This Is Important – Ep 277: "Workwear, More Like Work Where?"

Date: December 30, 2025
Hosts: Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, Kyle Newacheck

Overview

In this episode, the four friends dive into an unusually “serious” (read: comedic and chaotic) discussion about winter life in Winnipeg, the merits and pitfalls of workwear fashion, holiday traditions, and coping mechanisms for enduring bitter cold. Cigarette smoking, professional versus candid family photos, and the culture clash of work-hard versus “look work-hard” also take center stage. Throughout, the group’s signature banter and relentless ribbing keep things light-hearted, even as they touch on themes of boredom, adulting, bad holiday gifts, and the hilarious realities of being a grown-up with childish impulses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Cards & Traditions

Timestamps: 03:25–14:43

• Durs (Anders) talks about sending out professional family Christmas cards, sparking a debate about whether it matters if a card says "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays," and if anyone is really offended by the difference.
  • “We just wrote Merry Christmas. And then I’m sending it to some Jewish friends. That’s the only time it dawned on me that maybe, maybe they don’t like it.” (06:00 – Anders)
  • Adam reflects on the tradition: “I really, really want to start. I will be honest…I never do it. I’m just bad with that kind of shit.” (11:27 – Adam)
• The group pokes fun at each other over hiring a photographer ("woman" vs "person") and repeatedly riffs on the gendered mention with comic exaggerations.
• Durs and Blake both explain their families’ approaches: some go professional, others collage existing personal photos.
• Brief breakdown of the “holiday card tier list”—who gets which card, and when.

2. Holiday Plans, Presents, and Adult Realities

Timestamps: 14:52–18:49

• Adam’s looking forward to escaping the cold of Winnipeg for family time, but jokes, “They better got me some good shit.”
• The crew discusses how, as adults, Christmas can become a little sad when presents dwindle.
  • “My Christmas is, like, pretty depressing for me because… I don’t get any presents.” (15:30 – Durs)
• The group compares notes on gift-giving in relationships (“I usually get, like, sunglasses, but it’s the same pair every year.” – Durs, 16:00)

3. Winter, Winnipeg, and Surviving the Cold

Timestamps: 18:52–23:55, 54:17–59:36

• Blake describes his Winnipeg experience: freezing cold, embracing new gear, and being bored enough to pick up cigarette smoking for “character prep.”
• Adam scoffs at Blake’s California softness in the cold: “You’ve been to winter? Peg Manoba? …Vancouver doesn’t get cold. They don’t even get snow in Vancouver.” (20:54–21:09)
• The group riffs nostalgically (and bitterly) about Midwest winters, darkness, and the depressing lack of daylight.
• Later in the episode, Blake raves about “Murder Peg” (Winnipeg)—corroborating its dangerous reputation, but ultimately concluding: “There’s a charm. I don’t know if I could do it. It’s a long winter out here.” (59:24)

4. Cigarette Smoking & Boredom Coping

Timestamps: 23:56–41:01; 41:02–44:10

• Blake admits he’s smoking more cigarettes in Winnipeg because he’s bored and it’s a way to pass the time (and claims it's for a role).
  • “Honestly, it heats you up.” (31:51 – Blake)
• Adam (trying to dissuade Blake): “Don’t start, man. It’s a slippery slope. Don’t start.” (41:02)
• Anders asks about family history with smoking and lung cancer (32:07–32:27).
• The group mocks the dark warning labels on Canadian packs, with Blake claiming: “It’s kind of cool, though. You’re sort of selling it, dude.” (32:42)
• Discussions spiral into comedic advice for staying warm in the cold—using microwavable plushies (“Warmies”) and elaborate steps to facilitate masturbation as an alternative to smoking due to boredom.

5. Workwear Fashion: Carhartt, Tough Duck, & Blue Collar Cosplay

Timestamps: 60:39–67:43

• Blake embraces workwear (Carhartt, Tough Duck, Dickies), buying it as both fashion and “survival gear.”
  • “So, workwear. So you like to play pretend and play dress up as if you’re a working man?” (61:11 – Anders)
  • “Blake, a guy who’s never done, like, a day of hard labor in his life… dressing up as if you’re a working man.” (61:14 – Anders)
• The hosts differentiate between legit workwear brands: Carhartt (Michigan), Dickies (West Coast), Ben Davis (“the OG”), and the Canadian “Tough Duck.”
• “My job is looking. You go to a place where they put makeup on you, they do your hair, someone brings you your omelet in the morning.” – Anders skewering Blake’s new blue-collar image (62:13)
• Sizing puzzles for work jackets and comic self-deprecation about body parts (“There’s parts of me that aren’t that small… It’s not my dick.” – Anders, 67:32)

6. On Set Stories, Work Schedules & Actor Myths

Timestamps: 63:06–66:19

• The group reminisces about the mythic “8-hour days” and martinis on set ("Rat Pack" legends) versus modern 12–14 hour days.
  • “That was like the Rat Guys. They literally only had eight-hour workdays…” (63:19 – Anders)
  • Unions and why shoot days got longer (B: “Dudes are just like, yo, I want to bang out 15 years and then just go retire to somewhere where I have a boat. …Eight hours sounds awesome.” (64:45))
• “French hours” (lunch-on-the-go) versus U.S. set lunch culture.

7. Memorable Winnipeg Moments: Local Culture & Food

Timestamps: 57:10–59:36

• Blake sings the praises of local drive-in BJ’s and its legendary chili burger: “It is literally a hut where these old women forge the most beautiful burgers you will ever sink your teeth into.” (58:09)
  • Anders & Kyle mock Blake’s phrasing about “gnarled burger witches” and “meat slinging wizard women.” (58:25–58:34)

8. Advice & Takebacks

Timestamps: 68:08–71:55

• The hosts close with resolutions and public service announcements about not starting smoking, picking better heroes, and staying in school.
  • “If you’re 40 years old and you’re thinking about starting smoking, don’t do it.” (69:44 – Blake)
  • “Basically, don’t do anything because you think it looks cool.” (70:03 – Anders)
• Adam: “Pick your heroes based on what they’re good at or if they’re nice or kind.” (70:12)
• Durs shares his low-key New Year’s plans: Vegas for the Nebraska-Utah game at the Vegas Bowl (68:22).
• Anders briefly gives a football shoutout to the Indiana Hoosiers and their party culture (69:02).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On “Hiring a Woman” Photographer:
  “Sorry, it’s the way you say it. It rings very heavy in my headphones… What about just saying you call a photographer?” – Adam (07:09, 07:25)

• Blake’s Blue-Collar Cosplay:
  “I, I look like a poor su man.” – Blake (61:24)

• Boredom Coping in the Cold:
  “Are you jerking off enough? … I think my dick is absolutely fudgeing terrified of the weather out here. It’s completely retreat. I’m sitting with a fuck. My dick is smaller than ever right now.” – Blake (35:09–35:16)

• On Winnipeg Street Cred:
  “I don’t really hang with the cast. I hang out on the stoop with the halfway boys, the real runaround crew.” – Blake (54:33)
  “It’s kind of low key like the murder capital of Canada… I walk everywhere.” – Blake (54:48, 56:05)

• Locals and Food:
  “It is literally a hut where these old women forge the most beautiful burgers you will ever sink your teeth into… It’s like a coven of meat slinging wizard women, dude.” – Blake (58:09, 58:34)

• On Gifting and Self-Sufficiency:
  “I buy so much fudgeing shit for myself in December.” – Adam (15:23)

• Takeback/Advice:
  “Don’t smoke cigarettes. Basically, don’t do anything because you think it looks cool.” – Anders (69:40, 70:03)

Important Timestamps

• 03:25 – Holiday cards, professional photos, and "hiring a woman"
• 14:52 – Adult Christmas present realities
• 18:52 – Adam on returning home, holiday plans
• 23:56–41:01 – Smoking, boredom, and Winnipeg survival
• 54:17 – Blake’s new “street cred” in Winnipeg, Murder Peg myth busting
• 57:10 – Raving about Winnipeg’s BJ’s chili burger, “gnarled burger witches”
• 60:39–66:19 – Workwear “fashion” and blue-collar cosplay
• 68:08 – Takebacks, advice, and New Year’s plans wrap-up

Tone & Language

• Original: Goofball, irreverent, with tongue-in-cheek seriousness about mundane adult topics; lots of bro-banter, self-deprecating humor, and mock arguments over semantics.
• Notable Moments: Consistent undercurrent of teasing about masculinity, routine, growing up, and “trying to be cool” as a grown man.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a classic TII mixture: a wild ride from winter ennui to workwear fetishization, from holiday card angst to real talk on cigarettes and coping with being old (and cold). Even as they roast each other for boredom-driven vices and pretend blue-collar lifestyles, the core message emerges: adulting is weird, it's OK to not be cool (at 40 or 42), and honest friendship means calling out each other’s bullshit—lovingly and hilariously.