76: The Wayback #76 | Dan St. Germain

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Wayback with Ryan Sickler - Episode 76: Dan St. Germain

Release Date: June 12, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 76 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler, host Ryan Sickler welcomes comedian and wrestling enthusiast Dan St. Germain for an engaging and nostalgic conversation. The episode delves into Dan's unique upbringing, his experiences at music festivals, high school antics, and his enduring passion for wrestling. Throughout the discussion, both Ryan and Dan share humorous anecdotes, reflective insights, and memorable quotes that paint a vivid picture of Dan's life journey.

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Childhood and Family

Dan begins by sharing insights into his childhood, particularly the role his grandparents played in his upbringing.

Dan St. Germain (02:05):

"When I was a little kid, they would give me my grandpa and my grandma. I remember a lot of this fondly."

He reminisces about his grandmother, affectionately called "Megama," and the unconventional moments they shared.

Dan St. Germain (05:14):

"Megama would make us like great cream sodas with ginger ale. After my grandpa died, Megama lived in our attic, fully furnished with a kitchen and living room."

Dan also touches on the complexities of his family dynamics, including his grandfathers' contrasting personalities and the impact of his grandfather's death.

Dan St. Germain (07:41):

"My grandpa was wild—he went to World War II and freed concentration camps. Another grandpa, who was a pharmacist, shot himself in the hand in Australia and wasn't deployed to the Pacific."

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Festival Stories: Gathering of the Vibes

A significant portion of the conversation revolves around Dan's experiences at music festivals, particularly the Gathering of the Vibes.

Dan St. Germain (03:15):

"Wavy Gravy was there. We started doing blow in my friend's dad's trailer. It was at that moment I realized my friend had a bad dad."

Dan recounts the wild and sometimes troubling experiences, blending humor with candid reflections on his past drug use during festival days.

Dan St. Germain (04:04):

"It's hilarious. I don't even remember the music. I was so up."

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High School Activities: Choir and Wrestling

Dan delves into his vibrant high school years, highlighting his involvement in choir and wrestling, which shaped much of his adolescence.

Choir Involvement: Dan was an active participant in his school's choir, even joining the gospel choir to protest funding cuts, despite being an atheist.

Dan St. Germain (14:15):

"Blessed redeemer please redeem ourselves... Satan wants his way in my life. I got to keep holding on and praying."

He humorously addresses his struggles with rhythm and the cultural dynamics of singing in a predominantly black gospel choir.

Wrestling Experiences: Wrestling was another significant part of Dan's high school life. He shares both the camaraderie and the harsh realities of his wrestling coach.

Dan St. Germain (20:42):

"We had a ladder match in my friend's backyard where they tied wire to my neck and tore me off the ladder."

He reflects on his wrestling persona and the backyard wrestling league he was part of, illustrating the blend of comedy and athleticism in his early performances.

Dan St. Germain (19:08):

"Comedy and wrestling are very similar."

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Prom Anecdotes

Prom was a memorable event in Dan's high school years, filled with unexpected twists and humorous situations.

Dan St. Germain (16:07):

"A girl asked me to prom. We got drunk in the limo and went to see Ari Spears at Caroline's. When we dropped her home, the limo driver talked about his mom not accepting his black girlfriend."

The night was a mix of youthful rebellion, awkward conversations, and typical prom festivities, encapsulating the chaos and fun of teenage social gatherings.

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Traveling and Vacations

Dan shares stories from his family's travels, highlighting both the adventurous and challenging moments.

Dan St. Germain (24:32):

"We went to England and France. It was the first time I ever drank—I acted drunk because I was only 12."

He recounts a particularly chaotic trip to Nicaragua, emphasizing the cultural and political lessons learned during the experience.

Dan St. Germain (25:36):

"Between the Sandinistas and the Contras, eating rice and beans was crazy. Reverend Acorn took us down there. It was a wild trip."

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Wrestling Interests and Current Projects

Wrestling remains a passion for Dan, both as a fan and as a participant in various related projects.

Dan St. Germain (19:06):

"Still am a huge wrestling fan. Check out Working Stiff Pro Wrestling Podcast."

He discusses his involvement in creating wrestling content, including podcasts and roasts, blending his comedic background with his love for the sport.

Dan St. Germain (21:52):

"We had our backyard wrestling league, Paw Professional Amateur Wrestlers. I was the Fig, a heel character."

Dan's dedication to wrestling is evident as he shares details about his memorabilia and ongoing projects that honor his wrestling roots.

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Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Dan reflects on his high school years' end, his sketch comedy group, and his aspirations in writing and performing. He candidly shares the highs and lows of his teenage experiences, offering listeners a glimpse into the formative years that shaped his comedic and personal life.

Dan St. Germain (30:56):

"I had written a play that won the Stephen Sondheim best young play thing. I knew maybe I could get into writing."

Ryan thanks Dan for his openness and engaging stories, highlighting the blend of humor and heartfelt moments that made the episode both entertaining and meaningful.

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Notable Quotes

• Dan St. Germain (02:05):

  "When I was a little kid, they would give me my grandpa and my grandma. I remember a lot of this fondly."

• Dan St. Germain (04:04):

  "It's hilarious. I don't even remember the music. I was so up."

• Dan St. Germain (19:08):

  "Comedy and wrestling are very similar."

• Dan St. Germain (25:30):

  "Stuffed rooster. I don't know why I bought it."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 76 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler offers a deep dive into Dan St. Germain's eclectic life experiences, blending humor with poignant reflections. From his unique family dynamics and wild festival tales to his high school exploits in choir and wrestling, Dan provides listeners with a multifaceted view of his journey. The episode underscores the importance of embracing one's past, finding humor in adversity, and pursuing passions relentlessly.

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For more insights and upcoming episodes, follow Ryan Sickler and Dan St. Germain on their respective social media platforms.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Dan St. Germain]

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[Ryan Sickler]

Baltimore. I'll be at the HorseShoe Casino. Saturday, June 28th. One night only, one show only. If you live in Maryland, Virginia, D.C. delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, I don't care. Get your tickets now. Come down, pack this show out. I got special guest Justin Schlegel from 98 Rock working with me that night. It's going to be a great show. Get your tickets now. Don't wait. It's the last show of my Live and Alive Tour. Go to RyanCickler.com Saturday, June 28th. Get your tickets. Come see me at the Horseshoe Casino.

[Dan St. Germain]

Hey, baby, we gonna be here all day.

[Ryan Sickler]

We gonna be here all day, baby.

[Dan St. Germain]

I like this kind of party.

[Ryan Sickler]

Welcome back to the Way Back. Everybody. Very excited to be here. I'm Ryan Sickler. Ryancicler.com and Ryan Sickler. On all your social media. I say it on all my shows. Whether you're new here, whether you've been here. Thank you for everything. Very excited to have my guest here with me today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dan St. Germain. Welcome to the Wave.

[Dan St. Germain]

Hello. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you for. For having me. Good to see I wore a. Wore like a Fonzie leather jacket for this. Getting way back, baby.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's nice.

[Dan St. Germain]

Getting way back.

[Ryan Sickler]

Are you old enough to have ever sat in one of these actual seats that faced out in the traffic or. Or have a grandparent know someone?

[Dan St. Germain]

I never did that. I think one time I was in the back seat to look out in the traffic. But no. I drove a Ford Escort in high school for a little two door. Yeah, you had to.

[Ryan Sickler]

My mom hit a kid in a Ford Escort. It's a good car, bro.

[Dan St. Germain]

My Ford Escort was that one on the right. Oh my God.

[Ryan Sickler]

No, bottom left there. Yeah, that thing. This. It was.

[Dan St. Germain]

That was mine. It was. Mine was beige too. I had your mom's car hit a.

[Ryan Sickler]

Kid in a car in that. Man.

[Dan St. Germain]

It was. We drove it. What? Me and my friend Matt, who I'll talk about, we drove it while it was on fire at one point.

[Ryan Sickler]

What do you mean?

[Dan St. Germain]

It was just like the. There were like the fire. Like the engine started, like smoking. And we're like, we gotta. We gotta. Cuz we got. We got. Was coming from a comedy. Not a comedy festival, a music festival. And we got lost somewhere in Jersey. And it was. That music festival was crazy anyway because we were like that music festival. And we have other stories that aren't so drug related, but here's a drug related one. We went. It was me, my friend Matt and this other guy. Yeah, Wavy Gravy was there. He was just walking around. And my friend's dad, who I can't say his name, lived. Lived on the festival like he had.

[Ryan Sickler]

Can you say the festival?

[Dan St. Germain]

I forget the festival name. I've gone to Gathering the Vibes.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wavy Gravy.

[Dan St. Germain]

That's Wavy Gravy. I've gone to Gathering of the Vibes and a few other ones. Gather. My gathering of the vibe stories is on. This is not happening. It's on YouTube. But this story is very different because we started doing blow in my friend's dad's trailer. And then my friend's dad came in and he goes, hope you saved some for me. And he starts doing it. And it was at that moment I realized my friend had a bad dad. I was like, oh, this isn't cool. It's one thing if a. If. If the dad, like, gives you a beer, it's cool. But with coke, you're like, I miss my dad. Like, oh my. I have a great dad. I saw that. But yeah, that was pretty wild, man. I don't even remember the music. I was so up. It's hilarious.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, let's get to some of these stories we were talking about. So one of the things, I don't think we've had anybody yet that's been on the show who grew up with their grandparents. So you were.

[Dan St. Germain]

Well, this was my mom taught for special needs kids, emotionally disturbed kids. And my dad was. Worked at the arts council. He hadn't started writing yet. So when I was a little kid, they would give me my grandpa and my grandma. And I remember this be. I remember a lot of this fondly. But then when I talk about it, people were like, was this. Was this fondly? Because one of the fond memories I had was my grandma always wanted a granddaughter. So she dressed me up as a ballerina and I would dance in my grandpa's cigar smoke while he would like blow cigars. He was in on it too. I was like, this is very. Like he didn't give a shit. Now. He was like, dance, baby, dance. That is a trick Again, again. Before this, I was like, I don't know if I have enough sister. She wasn't up in the picture yet. I was like three or four. I also, they had a cat and I was allergic to cats, so the cat and the cat like clawed my face at one point and I fell down the stairs.

[Ryan Sickler]

Then we can just put some makeup on that.

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah. And I had like a fire truck, but I couldn't say fire truck. All I could say was, so I was like in this ballerina costume with my fire truck, like just going.

[Ryan Sickler]

And he's blowing smoke, he's blowing smoke.

[Dan St. Germain]

It's a whole hoot.

[Ryan Sickler]

Nanny, were they fun grandparents though? They sound like it at least.

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah. Megama. That was what we called her. She wouldn't let us call Grandma. We called her Megama, which made her sound older, which was kind of weird. But she would make us like great cream sodas with ginger ale. And after my grandpa died, which, you know, my grandpa died from. My grandpa Wild guy dude. My 1. I don't know if I talked about this on the last show, but he. I have one grandpa who went to World War II and freed concentration camps. This other grandpa, who is a pharmacist, shot himself in the hand in Australia and wasn't deployed to the Pacific.

[Ryan Sickler]

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[Dan St. Germain]

He was the type of guy who got drunk and was like, we're going on the boat and the whole family, like, we're not going on the boat with you. And then they came to the dock and he. They see him crawling out of the water holding the wheel and he goes, the fucker. Suck on me. So he's that type of guy. He also like his teacher when he was in high school, apparently.

[Ryan Sickler]

Really?

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah, he a wild dude, so. But I remember loving him, you know. But he died and then my grandma Megama lived in our attic. So I would be able to go up there and hang in the attic and I would.

[Ryan Sickler]

Your grandma lived in the attic?

[Dan St. Germain]

And yeah, Megama would live in the attic.

[Ryan Sickler]

Describe the attic. Is it like fully.

[Dan St. Germain]

It was fully furnished. I mean, there was a. Oh, hey, baby. It was fully furnished, but it was, you know, there was a kitchen, living room, and then I would. I would be in her bedroom. And one time, I don't know why.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did she like you up there? Was.

[Dan St. Germain]

She did, yeah, she loved me. We had a great relationship. And I would sometimes sleep with her platonically and. Yeah, I can't believe I had to say that. But like, I would say like six or seven. Remember one time I would. I would go there, I would like gnaw on an electrical wire while I was up there. What? I don't know why because I've. I've always had an oral fixation. And all of a sudden I bit into close and I got electrocuted. And all I remember was like my. I just saw like static, like black and white static from my eyes. That was pretty fucking crazy. But my grandma was up there. And then like when she died, we kind of just like let it, you know, be up there. We were living in my aunt's house. This was in Jersey until I was like 13. My great aunt house. She. She Gave it to us after my great aunt died. Because my great aunt was, I guess, kind of rich in town. Kind of a miserable woman too. But like, my great aunt would like my dad, my mom would come over and my great aunt would like open up photos for my mom's first wedding just to. With my dad. Yeah, like that kind of.

[Ryan Sickler]

So tell me about. Because you mentioned you were in choir, so I don't strike. I mean, you a singer?

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah, I do. I. I was a singer. I was a singer. I was singing in all the musicals. I was like the lead. When did you go to high school.

[Ryan Sickler]

Age where you're like, oh, shit.

[Dan St. Germain]

I auditioned for Fiddler on the Roof in eighth grade.

[Ryan Sickler]

What made you want to do that though? You had to know you could.

[Dan St. Germain]

I sing a lot of Steve Martin and I just wanted to. So I did Steve Martin's monologue from Roxanne and I sang something. I forget what I sang. Maybe something from Les Mis, I'm not sure. But I got, you know, I got cast in that. I'm pretty good in that. I was like the understudy of the lead. And then I was also like Lazar Wolf. And yeah, so I. And then I. When I got into high school, I did Madrigal choir, which is like where you wear tights and like I had a jester hat. And we would like dance around with fake swords. I swear to God. And I talk about a little on the live at the Comedy Cellar a little bit. But the only song I remember is I'll do It right here, which is like firefight, Firefight. I can't even sing because I've smoked so much today. My heart, my heart, my heart. So, yeah, it was a lot of that kind of stuff. And we would change our, like, high school. Like, I was also, I was also a wrestler. So I just did all the gay things in high school, you know, like, it was just all the wrestling teams. Not busted your balls about that? No. Well, I only did a freshman and then I dropped out. But wrestling, dude. Wrestling. Wrestling's not football, dude. Football is like, cool.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was a wrestler.

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah, wrestling. You wear the singlet, you see the little dangle.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let's see, here was the thing, though. Even if the football guys, and a lot of them did wrestle, if they talk to us, we were ready to.

[Dan St. Germain]

Well, you could. Well, yeah, if you're a natural based wrestler, there are certain things you know how to do to control a situation. But if, If I go against anybody now I'm 40, I. I'd lose any Fight. But there's like, you know, like, you know, there's certain things that you can at least neutralize the situation. Even when like I. I wrestled in middle school for the most part, like for three years in middle school, in grammar school. And we had this one guy who was our wrestling coach who's fucking a great character. But he'd be like, ah, you wrestle like shit this weekend. And he would take a metal pipe and put a New Jersey ledger or something, I forget what the paper was. And swing it at our heads while we were. While we were wrestling just a duck. And then my dad would come to practices and for some reason he like really bonded to my dad. So he would be swinging that at us and then talking to my dad about his divorce. So like, he would be like. Like there was like two sides of him where he was like, you guys wrestle my in a bowl. And then he would go to him be like, I'm losing everything. I'm losing everything. I don't know what to do. But he was better than. I guess. I. I had a. I had a scout master a couple years later who killed himself after like, I guess he killed him. I guess the cops are coming him for molesting a kid and he killed himself. I don't know. I didn't do. He didn't do it to me. So, you know, like, that's. I just heard this like through the grapevine. I also had a T. Apparently I had a teacher that was. The kids didn't me either. But yeah, some wild. So yeah, she. That was quite a run right there. Quite a run. You know, I wish I had more walkway. I guess I don't have more to tell about the scout master one. Well, maybe I'd have like a one man show now or something.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wait, let's go back to the choir because you were saying you were.

[Dan St. Germain]

I was also. Yeah, one year I was like. I was really pissed off. They were like. We had a gospel choir in our high school and they were going to cut the funding for it, which felt like kind of racist. So like I was like, I'm gonna join this as a. As like a liberal white guy, had hair down to like here and a goatee. So I. I would sing. I would sing with them. I sang with them for a year.

[Ryan Sickler]

With one of those songs.

[Dan St. Germain]

Blessed redeemer please redeem ourselves. Send on down some of that healing power. Satan wants his way in my life I got to keep holding on and praying. You didn't think I was real. It was out there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Anybody to find that clip of you doing that somewhere else.

[Dan St. Germain]

But, yeah, so I sang in that. And I was the only white person, or white. I was the only white guy, bunch of black. I went to the. We went to one, like, gospel church or whatever, saying. And I had no rhythm. They were all nice. I don't think they, you know, like, they were nice, but they're like, we're not letting him into the.

[Ryan Sickler]

We'll cover them up.

[Dan St. Germain]

But I was also. I was also an atheist. So, like, I have.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, God.

[Dan St. Germain]

I have a new bit now where I'm singing like. I was like, they don't have great atheist gospel songs where it's like, amazing grace won't cure cancer, don't pray, use WEB md. If God was real and not something made up, then explain Jeff Epstein. So, yeah, a lot of singing in high school, and then I was the lead of a lot of musicals, too. I was Applegate and Dammy Aggies. That was my big claim to fame, really. And my. My mom was hello Dolly. And now I'm getting. I'm. I think I still. I don't know how I have it yet or I'm getting it. I'm getting her costume from hello Dolly that I'm putting in my house, which would be kind of. It's probably going to be a little creepy for my wife to have, like, this old dress that I'm just going to, like, bring out it probably cry into every once in a while.

[Ryan Sickler]

Every once in a while, just bust it out.

[Dan St. Germain]

So, yeah, that was. Dude, that was my. That was my deal. I was a singer all throughout high school. Then I sang, like, in a band for a little bit, but it wasn't that good. Yeah, it was. It was wild.

[Ryan Sickler]

Dude, you had mentioned prom, too, about high school.

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah, junior prom.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, junior prom.

[Dan St. Germain]

This girl had asked me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Can I ask you a question real quick? Because the way our prom worked was it was just a prom. So there was a year when I was a freshman and a senior girl asked me to go. My mom was like, you're not going to that. I was like, oh, my God, there it is right there. But so anyone could go. So we didn't have a separate, like, junior prom. Did you guys have a separate prom?

[Dan St. Germain]

No, this was. Yeah, junior prom was separate.

[Ryan Sickler]

So see, you couldn't.

[Dan St. Germain]

I didn't go to see. I could go to senior prom if somebody invited me from senior.

[Ryan Sickler]

But you, as a senior, you were going to your senior prom. God.

[Dan St. Germain]

But no, this is my junior prom.

[Ryan Sickler]

And a girl asks you.

[Dan St. Germain]

Girl asked Me out.

[Ryan Sickler]

We get to catch you off guard. Did you think it was coming?

[Dan St. Germain]

No. And I, I wasn't like that into her. But nice girl but she pulls up in the, you know, I pull up in the limo, she gets in in.

[Ryan Sickler]

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[Dan St. Germain]

And first thing she says to me, I'm like hey, how are you doing? She goes oh my pastor just killed himself. And that's the beginning of the fucking night. You lean my fucking dick wet tonight. The only time is getting wet is from fucking dead pastor tears. And we got drunk in the limo and we went to go see Ari Spears at Caroline's. Really? Yeah, yeah, just so we went to the prom for a little bit, then went to go see Ari Spears and like Ari doing like a Schwarzenegger impression. And then when we dropped her at home and like the prom, the guy who's a limo driver just talked to me about how his mom didn't accept his black girlfriend. That was my whole night. So.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you sing some gospel choir?

[Dan St. Germain]

I did not sing any gospels that next year I had a great prom because I just did Molly And I. We took this. No, it was ecstasy and they were called Bin Laden's at the time. And this was like we were the year of 9 11. So like we knew that was good.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Dan St. Germain]

And I was just crawling under like a hotel table and. Yeah, that was fun. That one was fun.

[Ryan Sickler]

You were a big wrestling fan, girl.

[Dan St. Germain]

Still am a huge wrestling fan.

[Ryan Sickler]

Still am a huge.

[Dan St. Germain]

Check out Working Stiff pro wrestling podcast. I've also done all the to the roast of Ric Flair, which is another story. That's not way back. That's too recent.

[Ryan Sickler]

We've had a lot of wrestling.

[Dan St. Germain]

Comedy and wrestling are very similar.

[Ryan Sickler]

Jim Florentine with the, hands down the greatest wrestling story I've ever heard. You got to watch the episode.

[Dan St. Germain]

But this may not be as good as that. But I have. So yeah, we had a. We had. It was called but you're 40.

[Ryan Sickler]

So what era are you coming up in?

[Dan St. Germain]

Because I'm Hogan from the new generation, which was like Brett Diesel, Sean into the attitude era, which was, you know, Rock Austin and then Taker was part of both of them. Sean was kind of part of both of them too. But we had p. We had our backyard wrestling league paw Professional amateur wrestlers. That's what was kind of funny for high school. Yeah. And I was the Fig. So you know. You know, I was a heel. So you know what the chant was going to be if my name was the Fig, you know, which I can't say anymore in 2024. But I would wear leopard boxers and I would fight in leopard boxers. Again, very gay. We would. We had a few other characters. My friend was pimping John. My friend Matt, who was in the Ford Escort Fire, he basically Godfather type character. He would come out. How many people? Three Dog Night. We had about six or seven people. Which songs out the three dog nights came out. Mama told me not to come. Yeah. Yeah, that. That's not the way that you walk. Hit them with that choir. Yeah, it was great. We. It was great. We had like a 17 minute classic in my friend's basement.

[Ryan Sickler]

I know you guys choreograph well. Kind.

[Dan St. Germain]

I thought. We thought it was awesome. You know, we ended up having a. A ladder match in my friend's backyard where they tied wire to my neck and they like tore me off the ladder and I did like kind of a sunset flip and it was like. It was like frozen grass. That was so cool. And then like my friend Dan Baker, who's Jewish, just called himself Dan the Jew Baker. He would come out and. And then he started wrestling A guy who. I'm not going to say what it is that we was called the Nazi and the Nazi was a heel. But then all of a sudden they wrestled like one. The Nazi wrestled like a baby face and he wrestled like a heel. So I'm like, well, what are we going to do about this? This is bad. You know. And then we had this guy, Pete Chima, we would wrestle in his basement and he had kendo sticks. So we would just be fucking slamming each other with kendo sticks when we were playing no Mercy, man, that was awesome, dude. Anybody who remembers no Mercy, Greatest wrestling game of all time, explain it. Well, it was just the controls were awesome. It was the same guys who did like NWO Revenge and WrestleMania 2000. Did you have wrestling games ever?

[Ryan Sickler]

All that stuff set up?

[Dan St. Germain]

We had. I think we used like one of those continental champions. I now, I now have an icy title signed by Rob Van Dambro and my. I'm prominently placed in my bedroom next to my mom's urn and Sarah's like, this is just a lot. My wife is like, this is a lot of shit. It was like, there's a picture, there's a picture. It's my mom's earn assigned Intercontinental championship Eli Manning throwing a ball. And then there's a signed, signed Daniel Bryan trunks, which are basically panties draped over assigned Victor Cruz football. And that's all on the side. It's a lot of. Again, it's a lot of g.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let me ask you this. Vacations growing up, did you guys ever take vacations? If so were you a driving family? Did you fly?

[Dan St. Germain]

We flew. We flew. You know, when I was growing in the beginning, my, my, my, my New Rutherford, New Jersey. And then we went to Westchester, New York. In the beginning. You know, my. When we grew up, my dad didn't really have any money and then he started writing for the Cosby Show. Had in money.

[Ryan Sickler]

Your dad was a writer on the Cosby Show?

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah, he was a writer on Cosby Show. Wrote a bunch of sitcoms and plays and stuff like that. Wrote some movies and he. So yeah, then we were fortunate enough that we could go to like Disney World and we could go to, you know, we went down to Florida and I think those were. Oh, one time we did go to Europe. We went to. We went to England and France. Was the first time I ever drank. I drank all these little wine bottles on a, on a train from, from London to Paris. I was 12 12, but I wasn't like, I didn't get drunk. I acted drunk. Because, like, you know, when you're a little kid, that's what I. I drank once when I was 2. I grabbed my dad's quartz light and I drank. So, yeah, we were able to, you know, mostly fond memories. You know, the first time going to Disney World is great. And then the second time, which we were fortunate to go enough to go twice, but the second time, it just feels, like, kind of gross. You're kind of like, I've already seen, you know, like, you almost like, as a kid, you start to see, like, the corporate elements of it in a weird way. But I was really into, like, the Everglades and like, going to that kind of shit. Herpetology. Yeah, we would go on. We would go on like an Everglades boating trip, which was kind of cool, you know, and then, like, we would see sometimes dolphins because it would be right where the fresh water and the. And the salt water brackish. Yeah. So, yeah, a lot of fun. Did some bed and breakfast. Some fun trips, man. Really fun. And when I was in high school, I went to. I did a house building trip in Nicaragua. Bless Peeles Orientales.

[Ryan Sickler]

What does that mean? You go.

[Dan St. Germain]

Actually, we went and pilled churches down and like, these things is like, they didn't need us because, like, the Nicaraguans that were there were like, you know, killing us as far as, like, working. But, you know, like, it was. It was a fun lesson on American imperialism because you would be like, you know.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Dan St. Germain]

Oh, yeah, that's. That's where the. The army that you guys backed tortured us right over there. But that was a wild trip. I got like, on a horse and I started, like, the local Nicaraguan boy told me, like, if I hit the horse, it would slow down. And I believed him. So it just took off and I had to jump off the horse. I had to jump off the horse. My dad got really sick, so he was in a wheelchair by the of it, and I was pushing him out. Yeah, I was pushing him out on a wheelchair and I bought a dead rooster, which I've lost since then. So, like, this, the image of me pushing my dad off the airport with a dead rooster.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's that rooster for?

[Dan St. Germain]

I don't know. I don't know why I bought it. I don't know where it is now, but. Stuffed rooster.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Dan St. Germain]

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[Ryan Sickler]

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[Dan St. Germain]

I'm a weird guy, man. But, yeah, between the Sandinistas and the Contras and, you know, and then, you know, eating rice and beans was crazy. That was a crazy trip. Reverend Acorn, that's who took us down there. There's no way. I really didn't think I was gonna have stories for this one.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so, high school wrestling. Any other sports? Did you play any other sports?

[Dan St. Germain]

Cross country. You were a runner? I was bad my freshman year, but then I came back my junior year, and I was tragic because I was. I thought you were gonna say so bad. Like, I was smoking reds on. On the. Because I was just doing it to lose weight and I was smoking red. So I became, like, the unofficial team mascot. Like, you know, like, so the. My. My coach would be like, all right, well, just, you know, Dan, do whatever. But I was, like, a fun hang, so they always wanted to hang with me, but, like, I would start, like, running, and then I would just, like, give up and go into whatever school we were running against. Like, get some water from the fountain, sit on the couch. I was the worst in the county. I think I was, like, 81st. At 81st, some kid with a back problem beat me. I saw him, like, limping. Like, I saw him. He should definitely be behind. Yeah, he should definitely be behind me. But I saw this guy, you know, like, look, I didn't have many fucking proud moments as an athlete. I remember one time I beat it like a ripped black guy in wrestling. And that was my proudest moment. But then my coach got pissed off because I did the cane, like, you know, like, like Usher the fire thing right beforehand. And then I. Yeah, so not exactly the proudest.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the fastest you've ever been pinned in. In wrestling?

[Dan St. Germain]

Real fast, dude. Pretty. I would say like 30 seconds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, there's. I mean, when you're. Because I've done jiu jitsu, like every comic, and you like, you know, when you go up against somebody who could beat your ass, it is, you know, and you realize there is nothing I can do in this situation, you know, like, there is nothing that this person that I can try. The only thing I could do is pull out a gun and shoot him. Like, because any other. In any other, like, this guy's just got me cornered.

[Ryan Sickler]

Once you ask you this when you would meet a guy like that wrestling wise. Because I wrestled as well and I know what I would. If I, you know, like, they were like, all right, you're gonna bump up to. I would. I supposed to wrestle 145, 152. Like, you're gonna wrestle 65. Like, I'm standing on the scale with my singlet, my sweats on. I mean, dude, that was. I'm just saying, if we had to fill spots so we didn't lose. And I would go wrestle a kid if. If he was fatter, I could take him because I was strong. But if he was muscular, I knew. And I would just find, like, personal battles. Like, all right, I know I'm losing this match. Match. This motherfucker's not pinning me. And that's what I would try to just find, like my own little battles within the ass cross facing you. He's beating the out of me.

[Dan St. Germain]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

My head would be bleeding from him just running it.

[Dan St. Germain]

But it would be, you know, I only did it my freshman year, high school. I did it in middle school and grammar school. But my friends did it later on. And coach Amuso, great guy, he was my coach. But, like, you know, like, there's always. There's always like also the creepy kid, you know, the kid who, like, right where you're like, I think this kid is like, borderline like, white supremacist, ripped bald kid. And like, I remember this. This guy was wrestling and he saw like, we saw his, like an arm like, pop out of his socket. And that kid was like, cool. He's like, break away from it. He's just like, yeah, cool. But nobody was like, amazing, you know, there the kid that was supposed to be amazing. I think dropped out and didn't do it.

[Ryan Sickler]

What stands out for you as a kid? Like, you think back of a good, fun, funny memory. Is there something that really stands out?

[Dan St. Germain]

You know, I love the end of my high school years because, like, I had been kicked out of the public forum at that point. I ran a sketch comedy group, which we never. We did, like, one show. We did one show. I did stand up once and it was, you know, like, it was okay because I did. I basically did a late night. I did late night jokes. And another time I tried stand up. I tried to. I'm like, I'll just wing it. And just bombed horribly. But I had. I had. Basically, I did this one joke about this kid at school being a holocaust denier. So I was kicked out of the public forum, so the rest of the year. And I only had, like, three classes that year because. And I had already gotten into college. So the rest of the year we were just, like, smoking weed and leaving early and going on hikes. Like, I. In high school, I lived in Westchester, New York, in Pound Ridge. There's all these amazing, amazing nature reservations. So. And I was, like, getting into music, like rock and roll, you know, listening to new bands, too. So, you know, you're listening from everybody. You know, everybody from the Grateful Dead to Wilco and going to shows on the weekend. That was probably my favorite moment in high school. You know, before that, I was like the lead of the school play. And. And I did. And I was. I was kind of good at, like, English, I guess, like, in writing. And also at the end of the high school, I had written. I had written a play that had won, like, the Stephen Sondheim best, like, young play thing. Like, so I got invited to do that. So I, like, kind of knew, like, oh, maybe I can get into writing. So that was kind of a cool time. Around then I dated a pretty girl that I broke up with who I'm like, I still regret it, like, because a couple years later I, like, hit her up and she's like, no, but no, dude, I've aged out of this. She was. I mean, aged out emotionally. It wasn't like she was in. She was in fucking fourth grade and I was a senior of high school. So, yeah, it was. That was the end. End of my senior. High school was a blast, dude. That was a lot of fun, dude.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you for doing this episode.

[Dan St. Germain]

Thank you, man. Thank you for having me right there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Plug whatever you like.

[Dan St. Germain]

Dance, fatty Dance. My special on YouTube. It's free. Check it out. Working Stiff Wrestling podcast. Formerly wrestlers. Check it out. And me and Sean Donnelly, Burbs Bros. And follow me on Instagram man. I'm on Instagram. I'm on Tick Tock. I have a YouTube channel subscribe to that that every single comic is going to give you a bunch of to do and do all of it please. I need it anyway. And I have all my dates on my website. Dan saint germain.net thank you buddy.

[Ryan Sickler]

You got it, my man. As always, Ryan Sickler on all your social media. We'll talk to y' all next week.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Dan St. Germain]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

What is dedication?

[Dan St. Germain]

The thing that drives me every day.

[Ryan Sickler]

As a dad is Dariana. We call him Dayday for short. Every day he's hungry for something, whether it's attention, affection, knowledge. And there's this huge response responsibility in.

[Dan St. Germain]

Making sure that when he's no longer under my wing that he's a good person. I want him to be able to sit back one day and go, we worked together.

[Ryan Sickler]

We did a good job.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That's dedication. Find out more at Fatherhood Gov. Brought to you by the U.S. department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.