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"From Struggle to Stand-Up : Raymond Orta's Comedy Lifeline"
01:00:29
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- [00:03]
Lynn Hoffman
Comedy saved me. Oh, my gosh, Raymond, first of all, I'm so excited to talk to you. I wanted to just say thank you. Like, Buzz just said to Romeo Vaughn, because we had him on another podcast that I host called Music Save Me, and he found out that we had this podcast about Comedy Save Me. He nearly fell off his chair. He's like, you have to talk to Raymond. You have to. And we're like, okay, give us his info. We're in.
- [00:30]
Raymond Orta
So, no, buddy. Romeo, man, he's. I've known him for several years, and I. I actually ran into him going to a show at the airport real randomly, and he was on his way to Nashville. I was on my way to California, and we. We were flying out to Austin to a connecting flight there, and he was telling me all about it. I'm like, bro, this is awesome. Like, this is. And he's been doing some massive things for his music career, and I've been crushing it in the comedy. The comedy scene lately. I feel it was good to catch up with him.
- [01:00]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah. Maybe you guys, down the road, you could do, like, a comedy music showcase.
- [01:05]
Raymond Orta
Oh, yeah, that's definitely in the works, for sure. He's funny.
- [01:08]
Lynn Hoffman
Naturally funny, too.
- [01:09]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, he really is. And I think everybody in the Valley where we're from has a natural knack for being that style of personality where we're just, like, goofy and goofing on people and stuff like that. It's a lot of fun down here.
- [01:25]
Lynn Hoffman
I love it. Well, thank you again for coming on. And so I'm really excited. I read this thing. Let me. I'm trying to find where I wrote it down. This. It says, this is crazy. Raymond Orta, a comedy prodigy since the age of eight, delivers high energy, vivid storytelling. His shows are so intense that he often leaves audiences in hysterics, sometimes literally needing medical attention. Have you actually had to, like, clear, you know, bring someone back to life at a show?
- [01:57]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, that actually happened at this, like, outdoor beach and biker fest is what it's called. It's like a. Like a Harley Davidson rally out South Padre Island. And I made this lady laugh and pass out, and she pissed herself, and they had to get her by ambulance out of the whole place. It was pretty nuts. Wow.
- [02:19]
Lynn Hoffman
All right. So that's why I was just wanting to preface this for our listeners.
- [02:23]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. And one of my claim to fames is I've made two people that I know of completely crap their pants, and that's really hard to do in comedy. That's. That's. That's really hard. That's like the Mount Everest of comedy. Besides making somebody die, making somebody poop is, is up there.
- [02:43]
Lynn Hoffman
I have never, ever heard that before, but I love it.
- [02:46]
Raymond Orta
Oh my gosh. You gotta, you gotta understand that. It's like the stars having to align. For that to happen, this guy had to like, the people that had that happen to him, they had to like they were locking up their house and they're like, man, I got it. I should probably go to the bathroom. He was like, no, there's no time. Gonna go out with one in the chamber. And out they go.
- [03:09]
Lynn Hoffman
All right, on that note, if you have to go to the bathroom, you might want to go now. We're gonna go take a break with some commercials and then we're gonna come right back with Raymond Orta.
- [03:20]
Raymond Orta
It's the time to do it.
- [03:21]
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- [03:26]
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- [04:56]
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- [05:04]
Raymond Orta
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- [05:05]
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- [05:08]
Raymond Orta
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- [05:10]
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Raymond Orta
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- [05:13]
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- [05:22]
Raymond Orta
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- [05:25]
Lynn Hoffman
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- [05:27]
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- [05:29]
Lynn Hoffman
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- [05:31]
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- [05:34]
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- [05:48]
Raymond Orta
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- [05:51]
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- [05:56]
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- [06:30]
Lynn Hoffman
Comedy Saved Me welcome back to Comedy Saved Me, the show where we sit down with some of the funniest people alive to talk about how laughter can be a healing force that didn't just change their lives, but it might have literally saved them and others too. I'm your host Lynn Hoffman, and if you're into inspiring stories of resilience, redemption and the transformative power of humor like this one, please share it with your friends. And maybe just lift them up a little bit too, because that's exactly what we're all about here on the MU on the Comedy Save Me podcast. Sorry, I get them confused sometimes. Today's guest is someone who literally made someone poop their pants twice, as we learned before we went to break, but he proves that comedy can hit harder than a punchline at a midnight show. He is a self described beacon of positivity and laughs, which I absolutely love A man who blends sharp wit with hilarious storytelling. A performer who can take you from tears of laughter to tears of recognition in the same set. And I can tell you I'm already crying laughing during the commercial break. I wish you could have heard everything if you've never seen him live, you know, you are not just at a comedy show. You are at a Raymond Orta experience. So buckle up. Just today we're talking heart hustle and humor with the one and only Raymond Orta. Raymond, welcome to comedy. Save me.
- [07:54]
Raymond Orta
What an awesome intro. I really appreciate that. That was like, I don't know where you got that Chad GPT knocked out of the park or something. That was really good.
- [08:02]
Lynn Hoffman
It's my LLM friend.
- [08:04]
Raymond Orta
No, that was really, really, really well done that.
- [08:08]
Lynn Hoffman
Thanks so much. Well, what I want to know what. First up first is what drew you to comedy and like, when did you realize that making people laugh was more than just a hobby for you?
- [08:20]
Raymond Orta
Well, my first. My first taste of making somebody laugh, my was my mom. I made her laugh when I was real young. And my dad was a super. I have plenty of stories in my show about him, but he was not a very nice guy. He was super mean, abusive. And my mom and him got divorced because she found. She found him cheating on her several times. And there was this one time where we're living out of her car and I made her laugh. And it was such a good feeling for me to make my mom laugh when she was going through so much that I really liked that feeling. And, and it made me feel good to be able to bring her some joy. And I must have been like 4 or 5, 4 or 5 years old. I can't even remember what I did, but I remember her laughing like, big time when she had been crying for a long period of time. And I said something, I did something, and it just broke the tension with comic relief. And I just knew that that was something that I really enjoyed. And in school, I was always the class clown, always looking to make people laugh. And in my third grade year in school, my teacher, she came to me with a poster and she's like, look, look at this. And it was a poster for a talent show. And I remember the poster so vividly. It said, like, can you sing? Can you dance? Can you do magic? Can you do all these different things? And at the very bottom, it says, or even tell jokes. And she said, you can tell jokes. You're super funny and you should. You should try out for the talent show. And I was like, oh, man, that sounds like, like a lot of fun. I definitely want to do that. And she's like, well, you have to come up with a five minute routine and you have to, it has to be clean and, and then you can be in the talent show. And I was like, okay. And so I came up with a five minute routine as a third grader. And I remember, like, going up in front of my student body, like in front of all the elementary kids and the staff, and I crushed it. I did five minutes of clean material that I wrote myself and I won the talent show. And I, from one moment from that day, like, I was, I used to be the chubby kid that was like the always getting put in the friend zone to now. I was the funny, popular kid that everybody knew, everybody wanted to hang out with. And I was like, man, this is, this is what I want to do with my life. I love, love, love, love this. I love making people laugh. I love the popularity that brought me. And from that moment, I was hooked. I've been passionately pursuing comedy since I was 8 years old. And when people hear that, they're like, for real, it's legit. I've been writing jokes and performing them since I was in third grade.
- [11:16]
Lynn Hoffman
That's so impressive to me. And the crazy thing is that you remember that far back that you would make your mom during.
- [11:23]
Raymond Orta
Oh, I could still remember the jokes that I did in my third grade talent show. And, and I tell them to people. To this day, they're still funny. I. And I did my third grade talent show, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade talent shows. And I won every. I've never lost a talent show doing comedy.
- [11:42]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow. Wow, that's. Well, it's obvious that you were paying attention to, listening to what, what you loved. And translating that into a career in comedy is a whole different ball game. But people usually do tell you to do what you love and the money will come, but that's easily easier said than done.
- [12:01]
Raymond Orta
For real. And the first time that I made money doing comedy like that, I saw like the dollar signs was my ninth grade talent show. The grand prize for first place was 100 bucks. And I'll never forget it because it was. So I went on stage or we were, we're backstage at the, at the gym, and there was like this dance team, like, talking smack to me. Like, you really, it looks, it feels like one of those Disney movies, right? You really think you're going to win with those cheesy little jokes of yours? Like, total mean Girls, right? And, and I was like, well, even if you guys win, there's 12 of you guys and the grand prize is 100 bucks. You guys are going to win like $8 each. It's like, what, you're going to get a what? Like combo. Like, congratulations. That's it.
- [12:46]
Lynn Hoffman
What did they say? Did you say that to them?
- [12:48]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, yeah, there. And we're like kind of talking smack. And then they brought me up on to the gym floor and I was, I started making fun of like the security guards that was, that were working there at the school and I could impersonate them. So like, spot on. Yeah. So when I started doing their voices every, like you could imagine, all my fellow freshmen friends are like, oh, dude, this guy's imitating guard. Like, we had nicknames for all the security guards and one of the guys was named Garfield and he had a voice. It's. It sounded like this. You guys better get, you better get off the grass. And he was always telling us to get off the grass. Right? And then we had our principal. Our principal had a super funny voice, real high pitched voice for a man. And it was like, almost like Muppet. Like he had a voice. It sounded, it sounded like this. His voice sounded like this. And his, his big thing was, y', all hurry up and get to class now. Hurry up and get the clients.
- [13:52]
Lynn Hoffman
The kids must have gone nuts.
- [13:54]
Raymond Orta
Oh, people were going nuts. Like, so I, I'm making fun of the security guard and, and the principal at the same time. Like, man, the security guards over here telling me, hey, get off the grass. And the principal's like, hey, get to class. Let's get off the grass and get to class. And so I'm going back and forth between these two and the kids are losing it. Well, at that time, like, the security guards that were inside the gym watching us, they're calling the security guard that I'm making fun of. Like, they're calling him on the walkie talk. Like, bro, you got to come over here and watch this. It's like ripping you up right now. And so, so they're like calling them and man, like, that's great. This guy couldn't have walked into the gym at a more proper time. Like, it was as if it was like, like I couldn't have scripted it any better.
- [14:38]
Lynn Hoffman
Cue the deer.
- [14:40]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, like, like the guy, the guy opens the door and you know, like those, those gym doors that are like metal and this super loud and like. Yeah. And he just, he pounded it open and, and everybody, like they had just Finished laughing at me, making fun of this guy. And they look at the door and he's standing there all like. And they're like looking at him and they look at me like, oh, what am I gonna do? Like, you just got busted. And then I'm standing on the middle of the, of the gym floor and I look down, I go, acer, there's no grass down here. So everybody's like losing it, right? And then, so I'm making fun of him like, and then at that time they call the principal over and the principal walks in because he's hearing that I'm making fun of him too. So. And, and this has already taken up like most of my five minute segment that I was supposed to do, right? So when the principal walks in the. Again, the crowd looks at the principal and they look back at me like, oh, what's he going to do now? And I go, well, I guess that's my cue to go back to class. Yeah. The place erupted. I was, I was probably like in front of like, like about 700 kids and, and the place was going nuts and I, and, and there was nothing that was going to beat that. There's, there was, the dance team was like throwing down their pom poms, right?
- [16:02]
Lynn Hoffman
Like, no, no, you're describing like a scene from Mean Girls, you know, like.
- [16:08]
Raymond Orta
It was, it was one of those scenes where I was like. And then they paid me a hundred bucks and I was like, my, my, my gears and my brain started, started spinning and I'm thinking like, man, that was for five minutes. I just made a hundred dollars in five minutes. And for me, that was like mind blowing that I could make that kind of money in five minutes. And so I started thinking like, man, if I could, if I could make up five minute slots and at $100 each in an hour, I can make 1200 bucks, you know?
- [16:41]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [16:42]
Raymond Orta
And I, and I started just thinking about, about that like, like the mathematics in my head, like, man, imagine making twelve hundred dollars an hour. And I was like, wow. Like, as a kid, that was my mentality.
- [16:54]
Lynn Hoffman
And it makes sense that you realized you could make a career out of it at an early age. You just had to figure out how to do it.
- [17:01]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. And a buddy of mine, he was my best friend in high school. He's still my best friend. He's. We're like brothers. His dad, he owned a bar where we would go and, and bus tables and kind of clean up and pick up and take out the trash and stuff after school and for extra money you know, like five, ten bucks a year and stuff like that. But his dad was also a. He's a Tejano, Tejano musician, singer, and a hall of famer. Wow. So he kind of like, made this bar so that he could have a place for him and his friends to jam out, you know? And so we were out there cleaning the. The tables, and we had already finished our work. And my. My friend's dad had set up the PA system because his friends were going to come over and they were going to jam out. And my friend goes, hey, man, you should go up on stage and do some of the voices that you do. Because I was known for doing impressions and stuff. So I'm like, oh, you think it's cool? And it's like, yeah, go for it. And his dad started watching me perform, and, man, I was making all of his clients laugh doing, like, Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. Like, listen to me come in. And you know, Bill Clinton, he loved my Bill Clinton impression and my George Bush impression and stuff like that at the time. And so I had all of the bar laughing. Mind you, this. This bar, I'm 15, 16 years old, and I'm performing at a bar, like a Mexican cantina. That's like super shady shanty place. Like, that's awesome. Making these people laugh is, like, no easy task, right? These are hardened, like, Mexican man. Just drinking beer and like, just wanting to listen to music and stuff. So I did probably like 45 minutes of me just goofing on the mic before the band got there. And when I got off stage, my friend's dad, he comes up and gives me a $50 bill. And I tell him, like, hey, dad. Like, I told him, theo, you know, uncle, hey, Theo, you gave me too much money. Like, usually give me like 5 to 10 bucks just to clean up around here. And he goes, no, Miko, what you did up there on stage, that's called show business. And he goes, if you. If you work on that, you'll make a lot more money doing that than bussing tables, I'll tell you that. And I'm like, man, he. He opened my mind. He goes, you know what? Every Friday before we would have a football home game, they would go to his bar and kind of go to the game afterwards. A little pre gamed up, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. So he goes, every Friday, home game, if you want, you can come and perform and I'll give you $50 for your performance before the game starts. And I'm like, dude, as a 15, 16 year old kid. I was like, this is, this is what I want, you know. So I was, I was super, kind of like baptized by fire. But I was ready for it at the time because I already had a lot of material that I had been writing since I was in third grade. So I was just kind of like goofing on it. But another teacher was super instrumental in my upbringing because I was always the class clown and kind of like interrupting people's teachers classes and stuff. And this English teacher, and if there's any teachers listening, I really highly encourage them with this story because this teacher really showed me what's up. And if there's anything that a teacher can do for a student, what this teacher did for me was everything. And she pulled me aside because I was, I was a straight A student. That was one thing about being a class clown, that I always got away with it because my grades were so top notch. I was top of the class, perfect attendance. You couldn't like all my meet the teacher nights were all filled with like, well, he's always interrupting the class and all that stuff. And my mom would be like, well, what are his grades like? Well, he's got a 98 GPA. It's. Well, I'm not going to get mad at him. He's got perfect attendance and an ID8. Like it's your job to deal with that, you know? Yeah, well, this one teacher, she, she took me aside and said, man, I know that you have like a straight a GPA, but I know that you're only giving me 50% of your work ethic. Like you're not even, you're cruising in this class because it's not even, you're not even being challenged. You're, you're, you're comfortable being where you're at because you're beating everybody else. But you're not competing with yourself. You're, you should be competing with yourself and see what your hundred percent is. And she was right. 100, right. And she kind of pushed me to be like, you know what? If you give me a hundred percent effort and you explain to your classmates why, like how you get it, like why do you understand the material the way you understand it and they don't. If you can explain it to them and help me teach them, at the end of the class period, when everybody's finished through their work, you can have whatever time is left and go in front of the class and you can tell jokes. And I was like, yeah, like, game on, you know.
- [21:48]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow, that was amazing. What a smart move that teacher made doing that.
- [21:53]
Raymond Orta
It was mind blowing. It was super, super smart on her part because she, she did exactly what I needed, like, man. And she goes, but on one condition. The jokes that you write, they can't be vulgar. They have to be school appropriate. And, and, and they. That's it. You can't be cussing, you can't be doing dirty stuff. It has to be clean. Which is another great thing she did for me was make me write clean material. Yeah.
- [22:22]
Lynn Hoffman
You learned how to be universally funny without having to use nastiness or vulgarity.
- [22:28]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, yeah. And. And for me, that was, that was so instrumental in my upbringing because now I was doing comedy in her class probably like three, four times a week, for real, in front of, in front of my classmates. And they were loving it, man. They. So all these kids would finish their work just because they wanted to see me go up there and do some voices and skits and stuff. And then it went on over to. She was in the teacher's lounge and these other teachers were like, man, I'm having such a hard time with Raymond, for real. And she goes, are you serious? Raymond turned my class around like this. All my kids are passing now. And he's like, what? Like, Raymond did this? Like, yeah, like, I told him, like, if. If he helps me finish all their work, like, if he helps his classmates finish all their work at the end of the class, I just give him whatever time and I get a chance to sit back and watch this kid. He's funny. And so I had three other teachers take the same mentality. And I started helping out the other kids with their work. And I was doing comedy like three, four times a day in different classrooms.
- [23:30]
Lynn Hoffman
Raymond Orta in the teacher's lounge, performing nightly.
- [23:35]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, it was awesome.
- [23:37]
Lynn Hoffman
That's amazing.
- [23:38]
Raymond Orta
By the time I got out of high school, I probably had well over an hour of material of, of stuff that I could do at bars and stuff like that. And so I was, I was doing it and I. I got into some. To some bars. I got into some. I was. I started calling in the radio stations because I started making friends with DJs that, that were working on the radio because I would do impressions and pretend to be, like, celebrities calling in, you know.
- [24:06]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah, that's cool.
- [24:07]
Raymond Orta
They were, they were all about it. So it was, it was. I made friends with all those guys and it was real interesting because those DJs. Eventually I started working on radio after that, and it was, it was a big time. Like, I was doing Voices on morning radio for five years of my life. It was awesome. It was really cool.
- [24:27]
Lynn Hoffman
That's very fun, especially when you get to hear yourself on the radio. I'm curious who your comedy heroes are growing up or were growing up, and did any of their stories sort of inspire you ever? And there's so many things I want to know, but.
- [24:42]
Raymond Orta
Okay, so start there. Don't. Don't judge me by. By my comedy influences, because. Okay. Because people never see my comedy influences, like, when I tell them that they're like, really? Like, what? Like, so do you. Are you familiar with wrestling?
- [25:01]
Lynn Hoffman
I. Well, I was a big fan of wrestling growing up as a kid, so.
- [25:04]
Raymond Orta
Me too.
- [25:05]
Lynn Hoffman
Okay.
- [25:05]
Raymond Orta
Me too. Yeah. Okay. So one of my biggest comedy influences in my Life is Vince McMahon. Oh, really? Yes.
- [25:15]
Lynn Hoffman
That's amazing. I mean, now knowing, looking back, I get it, but, like, you know, then, yeah.
- [25:21]
Raymond Orta
Now we found out that he's all sorts of, like, a sexual deviant and pervert, but.
- [25:26]
Lynn Hoffman
But a showman nonetheless.
- [25:27]
Raymond Orta
And you picked up on that straight showman. And for me, for me, comedy, like, man, I see Vince McMahon as, like, a big time, like, for. He's a showman. And I. And I. And I tip my hat to him, in essence, when I didn't know what he was doing. Right. Let me make sure that people know that. When I was a kid watching Vince McMahon, and it's like, you're gonna have to kiss my hands.
- [25:55]
Lynn Hoffman
It was hilarious. And mean Joe Green wasn't like. And he was a character. And then it was all the best of wrestling back then, for real.
- [26:03]
Raymond Orta
And the attitude era really was a big part of my comedy influence. And then a lot of the times I would do all these wrestling impressions for my friends, too, so they love the voices and stuff like that. Come on, give me a.
- [26:17]
Lynn Hoffman
Let me hear one. I'll try to guess.
- [26:19]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. The macho man, Randy Savage snap into a slim jam. Yeah. It's the cream of the crop.
- [26:28]
Lynn Hoffman
That is so good. That sounds just like him.
- [26:32]
Raymond Orta
I would do all of them, like. Like. And I was just. I was just watching a Vince McMahon clip the other day, just yesterday, actually, and just made me laugh like, he was funny man. But another comedy influence of mine, and people don't see this one coming either, is one of my favorites is. This is really old school to let you know that I'm a student of the game. Dean Martin.
- [26:54]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh, wow.
- [26:56]
Raymond Orta
Yeah.
- [26:57]
Lynn Hoffman
That's cool.
- [26:58]
Raymond Orta
Seeing Dean Martin, like, sing and perform and, like, just oozing charisma.
- [27:04]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [27:05]
Raymond Orta
And class was like, man, I Want to be like that on stage where it's like, man, everybody wants to hang out with that guy. And that's how I kind of like molded my career. A little bit of Robin Williams thrown in there, a little bit of John leguizamo and Vince McMahon.
- [27:23]
Lynn Hoffman
John leguizamo and Vince McMahon, totally. Oh my God. I'm just watching Spectrum.
- [27:29]
Raymond Orta
It's a big spectrum.
- [27:30]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah. John's in a new a show that I'm watching right now and I can't remember the name of it. I'll think if I can think of it at the end. It's really good and he plays a great character and it's not over yet. Speaking of that, you give away all your videos for free. Like you don't monetize your videos. Do you.
- [27:49]
Raymond Orta
Generate income? They're there. Like social media has been paying me money, but I don't put any ads on them or nothing like that. They just, they're there for, for, for the watching and amazing.
- [28:01]
Lynn Hoffman
You just go, right. I love when you just go right there and it turns on and you're not like bombarded with stuff, you know?
- [28:06]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. And I love making people laugh. Like there's so many messages that I've gotten of people that are going through a bunch of dark stuff, man. And they go to my videos, they leave me long messages. I was, I've. I've gotten so many messages from people that are going through some depression and sadness. Maybe they lost somebody. And they go and leave big comments on my page saying like, man, I'm really thankful that you put this video out there because it's getting me through some trauma or some dark times right now. And I'm like that, that really, that really makes things worthwhile for me big time.
- [28:42]
Lynn Hoffman
That's for sure. I mean, obviously your message is, is very strong in the positivity and lifting people up and everything that I've read about you.
- [28:53]
Raymond Orta
Be right back with more of the comedy Save Me podcast.
- [28:58]
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- [32:48]
Raymond Orta
Welcome back to the Comedy Saved Me podcast.
- [32:52]
Lynn Hoffman
Do you ever use your comedy to address serious topics? And, and how do you balance sort of like that heart and humor when you go out on stage?
- [33:01]
Raymond Orta
So I, I, my serious topics that I cover are like my own upbringing, you know, like, like having my grandpa, like passing away. I talk about him, like passing away, but in a. It's such a funny, crazy joke. And I do his voice, like super good. People freak out with the voice that I do because he's, he was a old Mexican man. So you can imagine when I get into his voice, paying attention. And so when I get into that voice, people are like, man, I. And I, I go, I tell a joke where he's in the hospital and the doctor tells me, he's like, you know, your grandpa's kind of like really in bad shape. I, I heard him blink. And I'm like, what? And he's like, yeah, I heard him blink. Like, go talk to your grandpa. And if you hear him blink, you'll know that he's like, you know, he's, he's already towards the end of his life. And so I do this whole bit about going in to talk to my grandpa and I hear him blink. I don't know if you'll be able to hear it, but I'm gonna try to do it on the microphone. Okay? And he goes. And I walked in and I'm like, man, I heard my grandpa blink clear as day. And I. And he's talking, he's like, oh yeah. And man, When.
- [34:33]
Lynn Hoffman
I wish people could just see your face right now.
- [34:38]
Raymond Orta
No. And when people see it on live, man, it's one of the crowd favorites jokes. And then usually people like how you did. Like, you kind of like, hold your laughter and I'll call them out. Like, no, don't you hold your laughter in. Let it out. Let that laugh out. And I start kind of like picking on the whole subject. But it's one of the crowd favorite jokes. And I do that little blinking sound every time he's blinking and people are losing it. Like, it's, wait, what was the sound again? And man on a microphone. It sounds so, like, moist. It's just like.
- [35:20]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah, I knew today was the day that I didn't bring the tissues.
- [35:24]
Raymond Orta
Oh, man, that's great.
- [35:26]
Lynn Hoffman
Can I just ask you what this feels like right now when you see me literally with tears rolling down my face, laughing hysterically?
- [35:34]
Raymond Orta
I live for that right there, man. I. I really genuinely. I love, love, love, love, love, love doing what I do. And it feels like a superpower, I bet. Yeah, it feels like a super superpower. And like, for example, I just did a show in Albuquerque a few weeks ago, and there was this lady in the front row wearing a mask, and she was laughing so hard, like, she. What we in the business, we call them shotgun laughs.
- [36:10]
Lynn Hoffman
Okay.
- [36:11]
Raymond Orta
Shotgun laugh is like when it looks like somebody took a shotgun and just blasted somebody in the head and they throw their head back. Like. And this lady was letting loose, like, her whole. The. For the whole hour that I was on stage, she was laughing like that. And afterwards she told my friend that opened up for me that she was battling stage four cancer. And that was the hardest she's. She's ever laughed in her life.
- [36:38]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow.
- [36:39]
Raymond Orta
And for me, man, that means the world to me. Like, man, this lady's going through some stuff. And I've actually taken a college class on the medical benefits of laughter.
- [36:52]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [36:52]
Raymond Orta
And there's laughter therapy. And I want to. And I genuinely feel that, man. Like, she got some real good medicine that night. Like, that laughter, really, really. She needed that. And for me, that's what my life is all about. I have. Even before I go on stage, I always say, a while back before my son was born, I had a near death experience where I died for a few minutes. And I got a chance to have an encounter with the father in heaven and feel his love. And every time I go on stage, I want to exude that love that he has for us through the laughter. So I always say a prayer that the Love of the father be felt through the laughter that we brought, through the talent that he gave me. And, man, when I go up on stage, I'm just letting him flow through me in a way that's super powerful. And I genuinely love what I do. Like, it's. It's when people see me on stage, they see somebody that's just passionately having a good time and. And living what his purpose is meant to be, you know?
- [37:53]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow. So, I mean, would you. Would you say that in a way, comedy saved you?
- [38:00]
Raymond Orta
Oh, man. Comedy has saved me. Comedy has saved my. Comedy has saved my family. Many times. Like, I can't tell you how many times I've been in a rut or my mom needed several, like, a big chunk of money, like, all the taxes are due or something. She needs, like, $10,000. Like, number. Mom, I got it. Don't worry. I'm gonna go do a couple of shows. I'll be back. Give me a weekend, you know, and I'll come and. And give my mom a big stack of. A big envelope full of cash. And she's just like, oh, man. Like, thank you, son. Like, wow. And it feels good to be the son that. That. Because she had me when she was real young. She got. She. She was pregnant with me when she was 16, had me when she was 17, and it feels good to have her back like that because she's never been the one to ever tell me, like, no, you should go get a job. She's always been super supportive of my comedy, and it feels good that she's had my back. So I, of course, have to help her out big time.
- [39:01]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow. It's so inspiring. I'd say, raymond Orta, medicine man.
- [39:09]
Raymond Orta
My mom wanted me, for me to be a doctor, and I generally. You know what? One movie that I really liked was Patch Adams. Did you ever see that one?
- [39:17]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh, yeah, of course.
- [39:19]
Raymond Orta
So Patch Adams was a big time inspiration to me. Then I realized, like, how much time people have to put in through medical school to get to become a doctor. I was like, is there a way to go around this that's so much fun?
- [39:32]
Lynn Hoffman
We have that in common. Two things that you said today. Number one, when I didn't want to go to school, sleep at night, my brother and I would do everything we could to make my mom laugh so that we wouldn't have to go to bed. She'd have to call my father, Mark. The kids won't stop. And we'd be making, like, farting noises or something, or, you know, but that and then mom thought I was going to be a doctor and. But then it was the sight of blood and the cost of medical school.
- [39:57]
Raymond Orta
That was the problem. For real, man, like, like this, it made. This one time my wife was in the hospital and she was having this procedure done, and they, they were doing like an IV line and they missed it and she started like, blood squirting, man, I almost fainted. And I was like, man, I'm glad I didn't get into the medical field, because I would. That's the last thing you need. And I'm a huge guy. I'm like six foot five. You are 260 pounds. Yeah, I'm a big dude. Wow. So I, I, I walked out of the room and I just, I'm like looking at the nurses station like, excuse me, ma'. Am. And this lady turns around, she's like 4 foot 10, and she's just like, yes. I'm like, I think I'm about to fade.
- [40:34]
Lynn Hoffman
And she's like, please don't fall on me.
- [40:38]
Raymond Orta
Like, just the mountain of a man just falling over on her. But luckily they got a chair for me and I sat down, gave me.
- [40:44]
Lynn Hoffman
Some water, thank goodness. Let me ask you a question. You know, you are, you're so, you're larger than life in many ways. And you, every time I've ever seen you, you've always had a huge smile on your face. And it's obvious that you love what you do and you love helping people through your comedy to heal in, in myriad ways. How do you take care of your own mental health and does comedy have, you know, any role in your self? Care for yourself?
- [41:12]
Raymond Orta
My, my family will tell you that I'm like the last person that, that takes care of himself. I want to take care of everybody else and, and fix everybody's problems before I take care of mine. And I'll just, whatever's bugging me, I'll just eat it, you know? Yeah, I do that a lot. I kind of like, just eat it and keep on running, you know, like, and, but a lot of, a lot of it has come down to my mental health comes from a good, strong relationship in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's my, he's my savior. He backs me up every time I go on stage, every time I'm not on stage. I have a, like, sincere relationship with him. I love helping people. I love giving to people. And like, it's one of those things where having that foundation with him, I really don't feel like things can be going bad and I never, like my mom says, like, man, the whole house and the whole world could be burning. And I'm like, it's fine. You know, I have a real strong mentality with a firm relationship with our creator and our Father in heaven. And it's just. That's what really holds me over. And if there's anybody that's. That's listening to this that is, you know, suffering from mental health problems or depression or something, I really firmly believe that you're listening to this for a reason. And I really would love for you, for you to understand that there's a creator in heaven. He loves you so much. He created you from nothing, created you in your mother's womb niche, you molecule by molecule so that you. So that you can know him and that he can know you intimately and have an intimate relationship with you in a way where he's your best friend, he's your dad, he's your. He's. He's your everyday companion. And without him, I'm nothing. And without him I can't accomplish anything. I'm a piece of dirt. And I look at him, I look at myself that way. I'm. I'm a piece of dirt lucky enough to have his breath of life in me. And that's, that's the way I carry myself every day.
- [43:19]
Lynn Hoffman
That's such a beautiful sentiment to share with, with people and what an amazing way to live your life. Just, you know, leave it up to, up to a higher power. Like, don't. Don't take any of that on to yourself. My next question was going to be, was there anyone in comedy that gave you advice on how to, you know, stick it out in a business that's not always very kind?
- [43:41]
Raymond Orta
Oh, man. My. You know what? My, my, my. One of my best friends and he's actually like a mentor of mine was the guy that I worked with in the radio and he does comedy too, but he's. He's been a DJ for man probably like 40, 45 years.
- [44:01]
Lynn Hoffman
Who is it?
- [44:02]
Raymond Orta
What radio station where he's down here in South Texas. He. He. He's a syndicated also towards El Paso. His name is Rock and Roll James and he's Rock and Roll James.
- [44:12]
Lynn Hoffman
I've never.
- [44:12]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. You ever. He's. He's amazing. He's a. He's a real good friend of mine and he's a lead sing a kind of like an outlaw country band called Whiskey D. And I'm writing that down. Yeah, he's extremely talented, extremely talented. And he taught me so much about the business, not. And not necessarily comedy. He did teach me a lot about comedy, but just marketing in general, man. This guy's a marketing genius. And he's so good. Like, he's, he, he's, he's a high school dropout, but he's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. Like, he's book smart, street smart, and he's like, he knows his stuff, man. And he knows how to market the clothes off your back. And you'll buy it from him. He's amazing. He's really top tier talent.
- [45:06]
Lynn Hoffman
I've never heard that, but can I steal that one from you?
- [45:09]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, for sure, for sure. And he's, he's a real good friend of mine. But in comedy, you, like you said earlier, it's not so kind. Comedy, all these comedians feel the need that they, they got to keep their secrets to themselves. They got to, they got to, you know, they won't tell you, like, who's booking what. They won't give you. They won't open any doors for you or nothing like that. Yeah, so I've made a big career on my, on my own, like, kind of opening my own doors, you know, I've done so many shows where I call a venue and be like, hey, man, can I do a comedy show at your place? Just let me keep the door. And they're like, okay, sure, whatever. And they'll, they'll, they'll let me keep the door. And I'll go over there, set up my own sound system, set up my own lights, and I got a little spotlight right here, right now. Look. And you have a hair light.
- [45:59]
Lynn Hoffman
You need a hairline.
- [46:00]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, yeah, I got, I got it. I got it all. I got my whole production that I can fit into the trunk of my car. That's crazy. And, man, I'll make a couple of thousand dollars every night that I go on stage and call it done. And. But nobody taught me that except that guy, my buddy, Rock and Roll James. Everybody else in the comedy scene, like you said, it's real cutthroat and super, kind of like gatekeeper, ish, if I can say that as a word. And I'm. And I'm not the type of guy that's gonna go over there and kiss people's butts, right? I don't like to do that. So I like to open my own, My own doors and do my own thing. And the people that are cool with it, they're cool. The people that are not cool, I don't care.
- [46:43]
Lynn Hoffman
It's such a great attitude to have, honestly. And you have to have that the entertainment business as a whole can just be so destructive to a human's psyche.
- [46:51]
Raymond Orta
Big time. Anyone involved actually, actually, like this, the scene in Hollywood, man. You know, like that, that whole thing about the dress, the dress culture and stuff like that?
- [47:00]
Lynn Hoffman
No.
- [47:01]
Raymond Orta
Oh, you've never, you've never heard about, like, the dress club?
- [47:04]
Lynn Hoffman
No. Tell me. I'm out of it. I'm out of the.
- [47:08]
Raymond Orta
So this is, this is gonna blow your mind a little bit. So what's it called? You know, like, dress culture, the dress club. Like, you, like, think about it. In, in, in all the comedy movies that you've seen, how many male comedians have you seen put on a dress?
- [47:24]
Lynn Hoffman
Well, quite a few, actually. Like, I'm starting all the way back at the Three Stooges and going forward and like, yeah, I mean, like Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams or Dustin Hoffman. More of an actor than comedian, but still funny.
- [47:39]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. John Leguizamo is one of them. Jim Carrey, all the big time actors, they've all put on dresses and it's one of those, like, rituals that Hollywood does to. Oh, yeah. And there's some dark stuff in Hollywood that is real sinister. And I was offered a role in a movie where they wanted me to put on a dress. I'm like, bro, look at me. I'm a big, I'm a big bearded guy. Yeah. Like, come on, bro, I'm from Texas. Like, I can't put on a dress. And they were super adamant. They had offered me kind of like, like, you know the movie Big Mama's House?
- [48:20]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [48:21]
Raymond Orta
So that's, that's another one. Martin Lawrence puts on a dress. And. But the, the, the record labels or the, the studios, they kind of sign you into a contract where they make you do these favors like, of the sexual nature in order for you to get these big contracts and big movie roles.
- [48:41]
Lynn Hoffman
Shut up.
- [48:42]
Raymond Orta
Yep.
- [48:43]
Lynn Hoffman
And I now, now, now I can't stop thinking about all of Eddie Murphy. Like, everybody. Wow.
- [48:50]
Raymond Orta
And they, and they make you do stuff and that when they put you in a dress, it's kind of their way of letting their friends know, like in the other studios, like, hey, I own this person. Like, I made this person my own property, you know, and it's a real, real disgusting, like, behind the scenes stuff that goes on in order for these comedians to get these movie roles. So I was offered a movie role in a role that Estee Gabriel Iglesias turned down. And it was kind of like a spin off of Big Mama's house, called Tia Juana's House. And it's, it was a, a role. When they told me that Gabriel has a turn down, kind of threw up some red flags for me. And I'm like, well, why did he turn it down? And he's like, oh, just. They sent me the script and they're like, check it out, it's super funny. You could, you'll be perfect for it. And I started reading the script and I start. And I saw the plot of the movie was this nephew lives with his aunt Juana and she wins the lottery and she has a heart attack and dies. But she, he has to go claim her her prize dressed as her, like, so he can get the money for himself. And I'm like, man, like. And I kind of told him, like, nah, man, I'm not gonna get into a dress. And they're like, oh, come on, it'd be super funny. I'm like, like, no, I can't, I can't get it. I can't get into a dress, man. And they're like, oh, why not? Like, it's gonna be super funny. And I told him like, look, dude, I'm from Texas. Like, yeah, I can't get an address. I'll never win another argument ever again. You know, doesn't matter what I'm saying. Like, they'll just put up a meme of me in a dress. And it's like arguments over, you know.
- [50:26]
Lynn Hoffman
At that time, did you know that's what. That why they were pushing it you. So you knew that you were trying to back out respectfully so you didn't burn a bridge or hurt your career?
- [50:35]
Raymond Orta
I try to try to back out respectfully, but they were still pushing my buttons. Like, come on, it'll be super funny. And I'm like, no, I don't, I don't need to put on a dress to be funny. I'm super funny by myself. Like, trust me, like, I'm funny. And they're like, no, come on, come on. Like you can, It'd be a great role for you and all stuff. And I finally just told him, like, look, man, I'm not gonna get an address. It goes against my religious beliefs. And as soon as I said that, man, it was like when, like doors closed, everything's like, nah. And they told me, well, you'll never get any work around here with that kind of closed minded attitude. And that was the last I ever heard from Hollywood. It was crazy.
- [51:10]
Lynn Hoffman
But did that make you want to be more successful? Than ever just to prove them that you could do it without them.
- [51:17]
Raymond Orta
That's what I've been doing ever since that happened. I've been doing it on my own terms, on my own rules ever since that happened. And it. It's. It's been the best decision I ever made. I mean, granted, they're not trying to put me on the big screen or anything like that, but I'm super happy. I've been doing theaters. I've been. I'm super humble to the effect I like to say I'm humble like Moses. Yeah. Which is funny because Moses wrote the. This place where he. Where he said that he's the most. He was the most humble, but he's, like, the one writing it. So it's like, really, you can't be.
- [51:54]
Lynn Hoffman
That humble if you're writing it.
- [51:55]
Raymond Orta
Yes, well, there was. There was no person humbler than Moses. You know, I'm humble like Moses. Like, this weekend, I'm doing somebody's backyard party, and there's probably, like, 20, 30 people that are going to be there. And. But, man, if people are willing to pay money to hear me tell jokes, I'm going to do it. Like, I don't care. I'm not. I'm not. How you say? Like, I don't like the comedians that are like, oh, I'm not going to do this pool hall or I'm not going to do this bar. This dive bar, bro, Put me up anywhere, I'm gonna crush it. I'm gonna. I'm gonna go out there and dominate and I'm gonna put on a show. And I was raised in some crazy, crazy bars. Like, to starting my career. One of the. One of the bars that we used to do comedy at was called Paradise Roadhouse, and it was like a madhouse. Like, you. You ever seen that movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure?
- [52:49]
Lynn Hoffman
Of course. One of my favorites.
- [52:52]
Raymond Orta
So, you know when he steps into that bar, like, let him go. Yeah.
- [52:58]
Lynn Hoffman
When he knocks all the motorcycles over.
- [53:01]
Raymond Orta
So that was exactly what that bar is like. Like, when we're doing comedy, it's the main people at the. Is the audience where the bandido motorcycle gang, the cartel, and the local valley gang all together, and none of them want to laugh because they think laughter is weakness.
- [53:19]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh.
- [53:20]
Raymond Orta
So, like, if you can make them laugh there, man, your jokes will kill anywhere.
- [53:24]
Lynn Hoffman
Wow, that sounds like it's like Peoria in a bar.
- [53:29]
Raymond Orta
It was so. It was so such a hard, hard place to do comedy. I saw so many veterans of comedy go in there and just Tank just eat a fat plate of. Just fat plate of crap. And, like, it was humbling for so many people. I was like, man. And I would go over there and just routinely crush it. I'm like, man, this is awesome. So anytime I would go out of town and do, like, an actual comedy club where people are there, like, all polite and, like, ready to listen, I'm like, oh, this is easy.
- [54:00]
Lynn Hoffman
Have you ever bombed and had to, like, early on and had to keep going throughout the whole show? Can. Has it ever happened?
- [54:08]
Raymond Orta
Yes. All right. I love this story so much.
- [54:11]
Lynn Hoffman
So you're already laughing.
- [54:13]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, because it's so funny. Because, okay, from third grade, eight years old, all the way till I was 18, I had never had a bad show, okay? Never. And then, so I'm like, I'm already doing, like, bars and stuff like that. I've been crushing it. I'm feeling confident. I'm feeling good. I'm like, yeah, man, kicking ass out here. And I had this guy that was, like, acting as my manager, and he goes, bro, I got you a gig. It's gonna be in front of, like, two, three thousand people, and it's gonna be at a boxing match. And I'm just like, let's go, bro. I'm gonna crush this. Okay, let's do this. And he goes, all right, man. You're gonna go on in between fights. Like, like.
- [54:55]
Lynn Hoffman
Like a ring girl with the. With the numbers.
- [54:58]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, but, like, like, you know, when. When one fight ends, there's, like, a. Like, probably 10, 15 minutes of break time before they bring in another fight. Yeah, I was gonna. During. During the intermission of the fights. Right. So I go on. On the ring, and this is the. I'm performing outside in a park, and outdoor comedy is the hardest. Okay? The. The laughter just goes up into the air, and you can't hear anything. But then this was the first time that I was performing in a full 360. Like, I had used to be performing. Like, the stages is over here. The audience is over there. But this is, like, the first time I have to perform in a circle, which I was not used to. And then I was using a wireless microphone outside. And this microphone, every time a gust of wind would come by, it would cut off the microphone. Right? Dude. Oh, my goodness.
- [55:51]
Lynn Hoffman
It was, like, horrible setup.
- [55:53]
Raymond Orta
And then it would take, like, three to five seconds to boot back on. Right? So I'm there. Like, is this thing, like, blowing in the microphone? Hello. Okay, well, let me finish this joke real quick. Oh, it's terrible. It was so bad. And I'm, I'm doing my show in a circle and every time it seems like I'm gonna say a punchline. The microphone was cutting off. I was like, oh, no. And everybody's like, like, what's this guy doing? Like, get this. Who is this guy? And man, I'm like, just feeling like so bad. And I'll never forget it because I would, I would do a 360 and I'd see, I'd come around and I, this lady would catch my, my, my vision because she was sitting in, in her own lawn chair in the park and she's wearing this magenta, like, man, she looked like Jabba the Hutt in a, in a magenta tank top with magenta biker shorts and just like a super white lady pink with heat, you know, like a humid pink frizzy hot mess just, just oozing out of this lawn chair that's barely holding on for dear life. And every time she sees me, she's making sure to make eye contact with me and just doing this.
- [57:08]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh, no. You remember that, like vividly. You remember.
- [57:14]
Raymond Orta
I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it because it was, it was one of those things where I'm like, I've. I had never had a bad show. I had never had a bad show. And that was the first time that I had tasted like legit, just a straight up bomb rejection. Wow.
- [57:31]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [57:32]
Raymond Orta
Yeah. Like a straight up rejection. I got off stage and it was like, nobody was like, hey man, that was awesome. Like, nobody. They were just like looking at me like, what are you doing, bro? Like, oh, it's terrible. It was in front of so many people too. It was like in front of.
- [57:46]
Lynn Hoffman
How did you hear?
- [57:48]
Raymond Orta
Oh, man, it was terrible. Like, I really genuinely wanted to quit comedy. Like, I wanted it. I had never had a bad show. I didn't, I didn't know how to handle that.
- [57:57]
Lynn Hoffman
Like, how did you make it to the next show? What did you have to work with yourself on?
- [58:01]
Raymond Orta
I have, I have such a, a hard headed nature. Ask my wife. I have a, such a hard headed nature that I couldn't end on a loss. Like, I had to get that out of my system. Like I, Even if it was like, oh, go do like a bar or like some cheesy open mic or something just to get that taste out of my mouth.
- [58:21]
Lynn Hoffman
Yeah.
- [58:21]
Raymond Orta
And, and I went to go do like, I think it was like a club, like a lounge area or something like that where I got a chance to perform and people were like, Losing. And I was like, nah, this. I'm good at this. Yeah, but bombing is so funny to me. Like, it. Now, nowadays, I haven't bombed in so long. Like, it's. It's knock on the wood here.
- [58:46]
Lynn Hoffman
Come on now.
- [58:46]
Raymond Orta
Oh, yeah, no, I. I enjoy. I enjoy them because, like, I'll laugh. The last time I bombed was this. Was this Christmas party that they hired me for. Oh, but this. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault, though. Like, the. The. The. The people that were Duke. That were putting on the party, as soon as they gave me the microphone, they're like, oh, and by the way, the buffet line is open. Everybody can get up and get their food. And everybody just got up and just like. Like, just left me there by myself. So I kind of started, like, crapping on my own. Like, well, this is where my career comes to die. People like, you know, just making fun of yourself. Just making fun of myself. So now I've learned how to, like, bounce. Bounce it off and kind of make fun of myself in the process, where I'm still having fun with it, you know? And I know that you learn a lot more from bombing than you do from doing good. So I. I've learned so much from. From. From the bad sets that I really trained myself that I'm never, like, I. I can handle almost every single situation that has been thrown my way because I've. I've done so many shows, you know, where this is gonna happen, and this. You know, this is what you got to do. But, like, that. That Christmas party that I did, I'm like, hey, you hired me for an hour. I'm gonna do an hour.
- [60:02]
Lynn Hoffman
You're gonna get me whether you like it or not.
- [60:05]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, yeah, that's. You're gonna get these jokes, man. I'm gonna. I'm gonna keep slinging them, and even though nobody's listening, I'm gonna keep slinging them, and then I'll be like, have you ever seen that movie Balls of Fury?
- [60:15]
Lynn Hoffman
Yes, of course.
- [60:17]
Raymond Orta
So. So I'm like. I feel like that guy. What. He's. What he's like in that daytime casino that. All right, thank you.
- [60:26]
Lynn Hoffman
Thank you very much.
- [60:28]
Raymond Orta
Wow.
- [60:28]
Lynn Hoffman
I swear, Raymond, you must be probably one. Romeo Vaughn, by the way, who was on my other podcast, Music Saved Me, which we talked about up front. He did you such justice. But now that I'm getting a chance to talk to you and people are getting a chance to hear you, I would have to say that most everyone listening right now would agree that you are probably one of the happiest human beings on the planet that I've met.
- [60:55]
Raymond Orta
I love being a positive, like, a positive force, man. And like Jesus said, let your light shine before people so that they can see the light shining within you. And I. I'm. That. I'm that person. Like, I love to. Man, anytime somebody's going through something, I love to bring them up. And I love, like, hey, man, like, you know, let's. Let's think of a way to solve your problem. Let's think of a way to, like, like, overcome this. We could do this, you know, And I. I sometimes, to a fault, might believe in people more than they believe in themselves. You know what I'm saying?
- [61:29]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh, I definitely know what you're saying. You are. You are a cheerleader, a fellow cheerleader for people who. You just want to see people succeed in life. That's your payback.
- [61:39]
Raymond Orta
Yeah.
- [61:40]
Lynn Hoffman
Which is pretty amazing. Wow. I got so lost in everything. I almost lost my last question for you. I don't know where it went. Oh, here we go. How would you like your comedy to impact people and the legacy that you hope to leave?
- [61:56]
Raymond Orta
Man, my fans that have seen me, they'll tell you that. That, like, man, they're.
- [62:02]
Lynn Hoffman
They're.
- [62:03]
Raymond Orta
They're hardcore fans. And that's. That's one of the reasons that I'm, like, super successful is that the fans that have seen me know that you'll never. You'll never see the same show twice. I'm not a scripted robot. I'm not a person that you're going to be like, oh, I heard the same jokes. I have, like, nine hours of material that I've written so far. And, like, I love coming up with stuff on the fly as well. So you're never gonna see the same show twice. So anybody that is as far as, like, what do I want my comedy to be known as? I want it to be known as a person that goes on stage and genuinely gives, like, everything that they got into, what they love to do and passionately pours into the people that are there. It doesn't matter if there's two people in the crowd or 2,000 people or 20,000 people. I'm gonna give you 100% of who I am and enjoy myself. I love to have fun on stage. I love to be happy on stage. Because I look at it this way. People are going to these shows. You never know who's in the crowd. You never know what kind of problems they're going through. And I have this one Story of this guy that texted me one time for Father's Day, and rather intense story. He texted me for Father's Day, hey. And I don't know how he got his. How he got my number, but he just. I got a text for Father's Day, and he said, hey, happy Father's Day. You don't know who I am, but I was at your show last night, and for Father's Day, I was thinking about ending my life because my. My wife left me. She took my kids, and I wanted to end my life on Father's Day so that every time Father's Day rolls around, they would remember me and be, like, super hurt by it. And I was doing a Father's Day show on the Saturday before, before Father's Day, and this guy just happened to walk in to the show. And he was walking. I was performing at a place kind of like a. Are you familiar with, like, 6th street in Austin where there's, like, bars next to each other? Like, like, a long strip of bars and clubs next to each other, and there's, like, a little mini theater where I was performing at? Well, this guy was just going from bar to bar, drinking himself to the point where he was gonna end his life at the end of the night. Well, he walked by the theater that I was performing at, and he heard laughter coming in from inside, and he walked in. This was already, like, in the middle of the show, so there was nobody even at the door to charge him or nothing. He just walked in, heard the show, and had such a great time that it changed his whole outlook on life. And he texted me this, like, man, like, today I'm alive because of the show that you put on last night. And I came to pick up my kids to spend time with them instead of. Instead of having ended my life. Yes. Last night. And I just wanted to say happy Father's Day to you because. Because of you, I get to be a father to my kids. Today. I like, like, you want to talk about, like, wow, making my day, Like. Like, so amazing. That's the kind of stuff that, like, any comedian lives for, and any comedian worth their salt wants those kinds of interactions with the people, not necessarily their fans. The guy didn't even pay for the show. But I just wanted, like, to impact people on that level where, man, you say you're saving people's lives with jokes, like, that's amazing stuff for me. That, for me, is what I was made for right there.
- [65:40]
Lynn Hoffman
I don't think it gets any better than that, to be honest. I mean, really, if you can do that, then, wow, the rest of life seems easy when you hear stories like that. And by the way, your light is shining so bright. I need to put on some sunglasses. Thank you so much, Raymond Orta, for sharing your incredible journey with us. And to all our listeners, thank you for checking the show out. And to Romeo Vaughn, thank you for introducing us to this wonderful ray of sunshine that I hope we get to keep in touch with. Thanks for coming on Comedy. Save me Raymond. And keep, keep spreading your love and doing what you're doing because you're amazing.
- [66:17]
Raymond Orta
Hey, I appreciate you having me. And if I may be so bold, may the Lord bless you. May he keep you. May he shine his face on you and be gracious to you. And may the blood of Jesus cover us all. God bless you guys. Thank you so much.
- [66:27]
Lynn Hoffman
Thank you so much. Oh, one more thing. Where can people find you online to see your amazing comedy?
- [66:32]
Raymond Orta
Yeah, at Raymond is Funny across all social media platforms. Raymond is funny pretty much everything. Facebook.com Raymond is funny Instagram.com Raymond is funny YouTube.com RaymondisFunny the only one that's different is Tick Tock because my Raymond is Funny page got banned. But, but I got Raymond or the.
- [66:51]
Lynn Hoffman
Comedy on Tick Tock and Raymond is.
- [66:53]
Raymond Orta
Fun and my Tick Tocks. My Tick Tock's been blowing up lately. So that's good.
- [66:56]
Lynn Hoffman
All right, well, go, go Raymond. Go do your thing. I didn't mean to keep you so long. You have to go out.
- [67:00]
Raymond Orta
I appreciate, I appreciate the interview and thank you so much. You guys are lovely and I look forward to meeting you guys. Romeo talked some real good, real good vibes about you guys.
- [67:08]
Lynn Hoffman
Oh my gosh. Right back and let us know when you're in our air area, please.
- [67:22]
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- [69:22]
Raymond Orta
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- [69:24]
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- [69:26]
Raymond Orta
Delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost. Almost anything. You can't get a running back but baby back ribs. Yes.
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Raymond Orta
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- [69:59]
Raymond Orta
Level up.
- [70:00]
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- [70:07]
Commercial Announcer 1
This is an iHeart podcast.