'm here for the paycheck. And then when you choose to do something that you just love and try to make money off of it, you're like, any money I make, me and Carl would have been out here anyway. So, yeah, like, this is already, like, it's all gravy. And then. And there's something powerful about that where you're just like, well. You're like, well, we don't need to make money doing this because we love it so much. It would only just. And that's the right attitude to come at something with. Right. Whereas if you and Carl got hired to be in the writers room for some sitcom that you were like, hey, thank God, you know, we're making money making. Getting health insurance. But I don't give a fuck about this random family, you know, whatever. I don't give a fuck about this new. These newlyweds trying to figure it out.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. And speaking of, like, putting shit together with, like, things you already like, like, that's the special that I'm on here to promote is, like, me traveling around Alaska. Like, that was a thing that I was already doing for fun. And then somebody approached me to make a special, and I was like, let's shoot this. I was already doing this Alaskan tour. I was like, let's just go shoot it.

[Johnny G]

Right? You did, like, multi. Multi city in Alaska.

[Brooks Wheeling]

You did two weeks of Alaska shows, like, crashing on people's floors, borrowing cars. Like, dude, like, fucking staying on boats that have been gifted to me, like, just to be in that town. It was fucking gnarly and, like, intense. And we shot it all, and it was, like, cool. I would really love to do it and not shoot it so I could enjoy it because I was producing, you know, right now.

[Johnny G]

Then you got a little stress, and now it's more.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Work this up. We got to this. Yeah. So stressful. But. But I was like, yeah. Like, I just. It's also a good proof of concept to be like, give me some money. Let me go do this for real. You know, because that was on the cheap.

[Johnny G]

Cheap. That's so fucking fun, Brooks, what you were describing, like, sleeping on the boat, borrowing cars. Me and my camping buddies, we call that crumbum. And, like, when you become a crumb and you're just like. It's a positive thing where you can, like, you end up finding, like, a group a groove or a flow, and you Just are like, yeah, dude. Like, my buddy will be like, yeah. I went up, I skied Bear Mountain. I slept, skied Big Bear. I slept in my car, woke up, I had brunch. I went to this other place, like. And just like the life you end up living with when you loosen up, like.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. I think in climbing terms they're called dirt bags. Like, there's this really good documentary called Dirtbag and it's about that lifestyle. These guys are wild.

[Johnny G]

What's the. One of my favorite ones I've documentaries about rock climbing I saw was like, it's called like in the Valley. The Valley of something like that. And it's just about people who are hiding out in fucking in the Grand Canyon park. Like illegally living in the park. Like, all these crazy rock climbers really were like escaping. It's called like Valley of the. I'll find it right now. Valley.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I heard this really good story, Valley Uprising.

[Johnny G]

It's Yosemite. And all these hippies who are live, they like, like 20 of them start a scene there and are dodging the park rangers and like. L like under the radar and stuff.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I've definitely seen that one. Yeah, that one's great. I mean, my favorite one is called the Dawn Wall.

[Johnny G]

Ah, dude, the Dawn Wall, when they, when they reveal that like what is actually happening at the end, like, that's terrifying.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean, so is this the one.

[Johnny G]

With the guy has to like, he.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Has a justified homicide?

[Johnny G]

Yes, yes. Okay. Yeah, I, I'm watching this like this because I always watch those climbing docks. Just I'm not a real climber, but I love like the outdoorsiness and the. And like the camping element of it. So I watch those and then I'm watching this one and I'm like, holy fucking shit.

[Brooks Wheeling]

No, that was crazy. The Don Wall is so good. It's like, dude, free solos good, but Don Wall is way better.

[Johnny G]

Well, Don Wall is like a rich fucking story. So in case listeners don't know what we're talking about, there's a fast forward and go watch it. But if not, we're gonna just spoil what happens.

[Brooks Wheeling]

No, don't spoil what happened. Watch it.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, okay.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It's fast. This guy has. Well, what happened is this guy and is on this climbing mission in Kurt Ministan or someone, he's 17. They get fucking like, like arrested.

[Johnny G]

They're, they're like kidnapped, More or less.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Kidnapped. Yeah, they're gonna like the whatever. They're gonna like, use these people to like, get like, what is it? Ransom. They're gonna Ransom these kids, these 17 year olds, but they're taking them all through these, like, mountains and whatever. And then one dude's like, I'm better on the mountains than this guy with the gun. So he just makes a decision and fucking wrestles him off the mountain up.

[Johnny G]

There and pushes the guy off the fucking mountain.

[Brooks Wheeling]

And they fucking sprint away climbing. Then they climb away. And that's how it starts.

[Johnny G]

Yes. And then the documentary is about how good he is at climbing. And he's climbing the dawn wall. And in his backstory, this all comes out. I'm like watching it. Like, holy fucking shit, dude.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Like, cuts his finger off and then begin. Gets better at climbing.

[Johnny G]

Yes. It's fucking cool. Those real climbing freaks are fucking nuts. You know what I mean? Like, there's something special about that. Like in Free Solo and honor, after Honolulu climbs and he goes on, he's like, what are you going to probably do now? He's like, probably go home, do some fingerboard exercises. Yeah. It's like, he's like, I'm just going to go work out again. You're like, oh, can you be happy, you little weirdo?

[Brooks Wheeling]

No, no. He's got dark eyes.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, I saw Free Solo, dude.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Free Solo came out and I was really jacked up. And they were. It was playing at the arc light and I. And saw it, like at the matinee at the Arclight and it was my joke that was shitty. But true. Was a lot of solo guys at free solo. Just 30 guys.

[Johnny G]

A lot of paid solo. Oh, those are like exclusively the movies I'm at these days. I'm like, there a lot. My wife's like, no, you can go without me. I go. And there's just like 25 guys whose wife said, you can go without me or whose wives never said, I do or whatever.

[Brooks Wheeling]

You know what? I bet that we both will have opinions on that. I'm gonna go see Thursday night Gladiator two.

[Johnny G]

Oh, yeah. I got Saturday night tickets already.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It can't be good, right?

[Johnny G]

It can't be what the first movie was, is what I'll say is the.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Greatest movie ever made in my brain.

[Johnny G]

In my brain. It is up there. It is the most fucking movie movie. You know what I mean? It's like, I got to. It's a fucking picture.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I have this day fucking just absolutely lasered into my brain as one of the greatest days of my life. I was in. I was in seventh grade. My brother's in college, freshman in college. He comes home like on like a Friday, and he's chilling. And then he was like, do you want to go see Gladiator? And I was like, yeah, but I gotta go to school. And my mom's like, you can go see Gladiator with your brother. We lived an hour from Cedar Rapids, so it's an hour to see a movie. So we get in his red Camaro, the Mission Impossible.

[Johnny G]

Play it hooky.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, that my mom was cool with. We get in his red Camaro. We're also having a garage sale at my house. Like everything was happening this day. We get in his red Camaro, The Mission Impossible 2 theme with limp biscuits singing the. We listen to that the whole way to Cedar Rapids. We see Gladiator. It's the best movie I've ever seen opening day. I've never seen a movie opening day in my whole fucking life. So then we get back in his car, we grow back. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Get back the fucking garage sale. Someone had bought my complete collection of Goosebumps books. So I made $100. So my mom gave me a hundred dollars. And then there's a school dance that night. I was like, oh, I can't go because I didn't go to school today. My mom goes, I don't give a shit. You can go to school dance if you want. So I take my hundred dollars in my new fucking Gladiator. Like, I get to tell everybody what happened to Gladiator over to the school dance. And I was just like, dude, I will never have a better movie going experience in my life.

[Johnny G]

Dude, that's like currency when you were young. Because my dad took us to see Terminator 2 in the theater. And I was like. I was either like 11 or 12 and my brother was 9 or 10. And we went the next day, the Monday we went to school. We were like the cool kids because we had just seen, like, back then when not everyone saw trailers for it. I'm like, he fucking. There's the frozen guy. He's like liquid, you know, like, like. And everyone's like, you guys are the coolest. I can't believe he said. Like, it's. It's truly powerful. Like, I felt that for you, you know?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe I feel like, what do I want to talk about Gladiator more? But maybe because we didn't have phones or anything. I don't know, it was different. But like, I remember Jackass would come on Sunday nights and it was so exciting to Monday, get to school and just talk about Jackass. Like before school, just be like, yeah. And then this happened. This like, it was just like. It was Jackass and that show Fear were back to back. Remember the show Fear where they would put people that was like so far away. And yeah, we would just fucking sprint to school to talk about Jackass. And I loved it so much.

[Johnny G]

Fuck. Of course, I was a diehard Jackass fan. Like most boys around our age, except in college, I had the Johnny Knoxville poster, but it is him shirtless with like the alligator biting his nipple. And like my now wife, we started dating in college and she was like, you know, it is just a little gay to have this. And I was like, I did not cross my mind. Yes, I think Johnny Knoxville is so hot, but it has not crossed my mind that this is a little. I have a men. A bare chested man, black and white poster in my fucking, like one of three. I had like Clockwork Orange and that.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean, two cinematic masterpieces. Yeah.

[Johnny G]

So wait, jump to Gladiator. Wait real quick. My Gladiator 1 connection is it was my father in law's favorite movie. And so when I first met him, he's like an intimidating guy. And I'm just like. Also dealing with in laws is difficult, you know, And I'm just like, fuck. And he's like, you want to put on a movie? I'm like, yeah, I'll watch whatever you want to watch. He's like, have you ever seen Gladiator? I'm like, oh, yeah, I fucking love Gladiator. He's like, it's my favorite movie. And I'm like, oh, do you want to put Gladiator on? And we just watch Gladiator together and like to find an instant bridge to a father in law with, like, in an environment I'm completely comfortable in, you know, it's like seeing like. I actually love improv comedy, Gabriel. You know, like, I'm like, okay, great, I can handle this. So when he was into Gladiator, I was like, oh, I have this huge connection. So then my wife loves that movie because her dad loved it so much. Then we saw Hans Zimmer in concert here in LA Crypto and it was so he played the Gladiator soundtrack and my wife is like crying as they're singing the fucking, like the kids choir singing the Gladiator song. I'm like, like the full circle. This was just like a couple I got last month. It was awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

That's awesome. I have the. I have the opposite story of meeting my high school and college girlfriend. I dated her for seven years and she's she's great and I do love her family very much. But the like we were like 17 when we started dating. I was eating dinner over at their house, you know, or maybe we were 18 and you know, I'm like in love with comedy so much. And like her dad, her dad's trying to be really, his dad's trying to be really nice. So Brooks, you like comedy? You know, And I'm like, yeah, it rocks. Comedy's number one. He was like, he was like, how do you feel about Dilbert? And I was like, Dilbert sucks. Dilbert's the dumbest I've ever heard of. Dilbert should. Dilvers doesn't deserve to even be in a newspaper. And he's like, okay. And then after dinner, Chelsea, my girlfriend, she's like, why don't you come here you idiot. We go into his office all Dilbert.

[Johnny G]

Every one of them.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Dilbert, like kind of, he was so nice and cool this, this dude. But one, one time we were in, we dated for so long, you know, and he was like from 18 to 25. So I was like 20, maybe with him on some vacation with him where, you know, he's got to bring his daughter's idiot boyfriend to fucking on a vacation. He's like, ugh, this guy, you know, and, but he was like, you want to have a drink with me? You know, like, I mean I'm a sophomore in college. And I was like, yeah, it sounds great. And he was like, what'd you like? And I was like, like Black Velvet and Mountain Dew. And he goes, God damn, you're weird. Oh the real so hard to connect with you.

[Johnny G]

The real way I bonded with my, with my in laws is when I showed up and he was like, what can I get you to drink? I'm like, I'll have a beer. And then he's like, can I get you another drink? I'm like, yeah, I'll take another. He's like, and next. You know, I've had like 28 beers with my family. They're all wasted and I'm just like, oh, what makes me cool in college also works with my alcoholic father in law. I'm like a hero of consumption. He's like your boyfriend. He drank all the beers last night. What a big guy. You know. He was like so impressed by me because of my consumption.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I was like, yeah, yeah, that's great dude. A good, a good father. A good like significant others parent situation is great. To my last girlfriend, I went over to her house and her dad had a big Old photo of Trump when I go, this one's not gonna be great.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. And it's like most of the people I'm talking. Most of my in laws have. The people I'm talking about have voted for Trump because they're all like New Yorkers. My family. Look, I. I don't get having a photo of them.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I don't exactly photo up is bad.

[Johnny G]

That's exactly what I was about to say is that I'm like, I don't agree with you for voting for him, but fuck, yeah, live your truth. But like, I would not have a poster of Kamala or like Biden's headshot or even Barack, who I like, turned. Turned me on to politics. Like, I would not even. I don't give a fuck. I know someone who had a Trump themed 60th birthday, had like a Trump cake and a Trump picture, and Trump wasn't even the president then. It was like, it was during Biden's terms. It was the most upsetting thing I had ever seen.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Imagine having Thanksgiving with that person.

[Johnny G]

I know.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Fuck that. And having to be very polite.

[Johnny G]

I know. Fuck, dude. I ran a half marathon and I told that, like, he's that guy who I'm talking about was like, oh, how fast? And I gave him my time. And he's like, what, did you walk? I'm like, well, bud, you know, I'm 300 pounds and I ran 13 miles. It's not going to be fast. And he's like, well, when I did it, I was this. And he's a really surprising no one. He's really short, this guy. Short and rich. And I said, I said, yeah, that's true. But I can get those cups off that shelf, like in. His guy pointed to like a shelf in the kitchen. I mean, everything was like, super awkward. And I was like, wait, I have to get through the holidays with this. I can't be fucking with this guy.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yep, yep. No, I got to the point where I was like, maybe I don't go with you to your house to that.

[Johnny G]

Maybe it's best.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Everyone agreed. Everyone agreed.

[Johnny G]

That's when, you know, you're like, maybe I shouldn't. And before you finish, your girlfriend's like, perfect. Yes. Stay home. Love it. Okay, bye.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, that was the beginning of the end. I don't have to go to your house anymore. Awesome.

[Johnny G]

Anyway, yeah, there is something there. It's like, oh, cool. So I don't ever have to hang out with your friends anymore and you don't have to hang out with my friends anymore. It's like, oh, wait, this is just.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It was just right, didn't we? Because I will speak my mind. You know, he wants me to call him like Mr. Last Name. I'm never gonna fucking do that. I'm not calling anybody Mr. Anything.

[Johnny G]

And yeah, I'm a softie. I'll do Mr. Until they tell me otherwise.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Oh, no, we're, we're both.

[Johnny G]

I mean, now I'm 40. Like, I guess, I guess it would be a little different. I was, I never really dated in my 30s because I was with the same woman my whole life. So I, if I met, if I met a 60 year old man now who's like, call me mister. I'm like, no, bro, I'm Mr. Gabriel. I'm 42. I'm not calling you mister. You're not my. If you were my teacher, maybe it's.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Also just not my vibe, man. Like, When I was 8, I called my dad Jim. Like, I just am like, we're, we're having a conversation.

[Johnny G]

You're not in a position, that's all. When I was 8, we had to call my dad sir. How fucked up is that? My dad was so strict.

[Brooks Wheeling]

That's. That's wild. That's.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, you are like, thank you, sir. Like, can I have a ride to school, sir? Like all this.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I would be like, chill out, Jim.

[Johnny G]

Oh, man.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Didn't work. Did not chill him out.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, Jim. Jim insisted on not being chill at that.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah.

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Ooh, yeah.

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[Johnny G]

Do you have. Have you. Have you ever camped outside of the country? Outside of America? That scares me like a little bit more. For.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, Mexico all the time.

[Johnny G]

Oh yeah? Yeah. Oh, cool.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Baja.

[Johnny G]

Oh, is that, is that. Is that a good experience? Because I'd like to fucking try that too. Combining my love of international travel and like flying with a tent would be fucking fun.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. Well, I mean, you just drive down to Tijuana. It's just south of Tijuana. You camp outside Ensenada. But like about like when I was. I just did 30 days through Europe. Like hell. That was two years ago. How. How time flies. Jeez Louise, I have no idea.

[Johnny G]

The pandemic ruined my concept of time. I can. I only have like before the pandemic and after, like in my. I can't even think of. Yeah, you could say. I, like, it's crazy that five years have passed. It just feels insane. Like I, like, I don't. I can't wrap my head around it. Like, the time is. It hurts my brain, dude. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

So when I was buy to that, that was slightly camping, but it wasn't camping at all. I stayed in Airbnbs the whole time, but I just flew into Rome, ran in a car and flew out of Rome 30 days later and was like, wherever I end up, I end up. I ended up in Croatia most of the time and like, loved Croatia, but just like staying at like €25, like little rooms and shit. And that was as close to camping as I've gotten out there. Like just renting boats and they're like, all right, bring it back when you're done. I'm like, okay, so we didn't sign anything. And I have a boat now.

[Johnny G]

Most American shit ever. You sure you don't want me to sign for anything? They're like, it's okay, you know. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Boat day was great.

[Johnny G]

Oh, that's fucking awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. Because I'd worked On this show for Fox for two years. And it was. It was like there was in the time. We're like, we'll. We'll. You'll know anytime. We'll know anytime if you're going to series in the next, you know, month. And I was like, well, instead of sitting here, I'm gonna go to.

[Johnny G]

And I'm either gonna celebrate good news or this will help soothe bad. Yeah. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I was like, don't wait for me to get back. As soon as, you know, you call me, and I will either race home to make the show, or I'll stay another week and burn all the money. And that was. Stay another week and burn all the money. That.

[Johnny G]

Isn't it always, motherfuckers. God damn it.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Wait, didn't you do. You did, like, a thousand places to party before you die, right?

[Johnny G]

Yeah. That was a fucking blast. Adam and I, Adam Pally and I hosted this show, 101 places to party before you die on True. And then now it's on Max. And that was an insane experience. We. And because I never. I've. I've traveled my whole life and, like, usually, like, touring for comedy or podcasting, and it's like, that's one level of lifestyle where you're trying to save money because you don't want, like, you need to be like, I'm only getting paid $500 to do this show, so I can't be blowing money on all this other shit. But when you're going, like, they're paying for our hotels and then also all our foods and a food and drink it like, it felt.

[Brooks Wheeling]

And you're being paid and we're.

[Johnny G]

And we're getting. Yes, we're getting paid true TV money. So, you know, we could have just worked at the restaurants we were at, but it was still a fucking, like, fully subsidized trip with my best friend. And it was just like. So we, like, there was elements of, like, we chose some cities. Some cities were chosen for us. So it was like, the perfect version of, like, a tour where it was like, I don't know shit about Richmond, Virginia, but we're doing four days there.

[Brooks Wheeling]

And four days in Richmond, Virginia.

[Johnny G]

Yeah, it was fucking. And we had a blast. That was like, the most surprising of the cities. Like, it was on the list. And I was like, I mean, I'm a fucking coastal elite. Let me see if this city's any fun. And I had a fucking rot. Like, it's actually a really good time there. They, like, they appreciate art there, comedy, live performance. Big hip hop scene and big hardcore scene. So I think those are, like, two kind of good vibes for a city, too. Like, it's like the guys who are working at the burger shop or the coffee shop are all fucking weirdo, interesting people.

[Brooks Wheeling]

How was each episode? Was it broken up into, like, we're in a city for this episode or.

[Johnny G]

In a city for a weekend? It was like, Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, because, okay, like, the conceit was like, we're grown ups now. Adam has three kids. I have a life. But we can.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Adam has three kids?

[Johnny G]

Yeah, He's a father of three, his oldest.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean, I really like Adam a lot, but I've never, like, hung out with him, and that's probably why.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. He lives in New York with three. With three children, with a wife and three kids.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I like that guy.

[Johnny G]

Me too. Big fan. And honestly, one of the biggest highlights of the show is that we had wife sanctioned hangout time for eight straight weeks. We're like, babe, we're making money. We're working. Just like we always did when we would go to Vegas to work on a treatment. We got to meet in Vegas and work on a treatment. So we would just go for a power weekend. Really. We shot for three or four days so that we didn't have nonstop diarrhea. Yeah. And then we cut it into, like, weekends, and it was a fucking. And like, you know, it was a lot about mortality, about us getting older. We both had parents die young. That kind of pushed us into being a little, like, YOLO esque.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Will you. Will you tell me what all cities you went to? And I will tell. I will try to guess which. Which ones were great and bad.

[Johnny G]

Okay. Yeah, sure. So we went to Denver, Richmond, Moab, Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Maui, and I'm forgetting one that I can't think of right now.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Well, those all sound great. I bet Moab was killer. Killer, killer.

[Johnny G]

Moab is definitely where I want to go back. Like, I had never. I have never. Even if I'm being fully honest, I never even heard of Moab until the email went out that that was one of the cities.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It's like, it's.

[Johnny G]

It's like Mars. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I mean, it's. It's in between Canyonlands and Arches, which are, like, just two incredible national parks. And it's, you know, like, back. It's like where fucking everybody goes to set up before they set out. So it's fucking rad. Like, mountain biking town. It's like the Captain mountain bike capping town of the world.

[Johnny G]

It was, it's. It was such a cool place. That's the place where I want to go back the most now that I'm like, have an outdoorsy. But we glamped one night in the Canyonlands in a giant like air conditioned teepee and it was fucking. That was still beautiful just being out.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. Canyonlands is probably number two favorite between Canylands and Glacier for my favorite national parks.

[Johnny G]

Oh, those are the only two I. I think I've ever been to. I. Because Glacier is the one that's like in Montana, right? Yeah, yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Canadian border.

[Johnny G]

I went in. I never camped there, but we hiked in for a while when I was. I was living in Montana. I lived in Montana for a month back when I hosted a show called Santa's in the Barn, which was pretty much like America's next top Santa Claus I did one season.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Did you go to the Northern Lights Saloon up there? That would have been. That's my favorite bar in the world.

[Johnny G]

Oh, I. Dude, wait. While we're talking about favorite bars in the world, you traveled around Alaska? There's a bar apparently in the Yukon, like deeper into the Yukon, where for a long time they had a guy's petrified toe that like fell off from frostbite. And they. And the drink of the house would be like, you pour whiskey, they'd put the toe in and you'd have to drink it all down and then spit the toe back into the glass and then they would. And when I heard about that, I was like, this is my goal. I did like a show up at the Yukon and I had never been there. And that was fucking crazy and interesting like that. But I was like, oh, I got to find. And this bar was like over a pass or whatever. I'm like, fuck, I got to come back for it. So if you ever go. If you go. If you got to go back to Alaska at any point, let's go drink toes together, dude.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Alaska. Did you ring the bell? When you were up there, did you ever ring the bell?

[Johnny G]

No. No, I have to go to Alaska. More like, I, like, I've only ever been there once and I got to go back.

[Brooks Wheeling]

So in every bar in Alaska, every bar there's a bell. And if you ring it, you have to buy everyone in there a drink, whatever they want. And they're fucking real about it. You can't ring the bell and get out of it. And it's from back in the day where people came, like miners would come down and if they fucking hit gold, they'd fucking bang that bell and be like, fuck, yeah. And everyone would get.

[Johnny G]

Treat everyone to, around. That's awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. So, like, I was up there with Nick Rutherford, and, like, we were ringing the bell when it wasn't busy, because it's really fun to ring the bell. You buy, like, four people drinks. You know, it's really rad. And it was slammed one time, and this couple that had recently got married were on, like, their honeymoon. We were in Talkeetna, and for some reason, they, like, glommed on to me and Rutherford. They're like, you guys are cool. We're gonna hang out. We're like, you guys are kind of fucking annoying. They were just, like, wasted on their honeymoon. And I was like, all right, you want to do a friendship pact? And the lady was like, yes. I was like, okay, well, you ring the bell, and that means that we are officially Alaska buddies. And she's like, okay. And there's probably, like, 80 people in the bar, and she goes and rings the bell, and everyone goes nuts. Like, fuck, yeah. I just bought herself a drink. And she's like, what? No. And the bartender's like, you bought everyone a drink? Ring the bell. There's no fucking exceptions. And the woman's like, no, no, no, no, no. What if I do this? And she flashed her tits to everybody. And, like, her husband's like, britney, what the fuck? The old bartender's like, I don't give a shit about your tits. You fucking buy everyone in here a drink. And I'm like, oh, no. I just imploded a marriage. I was like, I got it. I got it. I'll buy it. It's like, you have to buy the whole thing, dude. Alaska. That belt. That belt rocks.

[Johnny G]

I went to on. On the show, on the Maui episode, Adam and I and Zach Knighton, who was living out in Hawaii at the time, Guest comes on the episode with us. We went to a bar, like, a biker bar that had the bell. And we were like, oh, what does the bell mean? They're like, the bell means you have to buy everyone a shot. I buy everyone a drink. And we turned to me and Adam turned to the producers, and I go, do we have bell budget? They were like, we have bell budget. We were like, ring the bell. And then also, this whole bar full of bikers is. Who hates that these two Hollywood. Three Hollywood guys are being filmed right now. But the second we were like. The second we were like, we're ringing the bell. Everyone's like, like, everyone was immediately on our side, like, white Guys at a biker bar in Hawaii, like, we're finally appreciated.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I love. I love Maui a lot. I've been to Maui a couple times. I went with Kevin Barnett one time, who passed away when we were 32. And we were like, I was all sad. I would just gotten out of a relationship. It's kind of consistent story.

[Johnny G]

Yes, I detect a pattern here.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, pretty good. You know, we're slogging along, but I was bummed because I'd gotten engaged to this woman in. In Hawaii and I was like, man, now I can't even go to Hawaii. I'm missed. My, you know, ex girlfriend was. We were gonna get married and Kevin Barnett was like, she doesn't know in Hawaii. We're going to Hawaii today. And because we were like 32 and we just had like. Kevin had written the show for Fox, the Rel Show. So Kevin had like, I had money for me. Kevin had a lot of money for anyone. And so we flew to Maui and had like the best time ever. And then, like, it just like we were hanging out with the locals and just getting after it. And on the ride, on the flight back, Kevin was just sitting there hungover, and he goes, that's a godless island. He kept calling Maui godless.

[Johnny G]

I had a fucking blast in Maui. I've been there a few times. Camping in Hawaii appeals to me in a way too, because the.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I think you can camp on any beach too. I think that they have this open this. I'm sure each island is different, but I know you could just fly with the tent to Maui and put up wherever.

[Johnny G]

Oh, that'd be fucking sick. That's the life. That's my post divorce plans. Yeah, I just got a Maui beach bum. I'll be like, yeah, you need a.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Kevin in your life. Everybody needs a Kevin in there.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. Fuck indeed. Do you have any, like, camping white whales or like, camping bucket list shit of like. Oh, man, I would love to hike that because I. I really want to hike my Tomachu Picchu, obviously, but I don't necessarily need to camp on my own, but if I got some glamping situation, I'd be down for it. But do you have any, like, camping shit that you're like, this is on my list.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, Patagonia.

[Johnny G]

I want to go down to good.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Tierra de Fuego and just camp by the Strait of Magellan and just be like, this shit's crazy, dude.

[Johnny G]

All the footage out of there is so awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, there's this one town, like Los Las Arenas. It's yeah. Las Arenas.

[Johnny G]

I watched a chef's table episode about a chef who, like, cooks over an open flame in Patagonia, and it made me fall in love with Patagonia in a way that I could not wrap my head around.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Punta Arenas. Sorry?

[Johnny G]

Punta Arenas. See, that's fucking. Patagonia is a great fucking call. That's like camping in Avatar World.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah.

[Johnny G]

What's that guy's name?

[Brooks Wheeling]

I love that. That chef's table is, like, the best thing I've ever. Starts with an M. His name is like. Like, Molleman.

[Johnny G]

Francis Mahlman. Mallman. The Argentinian guy. Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

He's the best.

[Johnny G]

The vibes of that episode just changed. Honestly, watching that episode stoned was like, the beginning of, like, my camping love, because I was just like, I want to be outside like that, like that. Just lifestyle and it seems like, oh, you can just choose that. I think SoCal is a great place. Once you live here too. It's like, a great place because your access to. No, it's the best. And you have a car. I never had a car in New York, so I never.

[Brooks Wheeling]

That chef's table is insane because you're like, this guy rocks. And you find out, like, he's a really absent father. And me. Yeah.

[Johnny G]

His wife's like, I pretty. He's pretty much has an affair with a campfire and a fish every night.

[Brooks Wheeling]

No. And with a lot of women.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. He loves to love. You know, I love docs that just slowly, like, they roll it out like, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's kind of a piece of shit, too. But, like. Like, check out this fish head he grilled or whatever.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Absolutely.

[Johnny G]

Okay.

[Brooks Wheeling]

What were you. What you were saying about LA is absolutely true. Like, I don't. I like New York City better than Los Angeles, but I like California infinitely more than New York City because, like, you're literally two hours from, like, Joshua Tree. You're with four hours from Yosemite. You're three and a half hours from Big Sur. You know, you can go camp in Malibu at Sycamore Canyon on a Sunday night and be here in the morning for work. Like, two and a half hours from three hours from Tijuana, which is only two hours from Ensenada. Like, is it. LA is the best base in the world to go have fun in nature around you.

[Johnny G]

It's. My wife is too afraid of spiders to go camping, but I got us one night at Thornhill Broome, the one that's, like, right on the beach.

[Brooks Wheeling]

That's exactly what I'm talking About, yeah, yeah.

[Johnny G]

And then it's just like we just camped on the beach. I, I, you know, I washed in the ocean in the morning. It was a fucking. And you know, no chance of a major spider at like the breeze going all night. That was like an hour and an hour and change from my house. Just fucking, I mean, I'm camping on a fucking beach. Yes. You get headlights every once in a while to remind you you are next to the pch. But when you stay at fucking Leo Carrillo or you said Sycamore Canyon, which is one that I've done multiple times like that. It's just like, that's not a crazy ride to get to. And it's just even with 12 other visible campsites, you still get that slice of the nature that matters.

[Brooks Wheeling]

It's like, no, it's great. I sleep better in my tent than like in my real bed. I also like what I do when I'm car camping is I have like a perfect, like full size mattress that I will blow up with my, like, with a blower upper, you know, like an air mattress. And I'm sleeping on a thick air mattress. It goes right, it fits in my tent perfectly. So I'm like, this is so comfortable. The fucking birds are chirpy, you know, I love it. I just, like, sleep so well.

[Johnny G]

I fucking love. I did. I don't know if I had done this last time we talked, but I think you'd be proud of me. I was doing a show at a brewery, like in like some part of California, like an hour and a half out, me and Matt Besser, and we were gonna do stand up and do a podcast episode. And I was like, oh, is that like a place I should get a hotel? I don't want to like, drive home super late. I'm like, oh, how about I go on fucking hipcamp.com found a campsite and drove up the night before, camped out by myself, went hung out, went to do a show that night at a brewery. Like, that was, I was 25 minutes away from because of my campsite and then went back to my left, my tent set up and came home from a comedy show on the road and went into a tent and it was like a fucking. I bought a six pack and just got in my tent and like, chilled out. It was fucking a dream. It was such a cool experience.

[Brooks Wheeling]

That's the best. It's so fun. You feel good about yourself. You're working. I really like that for you, John. That made me very happy also, dude, when I would Go camp at Big Sur when I'm really stressed. And there's this park, there's a state park called Limekin which doesn't do reservations, so. But it's like, underneath, like, kind of the one. But it's great. And, you know, it's no service, very important and awesome. And like, there's nothing better than, like, waking up in the morning, like, getting a coffee from the little general store and getting the newspaper and, like, just reading the news is so fun.

[Johnny G]

Rather than strolling Twitter and getting fucking depressed. Read the news and get depressed at a slower rate.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I just deleted Twitter, like, after the election because I was like, I think that this is bad. And it's like getting like. Twitter isn't even like. Like, dude, I was on an airplane and, you know, I just follow people. You see stuff with people you're not following. And, like, there's like, porn and people dying.

[Johnny G]

Like, I'm seeing way too many, like, street fight videos and like.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah.

[Johnny G]

Women getting shoved and shit. And it's like two. And it's always like, crazy shit. Like two Mexican nerds fight back against black bullies. I'm like, this feels like fucking pornhub. I gotta shut this shit off.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, dude, I was, like, scrolling. It was like full tits and like, you know, on a plane, you're looking at what other people are looking at.

[Johnny G]

You know, I think about that. I'm always on my iPad watching some Criterion movie, and all of a sudden it's like this like, intense sexual sequence and I gotta, like, I gotta keep an eye. I'm like, oh, why am I watching this on a fucking. I was watching Paul Verhoeven's Flesh and Blood on my flight two days ago home from Cartagena and there's like an extended, like, group rape scene.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Where were you?

[Johnny G]

I went to Cartagena for my cousin's. My cousin got married there and I officiated a wedding.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Is that in Columbia?

[Johnny G]

Yeah. I've never been. It was awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Okay, we talked about that. You're a really good host because I would just only be talking about that. How was that?

[Johnny G]

It was fucking sick. We spent five nights inside the walled city, which is like a like, mile square mile area of Cartagena that has a wall around it from back in the day. And it's all these tiny, very touristy, but a lot of great little stuff going on in there. And then we spent a few days on the. On the Baru Peninsula about a two hour drive away. And it was like, like a little. That's a little more Caribbean and tropical. So we did, like, a city combo with a beach. And it was. And I would never have chosen it. Like, my cousin married a Colombian chick, and she was like, oh, I want to get married in Cartagena. And I was like, fuck, yeah. I'm like a destination wedding to a place. Like, I would have to fly to New York for the wedding anyway, so fuck it. Flying to Colombia, no, that rocks. And I don't know if this is like, an offensive thing to say, but the dollar goes really far there. Like. Like, beers were, like, $2.25 for, like, a full fucking, like, giant mugs. And it was just like. Like anything that wasn't imported, Anything you bought local, like, all the food and all the beer and. And local was so inexpensive. It was such like a. It. You know, it was a little pricey to get a hotel and very pricey to get a flight. But once there, like, your money went kind of far and made for a really good time. It made.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. I've never done Southeast Asia, and I want to do that so bad because I've heard. I've heard that you can just post up for a while.

[Johnny G]

I want to do Vietnam so bad as I love beaches and street food. And I feel like Southeast Asia is, like, a good, good place to find both. Like, I know that's reductive, but that is. Those are two things I love in life. So if I could go see the world and also eat, like, deep fried scorpion or whatever on a stick, I'm game.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Absolutely, dude. Yeah. I mean, it'd be hard to get your wife to Vietnam with her spice, I think.

[Johnny G]

Yeah. With her fierce. Well, my. My. One of my best friends out here is Ozzy. Well, now he's also a US Citizen. Congrats to Yummy. But he.

[Arthur Gabris]

He got to vote.

[Johnny G]

This was his first election. He voted in. I was like, welcome aboard the Titanic, brother. Yeah. He's like, I could finally vote this year. I'm like, well, thank God you could. Well, look what happened. You fucking. But he lives in Australia. And he's like, you got to come back with me, mate. And I'm like, but my wife won't go because of, like, the footage of Australia, of spiders seen in Australia.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, I went. I was trying to do. I went to. I've done shows in Australia twice. And I was trying to talk about. I was like, what's up with those taipan snakes you got? Because I'm really afraid of snakes. And they were like, what are you doing? Like, what like, it's like if we came to LA and we're like, do bears live in your houses? Like, those are in the outback. You're in Melbourne.

[Johnny G]

It's Melbourne. Might. Don't you worry. You're not a bogan.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah.

[Johnny G]

Brooks, I appreciate you taking the time. Why don't you tell the shitheads, the listeners, a little bit more about your special and where they can get it and all that.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Oh, yeah, rocks. It's called Alive in Alaska. It's just like a book in it with the footage of the Alaskan tour. But the meat of it is like. Like just an hour of my stand up in Anchorage. That's the feedback I'm getting from Alaskans because I talk about Alaska a lot, which is, you know, you don't want to go to a place and, like, kind of piss them off.

[Johnny G]

Yeah.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Is there, like.

[Johnny G]

And film it for posterity? Yeah, well, like.

[Brooks Wheeling]

But I spent two weeks there, so I wrote these jokes over these two weeks, and they're like, the. All I really wanted was for Alaskans to not feel like I was like, you know, using them as a prop. And like, they're all like, dude, yeah, you nailed it. I'm like, yes. That's all it matters if I get an honorary Alaskan citizenship. That's all that matters out of this.

[Johnny G]

Oh, that's fucking awesome.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Check it out. It's free. Just type it in. It's on YouTube through 800 pound gorilla. It was a giant financial mistake on my part.

[Johnny G]

Aren't they all? Not. Not the entire career selection from the jump? No, not that. That was a financial mistake. No, I'm not. I love it. Athletic. Thank you. Athletic greens.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, well, like, I got asked if I wanted to do a special and I was like, yeah. And they're like, all right. Like Chicago, do you want to go back to the Midwest? And I was like, I actually want to do Anchorage. And they're like, okay, well, we'll pay for Chicago. You can pay for whatever extra you want by taking it to Anchorage. And I was like, yeah, it'll be worth it. And now I'm like, It's free on YouTube.

[Johnny G]

I don't want to pimp you into a life that you don't want. But if you become the Sufian Stevens of standup and do the other 49 states where you spend like 10 days in the state, coming up with material, traveling around a little bit and then filming a special in, like a capital or in a major city in each state could be a good idea for an adventure. And then that way you force you to see the world. If we can get some. If we. If some listener. If we had a moneyed listener of this podcast, which by now, I hope you would have fucking taken care of me. But if you want to, you know, be the patron to Brooks's art, reach out and set him on his fucking path and check out Alive in Alaska.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah. And like, half. Halfway through watching it, like, you forget that it is in Anchorage and that this is fucking the stupidest idea I've ever had. The next one I do, I'm fucking shooting in Iowa. I'm gonna make it as easy as possible for myself.

[Johnny G]

Right? You fill it with all fucking childhood friends and shit like that.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Well, I mean, just people. Like. Like, I have a joke about Red Lobster. Like, we don't have Red Lobster. I was like, yeah, but you gotta understand, this isn't just for you. This is not. You've heard of Red Lobster. You've heard of it. So shut the fuck up while I tell this. Red Lobster.

[Johnny G]

Could you just cut me some fucking slack here?

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yeah, cut me a little slack, Alaska. We're shooting this, and I don't know if you know, but, like, not a lot of stuff is just for you. So it's great. Yeah, I'm really stoked on it. And yeah, came out.

[Arthur Gabris]

Yeah.

[Johnny G]

So check out Alive in Alaska. If you open up the show notes right now, there'll be a link to it on your phone. Just click on that and check it out. Brooks, thank you so much. As for the shitheads, you know, me and my podcast, other podcast Action Boys, also check out the Gino Lombardo show, now coming out monthly on cbworld.com and stand by for more future stories about Gino Lombardo. All right, bye, shitheads. That was a headgum podcast.

[Brooks Wheeling]

In a part of the world where there are no rules.

[Johnny G]

Holy shit. Holy shit, guys, I'm so pumped. I definitely have not watched this, this since I rented it on VHS in 92.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Strangers united by the threat of death.

[Johnny G]

We got all the major players. Seagal. Vladimir Putin is a good man.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Arnold, you're. Come give it to me.

[Johnny G]

I need you to cream pie me now.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Stallone, uncle are loving this movie. It's got a lot of heart. Mentally irregular. Now, somewhere, somehow.

[Johnny G]

Body blow.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Body blow. Someone's going to pay. I would fucking love for my wife.

[Johnny G]

To, like, see me rip a guy's throat out. But they didn't count on one thing.

[Brooks Wheeling]

This movie's fucking insane.

[Johnny G]

It's how you know it's a good movie. You have to do almost all the work yourself to figure it out.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Well, there's a fantasy component. There's some sword fighting.

[Johnny G]

There's some lightning. There's a new game in town. You wake up after years, and then.

[Brooks Wheeling]

You don't even know you anymore.

[Johnny G]

We're gonna be making Terminators. We're gonna make a really great deal with the Xenomorphs.

[Brooks Wheeling]

What?

[Johnny G]

I don't hate him, but I pit in a roommate.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Yes, I understand.

[Johnny G]

This is now the 20th ending of the movie.

[Brooks Wheeling]

I am dark.

[Johnny G]

I'm your dad. Action Boys. Boys will be boys. Subscribe here for bonus content and more free stuff from behind the paywall. To get new episodes, become a patron at Actionboys Biz.

[Brooks Wheeling]

Do it. Do it. Come on.

[Johnny G]

Do it now.