You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Episode: Flula Borg
Date: April 1, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively and freewheeling episode, Pete Holmes sits down with comedian, actor, and YouTube sensation Flula Borg for a conversation packed with infectious energy, playful riffs, reflections on comedy, routines, cultural quirks, body image, and the existential search for meaning. The episode joyfully bounces between hysterical bits, honest introspection, and thoughtful exchanges about success, creativity, and self-understanding. Flula’s unique perspective as a German performer in the US adds extra flavor, and their improvisational chemistry is on full display.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Name Doppelgängers & Initial Banter

• Pete jokes that Flula looks like a mix between Mike Birbiglia, Billy Eichner, and Paul Rudd, referencing comedian’s Bobby Moynihan and playful celebrity confusion.
• Flula riffs on being compared to Rudd and Kumail Nanjiani, leading to a running joke about cutesiness and body image.
• Flula: “Are you? Chicken breasts.”
  Pete: “Blending them. Horror. Who does?”
  [06:29]

2. Body Transformation & Fitness Regimens

• Flula describes bulking up for his role as a villain in The Suicide Squad, developing intense routines.

• He discusses German love of structure and schedules, and his ongoing commitment to strict eating and workout habits.

• Pete marvels at Flula’s “veins in his knee” and muses on the price of “superstar looks.”

• Conversation turns to protein intake, middle-of-the-night hunger, and the weirdness of blending chicken breast (with Kumail as a reference point).

  Pete: “You made your own Frankenstein. You are your own Frankenstein.” [07:46]

3. Routines, Sleep Schedules, and Morning Solitude

• Flula explains going to bed at 8:30pm to stay on European time, waking up at 3:45am, and loving the solitude.

• Pete connects to this, saying the early morning feels “like stealing reality. Nobody’s awake. Your phone isn’t gonna ring. You can, John Cusack, say anything.” [11:59]

• Both agree on the value of structure to combat chaos.

  Flula: “Structure feels good. Lack of structure feels… once you have structure, then the lack of structure is earned and wonderful.” [31:44]

4. Cultural Differences: Sex Positivity & Taboos

• Pete quizzes Flula on Berlin’s reputation for sex-positivity and nudity; Flula clarifies he doesn’t attend "intercourse clubs," finding them unsanitary.

• Flula explains German nudity norms (e.g., topless women on TV guides), less taboo around certain topics, and contrasts with American puritanism.

  Flula: “When I was a child, the TV Guide ... was a topless lady on the cover... Not because it was a show about cleavage... just, here you go, because they’re selling magazines.” [17:29]

5. Comedy, Trying, and The Problem with Coolness

• The duo riff on walking out of movies for silly reasons, with Flula admitting he left Die Hard “because I was hungry!” [14:43]

• Deep dives into masculine stereotypes in action films (Die Hard, Bourne Identity), and the difference between performative coolness and honest vulnerability.

• Pete laments the “narcissist fantasy” of certain action movie characters and celebrates performers who “let us see them.”

  Pete: “I have an issue with coolness because I want to know who you are. Coolness to me seems like an affectation, like you’re putting it on.” [50:37]

6. Creativity and Viral Success (YouTube, Stand-Up, Reverse Engineering)

• Flula details the origins of his viral “Jennifer is a party pooper” video—totally unplanned, drawn from his real office experience.

• Both discuss the pressure and pitfalls of trying to re-create viral success, the natural progression from earnest, accidental success to deliberate follow-ups, and how feedback influences material.

• Pete and Flula bond over their shared appreciation of “trying,” effortful performance, and resisting the growing cultural cynicism toward effort.

  Flula: “Watching full effort is fun. Even if someone is terrible—the full effort is very exciting.” [77:01]

  Pete: “We seem to see less trying... Lots of smug. Lots of cynic. Lots of ‘Who cares? It’s all too late.’” [77:40]

7. Fitness, Image Pressure, and Life’s Meaning

• Flula notes the ongoing impact of physical transformation on his daily life—and how it becomes a burden as much as an accomplishment.

• Pete likens visible fitness to “having a mustache”—an attribute that always draws comment.

• Discussion moves to mortality, meaning, and what Flula would do on his last day: tell people he loves them, eat pizza, make a techno song (“and then I would die”).

• Pete shares his spiritual beliefs—consciousness as the root phenomenon, a non-dual perspective, and the sense that we are all part of universal awareness.

  Pete: “If I stop thinking, I go back to what I actually am, which is just like the empty space in this room—which is naked, spontaneous, peaceful, empty.” [92:25]

  Flula: “Is there meaning? Yeah, we make the meaning... we have all created rules. You’ve created rules, I’ve created rules...” [89:13]

8. Notable Riffing and Podcast Chemistry

• Throughout, there is fast-paced riffing—on protein powder, “softs vs. hards,” blueberry jokes (“Blueberries: stains everywhere... kind tomato in a cartoon, like gross tiny tomatoes”—[34:47]), podcast structure, international measurements, Captain Crunch, 90s bands, Werther’s Original candy, and much more.
• Flula’s love of giving and receiving honest feedback is a recurring thread, comparing his delight in being constructively criticized by his trainer Paolo to Pete’s own on-stage experimentation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There is a weight to the corporatization. I’m very anxious about quiet. I needed to quiet it.” — Flula Borg [04:17]
• “Why chug it? If you want to enjoy the flavor, then you should… vodka tastes like Lysol.” — (Flula & Pete, on savoring life) [05:09]
• “You should have the most of it.” — Pete Holmes (on Flula not having the sleep hormone, jokingly naming it ‘Flula’) [07:06]
• “I am 25kg heavier than I should be, probably. In order to sleep. But I have now created this monster enough to feed it.” — Flula Borg [07:36]
• “Rudd wishes. Paul Rudd for like Ant Man. Rudd is a few sizes…” — Pete Holmes [05:42]
• “The softs rule, okay? The hards, we let you guys have the illusion of control.” — Pete Holmes [12:43]
• “Everybody’s doing what they’re doing to feel safe. Agree.” — Flula Borg [57:35]
• “When you look backwards, everything is straight. Correct.” — Flula Borg [58:14]
• “Fail faster, find the fun.” — Pete Holmes, relaying the ‘Game Maker’s Toolkit’ motto [80:26]
• “Everything you want is on the other side of a bunch of failures.” — Pete Holmes [81:18]
• “The failing happened in the studio... But comedy you have to do in front of people.” — Pete Holmes [82:03]
• “We all have created rules. Rules that are the good rule… some agreement. You know, those rules are not secrets. Don’t be an…” — Flula Borg [89:16]
• “Would you say keep it crispy? It’s how we end.”
  “Depends on the food.” — Pete Holmes & Flula Borg (final exchange) [95:42]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Fitness, Body Image, “Blending chicken breasts:” 05:55 – 07:49
• Sleep Patterns, Solitude of Early Rising: 10:41 – 12:00
• Berlin Sex Culture, American Taboo: 15:09 – 18:44
• Walking Out of Movies, Cultural Judgments: 13:33 – 15:49
• Action Heroes & Masculinity in Movies: 44:02 – 52:30
• Honest Feedback & Trying in Performance: 26:04 – 31:44
• Feedback Loops in Social Media & Art: 59:01 – 62:32
• “Fail Faster”—The Value of Experimentation: 80:26 – 81:42
• Discussing Meaning, Mortality, and Spirituality: 87:59 – 92:59
• German/English Language Mix-Up (“inexplicably/inextricably linked”): 93:01 – 93:32

Conclusion

This conversation is a hallmark You Made It Weird—fluctuating between wild, rapid-fire riffing, substantial philosophical digressions, honest talk about creativity, culture shock, and vulnerability. Flula’s spontaneity and Pete’s warmth, curiosity, and philosophical depth create a welcoming space for both hilarity and insight. Whether you’re interested in the inner life of artists, the mechanics of comedy, or simply a spirited, weird, and wonderful hang, this episode is a gem.

Ending:
Pete: “Would you say keep it crispy? It’s how we end.”
Flula: “Depends on the food.” [95:42]