Interview · moment 12 of 22
Staying Broke Until 30 and the War of Attrition
from Heroism is a Solitary Thing · #85
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minGuest
Connor and Tim discuss the sheltered nature of starting comedy young, how long you're allowed to stay broke, and Tim's own years grinding on tour buses before his career took off around 2016.
- 29:47Tim told a Grindr story on the last podcast that people found funny, making him reconsider how much he censors himself.
- 30:15Roast Battle works well for younger comedians who are great joke writers but lack life experience and perspective.
- 30:40Nobody wants to hear a 22-year-old give an indictment of the federal government's role.
- 31:20Growing up doing stand-up starting at 18 and only being 24 means you've never really had a life outside of comedy.
- 31:47You can stay broke until you're about 30, but after that it becomes embarrassing.
- 32:17The guest's strategy is to double down on comedy opportunities and max out credit cards, submitting to colleges and doing tours.
- 32:35Tim worked on a tour bus in horrible weather at 29 and 30, doing well in the city but with nothing to show for it yet.
- 32:58At a certain point being broke, borrowing money, and miserable forces you to ask if you have what it takes to keep going.
- 33:20Comedy can function as a way to avoid growing up, a form of Peter Pan syndrome that lets you avoid being an adult.