Meet Wil Sylvince - My Favorite People

Summary

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What Now? with Trevor Noah

“Meet Wil Sylvince – My Favorite People”

Release Date: May 21, 2026
Guests: Wil Sylvince (comedian, writer, actor), Dave (friend/collaborator)
Theme: Friendship, resilience, immigration, family, comedy, and the complexity of identity through the life and humor of Wil Sylvince.

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the vibrant life and journey of comedian Wil Sylvince, a close friend of Trevor Noah’s, whose story traverses Haiti’s troubled history, his family’s immigration to Brooklyn, and Wil’s unique transformation from engineer to standup mainstay. With habitual warmth and playful banter—joined by the ever-irreverent Dave—the conversation flows from childhood in a Haitian immigrant household, the traumas and lessons from Wil’s parents’ struggles, testing and breaking into comedy, health obsessions, and ultimately what it means to chase joy, family, and purpose as an immigrant and Black creative in America.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Wil’s Early Life: Haiti, Family, and Escape

• Wil’s parents’ story:
  • Both Haitian, fled under Papa Doc Duvalier’s nascent dictatorship in the 1960s—his mother’s father was killed for opposing Duvalier, and Wil’s father, a soldier, covertly helped his future wife’s family escape.
    [21:03–38:09]
  • Papa Doc’s Dictatorship: Fast, brutal shift from hopeful reformer to lethal dictator—a lesson on how swiftly oppressive regimes turn.
    • Wil: “As soon as he got elected, I think within a month, he got elected...he started executing people.” [24:14]
  • Community and Struggle: Family was isolated in East New York, Brooklyn, not surrounded by a larger Haitian community.
    [10:45]

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2. Haitian Immigrant Experience in America

• Choosing New York: Wil’s father carefully interviewed people in Montreal, Miami, Boston before settling on Brooklyn, seeking job and educational opportunity while avoiding places (like Boston) described as deeply racist.
  • Wil (on Boston): “You had to take a test...she realized...discriminated. ...You’ll always be a n****r.” [45:06]
• Comparison with Other Migrations: Dave and Trevor discuss how African immigrants sometimes viewed even apartheid South Africa as a “less dangerous” choice than some home regimes (like Idi Amin’s Uganda), highlighting the relativity of perceived ‘freedom.’
  [48:01–48:41]

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3. Childhood, Family Discipline, and Formative Values

• Strict Upbringing & FOMO:
  • Wil’s childhood included strict curfews, forbidden late TV, and the lingering sense that life’s magic happened just out of reach—instilling chronic FOMO and oddly, lifelong sleep issues.
    • Wil: “I always thought there was something special happen after 11.” [09:08]
  • Parenting & Gender Roles:
    • Wil’s dad refused gender roles—everyone learned to cook, sew, repair electrical things, with emphasis on self-sufficiency and engineering basics.
    • Wil: “My dad used to always tell us, like, everybody's equal, right? There's no such thing as gender roles.” [00:50, 64:45]
  • Memorable moment: Wil details his dad’s DIY utility bill hacking via meter rewinding, sparking much laughter from Trevor and Dave.
    • Trevor: “You guys use anti gas?” [65:49]

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4. Blackness, Racism, and Assimilation

• Encountering American Racism:
  • Stories of subtle and explicit racism in the U.S. medical system, the workforce, and day-to-day life, contrasted with a Haitian background where “everyone was just human.”
• Parallel Experiences Globally:
  • Trevor: “How similar the stories of racism are around the world.” [45:26]
  • Both recount parental examples—Wil’s aunt’s experience as a Black nurse in Boston, Trevor’s mother’s encounter with ‘you’ll always be a Kafr’ in South Africa.
    [45:26–46:53]

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5. Becoming a Comedian: Engineering, Failure, and Belonging

• Engineering First:
  • Wil initially became an electromechanical engineer, inspired by childhood curiosity about how things work.
  • Trevor: “The first time you told me that you used to be an engineer, I thought you were just saying this as a comedy bit...” [19:45]
• Comedy’s Roots: Family life was both strict AND filled with laughter (“eating and laughing—the best things in life” [81:59])—revealing comedy as a means of survival and joy, not a contradiction to hardship.
• First Time Bombing:
  • Wil’s break at the Uptown Comedy Club (after meeting Dougie Doug) resulted in a painful onstage bomb—being booed, not just silence. He waited months before trying again, eventually finding his comedic voice.
    “You bombed?” “No, I got booed.” [98:09–98:53]
• Turning Point:
  • Acceptance in comedy’s inner circles; Touring and working with the likes of Cat Williams, Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari.
  • Touching Mentorship:
    • Memorable story of Cat Williams vocally supporting Trevor at the Laugh Factory when the audience was cold, turning the crowd and giving him his first true break in LA.
      • Trevor: “Katt Williams... loves comedy. Loves comedians.” [124:50]
    • Cat also gives Wil $400 unexpectedly after a show, highlighting his generosity in the comedy world. [126:26]

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6. Health, Transformation, and Obsessions

• Physical Transformation:
  • Wil changed his health dramatically over years by giving up (in succession): poultry, fried foods, ice cream, then dairy, eventually becoming pescatarian. He credits this with better health—despite constant sleep challenges.
    • Running Joke: Wil sends Trevor random health tips, e.g., “Sugar is killing you.” [137:12]
• On Sleep:
  • Chronic sleep deprivation; possible roots in childhood restrictions and FOMO.
    • Trevor: “You could eat a little more cheese and sleep more and your health would be better.” [139:12]
• Boxing:
  • Wil recently had his first professional boxing match, having boxed recreationally for years. Says it’s about self-defense and channeling aggression—but admits he “never had rhythm.”
    • Wil: “I can’t...my rhythm always been off.” [130:24]

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7. Comedy, Representation, and Family Acceptance

• Family’s Initial Reaction:
  • Wil’s family at first didn’t take comedy seriously—expected him to be an engineer, doctor, or lawyer. Acceptance slowly came after his mother ‘accidentally’ saw him on late-night TV, and his new career felt legitimate.
  • Wil: “They all heard me coming through the beads, and they just look and they all start talking. And one of them go, is that the comedian there?...And mama. Yeah, that's my favorite son.” [107:38]
• Reflections on Identity:
  • Trevor and Wil both reflect on how deeply family narratives, expectations, and struggle impact personal identity.
  • Wil: “Most cultures from these small countries...in those days information was not that relevant...The thing most of them knew is you gotta make money. The number one reason people migrate to America? Money.” [110:01]

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8. Language, Improvisation, and ‘Fluent Will’

• Word Play & Laughter:
  • Wil’s offbeat word choices—“interpretate,” “pacifically”—spurred running jokes and a debate about word legitimacy, leaving Trevor and Dave in stitches about the creativity and elasticity of language, especially in Black immigrant cultures.
    • Trevor: “If it was a game show, I would accept interpretate.” [93:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Wil Sylvince [24:14]:
“As soon as he got elected, I think within a month...he started executing people.”

Trevor Noah [45:26]:
“How similar the stories of racism are around the world.”

Wil Sylvince [65:49]:
“So my dad figured out how to beat the company. He would just unscrew the thing and turn it backwards. And so now the meters would run the other way, but he made sure they didn’t go all the way down...Our gas bill was pretty low.”

Dave [52:19]:
“You reward the ones that tell you, hey, they planning on coming to your house tonight...That was their toto Marcuts. The house. The house Negroes.”

Trevor Noah [124:50]:
“Katt Williams...loves comedy. Loves comedians.”

Wil Sylvince [107:38]:
“They all heard me coming through the beads, and they just look and they all start talking. And one of them go, is that the comedian there?...And mama. Yeah, that's my favorite son.”

Wil Sylvince [137:12]:
“Sugar is killing you. Let me tell you what sugar does to the human body.”

Dave [148:24]:
“Our friendship is on a thread right now...you and your vehicle have put our friendship on a thread.”
(In reference to a treacherous Sprinter Van ride)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-------| | 00:50–02:23 | Childhood, curiosity, early influences | | 09:08–10:18 | FOMO, strict upbringing, childhood sleep patterns | | 21:03–38:09 | Parents’ escape from Haiti, Papa Doc’s regime | | 45:06–46:53 | Encounters with racism in America and beyond | | 64:20–68:02 | How family values shaped Wil, gender roles, learning everything | | 81:59 | The roots of comedy—laughter as survival | | 91:00–98:09 | Breaking into standup, bombing, “booed” in Harlem | | 124:50–126:37 | Cat Williams’s impact—generosity in comedy | | 130:00–133:31 | On boxing, rhythm, and childhood quirks | | 137:12–141:08 | Obsession with health, giving up foods, pescatarianism | | 148:24 | The infamously rough Sprinter Van story |

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Podcast Tone and Interpersonal Dynamics

• The conversation is candid, humorous, and layered. Trevor’s probing curiosity and respect for Wil’s journey pairs with constant teasing and intellectual playfulness, especially on language and cultural quirks.
• Dave acts as a grounding everyman—sometimes absurd, always witty, with running comic meta-commentary.
• There is open, affectionate roasting, especially when delving into Wil’s word inventions, family rituals, and quirks.
• Despite the levity, emotionally heavy subjects (family trauma, death, racism) are approached with sensitivity and grace, often revealing underlying resilience and hope.

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Takeaways

• Resilience & Adaptation: Wil’s story exemplifies the creative survival strategies of immigrants and how cultural trauma can be channeled into art and humor.
• Friendship & Representation: Relationships like Wil and Trevor’s—crossing continents, cultures, professions—redefine community and belonging. Mentorship and allyship (as with Cat Williams) are vital in creative spaces.
• Comedy as Healing & Connection: For Wil, comedy is not the opposite of struggle—it’s a tool for processing, connecting, and surviving.
• Claims to Joy: Even amidst tragedy, it’s okay (and necessary) to claim pleasure—through laughter, food, or new beginnings.

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Suggested Clips

• [24:14] Dictatorship fast-forward—on how power turns quickly
• [45:06] “You’ll always be a n****r”—bracing racism in Boston
• [65:49] The gas meter “hack”—Wil’s dad outsmarts the system
• [98:09] The pain and lessons of bombing (“booed, not just bombed”)
• [124:50] Cat Williams as comedy patron saint
• [107:38] Family discovers Wil is a comedian—acceptance through TV moment

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For listeners: This episode is as much the story of Wil Sylvince’s transformation as it is a love letter to immigrant family bonds, the necessity of laughter, and the search for meaning in a complicated world. Expect to learn, laugh, and see comedy—and resilience—in a whole new light.

Transcript

[Trevor Noah]

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[Will Sylvance]

I felt like I always thought out the box, if that makes sense. Kind of like. Cause I was very close to my grandmother, right? Because my dad used to always tell us, like, everybody's equal, right? There's no such thing as gender roles. You learn how to cook, clean, wash, you know, Also you learn how to fix electrical appliances. You learn how if a socket is broken, you learn what to do. You know? Also, my dad used to do this thing where. So, you know when the gas come into the house. Yeah, Right. And there's a meter that.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

So my dad figured out how to beat the company. He would just unscrew the thing and turn it backwards. And so now the meters would run the other way, but he made sure it go all the way down. I'm like, what, you guys. You guys didn't use any gas?

[Trevor Noah]

You guys use anti gas?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You guys use negative gas?

[Will Sylvance]

Right? So he knew just the amount and the gas. Our gas bill was pretty low. And he knew how to also with the electric and the cheap. And he used so these different fuses. He'll get the ones with certain amount of resistance. And, you know, no wonder the white

[Dave]

people didn't want the black people doing these things. Look at what they're doing with their engineering knowledge.

[Trevor Noah]

This is what now with Trevor Noah. All right, Eugene, let's play a little game. You know, make something fun. Two truths and a lie. Here we go. One, I've had to tell a world leader that their fly was undone. Two, when getting dressed, I don't do sock, sock, shoe, shoe. I do sock, shoe, sock, shoe. Three, I've been a Verizon customer for 11 years. What do you think?

[Will Sylvance]

Very confused. First of all, why would a world leader own a fly? Because those things just come uninvited. Secondly, lying to your friends is not cool. There's never Been a game.

[Trevor Noah]

No, Eugene, fly is for like the zip is what? And then it's not a lie. It's a game where I'm trying. It's like I give you information. Okay, I lied. All three are true, Eugene. And in case you were thinking, you know, Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your ATT or T mobile bill, they'll give you a better deal. And the reason I've been with them for this long is just because I travel so much. I need a network that's reliable. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. Take your AT&T or T mobile bill to your local Verizon store T today. Get your better deal and start saving for real. Based on root metrics, best overall Mobile Network Performance, U.S. second Half 2025. All rights reserved. You must provide recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. So do you understand how two truths. And do you understand it now?

[Will Sylvance]

I understand that you didn't have to lie first before telling me that Verizon is the best.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I wasn't lying. Eugene. It's not a lie. I wouldn't lie to you. It's a game. Okay, I'm sorry.

[Will Sylvance]

I lied.

[Trevor Noah]

Ah.

[Will Sylvance]

What's a booster? Somebody that steal clothes from a store and sell it at a discount price.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like community service.

[Dave]

I Love Boosters is the must see movie of the summer, starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore in a crazy heist comedy set in the cutthroat fashion world. The Velvet Gang. They're boosting from my stores. Critics are hailing I Love Boosters as wildly hilarious and outrageous, provocative and really fun. Come on, let's take all of it. I Love Boosters. Rated R in theaters Friday. Get tickets.

[Trevor Noah]

Now.

[Will Sylvance]

The. The difference is.

[Trevor Noah]

But I'm saying, did you see what you did there?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You said, is Haiti still in the World Cup? Yeah, I said Haiti. Then you were like, why'd you say it like that? Then you said, dave, is Haiti in the World Cup? Then he said, haiti. Then you said, why do you say it like that?

[Will Sylvance]

Right?

[Trevor Noah]

Then Sanaz said, did you take Iran's spot? And then you said, iran. Why did you say it like that?

[Will Sylvance]

Because I know you're talking about a person or place.

[Trevor Noah]

You thought you were talking about a person.

[Will Sylvance]

There's people named Iran. So I want clarity.

[Dave]

Haiti's in the World cup for the first time in 50 years.

[Will Sylvance]

Is that a question or statement?

[Trevor Noah]

Congratulations.

[Dave]

Congratulations.

[Will Sylvance]

Thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

Congratulations.

[Will Sylvance]

You guys did not hear about that.

[Trevor Noah]

Are you. You didn't. You barely heard about it. Do you even watch soccer?

[Will Sylvance]

I don't. That's why I wanted to know. I don't watch soccer, but I heard, you know, I heard the whispers.

[Trevor Noah]

You're supposed to. If you're from a small country like Haiti, you should just support everything they do.

[Will Sylvance]

I do.

[Trevor Noah]

I do.

[Will Sylvance]

I do. That's why I'm like, you know.

[Dave]

You know what's cool about Haiti being in the World cup is that it's almost like you decided as a country that guys being a country is hard, but I think we can get back in the World Cup. Do you know what I mean? Like, if we use our.

[Will Sylvance]

Our.

[Dave]

There's too many. Do you know what I mean? There's too many pieces. But it's like this particular. It's just to get in a tournament.

[Trevor Noah]

I just want to apologize and say this podcast was not supposed to start like this.

[Will Sylvance]

All right. Oh, I know. We started.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, we started.

[Will Sylvance]

I thought it was yabba dabba doing.

[Trevor Noah]

No, that's what I mean. We're always yabba dabba doing. I thought I was gonna start this from, like, a really sincere place, and we were gonna get into it, and then. But then, as usual, when we're in the same space, things devolve and they go off track. You know what's actually gonna be really interesting, Dave? Maybe you'll let us know if this throws you off as the man on the street. Is it at all weird for you that Will has himself on his shirt? Because it throws me off. I'm not gonna lie. It is very weird that I'm talking to a person and then I. When I look down. Because, you know, sometimes when you're talking to someone, you don't look in their eyes.

[Will Sylvance]

You look away.

[Trevor Noah]

But then I look down. And then he's looking at me as well.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

And then I look up, and then you're looking at me.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, you think this is me? You think we all look alike? Is that what you think?

[Trevor Noah]

And why are you naked in the. In the top?

[Will Sylvance]

Not naked.

[Trevor Noah]

You're naked.

[Will Sylvance]

I got jumbos about my neck. I have a tank top.

[Trevor Noah]

You're naked. You're wearing one of those yellow, like, spandex things.

[Will Sylvance]

No, that's a. That's a yellow jump rope around my nec. That's not a jump rope. That's a jump.

[Trevor Noah]

That's one of those yellow. The, like, The. You know what I mean? Like, the.

[Will Sylvance]

The.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, those things that, like, who. Who was like, Sasha Baron Cohen wore something like that in one of his movies.

[Will Sylvance]

I don't know who that is, but

[Trevor Noah]

the girl played like, Borat and stuff.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what you were.

[Will Sylvance]

I don't see ropes medication. You can't see the vote.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't see ropes at all. I don't see it. Welcome to the podcast.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, well, thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.

[Trevor Noah]

This is good, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

What you've been up to. Did you sleep today, by the way?

[Will Sylvance]

I probably got three hours, four hours sleep.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I can tell. I can always tell when you. Why don't you sleep?

[Will Sylvance]

I don't know. Cause I. Sometimes I get home, I'd be excited to go to bed.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I get home, I'm driving, I'm gonna go to bed early, be like 1:30. I'll be in bed by 2. I get home, take my stuff off, you know, get online or start watching a TV show. And I'm wired. I'm wired.

[Dave]

Okay, hold on. I'm just. So I can help you for real, is. Explain why it is that. No, this is legit. Explain why it is that you are getting home at 2.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, God. I do shows at night. I do shows like 1:30, 2:00 clock, or sometimes I get home at 3:30, 4:00 clock because the shows go. Go late comedy shows.

[Trevor Noah]

But. Yeah, but I mean, when we first met. How many years have we known each other now? What are we, 15 years? Maybe 15, maybe even more.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Funny enough, when I first met you, like, so when I first came to New York, I met Will at the Comedy Cellar.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

And you and I would be there until 3am, 4am, when the shows would go, like, we'd run the shows all the way from 7:00pm until like 4:00am yeah. Right.

[Will Sylvance]

So the janitor come out.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but I would go sleep. You don't sleep.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't understand why you don't sleep. Like, what is it about, like, is it like anxiety? Is it like a.

[Will Sylvance]

It could be fomo, fear. Missing out of what? When I was younger, we had to be in bed by 10. Okay, right, 10. And sometimes there was a TV show. It was like a special TV show that lasted two hours to 11. My brothers and I will put the COVID over the tv and one will watch out for See, my parents is coming, and we'll watch TV till 11. And we thought, I always. Maybe not. We But I always thought there was something. Specials happened after 11. You know, the only two times we were allowed to stay up past 11 past was Christmas and New Year's Eve. Because Christmas we stayed. December 24th, we stay up to 12. Yeah, 24th at night. And then when it becomes 25th at 12 midnight, we open the gifts and we play for them for an hour. We go to bed. Then New Year's Eve was another time already.

[Dave]

All of it is. Yes. Sorry. I know that you're telling a story that seem is normal to you because it's your life, but it's not that normal to other people.

[Will Sylvance]

But I didn't know that, though, as a kid. I didn't know that. I didn't know what's going on. I used to look at the. I remember one year at New Year's Eve, I was just looking out the window. I'm like, what's going on out there?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but what I want to know is. Sorry, the thing that got me was you saying we played with the toys for an hour.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, we got tired. We're not used to staying up that late.

[Dave]

And we, you know, we just.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay, go to bed, go to bed, go to bed. I want to play some more. Go to bed.

[Trevor Noah]

Was this like a. Was this a typical Haitian parent thing? Or was it just like your parents who were doing this? Did you grow up in like a big Haitian community? Was it.

[Will Sylvance]

No, no.

[Trevor Noah]

Was it like. No, it wasn't. It wasn't like a big Haitian immigrant community.

[Will Sylvance]

We was the only Haitian family in on that neighborhood. In that neighborhood. Where did you grow up in East New York. Brooklyn.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And three, four blocks away was my cousins. But we never, you know, it was hard for us to connect like that. Cause, you know. You know, I felt like the world was anti Haiti.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But I mean, like, did. Cause most immigrant groups in the world will sort of track the first person. You know what I mean? One person goes. They tell their brothers and sisters, hey, I came here. The next group comes. The next group comes. And then everyone starts to settle in the same place. Was that not like a.

[Dave]

Excuse me, can I ask a question? Sorry, sorry.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Always back to.

[Dave]

Okay. As you know, in Star Wars. Is it Star Wars?

[Trevor Noah]

Well, you're the one who just asked it and then asked us a question.

[Dave]

You don't have enough information where they have that thing as the movie starts, there's like a. Oh, the scroll.

[Trevor Noah]

The crawl, I think it's called.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, the credits.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. No, no, no.

[Dave]

Right at the beginning.

[Trevor Noah]

The Beginning is not the credits. I think that thing. I think it's called a crawl, I think.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, the Star wars crawl.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Where it comes from, the Empire has built ARD forces. The Rebel alliance is growing stronger. But yeah, yeah, this.

[Dave]

Does. This show. Does this podcast have that.

[Trevor Noah]

I feel like you're tricking us into.

[Dave]

No, I'm asking a real question.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it does not.

[Dave]

Okay. The reason why is because you guys are talking as if that thing was gonna be put in. Do you see what I mean? Haiti for. For us in the street, Haiti is not like just an easy country to deal with. You know what I mean? Not to deal with, but to. It's not like saying I was. My parents are from France and, you know, we need some.

[Trevor Noah]

Why did you bring France into it? You see what the French have done to Haiti?

[Dave]

Because Haitians speak French.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but you see what. Yeah, you see what he. You see what he did there?

[Will Sylvance]

That was.

[Trevor Noah]

That was what they call microaggression, I believe.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, that was a trigger for us.

[Trevor Noah]

That was a trigger.

[Dave]

It was a trigger. I know it's a trigger. Do you know why I knew you would say something like that? Because now you're taking me off. Now you're going to say I went off. But while we're here, this is what I'm trying to say. You guys have jumped into the conversation and you're very loving people. You've jumped into the conversation, but we don't know where you are.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. Do you want me to do a crawl?

[Dave]

Yes, almost. But before.

[Trevor Noah]

They're hard, though.

[Dave]

Sorry.

[Trevor Noah]

They're hard. Like, I'll try, I'll try.

[Dave]

Not completely, but just give us a bit of a setup, a little bit of your relationship with him just so that we're like, oh, okay, this is. This guy.

[Trevor Noah]

He did.

[Will Sylvance]

He said we knew each other for X amount of years and.

[Dave]

Yes. Doing what? Doing shows at mid. What's happening? Do you know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, we was doing shows at the Comedy Cellar.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm trying to think, how do you even do a crawl?

[Dave]

Just a little bit.

[Trevor Noah]

Someone walked up to you at a party. And then the crawl starts and you go. Will and Trevor are sitting at a table together. They reminisce on how they were friends 16 years ago from dating in a comedy club. They perform comedy shows at the Comedy Cellar in New York City from 7pm until 3 to 4am Will Sylvience was the kindest comedian Trevor met. And over the years, they got to know each other. Will Sylvie from a Haitian family, Haiti, a small but powerful nation that resisted the French occupation and was one of the first colonies to free itself from enslaved slavery. Okay, then.

[Dave]

Now you're going a bit far.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay.

[Dave]

Whoa. You can't tell me how? No. Now we know. Okay, cool. You guys are comedians, great buddies.

[Trevor Noah]

Have you ever watched a movie with this guy? He's the worst.

[Will Sylvance]

He'd be talking during the movies.

[Trevor Noah]

He does this during the movie as well. He does this exact same thing during the movie.

[Dave]

Please.

[Trevor Noah]

George Lucas put the crawl because of him.

[Dave]

Now that we know. Okay, you guys are great buddies. You, you, you knew each other from comedy. Now how. Now you can go and you have a sleep problem now.

[Trevor Noah]

But do you think it's a sleep problem?

[Dave]

Now we can go into it.

[Will Sylvance]

I never thought it was a sleep problem. I, I, you know what? I never went to the doctor for any specific reason. Yeah. When I got older, when I found out, like, my white friends have a spirit specific doctor, not just a doctor that tells you everything about your body, but the eye doctor, the lip doctor, the skin doctor. I'm like, there's a doctor for that. Like, I didn't know, I didn't know that was a thing. Like, you know, our therapist. I thought therapy was just for, you know, in the black community, we just thought therapy was for crazy people.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I'm not sure if that's the right thing.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, you're right. You're right. But it's true.

[Will Sylvance]

That's for crazy people.

[Trevor Noah]

When we were growing up, they'd say that like in Zulu or something. They just be like, you're just crazy.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

There was no adhd. There was no, do you know what I mean, anything. Oh, autism, this, that. No, you're crazy or you're not craz. Yeah. So, yeah, it's a similar thing in like South African and I would argue most African culture as well.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And you don't go to the doctor. You just figure things out.

[Trevor Noah]

You just figure out, yeah, you're sick or you're not sick.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, but I'm saying if you were sick, you figure out how to not to get be sick on your own. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Trevor Noah]

Or you go to like a doctor because you're like dying sick.

[Will Sylvance]

That's different. That's like you wouldn't. Now you need a doctor.

[Trevor Noah]

You wouldn't go to a doctor because you can't sleep.

[Dave]

Yeah, all times that I agree with.

[Will Sylvance]

Cause you're thinking about other women when you're married. There's a doctor for that. Right? Well, therapist.

[Dave]

A therapist?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Couples Therapists, Right? Which is crazy. Why don't you just talk to your wife?

[Trevor Noah]

Because it's awkward to say to your wife that you're thinking about other women. That's why the therapist is.

[Will Sylvance]

So you could say you could. So it's not awkward when you, your wife and a person you don't know, you talking to that person. Almost like how people talk to dogs. They see a stranger with a dog, like, hey, buddy, how you doing? You know, they talk to a dog, like, is he treating you good? Is he giving you, feeding you? Right. You ever see that happen?

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I've noticed?

[Will Sylvance]

What?

[Trevor Noah]

People in most parts of the Western world, you know, like, so in the United States, in England and all these people don't really like to talk to a stranger. But I've learned the trick is, if you especially like white people, they can get very uncomfortable if you just try to talk to them. But if you talk to their dog, they'll answer all your questions.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

So I do that thing, but to the dog. So I'll be like, hey, how you doing today? And then they'll answer, oh, doing good. And I'll be like, oh, you guys live around here? And then they'll be like, yeah, we live around. I'm like, oh, what's your plan for today? And they'll answer on behalf of the dog. And then you use. So that's, it's the same principle. That's what therapy is. Basically, you use the therapist as a conduit.

[Will Sylvance]

A dog.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. So that you don't, you don't say to your partner, this is my problem with you. You say to the therapist, this is my problem with my partner.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Dave]

Okay, one question.

[Will Sylvance]

Why are they sitting right next to you?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you become like a conduit.

[Will Sylvance]

Right?

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean? So you can do the same thing for, like, sleep.

[Will Sylvance]

Wait, what?

[Trevor Noah]

I'm saying you should go talk to somebody about your sleep.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, I see what you're saying.

[Trevor Noah]

Cause you don't sleep.

[Dave]

Here's a question about sleep, a real one. Do you. Are you tired?

[Will Sylvance]

I, I, I'm tired on the way home.

[Trevor Noah]

No, Will's always tired.

[Dave]

No, I'm saying in life, like in, you know, the day, he's tired.

[Will Sylvance]

I think something about my house energized me. Cause when I get home, I'm like, I should paint the house.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But, Will, you are always. I know few human beings who will sleep anywhere the way you do. I've been on the road with you. We've been to different countries together. We've been to different cities, we've driven to different states. We driven to different. You. You name it. We've been on drives, trains, planes, everything.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Without fail, if we stop moving. You sleep.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Without fail. You sleep before the plane takes off.

[Will Sylvance]

Yep.

[Trevor Noah]

You sleep when the plane lands. You sleep in the flight. You sleep like will, you are always tired. And I only say this cause I'm worried about you. I always go like, you know me. I can even tell you when you've stepped and when you haven't stepped.

[Will Sylvance]

Right. Now you see me in planes, trains, automobiles. But you now have to see me in my house when I'm wired up and wired. Okay, fair, fair.

[Trevor Noah]

This is true. This is true.

[Dave]

On top of it, the trying to go with like, okay, if. If you're sleeping in places, is it like. Isn't that just like, almost like a different way of getting sleep?

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's a bad way of getting sleep.

[Dave]

Oh, really?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it's a. It's definitely a bad way of getting sleep because remember you. So your sleep is divided into different stages. Right?

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

So you have rapid eye movement. That's rem. You've got light sleep and you've got deep sleep.

[Dave]

The, the.

[Trevor Noah]

The thing is, you need each period of sleep to take up a certain amount of time so you can have a little bit of sleep the whole day. But then you're never going to get into deep sleep. And each one is doing a different thing for your brain.

[Will Sylvance]

Right, right, right.

[Trevor Noah]

And each one's doing a different thing for your body as well.

[Will Sylvance]

I find that your brain, when you're in deep sleep, the brain get rid of the bad cells out the brain. Do you know that?

[Trevor Noah]

How would you know? You're never in deep sleep.

[Will Sylvance]

I read about it.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Dave]

Okay, okay.

[Trevor Noah]

You were reading about sleep. You're like, oh, this sounds interesting. Have you. Have you always had this as like a thing?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, again, I think it comes from. When I was little, I was very curious about what's the whole reason why I became an engineer. I used to look at a digital clock and wondering how he's going from 1 to 2 to 3. What's making this digital clock work? And I got into electromechanical engineering.

[Trevor Noah]

You know the first time you told me that you used to be an engineer, I thought you were just saying this as a comedy bit because I'm black. No, no, that would be the most logical conclusion. Yeah, any, like immigrant, doctor, lawyer, engineer. That would be the most logical. No, I just thought you Were making a joke. Like. Like the first time Will said to me, he was like, yeah, as an engineer. Then I just thought he meant, like, metaphorically in life.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, no, because, Will, I've never known you as an engineer.

[Will Sylvance]

Right, right.

[Trevor Noah]

I've only met you as a stand up comedian.

[Dave]

And engineers have, like a stereotype.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they like.

[Dave]

It's like an accountant, hasn't it?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, exactly.

[Will Sylvance]

What's the stereotype?

[Trevor Noah]

They don't wear their face on their shir. That's generally how engineers roll.

[Will Sylvance]

Good point.

[Trevor Noah]

But tell me a little bit about, like, young Will Sylvie. Cause you see, like, that story about you and your brothers, I feel like you grew up in the strangest world and it's made you the comedian and the person that I know you as today. Because every. Every time we hang out, you tell like, a new story about growing up, and I'm always like, what, like, what world did you grow up in? So wait, let's go back to the beginning. So your parents were born in Haiti?

[Will Sylvance]

Born in Haiti, Yeah. Yep. They moved to America cause of Papa Doc. You know Papa Doc?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I don't know Papa Papa Doc.

[Will Sylvance]

Francois Duvalier, he was the president of Haiti in the early 60s, 1960s. And he promised a lot of changes and stuff. And then he actually became very bad. And within a month, he started killing Haitians that disagreed with him within, like, immediately. I wonder, how quick do dictators do that?

[Trevor Noah]

It depends on the situation.

[Will Sylvance]

Like, when they promise to do good for the country, they get elected. Then how quick do they start?

[Trevor Noah]

Like, it literally depends on the situation. Some take years, some it'll be, like, within a few months. I think. Maybe I'm not a historian, but I think maybe it has to. Like, Dave reads a ton of history books because, like, he just doesn't have friends.

[Dave]

But, like, that is an incorrect reason.

[Will Sylvance]

Which part? He said so many things.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. But I think it's. I genuinely think it just depends on the. I think it depends on the structures within the country. Maybe I'm wrong. I could be completely wrong, but I think depending on how entrenched certain, like, systems are in a country, that's how quickly you can turn into, like, a murderous dictator.

[Will Sylvance]

Maybe that was your plan all along. And then when you got in power, you decide. Cause dictators don't start out like, hey, if you disagree with me, I'm gonna talk about.

[Trevor Noah]

No, never, never, never, never.

[Will Sylvance]

They never start out like that. They start out like, hey, everybody's. We're gonna help everybody out.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I would argue Most dictators have the best messaging.

[Will Sylvance]

Mm.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, I don't think there's a single dictator whose speeches you can see before they were a dictator where you will, you'll disagree with it. They say we need to feed the people. We need to make our land what it was. We need to, we need to reinstate pride. We need. You know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

Right, right. One thing, one. One of the campaigns Franco Duvalle was running on was he's going to. He's going to equalize blacks. The dark skinned blacks. Yeah. Cause for so long, whites and light skins was. Was like the top of the show.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, this was in Haiti.

[Will Sylvance]

In Haiti. Yeah. Damn. And even. Even after the Haitians won the war, somehow the colonization still seeped in there. Yeah. And white was the highest thing to be. And so Francis Duval was like, yo, we're gonna kill that. The dark scene's gonna be the rulers. I'm paraphrasing.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, of course, of course. I figured, I figured.

[Will Sylvance]

And we're gonna put the whites in their place or anybody that. With that mentality. And obviously there's more dark skins than whites in Haiti at the time. So black people, Haitians, like. Yes, yes, let's do it.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, and then, you know, and

[Trevor Noah]

then he flipped it and he became.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. He didn't care about that.

[Dave]

The thing that I'm surprised about, actually it's an interesting question you brought up is the speed. But it is interesting that it took months.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what I'm saying. I think it's.

[Will Sylvance]

Wait, what took months that he.

[Dave]

Papa Doc from I'm gonna save you to I'm a dictator.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, as soon as he got elected, I think within a month, he got elected, like August something that year.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And September, he started. He started executing people.

[Dave]

That's quick.

[Trevor Noah]

That is really quick.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Yes. September. Yeah.

[Dave]

So then

[Trevor Noah]

sometimes think it's a shame that I'm gonna try and phrase this as. As delicately and eloquently as I possibly can.

[Will Sylvance]

You should give it to us raw. And then. And then rephrase it.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, okay, Cool. Okay, I'll do it that way. I. I sometimes wish that, like dictators and evil people, I wish we could use them for good because they, they're very efficient.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Do you.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, like Papa Doc comes into power and just starts killing people. He doesn't go like, ah, man, I want to kill people, but it's so hard and, you know, there's so many things I gotta get right. And there's So I think of like apartheid in South Africa. When you look at what the apartheid government did in the country, it's pretty amazing, you know, like how they were able to build systems, you know, that they invented new ways to create fuel because they were sanctioned by the world. So they couldn't get fuel from other countries like most countries can.

[Dave]

You know what I'm looking forward. You know what I'm looking forward to is the non raw version of this, but continue. No, no, no, but you get what I'm saying.

[Trevor Noah]

The white apartheid government. Yeah, so there were sanctions. Yeah, there were sanctions on the way.

[Will Sylvance]

Otherwise we won't do business with you. Yeah, so they figure out. Well, we'll figure out how to.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they were like, it's fine. We'll keep the racism going and we'll just figure out our own thing. And they developed new ways. One of the most, like, impressive was they found a way to make fuel from coal.

[Will Sylvance]

So what's that phrase? Pressure creates. Pressure creates something. Creates you to be like, when you're up against the wall.

[Trevor Noah]

Is it pressure or is it necessity? Is the mother of invention? I don't know. I've never heard a pressure one. Is the one you.

[Will Sylvance]

When you. It's almost like a pressure cooker. And if it figures out how to cook.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't know that one.

[Dave]

I think you just thought of like coal and diamonds. Oh, no, no, it is a. It is a phrase like.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah, yeah, that. That I know of, but I can't think of like a.

[Will Sylvance]

On the pressure diamonds. So you guys made diamonds.

[Trevor Noah]

Racist diamonds. They made very, very good racist diamonds.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

The lemons racing lemonade.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. If life gives you lemons, say something racist and make lemonade. No, so what I mean in like a. In the non raw version is this. I wish we could harness the determination that evil people have in the world to do good things because they never seem to be blocked by the things like, quote, unquote, good people are blocking.

[Dave]

It's the same thing with naughty children, so to speak. You know, if you. No, no. When you. No legitimate. When you're like.

[Trevor Noah]

If you.

[Dave]

If you focus, if you use all the energy using on the bad thing to the naughty child on a good thing. It would. You know, the parents say that all the time.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I hear you.

[Trevor Noah]

But it's different because, like, being naughty is actually easier than being good.

[Dave]

It is, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

It's way easier. So when I was a kid, if they go do your homework.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Versus go play outside in the mud. Playing outside in the Mud is easy.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh. Oh, that. Okay. I thought there's other naughty things that's easy. Like, don't put your hand in the fire. Don't put the fork into the electric outlet.

[Trevor Noah]

These are. These are dangerous. These are not the difference between naughty and dangerous. There's a complete difference here. No, no. So what I'm saying is like.

[Will Sylvance]

Like.

[Dave]

I know what you're saying. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So naughty. Naughty kids, they're sort of choosing the easy way out. I can say this. As a kid who was naughty, I was going, this is more fun, and it was easy.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes, that's true.

[Trevor Noah]

What I'm talking about with the adults is it is very difficult to do, like, the evil thing. It's actually quite difficult. When you think of the systems that the Nazis set up, you're like, man, this was so intense. You could have spent this energy, like, curing cancer.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

The apartheid system was so complicated, Will. Complicated. What is a black person and what kind of black person? And who counts as black and who doesn't? And where do people live and where don't they live? And how are they treated in prison and how are they not treated? What you're saying about Haiti, like, the. Like, it's such a complicated system, then

[Dave]

in that sense, I would say that you. They are.

[Trevor Noah]

You.

[Dave]

You want to change their definition of what a good thing is? Cause to them, yes, that's what I

[Trevor Noah]

wish I could do.

[Dave]

Their energy for a good thing.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Dave]

In their minds, that's what I wish it could be.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean? Like, if. If Papa Doc had that same determination that he did the evil things with, but he did it with good, imagine where Haiti could have been.

[Will Sylvance]

Mm. You know, it's like people use solar energy to power up their house, and then people use solar energy to power up their solar powered guns.

[Trevor Noah]

I was with you for the first part, and then you. You went off.

[Will Sylvance]

I was thinking of something solar powered. That's bad.

[Trevor Noah]

Are you sure you were an eng.

[Will Sylvance]

You know what? Actually, I came up with. What year was that? 94. I came up with solar powered paint. So you know how solar panels are on top of your roof?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Will Sylvance]

And I was still like, why don't they just make the whole house out of solar panels? Put solar panels all over, so no matter where the sun is, it collects the energy from the sun and turn it into, you know, stored energy later. And I'm like, oh, they should just paint the house in solar power panels.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that a thing now?

[Will Sylvance]

It was when I was coming up. I actually created it on paper. So think about technology. The hardest part is to get to work on paper. You get to work on paper, you figure out how to get it to work in real life.

[Trevor Noah]

That makes sense.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

So I figured out how to make it work on paper. At the time, it was three coats of paint, nano, ground and anther. And then. And then paint the whole house. And then you have these huge capacitors in your basement that collects energy and stores to save it for later. And this other system that dissipates the energy slowly throughout the rest of the house capacities, once you use energy, it depletes completely. So this other device that slowly released energy to the rest of the house as you need it.

[Trevor Noah]

This is one of those situations where I don't know enough about electricity.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, actually, there's a company to be

[Trevor Noah]

able to call you.

[Will Sylvance]

There's a company.

[Trevor Noah]

Now you could be completely bullshitting me right now, and I don't know. No, no, you could be. And if you. If you've done it, well done right? So congratulations to you, Will.

[Will Sylvance]

I've been talking about it in podcasts and radio shows, blah, blah, blah, for a long time. Then I found out there's a company in Australia, 2014, they started developing a solar panel power paint.

[Trevor Noah]

Did you reach out to them and tell them.

[Will Sylvance]

No, I didn't.

[Trevor Noah]

That they stole your idea?

[Will Sylvance]

No, I didn't. I didn't have the money to patent it, so I didn't. I couldn't afford the.

[Dave]

Okay, question. Your parents, how old are they when they are leaving Haiti?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, early 20s.

[Trevor Noah]

Early 20s.

[Will Sylvance]

Early 20s? Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow, that's young.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. They left Haiti early 20s.

[Trevor Noah]

Was it easy to get out?

[Will Sylvance]

No, because Papa Doc would not let people leave. Like, you could go visit, but you had to come back. You know, like in North Korea, they're like, oh, shit. We see why other countries did they let them leave. So now what? North Korea don't let their people leave, Right? Yeah, yeah. So. So I think places like North Korea learned from places like Haiti. Oh, no, just don't let them leave.

[Trevor Noah]

Just don't let them go. And then. Yeah, so how. Wait, how did they escape?

[Will Sylvance]

So the thing is, if you leave and then your visa expired and the country sends you back, then Haiti were like, oh, you. Oh, did you try to leave? This visa expired two years ago.

[Trevor Noah]

What would you.

[Will Sylvance]

Did you forget? And they're like, oh, you gotta go to. You gotta go to boot camp. Boot camp is jail. Oh, man.

[Dave]

I'm just picturing them at the border

[Trevor Noah]

office, just being like, oh, did you forget? But how did your parents get out? What did they do? Did they.

[Will Sylvance]

So my dad and my mom got together because my dad was in the Haitian military. And the reason why my dad, how they met my mother's father, my grandfather was always talking shit about Francis Duvalier. Oh, wow. Before he got elected. Right. Cause he saw it before because Francis Duvalier was in politics. And then. And my grandfather kind of said, like, look, once you have a taste of that, it's like, once you have cocaine, you always going to be coked up. I never did coke. I'm just saying. Okay, someone. That's someone that told me, for those

[Dave]

of us, Francois Duval is Papa Doc.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Dave]

You know, I'm saying just so.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

AKA Papa Doc.

[Dave]

So your grandfather was always talking about

[Will Sylvance]

smack, about him saying, yo, don't. This guy's a. You know. And people, People was against my grandpa saying like, no, that's not true.

[Trevor Noah]

So he was like, publicly saying this stuff.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah. Because this. Before he was elected, before Papa Doc was elected. And so he was like, don't vote for him. You know, he didn't, first of all, didn't have 100% of the votes, but there was some people that was against them that said, no, vote for this person instead. And then, and then, and then Friends of Devil was like, you know, no, I'm going to do all these things. And my grandfather did see through that, through the bs, that he was spitting. And so when Papa Doc got elected, he just remembered all the people that was talking smack.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, damn.

[Will Sylvance]

And he went and had them arrested. So my grandfather was one of those people that got arrested. And when my mother and my grandmother, the wife of my grandfather, went to go to prison to go out and try and see him, they wouldn't let them see him for many months, weeks. They try to see him. And so they got the word that they killed my grandfather. That was one of the early killings where he didn't just come out, start killing people. He was quietly killing people. And so they started talking smack. And where they were living, like, yo, they killed so and so. Can you believe that? They killed so and so. And so then the word got back to Papa, like, papa, like, you know what? Go kill the whole village. I don't care about that.

[Trevor Noah]

And they actually killed your grandfather?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they killed my grandfather.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, damn. I didn't know that.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It was a long time ago.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, but still, I did. I genuinely. I didn't know that. I don't know why I Assumed he just, like, lived his life and then.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

And so then he got.

[Trevor Noah]

So this was like a. So this was a real thing for the family then.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So. So that was the. And so they got. He sent a group of soldiers to that village to go and kill him.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And my dad was one of the soldiers. And then when my. When they got to that village, they just started killing anybody. But my. When my dad got to the house, my dad was like, no, you guys gotta. He. My dad was not about that life. You know, another thing is, like,

[Dave]

when

[Will Sylvance]

you vote for someone and you realize they're bad. Like, ah, man, I messed up, you know, and then. And then, ah, he got me too, you know? Yeah. And so it's not like he was a nice person. And he became a dictator. And his father's like, yeah, we should dictate. You should be a dictator, right? No, they was like, ah, yeah, it was too late, you know. And so. And so my dad allowed that family to escape. And then they met at a market in Haiti and they recognized each other immediately and they fell in love. But my mom was like, we can't really get together because it's a conflict of interest. You work for the man. Because also, if you was in the military, you were not allowed to lead the military. Because that's another thing that happened when he became president and became a dictator. So many people in the military wanted to, I'm not gonna work for this guy. But then he wrote a law saying that, well, you can't leave the military, otherwise you'll get arrested, executed.

[Trevor Noah]

I think most militaries in the world, you're not allowed to leave when you want to.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah? What, awol?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

So it's like. So my dad was stuck, but then also he wanted to get with my mother, and it was like a conflict of interest. Like, you know, you guys killed my. My dad. And then. So. And at the time, my dad had five houses in Haiti. He was planning opening a mechanic shop where he was gonna fix cars and stuff. He was a mechanical engineer, you know. And in fact, my dad was. My dad would. So while he was in the military, he would sabotage some of the trucks. So they would. When they sent them out to a village to go and kill people, the trucks would break down. No, not close enough to the village, to the base where they could go get new trucks, but not close enough to the village where they could walk. So they had to like, oh, it's close to Walk back to the base. By the time they got back, they were tired and, like, we'll try tomorrow. And he would sabotage also some of the weapons the guns would get would jam up. You know, after a while, it started looking back, who worked on this truck last? So he had to, like. He had to chill on sabotaging the weapons on trucks. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So how long was he in the military? How long was your dad still in Haiti?

[Will Sylvance]

So once he met my mother, they started dating. They started.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, this is like Haitian Romeo and Juliet.

[Will Sylvance]

For real? Yeah. And they. And then my dad decided to, like. So my dad told my mother, said, hey, you know, really, we have no future together.

[Dave]

Right.

[Will Sylvance]

Because you're working with this guy. What future do you see? He killed my dad. So my dad said, well, I'm just gonna leave. And my mother. You can't leave. The rest of you, leave. He says, no. My dad said, no, I'm gonna leave the country. My mother was like, leave the country? But you got your houses, your business, you know, and even if you leave successfully, your family's here. Cause another thing, they'll come after your family if you leave. So, you know, they'll teach you a lesson through your family. Oh, yeah, you can leave, but your family.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what North Korea does, apparently.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So my dad got everybody out no ways. His family, my mother's family, the cousins.

[Trevor Noah]

No ways.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, and he was, like, one of the last ones to leave, you know, because obviously, you know, and this is like a.

[Trevor Noah]

This is like a Haitian action movie meets, like.

[Will Sylvance]

I thought it was Juliet. I thought it was a Haitian woman.

[Dave]

No, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

But you didn't tell me he was a Haitian.

[Will Sylvance]

Now, it's a Haitian terminator. I be Bach. Or brother. I be Bach.

[Dave]

Okay, what were your. What did your dad say? That because they came. Did everyone come to the United States?

[Will Sylvance]

Yes. Yes.

[Dave]

What did he say? He was. What did he tell the United States government refugee or.

[Will Sylvance]

So at the time, the US Was actually giving visas, they was accepting people. It was not like how it is now. They were letting people in. If you had a skill. Yeah. You know, my mother, she went to school for. To be a seamstress, you know, and she also went to school, culinary school, so she had those two skills, so it was easy for her to get a visa, you know, and my dad was a mechanical engineer, so it was easy for him to come in. And. And so you just had to have a skill. I can't remember what my cousins or what, you know, what their Story was. But once you had the skill, it was easy. You know, early 60s, they was accepting people like crazy here.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Will Sylvance]

You know.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So your parents come over to the U.S. settle in Brooklyn.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And then before that, my dad. My dad interviewed people because the main places to go when you leave Haiti was Dominican Republic.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Miami.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

Montreal, Boston and New York. Those are the main places. Now there was other places like Chicago, but those are the main places Haitians was fleeing to.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, Dominican Republic was kind of like out of the question.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, you didn't mention New York in those. Right?

[Will Sylvance]

New York. Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, you did.

[Will Sylvance]

Dominican Republic, Montreal, Montreal, Miami, Austin, New York.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it, got it.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, cool.

[Will Sylvance]

So. So Dominican Republic was out the question. Out the question for my dad because it's like Dominicans was anti Haitian.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, that was. There was killing Haitians also. You know, in. In 1936, there was the. So there was a word that you could say, they will come up to dark skinned people in Dominican Republic and say something where the tongue rolls. Haitians can't roll the time. They say, why you do this?

[Dave]

I shouldn't be laughing.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay. You are my. I'm going to run down the block. I'm not going to run down the. I'm going to run down the block. Okay. I'll be back. So you can't say that word that will make it.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm not laughing at. Please, please don't get me wrong.

[Will Sylvance]

I'm not laughing. All you want.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's the way you did it. Please. Because the situation you just laid out was terrible. It's very terrible. But the way you did it. The way you did it. You know, when someone is recounting a very tragic story.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I mean, but the way he said it made it seem very funny. It is not funny at all. I want you to know that the way I reacted.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Has nothing to do with the content of what you said.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

As your friend, I hope you know that.

[Will Sylvance]

All right, sorry.

[Trevor Noah]

So Dominican Republic was out of the question.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

They were anti Haitian.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. Miami.

[Will Sylvance]

He interviewed someone from Boston and the person.

[Trevor Noah]

Boston, this is your dad, like asking other people, asking people, could you say interview?

[Will Sylvance]

Like interview? Well, you try to figure out where you. Cause also, you know, back in those days, people would just leave.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And just figure things out. You know, for Haitians it was, you know, you want to leave, but let me figure it out. I don't want. My dad was like pretty, like aware and smart about things. Let Me just ask a few people, see which way his. His main thing was education and what was it? Education and jobs. Okay, where can he go?

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, so where are the opportunities?

[Will Sylvance]

Opportunities? Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So education, opportunities for the kids and then opportunities for the family. All right, got it.

[Will Sylvance]

And so Montreal was not good because he met. He talked to someone where they were pretty. They were pretty mean to him. I can't remember the details of it. I'm getting the story from my aunt. Miami were just no real opportunities.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[Will Sylvance]

The weather was nice, like Haiti, but it was, you know, Boston was pretty racist. He met a lady, he talked to her and her sister and the sister's husband moved to Boston and.

[Dave]

You don't have to explain. Sorry, continue.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, there were doctors.

[Dave]

You just said Boston in the 60s. A Haitian is Boston in the 60s welcoming to Haitians? You know, we can.

[Will Sylvance]

So all three were doctors when they went to Boston, they got reduced to nurses. So you had to take a test. You just can't be. Just cause you're a doctor in your country. You got to take a test. And so the test was expensive. But then she found out, the lady that my dad was talking to, how racist they were, you know, with the way they was treating. So one time she said there was two patients that got hit by a car right on the corner. It was a black lady and a white lady. The black lady was in way more pain. The white lady had scrapes and stuff. And the white lady asked to be stayed. Can I stay in the hospital? I'm still not feeling well. Where the black lady was really in pain. They discharged her early. The doctor was like, oh, you can't. Yeah, you gotta leave, you know. And she left. She went home, she was feeling bad again. She came back. Also, they didn't have ambulances back then. So the police will pick you up in a paddy wagon or in a police car. And the police took their time to taking her back to the hospital. And she died on the way there.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, man.

[Will Sylvance]

So she realized, oh, wow, they discriminate. Also, there was a lady who was a black lady who was. She was about to get burnt, and they made her fill out all these forms and stuff and they made her walk to the room instead of putting in a wheelchair and wheelchair to the room. And she got to the. When she got to the room, the doctor wouldn't give her pain medication, saying these people are exaggerating and didn't realize, like she was black also. And saying these people, but also Haitians, when they came to America, they Didn't real racism was not a thing because everybody was just human beings. It's when they got to here, they realized, oh, and also another thing about Haitians, they thought like, oh, they talking about African Americans. I'm Haitian.

[Trevor Noah]

That's so funny.

[Will Sylvance]

So that's another thing she thinks, oh, they must be talking, that African Americans don't feel pain.

[Trevor Noah]

That is so crazy.

[Will Sylvance]

And then. And then she realized, after so many instances, and then when it happened to her, because she told the head nurse, I'm going to become a doctor. I'm going to take the test. The head nurse loved her. White lady loved her. Then when she realized that she's going to be a doctor, the nurse was like, well, what do you want to do that for? You're a great nurse. Why would you leave to be a doctor? There's no joy in that. You're doing so well here and I'm taking care of you. And then she said, well. So when she convinced her head nurse that, hey, I want to take the test, the nurse said, well, listen, you'll always be a nigger. Don't think you'll ever be above me. She didn't know what the word N word meant. You know, like, all right, you know,

[Dave]

I mean, that would get you to

[Will Sylvance]

cross it off the list.

[Trevor Noah]

Boston.

[Dave]

No, thank you.

[Will Sylvance]

So. So, you know.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what's wild as you're saying these things, there are two thoughts that come to my mind. One is how similar the stories of racism are around the world. Like, I don't know what it was like. Like for your dad and stuff. I don't know when, like when he came to South Africa. But I think of my mom. When my mom was trying to be qualified, she was doing like a typing course, and she was doing just courses in and around, like, secretarial skills, but then also things that required, like, managerial expertise. I don't know what, like what she was actually studying. Cause I don't think it was like a fixed course, you know. And my mom went in and, no joke, she was being qualified to do certain things that were only for managers. And the person who was her boss at the company or at this training institute said to her, what is the point of studying what you're studying? Because at the end of the day, you'll always be. And then they use the word in South Africa, Kafr. He was like, you're going to be a kafr, so what's the point?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, wow.

[Trevor Noah]

But it's crazy that you're saying this.

[Dave]

She's also a Woman, remember?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, she's a woman.

[Dave]

I'm saying. So it's double.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but that's what I mean. Like, it's. It's crazy that you. You're telling me about a story in Boston.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And then I'm going like, oh, yeah, my mom told me this story from South Africa. And then the compounded thing of it all is the pain and the.

[Dave]

The time, you know who gets this kind of story is when you listen to, like, white. Like, aspiring white rappers, they sort of tell the story as well.

[Will Sylvance]

Which rapper?

[Dave]

Do you know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Do you hear what this guy.

[Will Sylvance]

Do you hear what this guy just named the rapper?

[Trevor Noah]

Do you hear what this guy. Do you hear what this guy just said?

[Dave]

Do you hear what this. This catch is sick. They do have the same story. It's the same.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. I mean, in many ways, white rappers are the black women.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, you said white rappers. Oh.

[Trevor Noah]

Everyone said to them, you don't belong here. You're never going to be nothing.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Will Sylvance]

Some of them rap.

[Dave]

Well, but we like. But you're white.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, man. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Can we pause my story real quick? So, wait, there were people from Africa migrating to South Africa even though they knew how they were treating the blacks?

[Dave]

It's a complicated story,

[Trevor Noah]

but they were.

[Will Sylvance]

Because we didn't know how they was treating the blacks in America. We didn't know that.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

So Haitians would go to America. But. But you guys knew how they were treating South Africans.

[Dave]

No, but remember, they had the. The number one of. Cause I didn't want. You don't want to make it like a dictator. Off. But Papa Dog versus IDI Amin.

[Will Sylvance]

You sound like you're making a dictator. Off.

[Trevor Noah]

But. But he's not wrong.

[Dave]

Papa Dog versus Dictate versus IDI Amin. Who's the real G here? No one knows. Papa Doc. I had to tell people. Francois Duvalle, IDI Amin. People know him. So if you're escaping IDI Amin, apartheid is.

[Trevor Noah]

Is racism, is almost charming by comparison.

[Will Sylvance]

In a way, it's Playland.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah. Because these.

[Trevor Noah]

You're just going to say bad things to me. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Does this interaction end with me still alive?

[Dave]

Ah, ah, ah, ah.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow, what a quaint form of hatred this is, huh?

[Dave]

Ah.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay. Okay. That makes My dad should have gone to South Africa then.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I mean, could have.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And so once she realized how bad they was treating, like, not just Haitians, black people, Haitians as well. She moved back to Haiti.

[Trevor Noah]

She moved back to Haiti.

[Will Sylvance]

My dad actually talked to her in Haiti.

[Dave]

Yo, what?

[Will Sylvance]

Because her thought was, well, as long as I stay out of politics. The thing about Haiti, as long as you stay out of politics, Papa Doc won't mess with you. People was going to the movies.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you know what an indictment this is of racism in Boston? That this person was like, I'm going back to Haiti. No offense to Haiti, but yo, Will,

[Will Sylvance]

what a number of people. You were saying, Haiti is going through

[Trevor Noah]

the worst period ever where thousands of people are being killed. And this person was like, goodbye, Boston. I am going back to Haiti.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, she went back to Haiti, and she was actually selling things at a market.

[Dave]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

And that her sister was selling her to Haiti to sell, like, products they didn't have in Haiti. So she just went back, she said, you know what? I'll just stay out of politics. I won't even talk about politics.

[Dave]

Sorry, who's this again? Sorry, just follow up.

[Will Sylvance]

Just a lady my dad interviewed about. About Boston. Should he go to Boston or not?

[Dave]

Great.

[Will Sylvance]

You know?

[Dave]

And Damn.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. So he actually talked to her and. And the Toto Makut. You know Toto Makut?

[Trevor Noah]

No. What is that?

[Will Sylvance]

So when. When Papadak became president, most of the presidents, they get. They got ousted by a coup, right? So he got smart. He's like, you know what? I'm gonna get my own Secret Service, okay? And they call him Toto Makuts. And the thing about Toto Marcoots, they would. They would blend with the people in the streets. So, you know, who was the totemakut? So they be listening, seeing you talking about Papa Doc or talking about, you know, and they'll shoot you right there in the street. So there was a time when my dad was talking to the lady in Boston at the market, and then. And then he heard. He. They thought they saw someone. That. And then the guy said, hey, don't move. Stay right there. And so he's talking to his lady like, oh, shit. Oh, shit. And then he went past my dad to someone else, and they got him on the floor and say, hey, what do you think you're doing? What do you think you're doing? And then it wasn't my dad. So they learned not to talk in the streets anymore like that.

[Trevor Noah]

This is a crazy time. I mean, I'm picturing your dad. I'm picturing your mom planning to leave.

[Will Sylvance]

Toto Makuts.

[Trevor Noah]

Toto Makuts. Which, again, it's really wild how every single authoritarian regime around the world has the same playbook.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

People in the community who listen to you. Spies spying, like family spying on family. Same in Russia. Same. You know what I mean? Any place that there's been like an authoritarian regime, the same rules apply. The government finds ways to get the people to spy on each other on behalf of the government so that you don't trust each other. And if you don't trust each other, then the only thing that has absolute power is the government.

[Will Sylvance]

Same way with America. House Negroes and field Negroes.

[Trevor Noah]

Say more.

[Will Sylvance]

So if you're a slave owner in America, right.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You got your wife, you, maybe two kids and a dog, but you have 80 slaves. How you get protection from 80 slaves? From storming your house? What you do is you divide them. You reward.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. Divide and conquer. Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You reward the ones that tell you, hey, they must they planning on coming to your house tonight or leaving the feel. And. And so. So that. All right. Good, Good. Do you get to sleep in the house? Oh, thank you. I get to sleep in the house. You know, and so the same thing. So that was their toto Marcuts. The house. The house Negroes.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn.

[Will Sylvance]

Dave, can you say the other N word for me, please?

[Dave]

The which word?

[Will Sylvance]

House Negroes is.

[Dave]

Oh, no, I was just thinking. Well, I mean.

[Will Sylvance]

You're thinking it.

[Dave]

No, no, the. The way I was thinking, I was thinking that I would have been a.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, what would you have been? A house thing or.

[Dave]

Yeah, I would have probably been.

[Will Sylvance]

House.

[Trevor Noah]

A house. No, you wouldn't. He says that.

[Dave]

No, no, the thing, you know, why? Is just at that. And I'm being genuine now. Like, I don't know if you could have convinced me to forego, like, comfort.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think this is true. I don't think you know yourself well enough.

[Will Sylvance]

I think pressure might be.

[Dave]

You are too.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what this guy did? You just remember the quote now? This guy just remembers the quote, like, deep in the conversation, I think pressure makes diamonds. You've been waiting to say that now that it came back into your. No. So he says that. But here's why I disagree with you. I don't know anybody who is more charitable than you are. I don't know anybody who's more helpful than you are. I don't know anybody who is, like, friends with more homeless people than you are. And look, I don't know everybody. But what I. No, no, no. But what I'm saying is you say

[Dave]

that about yourself, but I'm having a comfort time.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I hear you, but I don't think. I think you are More like revolutionary than you put yourself out to be.

[Dave]

Maybe it would be.

[Trevor Noah]

And I genuinely.

[Dave]

I don't.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm not even saying that to gas you up. I just. I don't think you'd be that guy.

[Dave]

Okay, okay.

[Trevor Noah]

I think you would be there helping formulate escape plans.

[Dave]

Okay, people. Okay. But. Okay, okay, maybe because we don't know. But I'll say, this is when I was offered it. I'll say that. You know, when you were offered house,

[Will Sylvance]

Nico, when was this?

[Trevor Noah]

What are you talking about?

[Dave]

When they made it.

[Trevor Noah]

How old are you? What is happening here?

[Dave]

I'm saying, because when they come to me and they say, can you spy on the rest?

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it, got it. Cool.

[Dave]

When I'm offered it, some people would be like, hell, no. Others would be like, yes, definitely.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Okay. Give me this much.

[Trevor Noah]

I want to hear his ending. Yeah, I want to hear his ending.

[Will Sylvance]

I'll say, wait, wait, wait. Let me just say the third. Yes, I'll be a spy, but actually, I'm spying on you to tell them information.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. The double agent.

[Dave]

The double agent. Yes, I'll say, okay, I'll do this. Can I think about was.

[Will Sylvance]

You think they were like, hey, listen, listen here, Edward. You got two weeks to think about this offer I'm giving you.

[Dave]

Can I come back to you? You know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

You got two weeks, Negro.

[Dave]

No, that's so. I mean, at least so I'm. Because, remember, I'm minding my own business. Then I get called. I get called in.

[Will Sylvance]

Wait, you think picking cotton is minding your own business?

[Dave]

No, I'm not. No, don't do this.

[Will Sylvance]

Picking cotton. Mind my business.

[Dave]

No, no, no, don't do this, because this is a very delicate subject. No, no, no, no. I'm saying. No, don't do that. I'm saying don't do that. I'm saying that my own personality. I don't think that I would directly be this revolutionary that you think. And maybe, maybe, you know, I would. But what I'm saying that certainly when you make the offer, I wouldn't. I would. I would have to think about it, and then maybe to gather myself. Gather myself. Then I'd come back and say, no, I can't do this for you. I have to be. I can't. So now. Cause I'm not making light of the issue, because whenever I read about people who do these kind of things who go against the system.

[Trevor Noah]

The totemakuts. Oh, no, no. The people who go against the system.

[Dave]

Yes. Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela, these Kind of people. No, no, because you genuinely go, oh, you know, like, if you're like, wow, would I do it?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Dave]

And then if. Cause would I do it if I had the offer of not. You see what I'm saying.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dave]

Is if I. If I didn't have an option.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. If I was offered an easy life in exchange for the hardness of my people, would I take it or not?

[Will Sylvance]

There's something that's worded that way at the moment. I think it's like, hey, go clean my. Go clean my bed.

[Trevor Noah]

No.

[Will Sylvance]

And then they clean the bed. Oh, you did a good job, missy. Well, you know what? Or maybe a slave saw another slave. You ain't supposed to be leaving. I'm gonna tell master. And he go, when he told master, I'm like, oh, thank you for telling me, Rufus. You know what? You get to sleep in the house. Maybe it wasn't offered. Maybe it was another slave was. Did it. Because they're like, you gonna get us all in trouble.

[Trevor Noah]

I think. I think all of those things are probably true. I think all of those things are probably true at the same time.

[Will Sylvance]

You think slave masters came in all for them?

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. I think all of them are true at the same time. I don't think there's one basketball deal. I don't think there's one fixed example. Does that make sense?

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

So I don't think there's one. I'm sure there. There's some that were implicit. I'm so sure there were some that were explicit. I'm sure there was some that. Does that make sense?

[Will Sylvance]

Right, right.

[Trevor Noah]

And I think that's how these.

[Will Sylvance]

There's no rhyme or reason to what slave owners did.

[Trevor Noah]

No. The reason, I think, is pretty obvious.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, you.

[Dave]

You.

[Trevor Noah]

You become very rich and very powerful, and you don't pay the people around you.

[Will Sylvance]

Right. Well, the. The main thing is how you get 80 people from watching.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But what I'm saying is. What I'm saying is I think it's a combination of things.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

When you terrorize people, one of the things about terror that makes it particularly powerful is you need very few acute acts to have a long lasting effect on a group. Do you get what I'm saying?

[Will Sylvance]

For the fear.

[Trevor Noah]

That's another reason. Authoritarian regimes have very public floggings, very public beheadings, Very public. All of you have got to see what we do to somebody who steps out of line. And you just need to cut off a few people's heads or hang a few people or Stone a few people for everyone to now be like, ah, man, we gotta get in line. You get what I'm saying?

[Will Sylvance]

When my parents used to whoop one of my brothers who didn't do their homework and be like, oh, I better do my homework.

[Trevor Noah]

I mean, that's one way to think of it. Yes, that is. We're gonna continue this conversation right after this short break. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. Imagine this. You're at a checkout counter. You're ready to pay, when you realize you don't have your wallet.

[Dave]

Dun, dun, dun, dun.

[Trevor Noah]

You could drive all the way back home and you could get it. But you remember that you have your Apple card on your iPhone so you can tap to pay with Apple pay. Imagine that. No need to carry a wallet. But, you know, one of the things I do like about having my card on my phone is we live in a world where you lose your card and then you don't know where it is. And then you're like, what do I do? Well, if your phone is connected to your card and your card is connected to your phone, you know what's going on. The best thing about having the Apple card connected to your phone is you know what every transaction is. You know, like, sometimes you're like, what did I spend this month? The Apple card will show you one month. I had spent an obscene amount of money ordering videos online.

[Will Sylvance]

Just videos?

[Trevor Noah]

They were just videos.

[Will Sylvance]

What kind of videos?

[Trevor Noah]

That's not the point. The point is, I knew that I didn't want to order those videos anymore because I'd spent too much money on was videos on how to not spend money online. I felt like I'd been duped. Point is, Apple showed me what I was spending my money on, and I was able to change my spending habits. And you can do it, too. I earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase with my Apple card. That's unlimited daily cash back no matter where I shop. Apply for Apple card in the wallet app on your iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and [e-mail]. you know when the weather finally turns and everyone suddenly remembers they have friends? Well, that's when you know it's time to get outside, fire up the grill and start planning all those sunny gatherings, pool days, weekend hangouts, Mother's Day, brunch, graduation, all of it. And what I like is keeping it simple. That's why I go to Whole Foods Markets, because they make gathering easy. You've got quality meat, fresh organic produce, and those seasonal bakery treats that somehow disappear before the guests even arrive. I wonder who that was for. The grill. It's all the good stuff. Organic chicken breast, 365 by Whole Foods Market. Lean ground beef, ready to cook kebabs. That's the kind of setup where even if you're not a grill expert, people still respect what you're doing. Oh. And then you round it out in produce. Avocados, heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, mangoes, raspberries. Suddenly, your table looks like you planned this for days. And if you want to go a little further, the desserts do the work for you. Mango yuzu, chantilly cake, strawberry pretzel cream pie. Those are the moments where people stop talking and just eat.

[Will Sylvance]

Ooh, ooh.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, I almost forgot. This is one of my favorite options. You let Whole Foods Market do most of the work. Prepared foods has everything. Quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, family sized salads, cut fruit, veggie trays. You name it. You just show up relaxed, and people assume that you've been cooking all morning. And then you act been cooking all morning. And if you really want to take it easy, well, then let Whole Foods Market catering handle it all. Same quality, same great ingredients, just none of the stress. Because at the end of the day, it's not about the grill. It's about the people around it and who prepared it. Me. Thank you very much. I'll take all the credit. Shop for all your summer favorites at Whole Foods Market. If you're trying to be a little more intentional about what you wear day to day, well, Quince can help you with that. They've got pieces that feel easy, comfortable, and still put together. The fabrics feel elevated. The fits are clean. It's the kind of clothing where you don't have to think too hard, but you still look like you did. And I've realized that's actually the goal. You don't want to be standing in front of your closet negotiating with your clothes. You just want to put something on and get on with your life. Quince makes that easier. Think 100% European linen shorts and shirts starting at $34. Lightweight, breathable, especially when it's warm, but still structured enough that you don't feel like you just rolled out of bed. And what surprised me is how they're able to price everything. It's about 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands, because Quince works directly with the factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials just without the mockup. I picked up one of their linen shirts recently and it has been in constant rotation. Don't get me started on those sweaters. Oh, so comfortable. You know, it's just those pieces that just work. You can wear it out. You can wear it casually. It's comfortable, it breathes. And every time I put it on, I'm like, okay, this feels like I made an effort and it didn't cost what I thought something like that would. That's the balance. I like clothes that feel good, look good, and don't make you overthink it. So refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com what now for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com what now for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint. So wait, wait. But let's go back because I want to get to, like, how we get to this. Will Sylvans. So your dad gets everyone out of Haiti. He's chosen New York, New York, because

[Will Sylvance]

the job opportunities and he feel like they're very fair to everybody.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, cool. So your dad comes out, your mom comes out. Now you guys are in Brooklyn, which where are you? And the brothers? How many brothers there are?

[Will Sylvance]

Four brothers. I'm third. You're third? Yep.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. And so were they. Were you all born in the U.S.

[Will Sylvance]

no, two born in Haiti.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn. Your mom had to come with kids as well.

[Will Sylvance]

Wow.

[Trevor Noah]

How different are you from the, like, Haitian brothers? I'm not saying you're not Haitian. I'm just saying, like, from the.

[Will Sylvance]

Like from the.

[Trevor Noah]

From the born in Haiti brothers.

[Will Sylvance]

I don't know. I felt like I always thought out the box. Does that make sense? Kind of, like. Cause I was very close to my grandmother, right. Because my dad used to always tell us, like, everybody's equal, right? There's no such thing as gender roles. You learn how to cook, clean, wash, you know, Also you learn how to fix electrical appliances. You learn how if a socket is broken, you learn what to do. You know, also my dad. My dad used to do this thing where. So you know the. When the gas come into the house. Yeah, right. And there's a meter that.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay. So my dad figured out how to beat the company. He would just unscrew the thing and turn it backwards. And so now the meters would run the other way, but he made sure they didn't go all the way down, I'm like, what, you guys. You guys didn't use any gas?

[Trevor Noah]

You guys use anti gas?

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You guys use negative gas, right?

[Will Sylvance]

So he knew. He knew just the amount and the gas. Our gas bill was pretty low. And he knew how to also with the electric and the cheap. And he used so these different fuses, he'll get the ones with certain amount of resistance. And, you know, no wonder the white

[Dave]

people didn't want the black people doing these car. Look at what they're doing with their engineering knowledge.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, look what they do to us now, man.

[Trevor Noah]

There's all the people in Boston watching this podcast and they're just like, what I tell you about them Haitians? Now you see why we didn't want them here.

[Will Sylvance]

Wait, look what they doing now. The AI company was building these massive places and they charging the people for the electricity. You know about that, right?

[Trevor Noah]

So your dad was getting revenge before the. He was getting future revenge on behalf of humanity.

[Will Sylvance]

And so my dad was like, everybody gotta learn everything. So I know how to sew, I know how to cook, I know how to fix electrical stuff. And so my dad used to always say, you know, if you have a good woman in your life, whether she's a girlfriend or a relative or a friend, always pay. You know, always pay. Because the world treat women like shit. And they don't realize women are really the. The ones. The backbone of society. And so I was so close to my grandma because of this, you know, my grandma was also nice, so, you know, I was probably gonna be close to her anyway. But my dad saying that and putting that into us about treat women, you know, treat women with respect and all that as a kid. With respect. What does that mean? You know, like, I'm not gonna hit my grandmother. I'm not gonna curse her out. You can't curse. You couldn't curse to. You know, you could even curse to your friends when your parents was around. Yeah, your ass whooped. You know, so I just remembered that, you know, and. And. And I became close with my grandmother. So when actually my grandmother died, I was the only one at the funeral not crying. Because I'm like, you guys didn't see this coming. She was old. You know.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that how your brain processed it?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, like, like, yeah, guys. Like, yeah, you guys, you know, she was old. You know, this is going to happen.

[Trevor Noah]

How old was she when she passed away?

[Will Sylvance]

65.

[Dave]

All righty.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, yeah, I don't know how to put this to you, but that's not

[Will Sylvance]

particularly old for Black people, that's like 95, 98.

[Trevor Noah]

But that's not really. Not that old.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, well, my mother. Well, if you think that's bad, my mother died at 55. My dad died at 55. My grandfather got shot at 55. Well, allegedly, if Papa died, come back in power, everyone at 55. Everybody died at 55.

[Trevor Noah]

How did your mom and dad pass away?

[Will Sylvance]

My dad. My dad had chest cancer, but he never smoked. So what happened was. You heard a Dristan to clear your nose or sinuses.

[Trevor Noah]

The spray.

[Will Sylvance]

The spray.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

So he. So one day he had a cold, he took Dristan. But the thing with Dristan, when you take it, it'll clear your nose. Yeah. You're actually breathing more better than when. Without.

[Trevor Noah]

Before you got sick.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And the thing about Tristan, after a while, your nose get clogged up. You gotta let it clog up for a day, and you get your breathing back. But my dad kept taking Dristan and he went.

[Trevor Noah]

They call it rebound.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. So, you know, when they. In the 80s, they had the shirts with the pocket right here.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

So he kept the Dristan in his pocket. Oh, man. And he just kept taking it. Oh.

[Trevor Noah]

For many years, that thing is. Till even now. Like, all those nasal sprays, if you're on it longer than I think, like 14 days, maybe even less, you're in big trouble.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, talk about 10 years. 10 years. Maybe seven years. Seven to 10 years. My dad was, you know, taking it.

[Trevor Noah]

He just needed that to breathe at some point.

[Will Sylvance]

He just. Yeah, he just. He just kept taking it every day. And then, you know, he developed a form of cancer in the chest. But, you know, the doctors never tell you. You know, they just want to know if you got money. That's not funny.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I mean, not in this moment.

[Will Sylvance]

And then my dad. My mom died of. She. She had moved to Florida, she came back to New York, and she got stung by a bee, and she developed an allergic reaction. She had a stroke and. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn. I'm sorry, man. That's a crazy period to go through for you and your brothers. It's like, how far apart was it between your parents dying?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, like 10 years also. No, not 70 years. Also. When my mother died is when I realized the truth about hospitals. Because I used to always think hospitals and doctors and nurses. Well, not nurses, are still amazing, but they were all about. Want to help and save people. So when my mother had a stroke and she was in a coma, she was in a coma and she went without oxygen for, like, I think, like, eight to 13 minutes, you know, by the time they called the ambulance to the house and they resuscitated her and. But she was without. So she. They was not sure if she do come out of the coma, how much brain activity she'll have. So my brothers and I were at the hospital, and the doctor came out and said, hey, your mother's in a coma. But we're not sure how long she's gonna be. We're not sure how much breathing activity she has, but she cannot stay here. She can. Oh, no, no. First he said, you guys have insurance? She said, no, we don't have any insurance. He goes, you cannot. She can't stay here. She gotta leave. She can't stay here. And then. And then he kept this went on for, like, five minutes about she can't stay here. Then we said, well, can we just find a place? So my brothers and I went back to the house, went through my mother's paperwork, and we found she had insurance through a credit card. She had insurance. As long as she uses credit cards, she has, I think, a million dollars worth of insurance.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

So we went back to the hospital the next day. We said, yo. The doctor came out and said, did you find a place for your mother to stay? We said, yes. Also, we showed them the paperwork. Do you think this facility will take this insurance? He looked at the paper, and no lie. He goes, your mother can't leave. If she leaves here, there's a risk of her dying. Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Like, we knew it was happening, but at the same time, like, what if his wife is real? Right? Cause the first thing he said, did you find a place for your mother? Yeah, look at the paper. She can't leave. Okay. So she stayed at the hospital to, like, eight months. And the doctor was, like, the money was running out. Your mother can't stay here no longer.

[Dave]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

That's not funny, man.

[Dave]

No, I mean, it's insane.

[Will Sylvance]

Too soon? So then we found a place for her to stay. We moved her to this facility, this home. And then me and my brothers had a talk. Like, man, yo, if this happened to me, dude, pull the plug. Like, there's no brain activity. Like, I don't want to come back. You know, I can't say hello. I can't. I can't. I barely could blink. Like, dude, pull the plug. Let me leave. So once we all decided that, we just said, yo. So we unplugged her. I think she passed away, like, later that day or a day later.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn.

[Dave]

No wonder you can't sleep. This stuff you're telling us. I mean,

[Will Sylvance]

that's not funny. I thought it was funny.

[Dave]

Is that.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I mean, it's, it's very funny. I'm still. Yeah, I, I, I don't know.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I don't know. I'm trying to put myself in your, in your shoes, in some of those moments and process it. I, I can't imagine what a lot of that is like.

[Will Sylvance]

So after that experience with the hospital, I'm like, doctors are full of shit. Hospitals are full of shit. This is all about money. It's all about business. But then I met some amazing nurses. Nurses really want to help. I'm not saying all doctors are like that, but that doctor, you know what I'm saying, he was in the body.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. The thing that's tough. From everything I've read, let's say specifically in American healthcare, it's funny because it's, it, it depends on the country you live in. In, in South Africa, when my, my mom was shot and we were in the hospital, they said the similar thing to me. They said, does your, does, does she have insurance? And I was like, I don't think she has insurance. And it was so crazy because my mom, she always had insurance. And then I want to say, like, six months before the incident, she was like, I don't need insurance. She's like, this makes no sense. I'm just paying for this thing and nothing happens. Then I said, that's what insurance is for. It's not if something, it's because something might happen, not because it does happen.

[Will Sylvance]

Right?

[Trevor Noah]

She was like, no, I don't need insurance.

[Will Sylvance]

She was like, my friend who gave up his fire extinguisher, he said, yo, I won't use this. You could, you want to hold onto it? We could. I'll have it for one month. You have one month.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, so I'm in the hospital. And they said the same thing. They said, yeah, it was the closest hospital to where it happened. And then they were like, oh, we've gotta move her. And then the hospital we're gonna move her to was gonna be like 45 minutes to an hour away.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, damn.

[Trevor Noah]

And I was lucky that I was like, I'll just, I'll pay. I was like, I've got a credit card. I'll just pay. And they were like, oh, it could cost a lot of money. And I was like, yeah, it's my mom. I'll never forget that interaction with the doctor. Cause I was just like, what? The way, you know what I mean? The way he Said it to me was very like. He's like, oh, it could cost a lot of money.

[Will Sylvance]

It's like a leather jacket. You know how much this leather jacket costs?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I was like, yo, bro, it's my mom.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

He's like, okay. And he was still like, oh. I mean, all right, your mother was white?

[Will Sylvance]

Would he say that?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I'll be honest with you. That's the one thing that I find has now united people across color lines, and that is that, like, the medical industry in many places in the world has become one that has allowed itself to become so controlled by money. They don't care about that, that it doesn't necessarily allow them to care about health first. Right. And in America, it's interesting, right? So in America, how it. How it works. Not everywhere, but in a lot of America is there are companies that have bought out doctors practices. So the doctors don't even sort of work for themselves anymore.

[Will Sylvance]

Wow.

[Trevor Noah]

And then there are also companies that own hospital groups. So the hospitals also are part of a company. Right. And then they need to make money. And then the doctors that are in as part of this thing, so they feed into the hospital. They're also. Their money is also going somewhere. So the doctor's working a lot, but they're not necessarily earning the money of working a lot. Right. And then the hospital is in cahoots with certain providers for certain procedures or certain medicines. And so. And it just becomes this weird world where everyone seems like they're being held hostage by somebody else, but they're also the hostage takers. I don't know. I don't know if I can explain this. It's like. It's like a weird rabbit hole where, like, the hospitals themselves will be like, we're barely making a profit, and the doctors will say, we barely make any money, and we work countless hours. And then the people who are in the hospitals are like, we don't have any money and we're treated like shit. Or we spend all our money. Who's making the money? And it's generally these big organizations that are. That they've designed systems that put an undue pressure on the medical industry. And unfortunately, the stories are a lot like what you're saying.

[Will Sylvance]

So who. Who's. They've got to be somebody up top, right? Like. Like, it's. Treat like a company, like CEO. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

But it's generally the big. The big companies, like, there's a few. I don't know them by name, so I won't, like, say the wrong one. And Then, you know.

[Will Sylvance]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Or whatever. But no, no, but I know there's big.

[Will Sylvance]

So there's one. Like a.

[Trevor Noah]

Like a. Yeah, yeah, no, but they are actual big companies that own these groups and they. And they're trying to consolidate more and more, and that's what's leading to the systems being worse and worse and worse and worse. But then there's also weird things in American medicine. Like. Like when it comes to prescription medications, for instance, you have these things called pharmacy benefit managers. I think it is. I think it's pharmacy. Yeah, but. But basically what they do is they're like the middleman between you and your prescription. But they can also, like, decide a price that your insurer pays, which also determines the price that you pay, which also determines the price of the medicine. And it determines the price of what the medicine maker is getting. It is as convoluted as I'm saying it right now. You know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

It's not like if it's in demand, like. Like when you buy. When you try to buy a ticket to a concert. Yeah, right. You. You realize that they'll jack the price.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's very similar to that. Yeah, it's very similar to that.

[Dave]

This is one of the reasons why I didn't get a bbl. Because to go.

[Trevor Noah]

What were the other reasons? I'd like to know what the other reasons were. Beyond cost.

[Dave]

Okay. This is the main reason. And then also because the cost of one this whole thing, and then the cost of changing all of my pants.

[Will Sylvance]

Wait, BBL is big butt, lactose. What's BBL again?

[Trevor Noah]

I think it's a Brazilian butt lift.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, Brazilian butt lift. Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, that's what it is.

[Dave]

But I like that your guest was pretty.

[Trevor Noah]

It was fantastic.

[Will Sylvance]

Big butt, lactose.

[Dave]

Big butt, lactose.

[Trevor Noah]

Hey, you got that big butt, lactose over there, man.

[Will Sylvance]

So wait, you was gonna get a BBL for real?

[Dave]

No.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, I'm like, damn. How bad is it was in this country that the girls got.

[Trevor Noah]

No, you see, Dave's dad told him when he was very young, he said, there are no gender roles in this house. Men can get bbls and women can get bbls. And Dave was very close to his grandmother. So Dave was like, I'm gonna get a BBL as well.

[Will Sylvance]

So there was a guy who invented insulin. You know the story about the guy who'd been invented the insulin for diabetic patients?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I think I know which story.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, he wanted it to be cheap for everybody. I think a dollar or something.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Some company bought it and he said, hey, you could buy it, but as long as you make it available for anybody and really cheap, they say, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then they actually jacked up the price to like 300, 400, even thousand dollars.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. It's one of the most frustrating things about healthcare in general is that everyone gets frustrated by it, and really no one needs to be. But then the quote unquote, bad guys are very good at obscuring their role in making the system worse. Does that make sense?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So there's people who buy patents on drugs, for instance, or they buy the companies who own the patents on the drugs, and then they can just jack up the price. So they'll know there's one medicine that treats a specific disease that's very niche. Like, they go, this disease, you have to have the medication. It's not an option. And then they'll buy the company that owns the patent, and then they just jack up the price.

[Will Sylvance]

So what did that guy want to hold onto it?

[Dave]

Well, I have a question for you.

[Will Sylvance]

Go ahead.

[Dave]

Cause he's.

[Will Sylvance]

Where would you.

[Dave]

No, no, it's a real question. I'm just trying to think of how to phrase it correctly. Where. When did you start to think. Sorry, it's a bit of a. When did you start to think that you were a funny person because of the electrical engineering?

[Trevor Noah]

Actually, that is a good question.

[Dave]

Do you know what I mean? When were you, like.

[Will Sylvance]

When I was young, two things out there was amazing was eating and laughing. I remember laughing my ass off. I'm like, there can't be nothing better than this. Like, I was just. And, you know, laughing. And then you laugh so much. And then eating good foods. As I got older, it was eating healthier foods was better and laughing was still in the game. And so I always thought laughing was the best thing in life.

[Dave]

But what I mean is, because remember, you've just. Your family has come from quite trying circumstances. Like you've sort of.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dave]

In terms of. You didn't. We've spent a lot of time telling us not a funny story. So now was the hu. Was there any humor in your family because of all this kind of stuff was happening?

[Will Sylvance]

Yes. Even in Haiti, people were still enjoying their lives. Not having is not your life. It's like you still laugh, you still have a good time, you still go to the movies, you still cook good foods. So. So being poor was not like, oh, we poor? No, people don't think like that. They just think like, hey, we. We do with the best that we have, but we still enjoy our lives. There was a lot of laughter in my house. My dad used to make jokes. As strict as my dad was, he would make jokes, my mother would make jokes. You know, there was a, you know, laughter and you know, but at the same time, you got to do your homework, you got to go to church, you know. But, you know, laughter was a good. You know, we used to always have dinner together and my dad would say a few jokes. Never hardly say jokes, but we laugh, we'll laugh and stuff. So I just remember those are good times, you know. But my dad was also solid. Like, does that make sense? Like a hardcore strict disciplinary. Like a man. Like a. Like he never really showed emotion.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh yeah, yeah, we know those guys. Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Never showed emotion.

[Trevor Noah]

They were like a very specific generation. Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

So my mother would go around the table, how was school today? Any stories happened? How was school happened? And then got to my dad. My dad, My dad said, yeah, I was downtown. Someone came with a gun put in my face, asked me for my wallet. I gave it to him. And then he go away. It was like. And my dad was like, anybody else have stories? It'd be like. And then he, by the way, he pistol whipped my dad. He hit him in the face with the gun. But he's telling this story like, it's like, oh yeah, I went to the park and I swung on the swings. That's how he told the story.

[Dave]

But you're having a very. I don't wanna say you're having like a very well grounded family life, you know, sitting at the table. No, I mean in the sense of your upbringing. Sitting at the table with the whole family, mother saying, each person tell the story, you know, that kind of thing. So this is a very like almost like a. The family that we. That TV has told us as a family. You had that childhood in a way or a certain portion of it.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I guess. Yeah. I mean, eating together was like a. Was the norm. I never, I didn't even think. It was not. I thought all families.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no. That's not normal. Or rather it is not as ubiquitous as it may seem. Not everyone is doing it.

[Will Sylvance]

We used to pray together also.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, all these things. Dave's right. This is very wholesome. So wait, were you the funny kid in the family?

[Will Sylvance]

I was to my, to my brothers. My dad, you know, you get your ass whooped. But I was, I used to do practice. I used to like hide and scare them or like I used to, like, switch their plates, you know, remove the burger and put, like, more lettuce in there when they bite it. And I'll be holding the burger. Hey, you looking for this? You know, what was the first thing

[Trevor Noah]

you remember seeing that made you think, I want to get into comedy? Like, specifically comedy. Cause I know every comedian has something they saw that made them think.

[Will Sylvance]

Two people.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Ronnie Dangerfield.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

And Joan Rivers.

[Trevor Noah]

Interesting.

[Will Sylvance]

Rodney Dangerfield was the first one I saw. He talked about himself, and it was okay. Hey. The girl said, come on over, Vonnie. Come on over. Nobody's home. I went on over. Nobody was home. I get no respect. I remember that. I'm like. I was laughing, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Joan, babies, how old were you when you were listening to this for the first time?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, I can't remember how old. I was too young. But I just remember, like, those two was, like, so funny. I didn't get into Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy till later, you know? Cause we were not allowed to. But those two was on tv, so I got to see those two a lot. Eddie Murphy was not really on tv, and also he was on snl, and that came out on Too Late.

[Trevor Noah]

That was after the 10:00pm curfew.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And Richard Pryor was in the movies and stuff. So I didn't really get into those two later on and stuff.

[Trevor Noah]

How did you start standup?

[Will Sylvance]

I ran into a comedian named Dougie Doug up in Harlem. Dougie Doug was in the. In the movie. The Jamaican bobsled movie.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, cool runnings.

[Will Sylvance]

Cool runnings. Yeah. Yeah. He was one of the. And then I. I said, yo, man, you're amazing, man. What's. And he invited me to his club, the Uptown Comedy Club. And then I just went there, and that's. That was it.

[Dave]

Like a fan. You said, you're amazing. Then he said, you must come and be a comedian.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, no, no, no, no. I asked him. I said, how did you. I was kind of, like, interviewing. How did you get into it? How to do it?

[Trevor Noah]

I was, like, digging that. Dougi Dago's having a tough time at his comedy club. People were like, hey, man, can I get a selfie? He's like, yo, if you come to do five minutes tonight, man, we need an act.

[Will Sylvance]

No, but I was interviewing him, and it seemed like all the questions about, how did you get into comedy?

[Trevor Noah]

I love that you say interviewing him. You said this about your dad as well. You said this like, your definition of interview is very different. Anytime Will sees one person asking another person any Questions Will is like, yeah, that's the interview right there. I bumped into Dougie Doug and I interviewed him. And my dad was interviewing my mom that one night about why the potatoes seemed a little less tasty than usual.

[Will Sylvance]

So Dougie Doug was the one that got me. Like, got me.

[Trevor Noah]

So he said, come through.

[Will Sylvance]

He said, come through the comedy club. Yeah.

[Dave]

At what point in your life is this.

[Will Sylvance]

Actually my boss. I used to work at a company called International Robotics. We used to build robots. In fact, one of our robots was in the movie Rocky 4. You see the Rocky movies?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You saw the Rocky movies? Remember that? Robek came out with the cake for the birthday?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I don't remember this.

[Will Sylvance]

So you didn't see Rocky iv? You didn't see Rock Rock?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I saw Rocky iv. I just don't remember the role.

[Will Sylvance]

I don't remember Rocky iii.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, I've seen all the Rockies.

[Will Sylvance]

You don't remember a big robot that came out with a big round head?

[Trevor Noah]

I don't. That's not like the thing.

[Will Sylvance]

Did you see Rocky's?

[Dave]

I did.

[Will Sylvance]

Do you remember the robot?

[Dave]

I can say that.

[Will Sylvance]

Is it yes or no question? Politician.

[Dave]

I do not remember it.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm gonna look this up.

[Dave]

But I may remember the party. Do you know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Like, I. I'm gonna look this up right now.

[Will Sylvance]

The robot's name is Cisco. Cisco spelltow S I C O.

[Dave]

Is this when you're an engineer?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was working at that company.

[Dave]

Where did you go to school?

[Will Sylvance]

I went to school in New York Tech and City College.

[Dave]

And then you be.

[Will Sylvance]

And then I got a job at.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, damn, here it is. Paulie and his Robots.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Comes out, Brother in law.

[Will Sylvance]

See it? Where's the word?

[Dave]

Happy birthday, Paulie.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. I don't remember the scene at all. I don't remember this at all. You see, I would be lying if I said I remember this.

[Will Sylvance]

But you say you saw the movie though, right?

[Trevor Noah]

I've definitely seen the movie. This I don't remember.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So that was your robot?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I worked on that robot.

[Trevor Noah]

No ways. Will. Yeah, you were in Rocky?

[Will Sylvance]

No, no, I worked on that Mobot. I came to that job after that.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it.

[Will Sylvance]

But that mobile was still at the job I was working on. And so my boss at that job, he's the one that actually told me you should do stand up up.

[Trevor Noah]

His way of soft firing you.

[Will Sylvance]

No, actually, he allowed.

[Trevor Noah]

Hey, Will, I've. I've seen some of the work that you've done. You should think of Comedy man, you should, you should quit the day job. I saw the way you connected those cables.

[Dave]

You would be a very funny guy.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Say quit the day job.

[Trevor Noah]

So he said, you should be a stand up comedian.

[Will Sylvance]

Said, don't quit your day job.

[Trevor Noah]

He said, he said, quit your day job. So he was a standup comedian.

[Will Sylvance]

So he gave me a cd. Robin Harris cd. And I listened to it every day for a year straight. I couldn't stop laughing. I laughed almost every time I listened to that cd. I'm like, yo, is this happening somewhere? Where can I go see comedy like this? Then a few months later, that's when I ran to Dougie Doug in Harlem and he invited me to do.

[Trevor Noah]

What was it like the first time? So you get to Dougie Doug's club.

[Will Sylvance]

I was just like a student. Ish. Or a customer.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And then, and they knew that I wanted to be a comic. You know, the people that was running the show. And one day they had no comedians. Cause all the comics was playing some celebrity basketball game and they say, hey, you want to be a comic, right? I'm like, yeah, but I'm not ready. Say, yo, you on tonight? And I went on that night and I bombed.

[Trevor Noah]

What did you talk about?

[Will Sylvance]

I, I think one of the jokes were, I don't necessarily, because my English was pretty bad. Bad. Now. I said I don't necessarily pronounce words properly. I made a list of all the words I don't pronounce and I pulled out a dictionary and I threw it on the floor.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a funny joke, actually. Did you show that it was a dictionary? I just, yeah, that's probably why it didn't work, because I think that's the kind of gag where everyone has to see that it says dictionary.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yes.

[Trevor Noah]

And then you, yeah, that joke can work very well. And, and that's also like more of like a comedy festival joke than a comedy club joke, I think.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

I mean, I didn't know any brother.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I, I'm just saying, I'm just saying that you, you go back in time and you tell Will, that was a good joke. You might have bombed, but it was a good joke.

[Will Sylvance]

But yeah, I, I, I bombed my ass off. But I really, I remember that night after that show. No, no, they didn't understand it. I gotta find a way to make them understand. Cause one thing that blew my mind, I was watching the Richard Pryor, right? I'm like, man, this guy's funny as hell. Then they Showed the audience. It was an all white audience. I'm like, I just assumed the audience was black. Cause he was telling blackish jokes. And so when I saw. I was like, oh, comedy's for everybody. It shouldn't just be for a group or. Or, you know, just your people. Yeah, or your people. You just gotta find a way to get. It's all about language. How do I interpretate this? You know this. Why?

[Trevor Noah]

How do I.

[Dave]

What?

[Trevor Noah]

It's funny that he said in. He said. He just said, it's about language. And then Will pulled a will and said. Did you say interpretate?

[Will Sylvance]

Interpretate, man. Dave, don't. He's not.

[Dave]

No, I have no question. You're saying. I know what you're saying.

[Trevor Noah]

Cause you interpreted it in your head.

[Dave]

I did interpret it in my head.

[Trevor Noah]

Have you always done that? By the way? That's probably one of my favorite things about you as a human being.

[Will Sylvance]

What's that?

[Trevor Noah]

Is that like you've just substituted words in your head?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, my brain look for the nervous word. That should be it.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but you, like, you've done this with. You just say like the craziest word where I'm like. But it's always adjacent.

[Dave]

Yeah, we know what you're saying.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, like interpretate. I'm like, yeah, that's correct.

[Dave]

I'm willing to.

[Will Sylvance]

What's the word?

[Trevor Noah]

If it was a game show, I would accept interpretation.

[Will Sylvance]

It's what's to interpretate.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think that's a thing at all. But what I love is I always understand it.

[Dave]

And that's a word.

[Trevor Noah]

Fluent will. I do speak fluent Will.

[Dave]

Patrice. That's a word. That's one of those words that should have been a word. Interpretate. It's not, you know, it's not so bizarre.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it's not. It's not a bizarre word.

[Will Sylvance]

Like conversate. I heard conversate is not a real word.

[Trevor Noah]

No, conversate is a word.

[Will Sylvance]

Conver.

[Trevor Noah]

Conversate is a word.

[Will Sylvance]

Or is it politicking?

[Trevor Noah]

Politicking is now a word. I say.

[Will Sylvance]

No, conversate wasn't a word. It became a word.

[Dave]

I think it became when I.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, all words weren't words and they became.

[Dave]

No, no. But people, when they use it, slang in a way, and then it be.

[Trevor Noah]

So you should just do. Interpretate more.

[Will Sylvance]

Right. Like, yo, this girl. Well, politicking is.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dave]

You know, we used to converse.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Dave]

Not converse.

[Will Sylvance]

Converse is another one. Right.

[Dave]

No, I'm saying converse was the word then. Conversate is. Is like a Cool way of saying it, I imagine.

[Trevor Noah]

I guess.

[Dave]

And then it. Be it then, you know? But I don't. If I had to bet, like, Webster's Dictionary or whatever for conversate, I would go.

[Trevor Noah]

You willing to bet on that?

[Dave]

I would go. No, no, because I didn't hear conversate when I was growing up.

[Will Sylvance]

You didn't hear conversate?

[Dave]

I heard converse.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Yeah, you're correct. Converse is a proper way.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yo, conversate goes back to the 19th century. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Dave]

No, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

So conversate's been a thing. Okay, cool. Conversate for over 200 years.

[Dave]

Okay, but you see, conversate. Okay, this is actually. Sorry, this is my point. Yeah, you see, interpretate.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, actually, here. This actually is. You funny enough. Conversate. They say here conversate is a valid word. So converse is the standard, widely accepted verb for engaging in conversation. Conversate is a valid word, but it is often viewed as a not real word by strict usage guides and is labeled non standard. That is one of the craziest thing ever.

[Will Sylvance]

That's what I said.

[Trevor Noah]

It's a valid word, but it is often viewed as a not real word.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Will Sylvance]

Wow. Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I remember my teacher used to tell me, oh, conversation is not real words. Kids would be like, yeah, I was conversating with. And the teacher stopped the whole class. That's not a real word. It's converse.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, that is a. But it is a real word.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, every word is sort of like a real word.

[Dave]

But what I'm saying is, is that certain words sound like they could be a word.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Dave]

Interpretate. Yes. Some are, like, wrong.

[Trevor Noah]

I think you're just ahead of your time.

[Will Sylvance]

Will also a word that's misused for a number of periods of time, it becomes a word.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, that's true.

[Will Sylvance]

Right. Except for pacific or specific.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, pacific is. Cause it's an ocean.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, but pacific people use as specific. I was having a stroke versus. You know what I'm saying. But that never became.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, because it's pacific already. Oh, it's got to be a new word. So we've already got pacific.

[Will Sylvance]

So we can't say pacific. Are you in Pacific?

[Trevor Noah]

I'm saying pacifically. That word won't work. That's what I'm saying.

[Will Sylvance]

Say it again.

[Trevor Noah]

Pacifically. That word.

[Will Sylvance]

But you didn't say specifically.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'm saying pacifically.

[Will Sylvance]

Why you say it.

[Dave]

I won't say any of this stuff that you guys are saying. But the. What. Because you're just butchering the Queen's English. Do you know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

We are indeed so colonized. Look at him. The Queens ain't.

[Dave]

That's why I told you that I wouldn't be saving people.

[Will Sylvance]

He would be a house Negro.

[Dave]

Yeah, that's what I told you. I told you so.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, so you. Okay, you get on stage, you bomb. How long did it take before you got, like, your first laugh the next

[Will Sylvance]

time I went on?

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, so you went.

[Will Sylvance]

I waited six months.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

It was September.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And I went up again in December. January.

[Trevor Noah]

What did you change?

[Will Sylvance]

I made sure that understood what I was saying. And then I opened up with a different joke.

[Trevor Noah]

And what was the new joke?

[Will Sylvance]

The new joke was, if I ever make it to the top, if I ever come across some money, no more ugly girls for me, because I'm ugly, too. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Dave]

That's a good joke.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a great joke.

[Dave]

Now, in between.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a nice one.

[Dave]

In between bombing. Cause and. And this whole thing. What happened? No, I mean, in the sense. Did you. Because you obviously did not go and

[Will Sylvance]

see, I kept replaying that moment. Even though it was like. It was like trauma getting booed, but I kept replaying it. Well, you got booed the first time.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, I didn't. You said bombed.

[Will Sylvance]

You didn't say booed in the black neighborhood. You bombed. You booed.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, no, bombing is when I hear bombing. I think silence. Like when comedians be like, oh, I bombed hard. It means silence.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

When you get booed.

[Dave]

Yeah. Booed is different.

[Trevor Noah]

Booed is like, ooee.

[Will Sylvance]

That's what. That's how you get. That's how you bomb in the black. In the.

[Dave]

Yes, that is true.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I mean, that's true. But I'm saying. You didn't say that before. This is Now I feel even more for you.

[Will Sylvance]

So you thought I was at a white club in Harlem?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I just.

[Will Sylvance]

Cause white people are the ones. That's in your definition. Booed. Bombed. Yeah. Bombed is just silence.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they just.

[Will Sylvance]

No, no. Black people gotta let you know, yo, this ain't happening.

[Dave]

You know, even, like you talk about Japanese people, they will stay silent. No, no, no. I mean, will. Because they're so respectful. Stay silent. When you're killing.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Killing or dying, you won't know.

[Dave]

Yeah. You'll be doing well. And there's no.

[Will Sylvance]

Make a connection with Bombed and Japanese people.

[Trevor Noah]

No. Damn.

[Dave]

I'm not trying. No. Well, I'm just saying that the respect. Cause they don't well, now it's a bit different, but before, culturally, because it's like, I don't want to. Oh, this is what I've heard at least. I don't want to interrupt your.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it was, it was like that when I did, when I did shows in Japan, then there were a lot of Japanese people in the audience and I, I thought I was just not connecting with them at all. And then there were a lot of expats as well. So people from all over the world who live in Japan, they were having a good time. And then I remember after the show, I met a bunch of people in the streets. This was in Tokyo. And then a lot of Japanese people came up after the show and they're like, oh, you know, can I get a selfie, can I get an autograph, et cetera. And then there were a few people and you know how it is as a comedian, you remember the people. And I was like, yo, you didn't laugh once. And then he was like, oh, no. He's like, I couldn't laugh. He's like, I didn't want to laugh while you were there. It was very funny, but I didn't want to interrupt you. And I was like, man, that is the exact opposite reaction that we were looking for. This is the exact opposite reaction.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, when I was in China, right? This is how amazing Chinese people are. I did shows in China and there would be Chinese people sitting in the audience, not laughing, right? And then they'll come. And then. So there was this one Chinese guy, he followed me to all my shows. By the seventh show, I'm like, dude, you come to the shows, you're not laughing. He goes, I'm learning English. Oh, wow. They would just come to the show to learn English. That's how dope Chinese people are. They just. And then he said the first show, he didn't speak any English. By the seventh show, he was having a fairly good conversation with my.

[Dave]

He was going around saying, your act.

[Will Sylvance]

No, basically, yes. He said, they were just figuring out at my show. I'm like, oh, you know what I'm

[Trevor Noah]

loving right now is the idea that there is a Chinese man somewhere, maybe still in China who's walking around saying, interpret, ugly girls. Interpret and pacific.

[Will Sylvance]

I'm just gonna say no more ugly girl for me.

[Dave]

But sorry. So you, you're replaying this thing in your head, but you didn't go on stage?

[Will Sylvance]

I didn't go on stage, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

So you're still back at the robotics

[Will Sylvance]

figure out I was I. I stayed at. I worked at robotics for a long time.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You know how many years? Because my boss allowed me to. Oh, man. Maybe seven, ten years.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. This is a full leg job, John.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And my. My boss allowed me to do shows and. Cause sometimes my shows will, you know. And he gave me the keys to the shop. He said, I'll just leave a work order. You come in, you come in. 3 o' clock in the morning. I used to come after my shows, work on the robot, check off the list on things I did, and then leave. And so that made it easy.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a great boss man.

[Will Sylvance]

It made it easy until someone told me, he said, man, you would never take comedy. Cause he asked me comedy. Or I'm like, I'm really loving comedy. So you'll never take comedy far as long as you have that safety net.

[Trevor Noah]

Who said this to you?

[Will Sylvance]

Some dude.

[Trevor Noah]

Some dude.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Dave]

The same Chinese guy who learned,

[Trevor Noah]

yo, what?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Because you would not believe.

[Trevor Noah]

And you believe this person.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. So I quit my job.

[Trevor Noah]

That is the worst advice anyone could ever give anyone.

[Will Sylvance]

As long as you have a safety net you won't take, you won't.

[Trevor Noah]

I. I think the exact opposite is true. If you want to enjoy your comedy and you want to be a great comedian, just have it as your hobby. Do it as like. I think there's nothing worse for an audience than the smell of desperation. You know, when a comedian gets on stage and the audience is like, this person needs us to laugh at the jokes or their rent won't be paid.

[Will Sylvance]

I thought there's a different.

[Trevor Noah]

There's a different feeling in the room.

[Will Sylvance]

I thought only animals could smell dumb.

[Trevor Noah]

No, humans can't. No, no, no. Humans can as well. Trust me.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay?

[Trevor Noah]

Trust me. When a comedian gets on stage and they're doing it for the love of comedy, like, really for the love. Like when Dave and I started doing comedy shows in South Africa, like, Dave would put this. He put this room together. It was weird. It was hard at first. It was this whole thing, but there was no money. And we did the room for the room. We did it for comedy. And then we, like, had jobs and we'd get money from other things. But I've always felt the comedy that comedians make from passion is far superior to the comedy they make from survival.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, that's true.

[Trevor Noah]

There's just like a joy, man. There's a different type of, you know.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, you go out. Cause you want to go out versus.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And also you're not pandering to an audience because that's your livelihood. So you don't go, let me make this joke. Because this joke works. You're going, I like this joke. Let's figure it out. And I can afford to like this

[Will Sylvance]

joke that is true.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I'm saying?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because when you're doing it because you had to survive, you'll. You do whatever thing you gotta do to get for the last. Exactly. So you could keep getting work versus, like, I'm just, you know, hey, it didn't work. Well, we'll try another time.

[Trevor Noah]

Exactly. That's, that's genuinely my opinion.

[Will Sylvance]

But I mean, sorry, question.

[Dave]

No, no, in. While you're doing this kind of comedy and stuff.

[Will Sylvance]

Stuff.

[Dave]

No, no, I mean, work slash comedy. Work slash comedy. How long is this work slash comedy going for?

[Will Sylvance]

I don't know.

[Dave]

No, I mean, you know, is it like from day one of working at the, at the engineering, or is it like towards the end, you know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

No, no, no, no, towards the, the middle Ish.

[Dave]

Middle ish.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay, cool.

[Dave]

And then are your family seeing you?

[Will Sylvance]

No. Cause my, it was, we were not allowed to do. Cause Kami was like, my dad, my mother was like, no, just make us laugh if that's the case, you know,

[Trevor Noah]

throwing your future away, like, you know,

[Will Sylvance]

you had to be engineer, you had to be a doctor, you have to be a lawyer, you know, and. Cause the thing was, you know, education, good job, then you get a family, then you take over the house.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, only in America where you, when you turn 18, you leave the house in a Haitian household. Well, at least when I was growing up. No, the family always stay together. When you become 18, then you get a job. Then when you get a good job, you get a wife, then you then, all right, now you're the head of the house.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, you just take over the household.

[Will Sylvance]

You just take over the household.

[Trevor Noah]

I think that's, there's a version of that in every culture.

[Will Sylvance]

They take over that their wife's household or. And vice versa, you know, but, but you know, you don't leave the family ever.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like fast. It's like Fast and the Furious. It's all about family. It's all about family.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, so. So family was a big thing.

[Trevor Noah]

So you saying comedy is basically like saying, I don't give a shit about family.

[Will Sylvance]

No. We could. They didn't see value in, in doing stand up. You know, where they come from, a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer was the way. Cause one of the most important things is how you gonna support. How you gonna make money. And the top things to make money was doctors, lawyers, engineers.

[Trevor Noah]

What did they do when they discovered you were doing comedy? Like you were moonlighting as a comedian?

[Will Sylvance]

So one day I did a show that came on late at night. I didn't think it was gonna, you know, my mother being. My mother normally go to bed by 10. And so my little brother came and she said, hey, Ma, I saw you on tv. Oh, man. I was. Who? She say, you'll see when you get home. And then my mother's in the living room talking to her friends. And I walk in, we had the. The living room with the beads on as a door. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I walked in. They. They all heard me coming through the beads, and they just look and they all start talking. And one of them go, is that the comedian there? And they just started laughing. I ain't say nothing. They just started laughing. And mama. Yeah, that's my favorite son. Come on, Ma. And then. And then. And then it was acceptable, I guess when they see there's a way to make money, there's a living or. And then laughter also. It brings people together. So there's so many things happening, I guess. When my mother first saw me on TV for the first time, she was. First of all, she's like, is that. Is that weird? You know, I tried to picture, like, what was going through her mind when she was, you know. First of all, it's 1:00am what is she doing up at 1:00am you know, so that's number one. Number two, she's just flipping to the channels, probably looking for the news.

[Trevor Noah]

That's wild. And she bumps into you, and then she. Do you remember what the show was?

[Will Sylvance]

Some show about the Apollo. Not the Apollo. They had another show that Apollo was producing. And then my brother told me. Cause not my mother, but she was flipping through the channels and then she stopped. And what made her stop? Cause she is that weird. And she just, you know, watched it, you know, and then.

[Dave]

That's insane.

[Trevor Noah]

That's really amazing.

[Will Sylvance]

It is.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Just think of all the variables that have to come together for that to happen.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Your mom has to be up past her bedtime, which she isn't normally. Your mom is flipping through channels. Remember, there's no TV Guide.

[Will Sylvance]

She's up, she's making tea, she's on the phone.

[Trevor Noah]

So now she's flipping channels. She bumps into you. I'm assuming you're not doing a long set on the show.

[Will Sylvance]

No, five minutes.

[Trevor Noah]

Five minutes. So she has a five minute window to catch you.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, a 30 minute show. Yeah, within that five minute window.

[Trevor Noah]

And so she catches this five minutes of her son and he's not bombing.

[Dave]

You know what? Yeah, you know what? That's the same.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what?

[Dave]

That's the same.

[Trevor Noah]

Of.

[Dave]

Cause you're an engineer at this point, a Haitian engineer. So it's like, if not just an

[Will Sylvance]

angel, what's an engineer?

[Dave]

I'm trying to put it.

[Will Sylvance]

Chinese engineer.

[Dave]

No, no. I'm trying to put it in the sense of like, you're not a engineer from Long island and your family's Jerry Seinfeld and we talk about comedy all the time. And Ben Stiller. You know what I mean? People who are. Or the Pryors or Murphy's who are. Comedy could happen. Do you know what I'm saying? It's like. No. Or LeBron and flipping and he sees one of his cousins or someone playing basketball. I'm saying you are firmly not comedy people. It's the same as like if you. If she flipped and you were doing

[Will Sylvance]

like the rocket launch or playing basketball for the Knicks.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, that would be.

[Dave]

But he had no idea.

[Will Sylvance]

Is that weird? Doing a slam dunk?

[Trevor Noah]

This is just like.

[Dave]

That's crazy.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm really happy that that happened for you guys, though, because I. I wonder if you ever would have had the guts to tell her.

[Will Sylvance]

But most cultures from these small countries or these whatever countries, I. In those days, information was not that relevant.

[Trevor Noah]

No.

[Will Sylvance]

You know, and the thing they. Most of them knew is like, you know, you gotta make money. The reason why. What's the number one reason why people migrate to America in those days?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it's money. It's an opportunity.

[Dave]

I would assume what Trevor's saying is that. Let's say you had a tape of that thing. Firstly, you were never gonna tell her, in a way. And if you had a tape of that and gave it to her, a tape is too. But you gave me the tape.

[Trevor Noah]

That's exactly what I mean.

[Dave]

That's your use. Not staged. But you gave me a tape.

[Trevor Noah]

That's exactly what I mean.

[Will Sylvance]

The fact that she saw it on live tv.

[Dave]

Yeah. Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

That must have been amazing for her. Like, genuinely, genuinely amazing. And for you as well.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I was still absorbed in the fact that she saw me on tv. Like, what's going to happen? Like, you know.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Did that change your relationship afterwards?

[Will Sylvance]

With my mother?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

No, I always, like, she was always on a high pedestal.

[Trevor Noah]

No, but I mean, like, from her to you like, did she, like, now be like, you know, like, where's my comedian going? Or, you know, what are you doing these days, comedy boy? Or, you know, she.

[Dave]

In a good way. Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

She always viewed me as, like, the number one son somehow.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, that's beautiful.

[Will Sylvance]

But I didn't learn that for your brother.

[Dave]

Yeah. Except for three other people.

[Will Sylvance]

I didn't realize that until later. I thought my older brother was the number one son for a long time.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you ever wonder if she just said this to all of you in a different way?

[Will Sylvance]

I know. I was like, are you saying this cause no other son is ever around when you say I'm the number one son?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. Cause I feel like that's like, great. Parents will just pull you aside and be like, you know, you were always my favorite, but don't tell your brother. You know, you were always my favorite, but don't tell your brother. You just tell everybody brother. And then they just go like, man, I feel bad for my brothers because that was always the.

[Will Sylvance]

But I did have a connection with my mother because I was close to. With her mother.

[Trevor Noah]

And you were also her son.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, because my. My grandmother. No, my grandma was, like, very close. Yeah, yeah. I'm with, like, best of friends.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Will Sylvance]

And so my mother was like, out of all of them, why him?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And my. My grandma's like, no, he's amazing and stuff. And. And so I think that, you know, when my. My. My grandmother dies, my mother was. My mother must have cried every day for a year straight. And then she looked to me like, you know, did she tell you anything or any stories you could share? Like, no, just saying stories she shared with everybody else.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. You were the connection.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah. So I think that's why she could start connecting with me more and more.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, don't press anything. We've got more. What now? After this? Therapy is one of those things lots of people talk themselves out of without even realizing it. Like, it's too expensive or it's too overwhelming, figuring out even where you're going to start. But ruler is one way to make that first step feel a lot more doable. Offering accessible, affordable therapy that fits your needs. Sign up in just a few minutes and get matched with a therapist who fits what you're looking for. Need to talk to someone quickly? Appointments are often available as soon as the next day, and with insurance, sessions average around a $15 copay. You can also see estimated costs upfront. So there's a lot more clarity going in. And in terms of outcomes 93% of ruler patients report symptom improvement. If therapy's been sitting in the back of your mind, Rula is a pretty simple way to take that first step. So turn off the talk track that's keeping you from progress and head to rula.com that's r u l a.com to find a therapist the easy way. You know what they say. Early bird gets the ultimate vacation home. Book early and save over $120 with Burbo because early gets you closer to the action, whether it's waves lapping at the shore or snoozing in a hammock that overlooks, well, whatever you want it to. So you can all enjoy the payoff come summer with VRBO's early booking deals. Rise and shine. Average savings, $141. Select homes only. Ondeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, Ondeck's loans up to $400,000 help make it happen fast. Rated A by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five star trustpilot reviews, On Deck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in [e-mail] depending on certain loan attributes. Your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic Bank. On Deck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval. When would you say comedy, like, clicked in your life? Like, and I mean, like, click, because, I mean, you know, already when I met you, you know, you were a regular hosting shows at the comedy cellar, and the comedy cellar is one of the most discerning comedy institutions in the world. You know what I mean? Like, it doesn't matter if you have 10 million followers on social media. Esther is not gonna put you on stage at the comedy seller, but you could have five followers and she'll put you on stage.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, that's the thing about esty. A lot of people know the comedy seller, one of the most successful comedy clubs happening right now. And I blame you blame her in

[Trevor Noah]

a good way or you credit her?

[Will Sylvance]

I credit her.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, okay.

[Will Sylvance]

One of those words I'm using.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. So she's the reason why. Because she does. She just don't put a lineup up. She actually watched the videotapes at all the shows, and then she determines, okay, I gotta put this guy on first. I gotta put this person out there. Cause this person probably can't follow this person. She actually studies camera.

[Trevor Noah]

You can tell, man.

[Will Sylvance]

And she puts an amazing lineup up, which is why we get all these shows happening at the Cellar and we get more work.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. And they care about comedy itself. And you see it in the product, and then the people feel it when they come in. But what I mean about clicking is

[Will Sylvance]

then you have Liz, the manager, who doing an amazing job because they was going to different managers, and they couldn't get it together. When they got Liz in, it all clicked in. Amazing lineup and amazing management, you know? But then back to what my dad said about women. Good. Having a good woman in your life.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I think the owner of the Cellar, he has two great women in his life, and they doing amazing things. It's like, you know, people always. Let me not say people. I don't know. But the world discredit women so much. They put women down, you know? You know, and women gotta work twice as hard. Twice as hard. But the thing is, women are way smarter than men, I feel like. But, you know, we got the guns in power.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't have any guns.

[Will Sylvance]

No. You know what I'm saying? That's. No, I'm not.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'm joking, Will. I'm joking. Yeah. What I mean about the Clicking, though, is, like, I go. When you look, I don't wanna say back. Cause it's not like your life is finished. But when you look at your career in comedy now, you have to admit it's pretty crazy that you've done shows with, like. You know what I mean? You are touring with, like, the Wayans Brothers.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, Wayans Brothers. Daniel Wayans. Wayans Brothers.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Cat Williams.

[Trevor Noah]

Cat Williams.

[Will Sylvance]

Cat Williams. By the way, don't listen to none of the stuff about Cat Williams. That dude is amazing.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, that's the stuff I heard. What do you mean?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, oh, what's the other stuff? He's nuts. He's not Cat Williams. He's the only person that I know, you might know someone like this. He's the only one that I know. When he gets to a town, he'll get the local paper and read the whole paper, and his first 10, 15 minutes or 20 minutes will be on that town. The crowd go crazy. It's almost having, like, a local opener open.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah. But it's Cat Williams.

[Will Sylvance]

But it's Katt Williams that's telling jokes about your people. One of the most fascinating.

[Trevor Noah]

And he loves comedy, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

That man loves comedy.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Loves comedy. One of my favorite things that ever happened in my life was I probably, like, credit Katt with even giving me an opportunity in comedy in Los Angeles. I Used to try and get spots at the Comedy Store. No, the Laugh Factory couldn't get any spots. They were always just like, yeah, come back next week. Yeah, come back next week. Yeah, come back next week. Now, the funny thing was, I was doing pretty well in South Africa, but these guys didn't know who I was, and they didn't need to know. There's no reason they should have known who I was, you know? So I'd just show up every week. And because South Africa's comedy scene was so intimate, you could just show up and say, hey, can I perform? And people would be like, all right, get on. It was like Dougie Doug's Club.

[Will Sylvance]

It was like the black clubs in America also. You just walk in.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. It's just like, I. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. So I get to la, go to these clubs, man. They just. Everyone. And the thing about LA is nobody says no in that town, right? Because everybody in that town is not sure who you are or who you may end up becoming. So they never want to be the person who said no to you. So it's just a town of people saying fake yeses and maybes that keep you on a treadmill of hope.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And then something happens. I discovered you. My bad.

[Trevor Noah]

I have a. Yeah, that's literally it. So I'd go to the Comedy Store, and I'd be like, can I perform? And they'd be like, like, what are your credits, kid? And what have you done? And what are you. I was like, oh, you know, South Africa. They're like, no, no, we mean real credits. What are your. You know. And I go to another club and another club, and anyway, you pull out

[Will Sylvance]

your credit cards,

[Trevor Noah]

and I would just go, this is. This is something I'm trying to do. I'm trying. Whatever. I. I didn't really mind. And so one day I'm at the. The Laugh Factory, and the comedian. The guy was running it, actually. Pookie Wiggington. You know Pookie? Yeah, yeah. Everybody knows Pookie.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So Pookie would, like, put on the show called Chocolate Sundaes, and they go, hey. The comedian who was supposed to go on. Dropped out. You're here, like, every week. They're like, you gonna. You ready to go up? I was like, yeah, I'm ready. So they go, okay, you're gonna go on before the host, before the opener.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, you have to warm up for the host.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But they didn't tell me that. They didn't explain that. Cause I Don't know if you know this, Dave. I didn't know this. In some clubs in America, they have a comedian who comes on before the show starts.

[Dave]

I did not know this, but that's

[Trevor Noah]

like the worst slot in all of comedy because they don't even play music for you when you walk out. Like, you are. You exist before the show.

[Will Sylvance]

Yep.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I didn't know this because the host is.

[Dave]

Is a prominent name.

[Trevor Noah]

Not even. Not even. It's just a. Like, you know those stories they would tell in war of certain soldiers who were chosen to be on the front lines just as fodder.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Your job was to be killed in the front lines so that, like, the respected soldiers could actually survive the fight.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what that position is in comedy. You're gonna go up there, you're gonna talk. No one's gonna listen. But at least it sets in motion the idea that a show is going to start and then the host comes up and the music plays. So anyway, I go on stage. I ask very naively, I say, is someone going to introduce me? And then the guy's like. He's like, nah, man. He's like, you, you. You up first. Yeah, get on stage. So I'm like, God damn. Okay. So I walk on stage. No one is paying attention. They're getting food orders. They like. It is. It's the worst position you can ever be in. So I start. I start doing, like, my set, you know, like, telling the joke, but no one is listening. No one. I had. They gave me four minutes or three. I even remember then I was like, three minutes. Like, what do you say in three minutes? Hello? And, you know, so I start doing my set. And about, like a minute in, it's now just silence. So the room has. They're done taking orders, but now it's just silent.

[Will Sylvance]

You got the attention.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but the attention is just like, what is this, man? What is happening here? No one laughing, no one doing anything. I hit like a minute and a half, and then all of a sudden you hear, like, I hit. I hit a punchline. Land on a punchline. And then you hear one person. The back of the room, top of the room, you know that balcony?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

One person.

[Dave]

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

[Trevor Noah]

15, 20 seconds later, hit another line.

[Dave]

Ah, ah.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, that shit funny. 20, 30 seconds later, now the room starts turning. Cause they're like, the room has decided this is not funny. But there's somebody who's like, laughing so loud that they're almost, like, offended by this. So the room turns. They keep turning. Everyone's trying to turn to see what's happening. And then eventually they. They look, and I don't know if he leaned or whatever. It's Katt Williams, and he's in the balcony, and it was all, like, empty up there. So he's, like, by himself with, like, his crew, and he's laughing. I mean, this man was like. He was dying. Like, I had paid him, killing himself. And the more he laughs, the more the crowd. But they looking at him, not me. And they're like. They're like, yeah, I guess we laugh now. I guess we laugh now. And then by the end of the set, thankfully, it wasn't a complete disaster. And then Katt Williams came down. And I'll never forget this. Katt comes down. Cause I walk off stage, and Kat comes up to me, and then he says to me. He's like. He's like, are you really from where you say you're from, young man? And I was like, yeah. And he's like, well, welcome to America, brother. And I was like, thank you, Kat. Thank you very much. I was like, it's good meeting you and whatever and what you know. And we're chatting about comedy. He's like, come sit with me. Come sit and go sit with him. And then he. I think it was Esau McGraw was. Was hosting that night. So Esau's hosting. They do the thing. Cat jumps onto Headline. He was not on the lineup. He's just. He's Cat. So Cat jumps on at the end, does his thing. But then Cat says to the audience, he starts talking about comedy. Then he's like, you ungrateful sons of bitches don't even understand the level of comedy you were experiencing here tonight. This young man from South Africa stood on stage, and he regaled you with some of the finest humor. But you ignorant people of Los Angeles were unable to comprehend what you were experiencing, and this may never happen again in your lifetimes. And then he looks at me in the balcony. He's like, my African brother, I apologize for the ignorance of these who were gathered here in your midst.

[Will Sylvance]

And now I'm like, yo, bro, you

[Trevor Noah]

don't need to do.

[Will Sylvance]

But he just.

[Trevor Noah]

He just went on and he killed. And he did, like, you know, he did whatever he did, you know, current affairs, did his own material, did his own stuff, do whatever. And then at the. The way they treated me after that, I will never. Like, they were like, yo, so you. You coming back next week, man? Yo, yo, you. And people giving Me cards like, yo, I got a club. You got to come and do this thing, man. Yo, the guy with genuinely. Cat Williams. That guy loves comedy.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Loves comedians. Loves the. Like, he goes to. What I'm saying about, like, even when I see Katt Williams on stage, I feel like Katt Williams is doing comedy for the joy of the thing that he's doing.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Does that make sense?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

He does not feel. He reminds me to do comedy for the joy of comedy, not for the business of comedy. And the thing is, the business of comedy's so powerful that it can pull you, but the joy of comedy is the thing that'll sustain you.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes, yes.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I'm saying?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Katt Williams, amazing person. He actually. I feel like he does comedy at his level. That makes sense. It's almost like, yeah, he just does his own. He doesn't care about.

[Trevor Noah]

He just defines his own. Yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I remember when I did the show at the Laugh Factory. I went on. I had an amazing set, and Cat went on after me, and he goes, this nigga, I was gonna come up here, just work out some jokes, but this nigga got me telling regular my old jokes and.

[Dave]

Right.

[Will Sylvance]

And the thing is, the way he was saying it, I'm like, is he really mad at me? Right. So after the show, I saw him. I saw him say, hey, I need to talk to you. Come here. I'm like, oh, shit. He was mad. He's like, listen, man. He went in his pocket. I'm like, oh, shit. Oh, shit. He said, listen, man, these comedy clubs, they don't be paying what you work. They treat you like shit and pulled out $400 bills. He said, here, take it. I'm like, thank you. I was so confused with what happened.

[Trevor Noah]

The emotions are everywhere.

[Will Sylvance]

I'm like, thanks. He said, yeah, take it. And then I'm like, wow. No one ever treated me like that.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

My cat just like. Like, you know, you need people like him in comedy.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, they. Because they love comedy. But that's what I mean, like, you

[Will Sylvance]

pulls people up, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Look at your life and your career. Like the Cat Williams. Dave Chappelle the Chris rocks the.

[Will Sylvance]

You know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, Aziz Anari. You know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

Another one. Yeah. Aziz Ansari put me his movie.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. That was amazing. Action.

[Will Sylvance]

Did you see Good Fortune?

[Dave]

I will now.

[Trevor Noah]

I loved Good Fortune.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Can I. Can I tell you what I loved about it is these days? I think it's becoming increasingly rare to see a movie that you haven't seen before. And I don't just mean that literally like ip like so many movies are reboots of other movies or stories. But it's rare to watch a movie where you just don't know what's gonna happen because you haven't seen it before. Like, he watches movies like that all the time. If Dave ever recommends a movie to you, be very careful. You should watch it. But don't expect anything normal.

[Will Sylvance]

Like how Cat Williams watched you.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, like. Like Dave watches. Dave only watches movies that have endings that.

[Will Sylvance]

Not your typical ending.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. That leave people like you walk out of the cinema questioning yourself.

[Will Sylvance]

Like Sixth Sense.

[Trevor Noah]

Not even. That's like a chill version.

[Will Sylvance]

Sixth Sense was not. No one expects.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. That's just a twist.

[Will Sylvance]

That's.

[Trevor Noah]

Dave would watch. Okay. This is the kind of movie Dave would watch. It would be Sixth Sense, but everyone would be French. And then the child, instead of seeing ghosts, would say that like they see the pain that the world is in. And then instead of Bruce Willis, it would be a flower. And then instead of like a two hour movie, it would be like four and a half. Those are the kind of movies that Dave watches.

[Will Sylvance]

That's a lot of reading.

[Dave]

No, so the one of the reasons is it's a version of what you're saying is that you. I like the thing of not knowing what's gonna happen.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what I credited with you. I'm not even slamming you.

[Will Sylvance]

No, no, no.

[Dave]

So I'm saying in an ideal world, it would be contained almost like within normal.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, I know what you mean.

[Dave]

Yeah. Like so. Cause every now and then you'll see, let's say a rom com where you know, you sort of like know what's gonna happen.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, you know exactly what's gonna happen.

[Dave]

Things are so refreshing within it that you're like, wow. I was.

[Trevor Noah]

That's how I felt about good fortune. And I'm not saying that. Cause you were in it. I'm not saying that because of Aziz. I genuinely enjoyed that somebody tried to make something and I think succeeded. That upended a lot of the ideas that you would have of how a plot and a story are supposed to

[Dave]

go, but still pulls it off.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, completely. And I remember watching it and I was like, oh shit, this is. And then you walked in and I was like, oh shit, Will. I felt like such a. Like it's such a weird feeling. Cause I know you and then you there in the movie and I was like, oh, Shit. Will you.

[Will Sylvance]

That dance routine I did.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, that was very good.

[Will Sylvance]

It took me four hours to get that dance routine.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that long?

[Will Sylvance]

I, I still didn't get it after four hours.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, that's, that's what you should mention then. You should say after four hours, I

[Will Sylvance]

still didn't have it down.

[Trevor Noah]

If you say I got it in four hours, you seem like a good dancer. If you say I didn't get it,

[Will Sylvance]

I didn't get it.

[Dave]

Your dancing is very interesting.

[Will Sylvance]

You saw it?

[Dave]

I didn't see.

[Will Sylvance]

Are you on medication? What does that mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Aren't you supposed to be a good dancer, though? Cause you're a good boxer.

[Dave]

That's what I was gonna say is that you recently became a boxer.

[Trevor Noah]

No, he didn't. He recently had his first professional fight.

[Dave]

Oh, I thought you recently became a boxer.

[Trevor Noah]

No, this guy's been boxing for like 50 years.

[Dave]

Oh, really? That's where the speech impediment came.

[Trevor Noah]

How old are you?

[Will Sylvance]

I started boxing 2007. No, 2010. Yeah, yeah. And I started, got my first professional fight a month ago.

[Dave]

No, I thought you started boxing.

[Will Sylvance]

But, but, but, but I never had rhythm. When I jump rope. I, I, I, I skip a lot. Cause my rhythm is always off. My rhythm always been off.

[Dave]

Huh?

[Will Sylvance]

I can't. You know, when I dance, people think like, you must be white. Down, down inside. You know, I, I never had, I

[Trevor Noah]

never had Haitian family. Haitians have rhythm.

[Will Sylvance]

We have, yes, lot of rhythm in Haiti. But in, since we're not in Haydnwood in America, my dad made sure focus on your schoolwork.

[Trevor Noah]

So he was like, no rhythm for my kids. Your dad was a hard man.

[Dave]

Your dad was a hard guy.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, your dad was a really hard man. Is that rhythm I hear in your room? Is that rhythm? Are you dancing to the beat wheel?

[Dave]

That is crazy.

[Will Sylvance]

So I never really developed. No one taught me how to dance. My parents didn't teach me how to dance. You know, we couldn't really be around girls and stuff. Cause my mother said if you hug a girl, she'll get pregnant. So make sure you don't hug no girls.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

I didn't get my first hug until I was 16.

[Trevor Noah]

You were trying to get her pregnant.

[Will Sylvance]

My first hug outside of my family. You know, when your mother give you a hug, her arms are always like this. Yeah, Ma, I love you too. I love you too.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Cause you don't even get your mom pregnant. I mean, you can't leave a child with that information. You can't say to a child if you Hug a woman, she'll get pregnant. And then you're like, nah, can't give your mom a hug.

[Will Sylvance]

So the thing is, my first hug, ironically, was from a priest. Oh, wow. I was very religious. I was born raised Catholic.

[Trevor Noah]

Should we get ready for another bombshell on this show?

[Will Sylvance]

No, no, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Dave]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

So it was one of these Saturday classes, ccd. And then all the kids was greeting and hugging each other. And I was just on the side just watching, you know. And then Father Brandon of Father John, one of them came up to me. He goes, why are you not greeting? I'm like, I never hugged anybody. I don't know what to do. He said, you never hugged nobody. He said he had the big brown robe on with the big ass arms. He said, come here. He opened his arms. I just went in and he hugged me. I was like, holy shit. It felt so good. Oh, Will. But my penis didn't get hard. That's how I know. I was like. You know what I'm saying?

[Dave]

No one touched your penis.

[Will Sylvance]

It was genuine. It was genuine.

[Dave]

No one. No one thought that. Nobody thought that. No, because you added a thing to. Can I have some popcorn? And we're not gonna put gravy on top. We didn't think that.

[Will Sylvance]

You guessed someone pregnant. You just said Wilson.

[Trevor Noah]

That's how I knew it wasn't genuine. That's how I knew it was genuine.

[Dave]

But he's a guy. Oh, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Because. Because I'm like, okay, no one's gonna get pregnant. It happened to be a girl. It was just a hug. It was just a hug. It was. Ain't got nothing to do with sex. It was just a hug. It felt so good. And I'm like, I gotta do this again. But it took me another till I got to 18 to do it again.

[Trevor Noah]

But who was the 18 hug?

[Will Sylvance]

My first girlfriend.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, look at that.

[Will Sylvance]

My first girlfriend. But I avoided having sex with her because I was very religious.

[Trevor Noah]

That's good. That's fine.

[Will Sylvance]

They had sex till I was 24. I was a virgin till I was 20.

[Dave]

Wow.

[Will Sylvance]

But I used to lie to girls, like, oh, oh, I gotta. I gotta go. I gotta go to work. Oh, I gotta do some homework. I gotta go back to class.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, when it was.

[Will Sylvance]

But we'd be butt naked. Oh, no, I forgot. And I get. And I. And I leave the place.

[Trevor Noah]

Damn. You was because you were so scared of sex because you were religious. You were like, I gotta get out of this situation.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Resisting temptation, essentially.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes. Yes. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And then you were like, my Boss gave me the keys, so I can. I can clock in at any time. There's a work order waiting for me. I gotta.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And then you'd run out.

[Will Sylvance]

I run out. And girls be like, okay, all right, all right. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I wonder if one of your girlfriends thought you were, like, a superhero. Cause that's what, like, Peter Parker does. Think about it. Peter Parker will be on a date.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And then out of nowhere will be like, I gotta go. And it's like, what happened? And it was his spidey sense.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. There's a crime somewhere. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Same. Batman will be the same thing. Superman, same vibe. So maybe one of them was like, he's a superhero. And then they're gonna watch this podcast and be like, no. He thought he was gonna have.

[Dave]

He was religious.

[Will Sylvance]

He just wanted to get to heaven.

[Dave]

Religious from Haiti.

[Trevor Noah]

So what happened at 24?

[Will Sylvance]

24? I met this girl, got her back to my place. We'll call her S on Kishi. And we started making out and. You wanna hear the story? No, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

You don't have to give me the details. It's like, you know, I just wanna know what changed rather, because I just. You were always, like, the escape artist.

[Will Sylvance]

I was like, I got. What am I doing? I gotta Let me just, you know.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

Make it happen, you know? And, you know, we made it happen.

[Trevor Noah]

Was this will pre? Cause there's a will that existed, like, sort of pre. The healthy pre. The boxing pre.

[Will Sylvance]

I was. Health was always in the back of my head. Yeah. Even when I was little, health was very. Because actually, when my grandmother passed away, I'm like, man, if she was living a healthier life, she probably would have been here longer, you know, and then, you know, then, you know. So health was always there. Always there. But I never really took initiative until later on. Until, you know, what changed my life about health was two. Two things. I did a show with a tank top on, and I was dating this girl, and I did a great show. And I got off stage and she said. Ava was saying, good job. Good job. She said, either do. Either wear a shirt or wear the tank top without the stomach. I go, what? What does that mean? I had a big stomach, but nice arms.

[Trevor Noah]

What did you weigh at your heaviest?

[Will Sylvance]

220.

[Trevor Noah]

Have you seen Will's pictures?

[Dave]

I've only ever seen this Will.

[Trevor Noah]

If you see Will's pictures at his heaviest, it's. It's a pretty amazing transformation.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I use that word correctly.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, you use that word.

[Dave]

When did the transformation happen?

[Will Sylvance]

2007. I. I gave up. I gave up. In fact, every year I was giving something up. That year I gave up poultry. All, all, all types of turkeys. Chicken. Gave up poultry. I thought that was going to be very hard. And I gave up poultry. The next year I gave up, oh, fried things. Anything fried. Okay, Right. Then in the year after that, I gave up ice cream and like, you know, like a lot of sugary things.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Will Sylvance]

But I. Sugar always kept coming back and forth.

[Trevor Noah]

Then the sugar is the devil, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Will sent me a DM this morning. Morning about sugar. That's probably like the only thing Will sends me. Just send me, like a random message out of the blue. Sugar is killing you. Let me tell you what sugar does to the human body.

[Will Sylvance]

Dementia.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

I know.

[Trevor Noah]

You sent me the video. I know, I know, I know.

[Will Sylvance]

And then the hardest thing, it's almost

[Trevor Noah]

like, you know, when I'm on my couch about to have ice cream and then you DM me. And then I'm like, huh, what's this? Sugar will destroy your life. Sugar will make cancer in your brain. And I'm like, thank you, Will.

[Will Sylvance]

And so the one year this, the fourth or fifth year, I was giving up dairy. I'm like, oh, if I give up chicken, I give up. It's going to be easy. Dairy was so hard because I love cheese. I used to put cheese on everything. If there was cheese, put extra cheese. It never had cheese. Well, let's try it and see what happens, you know? And then I read up on why is it so hard? And that's when I first started doing research on health. And it's addicting is dairy is probably the worst things you could put in your body. So much, it causes so much inflammation.

[Trevor Noah]

No, but which dairy? You always say this, and I always fight against this word. Which dairy. You gotta be specific. Cause, like, it can't just be dairy milk. Yeah, but what I mean is, like,

[Will Sylvance]

they use milk for so many things.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but what I mean is this, right?

[Will Sylvance]

This is like, except for eggs, I don't think so. We consider.

[Trevor Noah]

Sorry to bring the listeners you into, like, these conversations that I have with Will. But like, so my thing with Will is this. I go, I think sometimes you are so obsessed with the pursuits of health that you will make like the unhealthy decision or the, you know, you know what I mean? Or a decision that isn't necessarily backed by, like, the people have eaten dairy since forever. Yes, there are unhealthy ways to eat things and there are healthy ways to eat things. Right. There are healthier cheeses than other cheeses. There are good things you can get from cheeses that. You know what I mean? They were like.

[Dave]

I.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, here's what I'll say. I think if you, you could eat a little more cheese and sleep more and your health would be better. That's what I'm saying. I'm saying three hours of sleep is worse for your health than cheese.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah. I mean, look, everything for a healthy lifestyle, good sleep, eating, healthy exercising, all that, you know, you can't substitute one. You can't say, oh, I eat more cheese but sleep more, or no, everything contributes to your health in a different form or pattern.

[Trevor Noah]

But no cheese.

[Will Sylvance]

No, because it's.

[Trevor Noah]

So what do you eat now?

[Will Sylvance]

Okay, what do you eat now? You know why I gave up chicken and people always say won't get. What's the healthy chicken?

[Trevor Noah]

What's the healthy chicken? Organic chicken.

[Will Sylvance]

Organic chicken.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And the reason why I gave it up is because. Because if I go someplace, right, and they don't have organic chicken, they just got the drug infested chicken.

[Trevor Noah]

Like free range drug infested chicken. This man just said drug infested chicken, right?

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, man, the chicken, they pull all the drugs.

[Dave]

No, I know, but I've never heard

[Trevor Noah]

anyone call it drug infested chicken.

[Dave]

Just rocked up, man.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm just picturing like chicken. This is like on the farm.

[Dave]

It's just like, oh, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Come on, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay, so yeah, so if I go there, they don't have the healthy chicken. If I got the craving for it, I'm just gonna eat the bad chicken.

[Trevor Noah]

Cause you already eat chicken.

[Will Sylvance]

If I give it up entirely, then I won't have. The cravings will eventually leave my body and so I won't care if I had, you know. That makes sense.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah. But what do you eat now?

[Will Sylvance]

Basically, I'm a pescatarian fish. Veggies, fruits and nuts. Those are.

[Trevor Noah]

Are you worried now that fish is being farmed and is becoming sick now and it's not.

[Will Sylvance]

Well, I try not to get farm raised fish. I get my. Buy fish from a. From a place that they catch the fish fresh.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

And they ship it to your house real quick.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, wow.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I didn't know that that's a thing.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, A place called. Okay. Shout out some places.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

You can say from sea to table.

[Trevor Noah]

From sea to table.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, it's like a digital service. And then you order the fish.

[Will Sylvance]

You order the fish.

[Trevor Noah]

They should have gone with like netfish. That Would have been a better one.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, that.

[Trevor Noah]

That would have been a cool name.

[Will Sylvance]

There's a few companies, but Caesar Table is one I use a lot of.

[Trevor Noah]

And do you get to, like, pick the fish itself?

[Will Sylvance]

They have different fishes.

[Trevor Noah]

They show you the picture of the

[Will Sylvance]

fish, and you could pick the fish you want. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And they send it to your house.

[Will Sylvance]

Sends your house immediately with. With that. That.

[Trevor Noah]

The styrofoam packing.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. And. And then you put in. Yeah, I've been. And so I really cook most of my foods and stuff, so. Fish, veggies. You can't really go wrong with veggies. Even though they have been making bad veggies. But, you know, drug infested veggies. Drug infested veggies. Fruits, man. I've been one year, one summer, I decided to try different food. I never had. And you know, I got. I got into dragon fruit. I got into. I can't even name the fruit. So many different type of fruits.

[Trevor Noah]

You are that guy. I will say that.

[Will Sylvance]

And you know. Cause we tend to use. If you think about it, people tend to eat the same five things, whatever the five things are for their life.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

They never try, huh?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, for the most part.

[Will Sylvance]

For the most part. And I tried different fruits. Some was good, some was bad according to the taste. And then nuts. And, you know, most of your almonds, cashews. What's the one that look like your brain?

[Trevor Noah]

What's the one that looks like a brain?

[Will Sylvance]

That looks like a brain?

[Dave]

Walnut.

[Trevor Noah]

Walnuts.

[Will Sylvance]

Walnuts? Yeah. Walnuts are actually good for your brain, ironically.

[Trevor Noah]

Cause they look like your brain.

[Will Sylvance]

I don't know.

[Trevor Noah]

Are you gonna act more?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I wrote the movie. I am Maurice. You know about it.

[Trevor Noah]

That's the one about the Haitian boxer.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Come. Come from Haiti to America to pursue his boxing career.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, I like that. You should make him fight Rocky.

[Will Sylvance]

You should. The winner get the robot.

[Trevor Noah]

The winner gets the robot. And then you. Okay, what did you like about acting that you didn't get from, like, stand up? What is it about, like, when you're doing the movie with Aziz?

[Will Sylvance]

It's just your creativity. So these are lines, but you be creative with how you want to present these lines.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, your scene is really funny, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

It's properly funny.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, thanks. Yeah. Aziz is a great writer. Cause those are his words.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But it's fantastic.

[Will Sylvance]

But there's some of the words that I did change.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. There were some wills in there. I could tell. I could tell.

[Will Sylvance]

Somebody's on the balcony. And like, you got me eating things I can't even pronounce. I could. I couldn't pronounce that. That. That special dish.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, no, it was good. Yeah.

[Will Sylvance]

Thanks, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I'm excited for you, man. I'm excited for, like, this next phase of your. I just. No more. No more like professional boxing. I don't think it's necessary, but that's just me. I mean, I'm happy you, you.

[Will Sylvance]

I just want to get out my system.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, cool.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Did you win?

[Will Sylvance]

I won unanimously.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what I'm talking about, man.

[Will Sylvance]

Is that fist bump? Was that pun intended? No pun intended.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no pun intended. No pun intended. This is great. Dave, do you have any questions before I let Will go? Are you doing a set tonight? You do a set every single night?

[Will Sylvance]

Every night at the Comedy Cellar.

[Trevor Noah]

How many nights off do you take a year?

[Will Sylvance]

I don't take any nights off.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, almost nothing, right?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Unless if I gotta travel that, like, when I go to Australia. Because you miss a date when you travel to Australia. I can't perform on the plane.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, not yet.

[Dave]

I can ask one question, but you have to answer it in the shortest possible way.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay.

[Dave]

What do you like about boxing?

[Will Sylvance]

That it allows me to defend myself. Allow me to get aggression out when I hit the bag.

[Dave]

Okay, great.

[Will Sylvance]

Love boxing, huh?

[Trevor Noah]

It's not the question I thought you would ask, and that's not the answer that I thought you would give. That's who you are, Will. An international man of mystery. This has been fun, my friend. Thank you very much.

[Will Sylvance]

Thanks for having me, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, man, this has been dope.

[Will Sylvance]

You cancelled.

[Trevor Noah]

Why are you gonna say that? Why would you say that? Why would you say that?

[Will Sylvance]

I'm like, you want me?

[Trevor Noah]

What do you mean, man? Of course I want you. You're one of my favorite people. You know this, though, yeah?

[Dave]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You know this. Come on, we've been around the world together. We've had meals together. We've watched sporting events together. We've done standup comedy together for years. We've eaten countless meals. We've almost.

[Dave]

Well, I mean, got killed together. Remember that bus driver?

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, man, every time I see a sprinter van, I think of you now. Every single time. That journey started with you saying, this is how you should travel. And then I'll never forget, in the middle of it, Dave stopped. Because to give context to anyone who's listening or watching this, Will is a big fan of sprinter vans for long distance travel.

[Will Sylvance]

I was calling Splinters for some Reason?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. You were calling them splinters, like the Ninja Turtles. So you were like, you gotta get a splinter. Then I was like, what? Now you're like a splinter van. And I was like, oh, sprinter van. So we, We. We decided, let's get a sprinter, because Will genuinely believes that sprinters are the best way to travel to and from a comedy show.

[Will Sylvance]

Voices. Wait, wait, Tom.

[Trevor Noah]

Voices versus what was an suv?

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah. Three hours. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Like a car. Yeah, that's fine.

[Will Sylvance]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

I just go in a normal car. You were like, no, we gotta get a sprinter van.

[Dave]

But he gave you the picture.

[Trevor Noah]

He did. In his defense, Will gave me a picture of the sprinter van that he was talking about.

[Dave]

This was a very luxurious sprinter.

[Trevor Noah]

It was a very luxurious sprinter van.

[Dave]

It was like, wow. Wow, this is great.

[Trevor Noah]

But then the sprinter van that turned up for us that you hired looked

[Dave]

like if you were taking people.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Dave]

If you were taking people to.

[Trevor Noah]

It looked like the shuttle at the airport that. Now you know how they've kicked rideshare services now they can't pick you up at most airports.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

You gotta get in a shuttle bus. The small ones.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

That take you to a parking lot in a field.

[Dave]

Well, in my memory. In my memory, it doesn't look like that. In my memory, it looks like if you were. If you were no longer. How can I put it? If you were no longer. If you had overstayed your visit in the country and they needed to take you to the border, they would use.

[Will Sylvance]

I was gonna say the prison. The one. The one they transformed the prisoners from. One. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

It did have that vibe. It did have that vibe. It also had depressing, like, stripper lighting.

[Will Sylvance]

Oh, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

If you remember that.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So it felt like we were all on a bachelor party, but of someone who's been, like, divorced four times and now the money's run out and things are really bad, and. And we're in the. We're in the car and we're driving. And my favorite memory of this drive is we're two hours into a four hour drive. And Dave turned to you mid conversation and he said, will, cause. Cause the wind was blowing so hard that the van kept on tilting over. And then the driver would have to stop suddenly in the middle of the highway. And then he'd be like, sorry, guys, the wind is really bad. And then he'd start driving again. And then the bus would tilt over and he'd be like, sorry, guys, the wind is really bad. And then Dave turned to you. We were having a regular conversation, and Dave Turned to you and he said, will, I'm not gonna lie. Our friendship is on a thread right now. He said, you and your vehicle have put our friendship on a thread. And I. I don't know if we're gonna be friends after this drive, but let's be honest.

[Will Sylvance]

The driver was a bad driver.

[Trevor Noah]

I can't say that about him because it was really windy. Do you remember the truck that was. You don't remember the truck he showed us?

[Will Sylvance]

That was one little truck.

[Trevor Noah]

The FedEx truck. That was a massive truck.

[Will Sylvance]

One truck. Well, I mean, like one truck blowing in the wind, but.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but it was.

[Will Sylvance]

Every car was. You know what I'm saying?

[Trevor Noah]

Hey, man, I'm not gonna judge the driver. I'm gonna judge the person who told us to get the splinter van. Cause you were very specific about that. Will, this was fun, man. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much, man. We'll see you at the show.

[Will Sylvance]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Apple Card is designed to support your financial well being. With unlimited daily cash back on every purchase and the ability to track your spending on your iPhone, Apple Card helps you lead a healthier financial life. So that way you can stress less about money and focus more on enjoying your life. Cause you know what I've realized about financial health, Eugene?

[Will Sylvance]

Here we go.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no.

[Will Sylvance]

Are you gonna give me some money?

[Trevor Noah]

I'm gonna do something better. I'm gonna teach you how to keep and manage your money. Okay. That maybe I'll give you. Financial health is a. Is a feeling. Right? And like most feelings, you don't notice it when you don't have it, but you notice it when you finally do. That's true.

[Will Sylvance]

Cause feelings are fleeting.

[Trevor Noah]

Exactly. So when you've got like your financial health, it's like. It's that moment when you spend money and then you just don't think about it again. Do you know what I mean? Beautiful feeling. Exactly. So you spend money and then you're not second guessing. There's no mental math later. Oh, did I go over? Did I go under? No. Replaying the decision in your head. You just spend it because you know you can, and then you're done.

[Will Sylvance]

You can never be done spending, Trevor.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, but you can be done thinking about the spending, Eugene. And I used to think financial health was about big milestones. Like I thought financial health will be achieved when I earn more, when I save more, when I do everything right.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, but that's what everyone thinks.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what everyone thinks. That's the trap. Financial health can happen at any level. If you are lucky enough to have finances. Because in real life, it shows up in much smaller ways. It's in the clarity. You know, you know what's coming in. You actually know what's going out. And you're not surprised by your own life. You're like, wow, I spent that much on car rides. I spent this much on movie tickets. What am I doing with my life? Or you just know that you're in your budget. Because when you don't know, every decision becomes heavier. You're guessing with your life and your money. Do you know what I mean?

[Will Sylvance]

But you know what they say. Budgets are like promises. They're meant to be broken.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think that's correct, but I.

[Will Sylvance]

Yeah, I totally made it up.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what? It had a nice feeling. I think. Let's go with. Budgets are like your face in a mirror. When you can actually see it, you know what you're dealing with. I'm gonna work on this. I'm gonna work on this. The point is, it's gotta be a choice. And the more you know, the better your choices can be. Does this make sense?

[Will Sylvance]

Makes absolute sense.

[Trevor Noah]

Exactly. So if people understood that they can make a choice because they know what's happening. And then when you understand it, it changes how you move. You decide differently, you pause differently, you feel more in control. Well, not of everything, right? But enough. That's financial health to me. And over time, those small, consistent things are what make your financial life feel steady. Not perfect, just steady.

[Will Sylvance]

You know what? I'll take steady any day.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, Eugene, I like that it wasn't a proposal. Oh, I thought you were saying we should go steady.

[Will Sylvance]

Steady fees, steady funds, steady money.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, okay. Well, regardless of that, remember, Apple Card is good for your wallet. It's designed to support your financial well being. It's a no fee credit card that lets you track your spending on your iPhone. Plus, you can get unlimited daily cash back on every purchase, stress less about money and focus more on enjoying life. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Variable APRs for Apple Card range from 17.49% to 27.74% based on creditworthiness rates as of January 1, 2026. Existing customers can view their variable APR in the wallet app or carrd.apple.com what now with Trevor Noah is produced by Day Zero Productions in partnership with SiriusXM. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin and Jess Hackle. Rebecca Chain is our producer. Our development researcher is Marcia Robiou. Music mixing and mastering by Hannis Brown Random other stuff by Ryan Harduth thank you so much for listening. Join me next week for another episode of what now. Hey everyone, it's me, Morgan Stewart and

[Will Sylvance]

I have a new podcast called the Morgan Stewart Show.

[Trevor Noah]

Join me each week as I talk

[Will Sylvance]

about pop culture, fashion, my personal life

[Trevor Noah]

and just a warning, I'm going to be giving my opinion on everything.

[Will Sylvance]

I'll also have some really fun guests to join in on the fun the Morgan Stewart show is out now.

[Trevor Noah]

Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts or watch full video on YouTube.

[Will Sylvance]

Support comes from Amazon Business. Free your team from time consuming procurement tasks. Discover smart business buy where unmatched selection meets AI driven tools to simplify complex processes so you can focus on what matters most. Learn more at amazonbusiness. Com.