Whiskey Ginger with Andrew Santino - Justin Willman

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

Ta Daaa! It's Justin Willman. From his mesmerizing Netflix series "Magic for Humans" to his jaw-dropping live performances, Justin Willman has been wowing audiences with his unique blend of magic and ...humor. While they sip the sauce, we get up close and personal with the man behind the magic, exploring the inspirations, challenges, and behind-the-scenes stories that have shaped his remarkable career. Be sure to check him out live while he's on tour! https://justinwillman.com #andrewsantino #whiskeyginger #JustinWillman #MagicInterview #ComedyMagic #MagicForHumans ===================================== FOLLOW OUR SPONSORS BETTER HELP Get the help you need from a licensed professional 10% off your first month https://betterhelp.com/whiskey ME UNDIES Get 25% Off & Free Shipping! https://www.meundies.com/whiskey RABBIT HOLE $5 OFF with Promo Code: WHISKEY https://rabbitholedistillery.com/drizly ===================================== Follow Andrew Santino: https://www.instagram.com/cheetosantino/ https://twitter.com/CheetoSantino Follow Whiskey Ginger: https://www.instagram.com/whiskeyging... https://twitter.com/whiskeyginger_ Produced and edited by Joe Faria IG: @itsjoefaria Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 What up, Whiskey Ginger fans? Welcome back to the show. It's your first time joining the show. Welcome to the show. We got a good one for you today. Like my man Steve Harvey done say, it's Justin Willman, the magic man with the magic hands and the magic brain. What a great, cool, intriguing dude. I really love this guy. So talented. Go to justinwillman.com and go check him out. He is on tour. He's all over the place bringing his comedic style of trickery to you, wherever you are. He's going to be there in 2024. Go to justinwillman.com and check him out. Also, me and Bob released a bunch of new dates. Me and Bobby Lee are doing Bad Friends Tour, where we do stand-up and stuff from the show. You get a couple hours of stand-up and live
Starting point is 00:00:42 podcast events. And we're not going to be sitting down doing the podcast. We do live podcasts, like events, fan interactions, all sorts of fun stuff. Go to badfriendspod.com for those tickets. Badfriendspod.com. We're going to be everywhere. We start in Atlantic City, then we go to Salt Lake City, then we go to Long Beach and Sacramento and Temecula and Reno, Tucson,
Starting point is 00:01:00 and then we end this whole thing in Las Vegas, Nevada on 420 before we go down on the night. So go to badfriendspod.com for those tickets, badfriendspod.com. Enough rambling from me. Let's go to the episode. In here, we pour whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey. You're that creature in the ginger beard.
Starting point is 00:01:20 Sturdy and ginger. Like vampires, the ginger gene is a curse. Gingers are beautiful You owe me $5 for the whiskey and $75 for the horse Gingers are hell no This whiskey is excellent Ginger, I like gingers Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Whiskey Ginger
Starting point is 00:01:38 My guest today is one of my favorite people on earth I say that for all my guests, but I mean it once again Today, it's Justin Wilman! Yeah! Dude, cheers to you, Thank you for coming by Cheers Thank you. This is long overdue. I know seriously. We've been trying Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah good sauce do listeners get to know what time of day this is happening Yeah, this is at 830 in the morning. Yeah Monday show Monday 830. Oh, that's right
Starting point is 00:02:00 I've had guys on here that you know, most of my friends Are sober now And some of them needed to be Is it because of this podcast? Yeah probably because of the show Yeah this has taken down a lot of people But I've had guys come in here
Starting point is 00:02:14 That do drink that are like You want to crack one? I'm like It's 7.30 Not really It's 7.30 but then I have to This podcast is like an airport bar. This is.
Starting point is 00:02:26 Any time of day, it is okay to have a Bloody Mary. Do you feel that way, truly? Adler's Club, 6.01 a.m., LAX. Oh, you're a big American guy. That's what it is, huh? Yeah. I was a Delta cat, but the Delta lounge is... Honestly, it's out of control.
Starting point is 00:02:40 I was at JFK two days ago, and there was no less than 10,000 people inside the Delta lounge. Yeah, you need to know a guy to get in there. There's a line out of control. I was at JFK two days ago, and there was no less than 10,000 people inside the Delta Lounge. Yeah, you need to know a guy to get in there. There's a line out the door. I'm the guy. But Delta Lounge's spread is by far superior to American Airlines. It is, but you know, they're changing everything. This is inside nonsense.
Starting point is 00:02:58 Actually, this is useful. This is privileged guy nonsense. I would say this is what people will learn once they hit a million miles. You used to be able to get in with American Express Platinum cards. Some people that weren't flying in first class or weren't a part of the lounge, you could get in. Now they said you got to spend 70 grand a year on an Amex to do it. And a lot of people got super mad about it.
Starting point is 00:03:17 And then I said, well, then why don't they just divide up these lounges? Why wouldn't you just make like one for people that are card holders, one for people that are frequent flyers? You know what I mean? Segment, dude. Class system it up. You mean within the lounge, basically. Like flagship and Admiral's Club. Yeah, multiple lounges. You ever go on that flagship? Flagship is really sexy. Oh my god.
Starting point is 00:03:36 There's nobody there. That's right. Admiral's Lounge is... But you and Wolfgang Puck. It is. It's him. It's always, like, a famous chef and then a celebrity that's been famous for 40 years yes
Starting point is 00:03:47 where you're like is that Arsenio Hall is that is that Arsenio Hall where's he going and it is where is he going dude um
Starting point is 00:03:55 you're on tour a lot by the way uh I see your schedule and it is funny you're one of these guys that I don't know if you stop
Starting point is 00:04:01 but if you do you'd have to tell me because I feel like you're you live on the road don't you travel a ton I'm um I think, you'd have to tell me because I feel like you live on the road. Don't you travel a ton? I'm, um, I think I'm,
Starting point is 00:04:09 I always say like I'm on a perpetual tour and that it never really starts or stops. Yeah. But when I'm on tour, it's never like, uh, it's like two, three days and then back home to Studio City for a couple of days and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then back home. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:20 So it's kind of, uh, manageable. Are you a single man? Are you a single man? No, I'm not. No. So that makes it a that makes a little bit more of a wife and two children do you love both of them the same both of my wives both of my children well you could have the wives and children two wives and two children no that would be there's no time for that I love I love my wife and I love my children was the same but it was easier to do maybe a week or a week and a half away from my wife, no offense to her, than your children. My wife is not going to acquire
Starting point is 00:04:49 new quirks and personality traits while I'm gone, hopefully. But the child, the child, you know, they grow up so fast. Yeah. But it's so funny to say that because I feel like every time I come home, my wife has a lot of new guys working on the house. A lot of them. Uh-huh. Cask rabbits? Yeah, I think we've got, how many, he knows, we've got like six pool guys now. And we don't even have a pool. I mean, we're thinking about building one, but. I don't know, something might be going on. I doubt it, dude. Maybe she's planning a surprise 41st birthday. Maybe that's what all the secrets. Maybe she's surprising. That could be what it is. Uh-huh. What do these guys look like? Really good looking.
Starting point is 00:05:25 Young, handsome, like 22 to 28. Good looking guys, fresh out of college. Interesting. Can they throw a hammer? Can they ever. Wow. They can put it down. And they're building a lot of stuff back there.
Starting point is 00:05:35 I don't know. She won't let me see what it is. So maybe you're right. It is a surprise. You mean... They're always in the backyard. Under a tarp? They always have their shirts off in the backyard.
Starting point is 00:05:42 They're doing push-ups and sit-ups. It's hot out. It is very hot. And I do think you need to in the backyard and they're doing push-ups and sit-ups. It's hot out. It is very hot and I do think you need to stay limber when you're doing manual labor. Uh-huh. And they're very good looking,
Starting point is 00:05:50 all tan. None of them are like me. Actually, none of them look like me at all. They're all really good looking tan young guys. I think you're describing the Chippendales.
Starting point is 00:05:58 Are they doing a live show in my backyard? They might be. Surprise. Surprise! Well, that's a birthday present. You got me a Chippendale. You share an iCal with your wife
Starting point is 00:06:09 where she's aware of your travel plans, your goings, your comings and goings. This is funny because we bought, here's how we initially started. Calendar sharing was like the original way, but I don't put everything in my calendar. So she got frustrated at that. So then,
Starting point is 00:06:21 a lot of times I just put it in the memory bank that I'm like, I know where I'm going then, then, and then, and I just put it in the memory bank that I'm like, I know where I'm going then, then, and then, and I just kind of, I have so many plates I feel like I'm spinning that sometimes I just log it in and then I don't,
Starting point is 00:06:32 I forget to communicate it. Like, oh, I forgot that day I'm XYZ. So now, she bought one of these big boards and I have to write in the calendar what I'm doing and where I'm going. By hand?
Starting point is 00:06:44 On paper? I do it by hand because then I'll physically do it because I'll just ignore it if it's... At home on the wall? Yeah, it's in the laundry room. What if she wants to know where you are, but she's not at home? Good luck. She has to go home and look at the wall.
Starting point is 00:06:56 Yeah, she has to go home. Or she calls someone inside of the house and says... What if the many construction workers could maybe FaceTime her the schedule? Yeah, and none of them speak English, so that's even harder. I guess that's even more difficult for her to communicate, but she seems to do just fine with those guys. Okay, nice. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:12 But I put up a board, and I started doing it pretty good, and then I have since stopped. I just don't do it anymore. Now, this is pathetic and awful, but I just say, just look at the site, look at the website. Check my tourist schedule, babe. Check and awful, but I just say, you gotta, just look at the site. Look at the website. Oh, check my tourist schedule, babe. Check the schedule. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:26 Check the schedule, dude. But she comes a lot now. Well, she hasn't come in years, but she comes on the road with me now. Uh-huh. If it's A-Markets. If it's A-Markets. If she can get there in a nonstop flight. 100%.
Starting point is 00:07:39 Okay. By the way, I'm not going there. So no Louisville. Louisville, she's not gonna swing by. No. Not gonna make her trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, probably. not going there. So no Louisville. Louisville, she's not going to swing by. No. Not going to make her trip to Lincoln, Nebraska probably. Oh, no. My wife will never see Omaha.
Starting point is 00:07:51 No. Oklahoma City. And by the way, beautiful places. She'll just never know. You have to say that. I do. Because I've checked your tour schedule. Yeah, you do.
Starting point is 00:07:57 I do. I'm going there. No, dude. She'll only go to cities where we either have friends or she has something to do. People always say, do you bring your kids? Do you bring your wife? Like, you know, maybe I'm in Joliet, Illinois, where I was recently. There you go.
Starting point is 00:08:11 And I was like, lady, I got up at 6 a.m. to get here, and I'm getting up at 6 a.m. tomorrow to get the hell out of here. You think my wife wants any part of this? Right, no. In Joliet? Unless they want to go to that great steakhouse in Joliet. Which one's that? Mikey's.
Starting point is 00:08:24 Mikey's Steak and Mikey's Chop. Mikey's Chop House. Is that still there? You know what? I made it up. I honestly, I made that up. I was just hoping you'd run with it. You familiar with Louie's?
Starting point is 00:08:33 It's basically a ripoff of Denny's. No, is that a real thing? Yeah, it's a long story. It's a long story. Yeah, but no, my wife, yeah. Wives don't want to come unless there's non-performing happening. Right, unless we can go to a show or go out to a place or if we know someone in that city.
Starting point is 00:08:48 Like, where are you born? St. Louis. Oh, wow. I know. I forgot. That's right. You're a Missouri boy. Apologies. But you don't look like a Missouri kid. What does that look like? You know what it looks like. Just bring up a picture of a child in Missouri. You'll know right away. When you see
Starting point is 00:09:04 these guys, you'll know right away what a Missouri child is. Google automatically suggested Missouri child support, by the way. Well, look at the third kid. I mean, that's kind of what most kids look like
Starting point is 00:09:11 in Missouri. Missouri child, what's the caption? 13 dies from coronavirus at Missouri hospital. So this is the kind of stuff that you guys are pumping out. This is my roots.
Starting point is 00:09:18 Wow. Very sad. Can't say anything about that at all because there's a face to it. You've done, before I move on too much into the world of We've started. Well, we always start without
Starting point is 00:09:30 you knowing. Good. You know, that's kind of how life is. You're really surprised. Starts without you knowing, baby. I pull a magic trick on you. And it's over before I know it. It's done. Thank you so much for watching the show. That's been Justin. I'll say multiple things right now. I really appreciate you. I respect you. I think say multiple things right now. I really appreciate you. I respect you.
Starting point is 00:09:46 I think you're very talented and I've seen you kind of from afar and watched what you've been doing and I think it's weird to say that you're a magician because you are
Starting point is 00:09:57 but you're a comedian to me. Do you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. It's funny because you are a magician but you're a comedian. Wow. But you're... It's hard because if somebody said... Because I think some... You know, my buddy was like, is he a comedian? I mean? It's funny because you are a magician, but you're a comedian. Wow. But you're, it's hard because if somebody said,
Starting point is 00:10:06 because I think some, you know, my buddy was like, is he a comedian? I say he's a magician, but he's a comedian. But is that insulting to say? No, that's like my, that is, you have just completed the search of my lifelong dream of identity of wanting to be a comedian. But you are a comedian.
Starting point is 00:10:24 You don't fancy yourself a comedian? I do. Yeah. I mean, I don't do comedy without magic being involved. Okay. And I don't do comedy without saying the F word. I mean, it's like that's my magic trick. There you go.
Starting point is 00:10:35 That's your rabbit from the hat. Right. Right. But thank you. That's my, that is, that makes me very proud. Because I certainly wasn't all i was a magician for a long time before i was like funny yeah for the right reasons you know right but magic is i think what put me in front of people to get that like that that feeling of like wow getting a laugh
Starting point is 00:10:59 feels really good but you guys go through the same stuff like when you you've helped me out there's a place here in los ang Angeles that people may not know called the Magic Castle. It's actually world-renowned. If you're not familiar, I understand, but it's probably one of the most, it's hard to describe, one of the most fascinating places to go to as a comedian, even as a, just
Starting point is 00:11:17 a spectator is great, but as a comic it's impressive because I watch, you know, seven different comics a night, magicians a night, and some of them have such comedic instinct, and they lay it in there pretty well. Some people aren't that funny. Some guys are straight magic. But as a comic, it's cool to watch who's developing their comedy with the magic simultaneously
Starting point is 00:11:41 and who's just kind of a straight magician. the magic simultaneously and who's just kind of a straight magician. I mean, some of the up-close guys, I always felt like the up-close guys are less showy and jokey and more just performative of like, watch how good I am at showing you this. Right. And then some of the bigger shows that you, in that big room, like in the parlor or whatever, some of those shows, it's great to watch people like go through what we go through. And you know both sides of it. But it's so interesting to see them work out jokes that bomb.
Starting point is 00:12:09 And I fucking love it. It fills me up because I'm like, that's us. That's our pain. Because if a trick doesn't work, there's a way for a magician to kind of massage their way through it. If it doesn't go as smoothly as they want it to. You think so? Yeah. I mean, that's what I see as an outsider.
Starting point is 00:12:24 You know inside. You're too inside baseball. Like if a joke. I mean, that's what I see as an outsider, right? You know inside, you're too inside baseball. Well, if a trick, like if a joke doesn't work, that's a part of a trick. Or if you're doing a bit and you do a long lead up and you fuck up the punchline
Starting point is 00:12:32 and then, so basically two minutes was just kind of tanked. Lead up. And it's not like you're going to tell the joke again from the beginning. It's kind of like,
Starting point is 00:12:39 all right, fuck that. You can move on and salvage it. It's a little awkward. Right. But I think if a trick, like if the audience clearly sees how you just did what you were about to do or how now you can't, why you can't now do what you were promising to do. You know, like if I vanished your bill and then all of a sudden like out of my sleeve falls a bill
Starting point is 00:12:58 and I don't notice it, everyone's kind of like, oh my God. It's like your dick came out in the middle of your sack. Which is part of your show. That's why it's called misdirection. If you don't look there, look here. You call your dick misdirection? Misdirection. Oh, interesting.
Starting point is 00:13:11 Mister. Oh, Mr. Rection. Mr. Rection. Mine is misdirection. I have a female penis, yes. I see. It's a new world, dog. But I found that there's, you know, when you're at the castle,
Starting point is 00:13:23 I think the Magic castle is kind of like the comedy store if the comedy store was like a fancy place that had a nice restaurant and you had to wear a suit to get in and the idea of a car and a tie yeah uh but the idea of the comic store it's like varying size rooms and it's just shows all night right and you can go there and spend the whole night and get hammered and you know see maybe the some of the best comedians in the country but at the magic castle you know if you're you can tell that somebody may be uh like when you know you're in good hands there's no better thing than to relax and know this guy's a pro he's gonna fucking blow our minds but when someone is maybe trying out a new bit and you're like oh god i hope oh my god i
Starting point is 00:13:57 hope he figures this out you like it i like the anxiety of them maybe failing like the last time we went when i texted you when we went to the Magic Castle with my wife and my sister and some friends, this couple in the main room was doing, and I'm not, and I'm not, I'm not putting them down. They were doing buckets, like buckets.
Starting point is 00:14:18 I don't know if you know, maybe you know these people, but it was husband and wife, and they were doing like bucket tricks. What were they doing to these buckets? Well, they would stack and change them. And it was also, it was very physical. And it was less magic involved and more showy. But there was also magic moments of them utilizing the buckets to whatever. Wow.
Starting point is 00:14:36 But they dropped a lot of buckets. She dropped many of the buckets. And the gist of the bit is, wow, how are they not dropping the buckets? Yeah, and they're dropping the buckets. And the gist of the bit is, wow, how are they not dropping the buckets? Yeah, and they're dropping the buckets. But the difference is you, when you do drop a bucket, he made a joke every time. And that's why I was like,
Starting point is 00:14:51 this is great. And he was doing it the right way. And I could feel her anxiety was growing heavier because she didn't know how to like laugh it off, throw it away. Which I think is the same thing we utilize as comics.
Starting point is 00:15:02 When a joke doesn't work, you have to acknowledge it in a way and wrap it around into something else. Because if it just dies on its own, the weight is tremendous. You need to, like, spin it a little bit off so people forget how blech that just was. So this guy, like, I was at the Magic Castle last night for the first time in a while,
Starting point is 00:15:19 and brilliant juggler David Diebel. A couple drops that I could tell weren't, like, he probably would have preferred to do that catch. But each time it was a new zinger, right? and brilliant juggler David Diebel, a couple drops that I could tell weren't like, he probably would have preferred to do that catch. But each time it was a new zinger, right? So you almost look forward to like, wow, if he catches it, amazing. If he drops it, can't wait to hear what he's going to say next. But if someone is not that skilled,
Starting point is 00:15:39 and they essentially do the magic equivalent of dropping it, and then you're kind of like, you're Schadenfreude, right? It's like, oh, what's he going to do? He's going to squirm. And then if he catches that ball, you're Schadenfreude, right? It's like, oh, what's he going to do? He's going to squirm. And then if he catches that ball and he, like, you would feel so proud of this guy. Wow, you just turned, just made lemons out of, lemonade out of lemons. But if someone really, like, drops the ball, fails that chance as well, it is cringy. A little bit, yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:04 And I feel bad because I know, like, people see magic so infrequently versus how much they see comedy. comedy they're kind of at the magic castle seeing live magic many of them for the first time ever and maybe the last time they are judging my art form based on what they see in three hours at the magic castle so I get really uh protective and I get print I get I my spidey sense goes up when I feel like oh god they're laughing at him not know? Oh, that you don't like it. We love it. In the comedy world, it's like our favorite thing. But that's why you've made this kind of, this dual world where you love magic so much.
Starting point is 00:16:34 That is your first love. That's the thing, right? Like, people say to me, if I could quit comedy or acting, I'd quit acting tomorrow. I'd do comedy until I die. I'd do stand-up until I die. If you had to quit,
Starting point is 00:16:44 if someone was like, dude, you gotta be a stand-up or a magician. If that was the case, and they put a gun to your head and was like, you gotta do it, what would you do? To me? I would say... Oh, gosh. I might say a stand-up. You would quit magic? Well, here's the thing. You're a fantastic magician. But are you saying that I can't
Starting point is 00:17:00 be funny if I'm doing magic, if I had to pick one of those two things? I mean, it's obviously not a clear divide, but it would be more like, dude you got to stick more to magic and stop doing some of this I get more gratification from making people laugh than I do from blowing their minds I do love blowing their minds and I do take it for granted because it is a profound thing and you know like I I see it all the time on audiences faces and I I kind of maybe desensitize a little bit to it because I know they net wow Wow. People so rarely have their minds blow. Right.
Starting point is 00:17:25 So that is special. But man, just hearing maybe it's because I've always, you know, I got into magic because of Johnny Carson and because of like, because I love Steve Martin and Johnny Carson and just the way that these comedians carried themselves. I was like, I want to do that thing. Magic was how they got there. Let me start with magic. Right.
Starting point is 00:17:43 So now it's kind of like i did magic i fell in love with magic with the goal of being you know like a johnny carson kind of guy that kind of entertainer yeah and uh and you know i feel like kind of in that in that place now where i can kind of juggle the two but so you wanted to be a comedian through true magic true yeah because that is what steve did i you know Steve, in his book, which I highly recommend, talked heavily about performing at Universal Studios, right? Isn't that where it was? Disneyland.
Starting point is 00:18:11 Disney, Disney, yeah, Disney. And the pains of that, I guess, is why it's so relative to stand-up that we go through when you're bombing in an open mic, performing at Disneyland as people are passing by, but you catch one out of ten, and they're like, oh, that's pretty good. And that feels just as good as one guy in a coffee shop laughing, but nine other, you know, waiting to go on stage.
Starting point is 00:18:32 But it's interesting you say that, because I was a big Johnny Carson fan as a kid, and when I was a kid, I'd love to sneak into the living room and watch him, and the magic part of it, for me, never registered. I never got it as a kid. I was like...
Starting point is 00:18:49 Well, he rarely came up. I know, but he would do magic sometimes. He would occasionally do magic. But I, of course, like, you know, who do you want to write a book report on in fourth grade? Johnny Carson. So then very quickly I learned, oh, he started as a magician, you know.
Starting point is 00:19:00 Arsenio Hall started as a magician. Steve Martin, all these people. Arsenio Hall started as a magician? No. Yeah. So then what was your kickoff into actually getting the balls to do it? Like, what was the shift of being like, well, I guess I'm going to actually try to be a magician? Well, I think, I don't know if I calculated it that much.
Starting point is 00:19:16 Because eventually, I broke both of my arms when I was a kid riding my bike. I can see that the way you sit. With rollerblades on. They're very strange. Wait a minute. Hold on. Slow down. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:19:23 Rollerblades? Rollerblades, man. No pads? No helmet? You know, I don't know if pads would have helped me. I don't even... Probably no pads, honestly. So no pads, no helmet.
Starting point is 00:19:31 This is probably 92 or 3. Yeah. And on a bike. So riding a bike while wearing rollerblades. Oh, dude. I love that. See, this is why I'm like, don't go over that so fast. That's a great...
Starting point is 00:19:41 Give me the world. Is it summer? This is probably fall. This is in my neighborhood in Cre Kreef Corps off Spady Road. Probably me and three girls. And you know, these were my friends, but I was so nervous to talk to girls. Just you and three babes? Just me and three, three babes. This is probably in sixth grade or maybe the beginning of seventh. Yeah. And I'm the guy. And you're the guy on the rollerblades and on a bike. And the purpose of this was you were taking the bike to a friend's house and you needed both of these modes
Starting point is 00:20:09 of transportation. I don't even know if the... I think we were just tooting around. Having fun. In the cul-de-sac, you know? And give it to me, how would you crack your arms? And I was at the top of a hill and I was going down and I was kind of pedaling so wheels on pedals and then I kind of tried to stabilize and then I was going too fast and then I went to hit a brake and I hit kind of pedaling, so wheels on pedals, and then I kind of went to stabilize,
Starting point is 00:20:25 and then I was going too fast, and then I went to hit a brake, and I hit the front brake. So then I flew, went flying over it. And then I caught myself with my hands. Both arms broken. Both arms broken. You get up.
Starting point is 00:20:36 Arms dangling, and you say... I didn't even get up. Ta-da! How great is that, dude? In here, we pour whiskey. This episode of Whiskey Ginger is brought to you by BetterHelp. I have talked about BetterHelp for quite a long time. I'm a big fan of therapy, big fan of speaking to someone about your issues.
Starting point is 00:20:55 And I do think there's so much value in talking to someone, especially because, hey, it's the holidays. And I know what happens. A lot of times we get a little seasonal depression. And that's no fun for anybody. And it's tough. You know, whether you're with family or without family, it is very hard because you're starting a new year, and all the weight comes into play beyond the celebration. And I've got to tell you, talking to someone I do think helps get you through really rough times. And, uh, I do believe that, uh, BetterHelp is a great way to do this from the comfort of your own home.
Starting point is 00:21:31 You know, that's my favorite part is that I can do it from my house. I do really like that. That I don't have to go somewhere because I'm not a huge fan of going to some weird office with uncomfortable lighting. And, uh, a stack of old magazines from, from 16 years ago. Uh, so if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely done online. It's designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Fill out a brief questionnaire and get matched with a licensed therapist
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Starting point is 00:23:40 Now, none of these babes ever slept with you after that. Or before. Right. You know. Were you a ladies guy? No, no. I was a safe friend. I was like, I was a friend's own buddy. I was a friend's own kid to those four ladies. And I still am, unfortunately.
Starting point is 00:23:53 Oh, really? Uh-huh. I don't mean this in an offensive way, obviously, because it's not. But did they think you might be gay? And they were like, he's our good boy buddy. Yeah, maybe. Because I was at that age. I didn't have a lot of,
Starting point is 00:24:06 well, they might not have thought he's gay, but they thought he's kind of close to us. Yeah, I was late to develop. I was late to have pubes. I was late to have armpit hair, which was always noticed in the locker room. Big point of contention for you. Wow, Justin has no armpit hair.
Starting point is 00:24:20 So I was kind of like this, you know, and I got into magic after that accident because my doctor recommended card tricks to get my dexterity back from my broken arms. Oh, wow. So that's how I became a magician. So then I doubled down on the magic, having already been a fan of, you know, Carson and everybody. And then, but it wasn't like deliberate because of it. It was almost like a practical thing.
Starting point is 00:24:40 And then I got obsessed. You were like, how do I get laid less? How do I get laid less? Magic. I can't. I've got casts't even i can't even touch myself no it's just funny because i it's like every comic has a story of why you know it's similar to that where they get into it because they're like well i needed a release from you know broken home bullying or feeling uncomfortable and the only thing that most of us knew was,
Starting point is 00:25:06 I'm pretty weird. And if I'm weird and I talk about how weird things are, people laugh every time. I mean, that was kind of the thing I learned fast was, I said weird shit about what was going on. At what age? I mean, when I was a kid, I mean, when I was a kid kid, my humor was a huge part of coping with sadness.
Starting point is 00:25:24 So, like, as my family, a bunch part of coping with sadness so like as my family a bunch of you know irish slugs section 8 housing on the north side of chicago you know it too well yeah well that was that was even that was when it was just me and my mother but even as a kid going to family parties when i was a kid kid like i remember like six seven eight years old you know my mother's family never never had a lot of money you know they weren't like we weren't homeless but you know they were just working class and so we joked about everything and my grandfather was big on kind of teasing about the world because you know the haves and the have-nots it's easy just to be like you think rolls royces are comfortable you see how dumb
Starting point is 00:26:01 they look sitting in those fucking things he loved poking the bear at you know the swells is what he used to call them all the fucking swells you know and i think that like that anything was popular punch it punching up you gotta punch it as hard as making fun of anything that people thought think is well if it was exclusive especially if it was exclusive and if it was if it was fancy or nice the reason we didn't know how much it cost to fill up that yacht yeah you know that kind of stuff yeah it... You know how much it costs to fill up that yacht? Yeah, it's stupid. Yeah, it's a waste. You know what the mortgage is on that mansion? You know how many maids need to clean that house?
Starting point is 00:26:29 You got to deal with all those people. I think the way to deal with the stuff of the haves was for people in our family to mock them. Not... It wasn't... We don't have... It's like, we don't have that not because we're poor or broke.
Starting point is 00:26:41 We don't have that because that's stupid to have. We choose not to. Right, exactly. And I think that influenced my comedic take of the world. As I grew, I start to understand like, oh, it's because anything that's uncomfortable, you can, it's funny. If it's, if it makes you go, oh, I feel stupid.
Starting point is 00:26:58 Well, it's gotta be funny. There's something underneath that that's funny because it's all your mind making you feel a type of way about the situation. So for me, it was that it was you know mocking the fact that i got made fun of for being a redheaded kid or you know um just growing up with just my mom and then the kind of a weird tumultuous you know not having a dad when i was a kid and having you know and then having a stepfather years later and us leaving the city and i think just not understanding where I belong a little bit, especially looking as orange and bright as you are.
Starting point is 00:27:30 Very orange. So orange. So it just made me have to, I had to have it. Yeah, you had to have it. Being funny is your shield. And so you, post-broken arm, you got good. Well, I got, it was the first thing i was like uh better than average at you know like i was fine at sport whatever fine at sports what was your sport i mean i was golf do you golf still
Starting point is 00:27:53 occasionally yeah but i was on the golf team like in high school so i was okay who the kid can play wrestling in high school but i was okay i was not great at anything like grades, you know, B, B minus, you know, same, um, music. I mean, I played the saxophone at the time. Meh. You know, not just jack of all trades, whatever. But there was no other, when I got into magic, there was no other magician in my school. So instantly I was like the only kid in the school who did this thing. And, and then when I would do this thing, when I came out of the closet as a magician,
Starting point is 00:28:23 like maybe at show and tell in seventh grade or something, did that first trick, like people, like, can't believe it, you know? It's like, you know, those early David Blaine specials where it's just, you know, him on the street doing a trick and then people just erupt and run in different directions, you know? Like I would do that, you know, in between classes and stuff in seventh grade and people, even just, you know, simple card tricks. And I'd be so nervous because I was never a you know performer i was very shy never even like would go out of my way to you know be that center of attention but magic gave me kind of like the um the training wheels a little
Starting point is 00:28:55 bit and i couldn't believe like how people would freak out and and some through magic i discovered that i was funny right right but did you use the funny as a crutch? Like I talked to you about when a trick doesn't go kind of the way you want, you make a joke about it? Or were you just interjecting comedy while you were doing magic? No, I think I was,
Starting point is 00:29:10 I was trying to be funny because I loved like, then once I started doing magic, Harry Anderson became my hero. Harry Anderson. Harry Anderson, who was the actor,
Starting point is 00:29:20 the star of Night Court, great TV show. Yeah. Like 80-40. A lot of our audiences do not know what that is or who that is. Look it up, Harry Anderson. So he was, like, a comedy magician prior to that show.
Starting point is 00:29:30 And, you know, his whole persona is, like, he's working out of a suitcase, pack small, play big, funny. Yeah. You know, Penn and Teller, just funny. So I kind of, I mean, most magicians start by just lifting jokes left and right right either from the instructions on the trick you bought it from or The magician you saw do that trick you just start doing their material So I would like like Robert Orban joke books that would go through those and like add those jokes into my bed sure Like I'm in the eighth grade talking about like my wife this or whatever you know just made no sense
Starting point is 00:30:02 You're like a cover your cover act you cover act, you know? And then... And that's widely accepted in the magic community. I wouldn't say it's why, I mean, this is, I was a kid. But even when you're in your amateur period, are people still okay with it? Well, I mean, I would say once I like knew what I was doing, like I would say that I had killer jokes that people who knew, knew those were hacky jokes.
Starting point is 00:30:24 But for the most part, audiences don't know. Can you give me one? Do you remember? Do you remember one from your young ages? You know, I mean, the original, the oldest one is like, because I was a kid's party magician, it'd be like, how you doing?
Starting point is 00:30:40 Hold out your hand. Oh, no, the clean one. Oh, no, that was the clean one. All right. Stand right here on the trap door, you know. I do this trick in front of the mirror, and I laugh for hours, you know, like, just, like, kind of... Small, quick. I would say here, sign your name on this bill, use this pen they were giving away at the bank,
Starting point is 00:30:58 and I pull out a pen with a chain on it, you know, like, that I probably saw some other magician do, and it killed that, and I'm like, I just need a pen and a chain. I'm going to do that. You know, and I that I probably saw some other magician do, and it killed that, and I'm like, I just need a pen and a chain, I'm gonna do that, you know, and I'm 15, I don't know better, but you get, you learn, like, wow, laughs interspersed with magic, it's kind of a nice... Oh, it's so rhythmic, man, when it's working, it's unbelievable. That's funny you say that, I remember that's on the Tonight Show, Why Am I Dumb, I'm So Dumb, there is a famous comic that did the pen with the chain on it on the night show Was it Gary Shanley did it shandling it? Yeah, I was late giving away free pen. Yes. I think that's what it was
Starting point is 00:31:30 Yeah, exactly. I've been a local bank. You know, they give away free pens. That's what it was But the chain was hilariously long. Yeah, I think was longer than a normal like problem It wasn't like the one that's a foot at the bank It was like a three-foot chain or something But I think there was no funny is that I didn't even know that it was a shame if it is but then because I probably saw some local magician do it I probably saw thought like that's hilarious. Nobody else has ever seen that I'm gonna do that too little I know that like it was lifted from you know, right the greatest comedians Magicians can get away with that for a while until you come until you can tell you in pro
Starting point is 00:32:03 Yeah, or you just won't even get to that pro part but until you maybe start to get eyeballs and then it's like oh is this this guy worth you know like it's almost just a public opinion is this guy worth proceeding in their ascent or is it kind of like all right we get you know well that's the that's what i'm really curious about the breaking point of a comic to become a pro comic right right? There's a lot of like, you know, a lot of inconsistency in who becomes a professional comedian, right? Because some would say the first time you get paid,
Starting point is 00:32:33 you're a professional, right? But for us, a lot of it is validity through the business, whether it's you're given a shot on television, you're passed at a major club, you become some sort of a name in some regard. Is there kind of a, hey man, now you're, you become some sort of a name in some regard. Is there kind of a, Hey man, you're now you're a pro magician. Like what's the, what's the, what's kind of the intro into that world to say where somebody goes, Oh, you know, Justin. Yeah. Yeah. No, he's a,
Starting point is 00:32:55 he's a pro. You know what I mean? When you're young, what's the, how do people know? I mean, I would say I, I thought I was a professional magician as soon as I had a business card, you know, which is probably 14. Yeah. Business card. Vistaprint, baby. Briefcase. I mean, this is before Vistaprint.
Starting point is 00:33:09 This would be me at Kinko's. You doing it yourself? And this is before there was any, like, software. I would literally, like, I think I would type the words on Microsoft Word, print it out, and then, like, cut out the words and put them over an actual picture and then make copies of that. Oh, that's cool. You know, like, felt like gutenberg up in there you know uh i would say and i would i would do some kids birthday parties here and there i i thought like
Starting point is 00:33:29 i'm a professional like i felt like an entrepreneur you know which was a new feeling of worth for me but i think um uh you can't be a professional until you are fully supporting you know like i was living under my parents roof like i wasn professional. I was making an extra couple hundred bucks a month, but I certainly couldn't support myself. So I would say it's probably not until like in college, I set up my birthday party business again at Emerson in Boston. What a school. Smart guy.
Starting point is 00:33:58 What a school. B's and C's got you into Emerson? Yeah. Wow. It was before. It was the good old days. Selective. You're not getting in the house, dude. This is... Before it was the good old days. Selective. You're not getting in
Starting point is 00:34:05 now, dude. This is back when it was kind of Tish's waiting list. They were letting in regular white guys to Emerson back then? That's not happening anymore. Me and Dan Levy, you know? Oh, you've seen Emerson Kid? Mm-hmm. Wow. I didn't know that. I'd say, I mean, I'd be remiss if we're talking about the path
Starting point is 00:34:21 from magician to comedian. The Dan Levy, uh... Uh, Le Levy not Levy, by the way. That's right. Not Schitt's Creek. That's right. Dan Levy, stand-up comedian, father of three. He and I were buddies at Emerson. He was a year younger than me.
Starting point is 00:34:37 And I was like gigging around town as Justin Credible, you know, kind of doing my act, sexual innuendos, like basically my kid's birthday party act, but like the comedy club version of it was just a little more like edgy, you know, kind of doing my act, sexual innuendos, like basically my kid's birthday party act, but like the comedy club version of it was just a little more like edgy, you know? Sure. With a bunch of hacky jokes interspersed here and there that would kill. You'd do the hand joke and you'd go,
Starting point is 00:34:53 that one has jizz on it. Exactly, you know, exactly. You just have to put a little bit of spin on it. And, you know, like, and I thought I was hot shit. And then Dan came along and he was just a straight up comedian and had been doing it as long as I've been doing magic. And he would just like destroy with jokes about being a college freshman.
Starting point is 00:35:08 And I was like, I can't, but like I'm doing jokes that were written by a guy who's died of old age. Dan's over here writing new bits about something happened last week. It blew my mind. So he changed my mentality about, about magic, which historically magicians can get away with doing the same act and polishing it and honing it over the course of a career, you know, and that's their act versus Dan who would, you know, versus Dan and also who he introduced me just the idea that comedians,
Starting point is 00:35:35 you know, once it's not funny to you anymore, you don't, you know, you may not even want to do it anymore. Or once, once it's out there, once it's a thing, like constantly ditching the old, kind of pruning and evolving. So that was like really inspiring to me. So I started doing magic in comedy venues and that's what forced me to kind of ditch the hack stuff.
Starting point is 00:35:54 When did you get rid of Just Incredible? What a name, by the way. Were you signed to Cash Money Records back then? Just Incredible in the building. In the house. In the building.
Starting point is 00:36:04 That's when DJ Khaled was my neighbor, was my manager. You ever had mayonnaise? That guy is the funniest dude on planet Earth. Just Incredible does. Just Incredible knows about mayonnaise. God, dude. You know about this watch? And he's got those big teeth.
Starting point is 00:36:18 He is the funniest comedian that's not a comedian I've ever seen in my life. Oh, my God. He rips. He kills me. You seen that prop bit he does where he's playing Bob Marley's guitar? in my life. Oh, my God. He rips. He kills me. You've seen that prop bit he does where he's playing Bob Marley's guitar? Yeah, dude. Oh, my gosh.
Starting point is 00:36:29 So good. He is... And his face looks cartoonish in and of itself, so it's already... Like, that's... We had a discussion. I can't remember what comic was on the show, and I said,
Starting point is 00:36:38 if you really boil it down, comedy... Anybody can... A lot of people can write funny jokes. A lot of people can write a funny quippy joke that's that's a thing that many people could do but it's how funny does it sound coming out of your face and that's kind of a big piece of it like you you can write great shit but if it doesn't look fun coming out of your face people just don't attach themselves to it and i feel the
Starting point is 00:37:01 same way with magic by the way it like, I find myself liking magicians when I go see them more when I look like it fits who they are. It's almost like when I see a magician sometimes, I'm prejudiced now because I've seen a lot, you know, over the years and gone, this guy's vibe, it doesn't fit the show or his show, his act or whatever.
Starting point is 00:37:24 And then you see people that it fits their their their shit to a tee and it's almost like I Know that guy's better from an internal perspective just because it looks like it's you're supposed It's supposed to be coming from you. It's almost like Chappelle is a genius But if someone else told the jokes, I don't know if you'd like him as much but coming out of his face it's because it embodies his world so well or Chris Rock who doesn't even have to get to the punchline right I'm already laughing
Starting point is 00:37:51 because of the way it's oozing from him not just your physical delivery but the way that you are emitting the energy from it as you know dorky as it is you can feel their physical emitting of something and immediately go Dorky as it is you can you can feel their physical Emitting of something and immediately go god I know that's that's just that's no one else does that like him or her or whatever you know
Starting point is 00:38:12 But what you said about magic that was odd to me that we share the same thing comics had acts So we had that too. I mean comics up until Arguably, I would say the late 80s were doing acts i mean most guys and girls were doing an act and the old phrase was what's your act can i have you you know that's why when somebody says to me after how much time you got how much time you got what's your act you know right or they say good sketch good skit they don't know what to say you're like oh it's a set and they go whatever you know because i think the beginnings of time were similar with with magic that it's like well you gotta have an act i can't put you out there without having an act absolutely it's like well it's changing with the time it's like no no no we need to know what
Starting point is 00:38:52 you're doing which still exists a little bit today but the newer generation has kind of pushed that away and that must be the same with magic right well it's not as much the act it's about the person the presence and then you just me being here doesn't matter what i do you know you're that todd berry is he doing crowd work is he doing who cares right todd berry on stage right exactly he's in the moment but magic is the same way now right um where a lot of you like you have a vibe there is a little bit more um i mean you have to maybe it takes a while to earn it maybe longer to sure to coast on your presence than than trick. You know, like, if there's a certain trick that people love, it's kind of like,
Starting point is 00:39:28 no, we're booking you, but we're kind of booking you to do that trick. You know? Right. Like, you know, I'm sure with Gaffigan, it's like,
Starting point is 00:39:36 are you going to do the Hot Pockets? If he was doing the Tonight Show, how are you going to do that Hot Pockets bit? Because they kind of really want to and they're like, oh, okay. But you have to.
Starting point is 00:39:42 That's why we paid you to be here. Or whatever, you know? And you emerge from that. But, oh, okay. But you have to. We are hoping. That's why we paid you to be here. Or whatever, you know, like, and you emerge from that. But, yeah, I would say the trick, you know, the act, like, I do certain bits that I've done maybe 10 years right now in my show, maybe like the oldest bit 10 years old, you know, but I haven't put it in a special or anything because I haven't had a real special. But, uh, when I have a special on Netflix, I've got, well, I've got a, I've got a series. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:09 But that's a special. It's about, it is special. It's six, six little specials. You're being diminished. But I'm not on stage doing magic. So I'm, I'm out in the world doing stuff that, uh, was kind of written and created for humans, but for, for that show, right. You know, versus my act.
Starting point is 00:40:23 No, I'm not, I'm not burning my act for that right right but was that a part of that you were like i don't i don't want to do you know i'll tell you why it's because like um magic on stage filmed and then watched is harder to be as engrossed and amazed by as the people in the audience versus street magic or, you know, out in the real world in situ magic filmed and put in front of people. Because there's something about, like, you know, like comedy, I want to watch it and experience it like as the audience would, right? But with magic, it's kind of like I really need to be there. You know, you can watch it at home and laugh and the people on the screen laugh.
Starting point is 00:41:01 But with magic, it's kind of like, you know, I wasn't there. How many takes was there? Like, I want to be there. So if I can clearly experience it through a person who I'm watching, like, you know, doing magic on the street to somebody who I feel they're real, they're not a part of this thing, it just hits harder. It's harder to get that onstage magic special.
Starting point is 00:41:20 I'm finding it harder not to crack. Well, I mean, because I've only seen I've seen yours, and then I've never really, you're, because I've only seen, I've seen yours and then I've never really, you're right, I've never seen like a magic special on TV. Like if you, if one of the best magic shows you saw at the Magic Castle was filmed and then put up on Netflix as a special, when you watched it back later,
Starting point is 00:41:37 like if you weren't actually there, I'm sure you would feel a much bigger detachment than if you're just listening to the funny ideas that a comic is saying. But I feel like specials do that too for stand-up. You're like, who are all these people? Are they in on this? Did they tell her to say that?
Starting point is 00:41:50 Yeah, but specials for stand-up do that too sometimes. You're like, man, I always think stand-up or performance, live is unbeatable. You can't be live. Can't be it. It's just, even the best specials, I'm still like, I'd rather see this live. I'd much rather see this in person
Starting point is 00:42:03 because I know that part of that experience is feeling the other people's emotions. That's part of the vibe of how good a joke is. You can pass around a good clip on the internet, but there's nothing better than live. That's why Leno never did a special. He said, I just want you to come see me live. Wow, maybe I should start saying that.
Starting point is 00:42:20 Just come see me live. You know why I haven't had a live special? Because you just got to come see me live. You got to see me live. Robbie Pratt, you know why? Yeah, you know why? I'm not going to work. No, people need to see me live You know why I haven't had a live special? Because you just gotta come see me live You gotta see me live Robbie Pratt You know why? Yeah, you know why? I'm not gonna work with
Starting point is 00:42:27 No, people need to see me live Because they need to see me live, baby But you're Who's your But in order for them to see you live They need to see you on stage Right It's all one hand beats the other
Starting point is 00:42:37 But you're already doing it So it's You're humming along, man No one's worried about you It's been a blast Yeah, you're good You know what's been interesting Is going from
Starting point is 00:42:44 Honing my skills as a comedian in comedy clubs where it's just adults to now it's like a full circle i started doing kids birthday parties right and then how old are we talking 10 12 when i when i was oh the kids yeah five six seven eight and then their parents so it's almost like the gig is kind of there's the audience but then there's the back of the room you know the parents are the comedy it's like a the gig is kind of, there's the audience, but then there's the back of the room. You know, the parents are the comics. It's like a Disney movie. And I'm just like, I'm obsessed with just making them laugh. Obviously, I got to make them laugh and make them go crazy, the kids.
Starting point is 00:43:11 But the people in the back, the parents need to be like, I need everyone, every adult to know that this is not what I'm, I'm not just here to entertain the kids. I'm here to entertain you. And then I would do, you know, comedy clubs where it was just us adults. And now where I'm doing these theater shows because of Magic for Humans, I'm getting lots of people, like entire families. So it's like a lot of kids again. It's all ages.
Starting point is 00:43:31 It's all ages. Now, is that a hindrance for you? Do you feel like you want to be dirty, but you're like, you know, there's a lot of kids in there. I mean, I do. There are moments I censor myself. Like I, you know, like I would, I mean, maybe would occasionally cuss in a comedy club, but I don't feel any need to cuss on stage now.
Starting point is 00:43:47 But I just sometimes feel a little, you know, like I'm just thinking about the implications of what I'm doing. Sure. I'm not going to drink a beer on stage like I would in a comedy club. I don't want to drink a beer on stage when I know that there's kids watching thinking, I want to drink a beer. My dad does that, then he yells at me. Yeah, or just that like, oh my God, I love his thinking, I want to drink a beer. My dad does that then he yells at me. Yeah, or just that like, oh my god, I love his magic. I want to drink a beer like him. Like, that's what I
Starting point is 00:44:09 maybe would have thought as a 10-year-old if my parents brought me to a show. Sure. And I thought that cool magician drinks beer. Well, I'm going to drink beer. Like, I remember how impressionable I was. Like, I don't need to get into that. So I'm always thinking about it. That's right. But it's just interesting. That's nice that you're conscious of it. Well, it's also like, I'm also conscious of how people who didn't even think that you could bring your kids to this show feel when they walk in.
Starting point is 00:44:28 And they're like, there are, you know, maybe it's a thousand seat theater, but there are 80 kids under 10 here. That's not our date night in my mind, right? So I'm trying to like cater to multiple audiences. That's very nice of you, too. We don't do that at all. When we do the Bad Friends with me and Bobby, sometimes people will bring their, like, 14-year-olds. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:48 And multiple times. You pretend like they don't exist or you roast them? No, no, I always say, why would you bring your child to this? I can't believe, I'm always like, dude, you know Bobby shows his butthole
Starting point is 00:44:55 at some point in the show. Yeah, that, well, then it makes the rest of the audience uncomfortable. So I'm always looking out for, like, even if they're not your kids, if I do something risque, you're like, oh, Justin, there's kids it's in you it's in your head you're thinking
Starting point is 00:45:09 about it I'm thinking about it a club is way more free so I'm trying to make everyone feel comfortable let me see this tattoo on the inside of your arm I can't stop seeing it mm-hmm now is it now are you happy that you did this or is this like one of those where you're like maybe I didn't wish I did it never regretted it good we've never been happy about it can i see it it's a hand holding a hand holding a jack of spades now what's the what's the um well my name is justin it starts with the letter j i told you his name was justin so when i when i was thinking what's my favorite card which is a thing magicians do i was like yeah i don't want to be the jack of hearts or
Starting point is 00:45:42 the diamonds or the spades is cool because the hell? It's just a cool design. So Jack of Spades from a teenager was just like my favorite card. So I thought at some point. Was it a feature of your act ever? No. Was it like, no. But you just love Jack of Spades. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:45:55 And I always knew I need to get a tattoo of something. What am I going to get? Jack of Spades. I mean, I love, I want to get something magical, but I'm not going to get a magic tattoo. That sounds like a big mistake. Well, Jack of Spades, it's a car. You know, like this was all just immature thinking. How old were you?
Starting point is 00:46:12 I was 41. Yeah, good. I was 21, and I just moved to L.A., finished my college second semester of senior year with Dan and then stuck around and Started making bad decisions and that was one of them. Are you guys still close you and Dan? Yeah, one of my arch nemeses by the way, is he oh we hate each other wholeheartedly. Has he been on here? No, no, I love him so much. No, he's a great dude. He doesn't hate anybody. I don't even hates anything No, he's the nicest guy like too nice. He's like a good-looking guy
Starting point is 00:46:41 He accuses me of you know, like we're just yeah, we're good nice.'re close in a nice way, but I know something's a little bit darker inside of you. It is. Yeah, with Dan it's not that dark. Something's darker inside of you. No, Dan doesn't have... Dan is the last guy to know that his best friend's got a problem of some sort. You know, because he just doesn't see it. He sees the best in people. I just thought you liked coke. I had no idea you were an addict. Yeah, I thought you just wanted me to pee in that cup for funsies. I didn't know you were trying to pass a test.
Starting point is 00:47:08 Where are you going with all that pee, Dan? Yeah. Don't worry about it, buddy. Daddy will be back. In here, we pour whiskey. This episode of Whiskey Ginger is brought to you by Rabbit Hole and their one-of-a-kind Kentucky bourbon and rye whiskeys. Behind Rabbit Hole's award-winning spirits is the story of their founder. I've talked about this cat, Kaveh Zemanian. What a sexy name, too.
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Starting point is 00:49:18 Ginger. I like gingers. Now, what is your little dark deep inside you? What do you think it is? Did you have childhood trauma? You got to have something. I can always feel it on them. I can always smell it on somebody.
Starting point is 00:49:32 What's funny is like people, childhood trauma doesn't always lead to like magic like people think. Comedy does? Comedy does. Yeah. Like whereas comedy is a defense mechanism. But did you have any heartbreak as a kid
Starting point is 00:49:43 that really kind of lead? Because look, here's the deal. You're a good guy. Nice guy have any heartbreak as a kid that really kind of le- because look here's the deal You're a good guy. Nice guy. Smart guy. Mm-hmm. I know there's something in there I feel like a therapist right now But we all have a thing. We all have a thing. Do you have anything? Well, I mean I've always had a bit of a You know an issue with Moderation. Sure. Whatever the substance of the day is. You want a new drink? You want me to pour you another one?
Starting point is 00:50:06 Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I'm a little too moderated right now. Okay. Where's the moderator? No, I, you know, I could have another one.
Starting point is 00:50:16 But, but yeah, moderation over the years and control of that has been something, but that's not the darkness. That's the symptom of it, right? Could be. It depends. I mean, I'm not here to break it down. I just want you to tell me you. I will say it's, you know,
Starting point is 00:50:31 there's a little bit of a, you know, I think what draws you to magic is it's kind of like, I know something people don't know, right? So you're kind of naturally, because of your art form, drawn to secrets and secret keeping and kind of like
Starting point is 00:50:45 manipulating people's heads you know like so um do you think that's a part of sociopathy like do you think you have some sociopathic tendencies i mean i don't know if if i had those you would think i that i would have had those ideas before and i became a magician or maybe maybe being a magician draws them out of you i think where you're just kind of you enjoy like magicians have to naturally be a little bit of a sociopath in that you need to lie in earnest like you need to make I need to tell you I need to spin a yarn that's total bs but if you smell it's bs this trick won't land so I really need to be good at yeah lying and you know being sincere sincere and telling you something is true. And, yeah, that is I broke both of my arms while riding my bike with a rollerblades, right?
Starting point is 00:51:31 Who knows? I need to make it sound like that really happened. Right. But it didn't. It did. I know. It did. I'm pretty sure.
Starting point is 00:51:38 I know. But sometimes you tell yourself a lot. Like, sometimes I'll tell a story just to set up a bit, and it's total BS. But I convinced myself that, you know, like, here's a game I used to play with my dad when we were kids and blah, blah, blah. It might be a way I set up a trick and I have. But that's all. I never played that game with my dad as a kid. Do you ever believe it yourself sometimes?
Starting point is 00:51:58 But yes, I believe it myself because you get so – you get a little good and you have to – It's such a method acting thing of not like i'm you're not playing another person but you're playing yourself if you're being totally honest yeah and as a magician i'm constantly have to how do i what is justin when he's really just being sincere look and sound like and i try to emulate that when i'm not and i fool myself see this is i like i like how honest this is because this is a big part of comedy as well. Like most comedians, even if you're telling your own depiction of something, all stories in comedy are going to have to have some semblance of pulling from air. It's impossible to have lived such a, you know, I'm not Forrest Gump.
Starting point is 00:52:38 You know what I mean? I can't have all of these amazing stories. So we do have to take from the reality, blend our own. A good friend of ours, you know, was writing a bit and said, I don't want to make this about the person it's about because then they'll know it's about them. And I said, do you have a brother?
Starting point is 00:52:54 And she said, no. And I said, well, then it's about your brother. You know, and that's a thing that we do a lot in comedy, where it's like To make the bit work, you invented a brother that doesn't exist. Yeah, because then it puts the onus on a thing that isn't real So who's gonna get mad about it if they found out it was about them? Hmm, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:53:08 And we do that stuff a lot and I helped her do this bit because it was a great bit and I was like she's like I'm embarrassed if they find out about it and I said well they've don't if it's not to them if you you know It's kind of like the first one of the first bits. I ever got landed on TV I referenced my dad, but it wasn't about my my My stepfather was about my biological father but a piece of the other story has a story from my stepdad in it, so I just blended the two worlds and You know both of them know but nobody knows
Starting point is 00:53:39 But it doesn't matter because it's not it's helping the bits progression instead of me I can't break it down to go well You know that parts about about my dad but the other one's about my stepdad but it is something my stepdad used to do in fact his best friend used to do that that's why i got influenced it's a waste of people's time so we all have this story spinning element to us that does yes convince you sometimes what piece of this is well i've had my dad in the audience when I'm telling the story about a game that we never actually played. And he believed it, too. He thought it happened. Yeah, he would say, man, I remember playing that game with you.
Starting point is 00:54:15 So I fooled him. So he'll now perpetuate the bullshit of like, yeah, you know, let me tell you the story about this thing I used to do with Justin. Because he was so proud that it inspired a bit that he can enjoy as an adult and that it apparently left such a whimsical mark on my childhood when I just made it up. So it's kind of like retroactively bringing back happy childhood. Yeah, you're making your, well, because what is the truth of a story anyway
Starting point is 00:54:38 when it's monotonous like that? Your version is just as valid as somebody else's, right? It's your version, their version, and then the 10,000 feet reality that somebody else can put together. I don't really know. So if it's like, I remember going to that place when we were a kid
Starting point is 00:54:51 and your mom going, I don't, did we ever go there? I don't know. But if it makes you feel a type of way, then sure, fine, who cares? Your memory is fleeting regardless. You're holding on to things that you care, that you actually care about.
Starting point is 00:55:04 And then other stuff, it's hard to fit into that space. I mean, do you feel like as you're getting older, your memory is fleeting regardless. You're holding on to things that you actually care about. And then other stuff, it's hard to fit into that space. I mean, do you feel like as you're getting older, you'll go, God, what was that thing? And I forget and I go, well, I guess there's not a lot of room unless it really meant something to me. But some people surprisingly remember all of it. But I think if you're able to put it in a way where it's a great story, a great bit, a great piece,
Starting point is 00:55:28 I don't know, isn't that a part of the art, I guess? I think it is. A little bit, you know? Especially, I'm an entertainer. As long as it's, you know, it's like, as long as the trick works. Well, it's not like I was robbed at gunpoint. If the trick doesn't work,
Starting point is 00:55:38 and it's like, wow, hey, buddy, it's pretty obvious to everyone you're talking out of your ass here. Yeah, you're right. I Googled you, you don't have a brother. You know, like, whatever it is, then you you're screwed but if it works it works he died in the war as long as it doesn't you know the fibs don't hurt somebody or well that's right yeah if it's if it's innocuous if it's not to do with world events that are right well i mean you were in the
Starting point is 00:55:59 cult you you fought in you fought i fought in vietnam you were in Vietnam, right? I was in the Cupcake War, Andrew. You were in Little Cupcake Wars. Yeah, you were on Netflix right now. Nine tours of duty. Did you ever get to go to the Playboy Mansion when it was around? I did. You did? Did you do magic there?
Starting point is 00:56:14 Yeah, I think he was there. Tell me you performed. You performed at the Playboy Mansion? Yeah. Give it to me, baby. Gosh, let me think back on this time. I used to do, you know... I used to have magic on my pockets all the time. I would be busting out tricks left and right, you know, I used to have magic on my pockets all the time.
Starting point is 00:56:25 I would be busting out tricks left and right, you know? You never left home without having something prepared. Something, because before you've made it, it's kind of like, who are you? What do you do? I'm a magician. Oh, okay, let's see. Show me.
Starting point is 00:56:38 Show me, you know? Oh, say something funny. Do something funny. Tell me a joke, right? But that's hard for us to do. Magic, you're like, fine. I'll give you some magic. What do you do?
Starting point is 00:56:47 You just tell people you're a magician? Yeah. I meet all these Uber drivers who are like, you ever met this asshole red magician? He just doesn't do a trick. I go, come see me live. Uh-huh. Yeah, I love, come see me live.
Starting point is 00:56:58 Come see me live. But, yeah, went to the Playboy Mansion for some thing, and I think I was there to do magic. But, yeah, went to the Playboy Mansion for something. And I think I was there to do magic. I would do walk-around magic. Strolling magic is a whole genre of magic. You were like an appetizer. Yeah, I was like, you know, like a cocktail party, icebreaker conversation starter.
Starting point is 00:57:22 Does this pay well to do this? Not that gig necessarily. That was more exposure. I get that. But other gigs, yeah, I would do bar mitzvahs, I would do strolling magic at. So cocktail hour, I would basically, you know, no table. I'm wearing a suit. My pockets are packed.
Starting point is 00:57:40 I've got 30 minutes on me. So I'd go up to groups, break the ice, do about 10 minutes of tricks. Thank you go up to groups break the ice do about 10 minutes the tricks Thank you guys so much. Enjoy the party go to find a dark corner reset all my shit and then go do it again Yeah, strolling mad how many hours you have to be there for these things an hour or two. That's okay Yeah, I think at this Playboy Mansion party. I walked up to Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian and this was probably like 2009.
Starting point is 00:58:07 And I was like, hey, how you guys doing? I'm Justin Credible. I'm the magician here. Can I show you a trick? And they were like, no. And I waddled away. Well, one day you're both going to be bigger than ever. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:58:21 And I'll be Justin, not Justin Credible. Yeah. Few people have denied magic from me and all of them are billionaires now who else denied magic from you?
Starting point is 00:58:29 Elon Musk what did he say? he's like I'm sorry this does not compute I have not I've not seen him but yeah strolling magic
Starting point is 00:58:37 is the way to I mean as a no better reason to hand out your business card than you like what you saw come see me come see me like what you saw come see me
Starting point is 00:58:45 come see me live I saw you live yeah but I mean different place where chairs are pointed at where you're sitting but Playboy Mansion doing magic had to be kind of kind of sexy kind of fun also a little bit of a let down because when you go there you're like this place is really nasty
Starting point is 00:59:01 it was very much like I don't know what the event was, but it wasn't like a Playboy party. It was some party at the Playboy Mansion. So you realize at the time, like, oh, it's just a,
Starting point is 00:59:11 it's a venue. It's like a place, it's a facade, it's a, it's a, it's a lifestyle that a company can rent out for the evening. Totally. You know,
Starting point is 00:59:18 and you could feel like you're at the Playboy Mansion. I went once for one of those movie nights. I don't know what night it used to be. Maybe it was Tuesday or Monday. He would, he would watch a movie with everybody, you know? And, uh, boy, oh boy, was I on. Nothing weird about that. It was movie nights. I don't know what night it used to be. Maybe it was Tuesday or whatever. He would watch a movie with everybody, you know? And boy, oh boy, was I on. Nothing weird about that.
Starting point is 00:59:28 It was so disgusting. I don't even remember. We didn't stay. We didn't watch the movie. Schindler's List? It was that or it was American History X. It was one of those. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:59:36 Yeah. And they just looped the curb-stopping scene. Wow. That's the whole night. Wow. Yeah. No, it just, I don't remember. I genuinely don't remember.
Starting point is 00:59:45 It was something like, I want to say 16 Candles. It was something in that era. It was like Molly Ringwald era. Okay. Well, that's fine. Yeah, but I didn't stay because I was like, I don't want to watch a movie with this old guy and all these people that I'm- I want to make a movie.
Starting point is 00:59:58 That's right. With all these people. Come on. Where's the grotto? It was disgusting, honestly. They took us for a tour and this poor girl walked us around and in like a very like shitty tattered Bikini, you know, it reminded me of one time. I went to a house party. I Think I was in Vegas and some billionaire
Starting point is 01:00:14 We were out doing shows and some dude had us over at his house And there were a bunch of young beautiful women and he was like who wants to get in the pool And I was like, I'll get in the hot tub I kind of really feel like getting cool You know, I mean like I'm getting the hot tub and he was like you just wear your underwear and I was like, who wants to get in the pool? And I was like, I'll get in the hot tub. I don't really feel like getting in the pool. You know what I mean? I'll get in the hot tub. And he was like, you just wear your underwear. And I was like, all right.
Starting point is 01:00:29 I don't know. I was like, I don't know. Do I want to do this at this party? And he was like, ladies, come here. And he opened up a cabinet that, or I mean a door that should have been a pantry for food in his kitchen. And it was filled with swimsuits. Filled. Top to brim with bikinis.
Starting point is 01:00:42 Any for Santino? I wore the bottoms, not the top. I see. And I fell out both sides. Oh, you did? One ball on one side, one ball on the other. It was a good bit, man. People really liked it. But to see two balls floating and then your penis tucked... It hurt. After a while you had to stop, you know? Wow. But
Starting point is 01:00:57 he had bikinis in there and I thought, man, how gross and weird and sad. But some of them put them on and got in the pool and that felt the same way I felt about the girl that gave us the tour at the Playboy Mansion. This was a bikini
Starting point is 01:01:10 that looked like it was in a room of bikinis. It wasn't hers. You know what I mean? It was like... She gets there in the morning, clocks in, takes off bikini she wore in.
Starting point is 01:01:18 Right, because you have to. The bikini that they have. Yeah, the work bikini. And she toured us around and it was like miserably sad. Just everything about it bummed me out. And I remember feeling bikini that they have and she toured us around and it was like miserably sad i just everything about it bummed me out and i remember feeling um not let down i didn't care i didn't think anything was going to happen there i just was excited to see something like that and immediately
Starting point is 01:01:34 with my buddy i was like we we we should probably leave like this is you know what i mean i was like what are we gonna it was like rich cool people that well you're probably like do i want to do we want to get drunk here no no you definitely don't want to say i've been here and then get out yeah yeah that's it was a say i did a thing and you did and yeah like i went to burning man once which is uh way better than the mansion to perform or to live oh i went there no for like to attend for a week right with my girlfriend at the time and a couple buddies. And I took a bunch of magic thinking I'm going to be like the wizard of the playa. And I was so fucked up the whole time I never did a trick for a week.
Starting point is 01:02:12 No, not once. No, never opened up. It was because like to do a trick, like I'm sure it's like say a joke. You kind of have to switch from being a normal person in their day to be like, okay, oh shit. All right, all right. I have to do it. Let me go on. Let me get on let me get on right and it's you know it's not vacation mode you did burning men one time and that's it one time and you'll never go again i would i mean it's a whole to do yeah can't you know now kids things gigs i mean this sincerely i have absolutely no interest in
Starting point is 01:02:44 it whatsoever even for a say you did it whatsoever. Even for a say you did it? That is my, I love say you did it's. I do love saying you did it's. But boy, oh boy, are you talking, he knows. That is an Andrew Santino nightmare. Huge groups of people where I'm just mixed in with these people without proper identification. Vaccination proofs? Yes, well that's not, how many boosters do you have? No, where's the pisser? Where do I sleep? Will it be comissaries everywhere? Yes Yeah, I don't I just I need to know I like to be set up
Starting point is 01:03:11 I like to be said well you can be set up you can do a proper you can do it You can take a tour of us there But then I feel like I just don't want to ever feel vulnerable in a huge group And that's what I feel like happens there particularly when I'm on drugs me on drugs I'm at my couch and my house with people I like, or I'm in a very secure location with a small group of humans. Put me at the beach with a couple of good friends and a little bit of mushrooms. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 01:03:33 Heaven on earth. Right. A cabin in the woods. Oh, my God. With five people. I don't care what they see me do. Don't care. See me pass out, whatever.
Starting point is 01:03:41 But 17,000 people heavily on drugs, wandering through the desert, that's a big pass for your old red boy. Wow. I can't do that. I respect that the spiritual connection people make out there. Well, you're not seeing 17,000 of them at once. You know, for the most part,
Starting point is 01:03:56 your experience, you're like, I'm around a couple hundred people. But then don't you just roam through, don't you roam for hours? What did you take? You feel free to discuss. I took a 10 to the yeah 25 i took uh i think some mushrooms up there yeah and then maybe ever acid no never acid did
Starting point is 01:04:14 you ever do acid never have did you ever get into drugs when you were a child i uh well i would i would take my dad's bottle of wild turkey that was on a cart like that in the basement and i would occasionally sip it and replace water to make the difference smart yeah until i realized my dad is never touching this this is the horrible this is horrible liquor and it's probably 20 years old already right he's not going to check this so i drank that and then i realized uh so i would i would experiment with the booze around that i knew my dad would notice huffed a little bit here and there. A huffer. A huffer.
Starting point is 01:04:46 What are we talking, computer? Scotchgard. Like computer spray? Oh, wow. Buddy. Yeah. We're talking like age 14. You were huffing at 14?
Starting point is 01:04:54 Yeah. Computer duster was big back then. You know, I don't remember. Scotchgard. I don't think those have been invented yet. Well, any side of. Computers were so new. There was nothing to dust.
Starting point is 01:05:04 Sure, but any of those compressed air. Yeah, you're getting. That's fun. Wow. Whippets? Yeah. Yeah, whippets too. But whippets, I would get spins, get dizzy, and it was unpleasant.
Starting point is 01:05:18 Love the spins. But the huffing, it's like, it reminded me of like salvia. Yes. Do you do salvia? Love salvia. It's like, I can't believe this is a thing. I just bought this at a store on the corner that also sells gasoline, and this is legal. And then you hear, oh, it's legal weed, and then you take a little hit of that salvia stuff, and you're on another planet.
Starting point is 01:05:39 Yeah. For, like, two minutes. Right. That's kind of what huffing was. Anyway, I have a family audience now. Let me tell you something, dude. Families do drugs too. They do.
Starting point is 01:05:49 Families definitely do drugs. They do. But in the desert, did you find at this Burning Man that you opened up a piece of your creativity out there as well? Did it help? Did it help you?
Starting point is 01:05:59 I would say I saw, I had my mind blown over and over again. Your mind is blown at the expanse, the quantity of people, the art, the things. Like, you know, you'll see like a double-decker London buses that are transformed into giant butterflies with like 300-foot-wide wings and flapping. And it's like got 300 people on it. It's going through the middle of the desert. Excuse me. Cough button.
Starting point is 01:06:28 Going through the desert at 3am and you're like, how did this get here? You feel like you're on another planet. Right. I mean, I'm a magician. I like to blow people's minds. It's nice to have your mind blown. Right? You're just kind of like, how? What is life? Like, this is crazy. I wonder how to...
Starting point is 01:06:42 And did you get into the communal thing where you're trading food for other yeah i thought i'm gonna trade i'm gonna trade magic you were gonna trade magic yeah yeah yeah just brought my own food didn't have to do any tricks for anybody but see people do that though right they go everyone comes to the thing for a sandwich yeah a gift to their own personal another another big no for me yeah i just want to know where all that stuff's coming from i mean it was and i remember at the time, like, it was, like, it was the period of time where my ex-girlfriend and I, like, had the most, like, it was the most crazy, just, like, sexual energy. Like, it was, like, the prime of the relationship was that week. Perfect. So that was, it was great.
Starting point is 01:07:19 And you left her there out at Burning Man. Yeah. Rest in peace. No, she's doing great. She's killing it. She's still fine. Exactly. She is Kim Kardashian. She's killing it. She's still fine. Exactly. She is Kim Kardashian.
Starting point is 01:07:27 Oh my God. That's what happens when you deny magic. That's so wild how life comes around. Well, I'm curious about the, maybe I'll try it. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:07:37 I feel like. Huffing? Burning Man. Huffing, I'm done. Burning Man, I feel like maybe. Why not? Burning Huff. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:07:43 I mean, listen, the opportunity might present itself and then you're like, wow, people have offered. Burning Man, I feel like maybe. Why not? Burning Huff. I don't know. I mean, listen, the opportunity might present itself, and then you're like, wow. People have offered. This is supposed to be the thing. But it's a very, you know, the things that are the, you know, can't believe I did that, can never do that again, are really special.
Starting point is 01:07:56 Like, I saw The Grateful Dead with Jerry Garcia. That's rad. Like, two months before he died, and I often think back, like, I mean, I was a poser. I think it was the first time I heard their music. But I remember thinking, like, I really he died. And I often think back, like, I mean, I was a poser. I think it was the first time I heard their music. But I remember thinking, like, I really love this. Yeah. I've been wearing their shirts for years,
Starting point is 01:08:11 and now I'm finally seeing, I'm hearing their music. Yeah, I love it. Have you seen Dead Company? No, I really need to. Have you? No, I need to, too. It's funny. It's one of those things.
Starting point is 01:08:20 17,000 people just roaming in the desert. See, not roaming. No, sitting in one place. Very high, sitting down. Yeah. That's seated very high, sitting down. Yeah. That I like. And I know where the bathrooms are. Big thing for me.
Starting point is 01:08:30 Because I've been too high at stuff when I was a child, meaning like a teen getting stoned or getting ripped on something, and being like, God, I don't know where the bathrooms are. What are you doing in the bathroom? You know what I'm doing in the bathroom. I see what you mean. I guess it's like, yeah, you need your private place just need to feel like i everything i need to feel a little bit safe and when i'm letting loot when i'm when i'm unhinged and i'm like i'm letting myself fly free
Starting point is 01:08:52 i don't want to also be like oh man and i didn't i didn't know it was going to be cold you know what i mean like i just don't want to i've been high at a place being like yeah are we gonna leave soon i'm freezing coach. Have you been to Coachella? Yeah, I went to like the third Coachella that ever happened. With VIP bands? That's right. See?
Starting point is 01:09:08 And then I never went again. Because once you've done it with the bands, you're kind of like, oh man. I can't do it out. Yeah. I can't do it out, yeah.
Starting point is 01:09:15 I was able to find, you know, a LaCroix whenever I wanted. Yes, whenever I needed a Perrier. No, I was never fancy. I just wanted safety. I think I feel like if I'm on drugs,
Starting point is 01:09:23 I want to feel safe. I don't want to feel like, just let it go, man. It's like, no, man, because then I was never fancy. I just wanted safety. I think I feel like if I'm on drugs, I want to feel safe. I don't want to feel like, just let it go, man. It's like, no, man, because then I'm stuck somewhere, and then my high gets killed. And I like to be a little organized and then let the brain run as fast as it can. Is there someone in the magic world you have beef with? Please tell me you got some drama with somebody out there. Call them out, dude.
Starting point is 01:09:43 Call them out on this show if you're going to call them out, dude, let it rip. Magicians love beef. They do, huh? Yeah. It's funny because, you know, it runs in the world of comedy. Is this a promo for your other show, Beef? Yeah, for Beef I did on Netflix. Please watch them in four episodes.
Starting point is 01:09:57 That's right. And there's a new spinoff coming soon, Magician Beef. Magician Beef, yeah. It's a little bit more rare. Oh, that's right. Well, I don't know. No, it's actually pretty well done. It's overdone, to be honest with you. It's a little bit more rare. I don't know. It's pretty well done. It's over done. It's over easy.
Starting point is 01:10:09 I'll say this. I have beef with magicians. I don't. I find keeping grudges to be exhausting. There's so much to remember already in life and keeping up with my own convictions and you know my point
Starting point is 01:10:26 of view or opinion changing about things as I get older and evolve and learn like that you know like that's a lot of work just but to also remember the people that are that I have wronged me it's like what good is that going to do me like I will often times sometimes be like oh there's so and so let's go say hi
Starting point is 01:10:42 and Jill's like you hate him and I'm like oh I do hate thatand-so let's go say hi and Jill's like you hate you hate him and I'm like oh I do hate that guy shit that's right I hate that guy uh let's still say let's still go say hi like I love nice place to be you can just let it but in your community it's such a small community it's kind of like we're all we're all we're all the same little you know like micro subculture you know why beat each other up I will say magicians though, uh, because it is such a small community, like, and we were talking about, you know, lifting material here and there. And, oh, I did that first.
Starting point is 01:11:12 Like there's only so many tricks that are out there. Sure. But there are hundreds of years of magical literature and this and that, and there's so much independent creation. And there's also so much like, uh, plagiarism and this and that, like magicians can very easily get hung up on thinking that someone else
Starting point is 01:11:29 doing a thing vaguely similar to what they did is the thing that's keeping them from making it you know what I mean comedy same thing I'm sure same exact thing it's like he took that joke from my YouTube special you know or they'll just like, oh, he took that joke from my YouTube special, you know.
Starting point is 01:11:46 Or they'll just say like, oh, the only reason that they made it is because of this thing that they do. And then it's like, well, I could have done that thing. I would do that thing. I just don't. I don't do that thing. And it's like, well. And same for musicians, too. Like the sampling of this and that.
Starting point is 01:11:58 It's like. Yeah. You know, like Ed Sheeran. Normally I can hear it. Stole almost all my music, by the way. Yes, he has. Yeah. And your jokes.
Starting point is 01:12:07 Yeah. It's a whole, he's got them on pedals. He's got everything. And let me say this. I've said this before, and this is very rude, and I don't have a lot of ground to stand on, but that guy makes me feel good as a redhead. Oh.
Starting point is 01:12:18 I never thought about that. And I don't mean this to be mean, but I feel good. I feel good. Yeah. this to be mean but i feel good i feel good yeah you know what ellen was to uh the lgbtq community in the 90s and early 2000s ed ed sheeran ed's for me ed's for us he's letting everyone know that it's safe to be safe to be a ginge to be it to be you and i'm a little bit better looking i will say he look at me yes i will agree better looking. I will say he... Look at me.
Starting point is 01:12:45 Yes, I will agree. I'm a little bit better looking. You are, you're right. Yeah. You're right. So somebody goes, oh, you're redhead. I don't really know
Starting point is 01:12:50 if I like redheads. I go, look at me. Yeah. Not bad. No. For a redhead, not bad. It's true. I mean, it's like,
Starting point is 01:12:58 but it's like me saying I'm pretty funny for a magician. You are. I know. That's a fact. But for a magician. No, but you are. For a redhead, you know. Not bad. There are subcultures that we're talking about. Well, dude, we're thrown into the woods. I mean, I know. That's a fact. But for a magician. No, but you are. For a redhead,
Starting point is 01:13:05 you know, there are subcultures that we're talking about. Well, dude, we're thrown into the woods. I mean, people don't like us at all. They can't wait. I mean,
Starting point is 01:13:10 people want to, people just. Way to go for him to pull up the most unattractive edge here in GIFs. Oh, there you go. That's,
Starting point is 01:13:17 all right. That's a little Snowden creeping in. Great hair, though. He's got great hair. All right, tell me something. But as far as beef goes,
Starting point is 01:13:24 by the way, yeah, there's magicians, I think, that have beef with me. With you. They don't like you. Right. Well, I mean, you know, I've had with...
Starting point is 01:13:30 There are squabbles, and then there's hatchets... Any physical fights? ...that are bear... Uh, no. That would be sexy. That would be great. A magic duel.
Starting point is 01:13:37 Yeah. Like the Anchorman alley brawl, you know, like to have... But pulling out weapons, you're like, God, this guy is good. Yeah. In the middle of a fight. Like, let's... Hey, you got a problem with me, Bl you're like, God, this guy is good. Yeah. In the middle of a fight.
Starting point is 01:13:46 Hey, you got a problem with me, Blaine? Let's do the bullet catch, for real. Now, do people like him? They like David Blaine. Yeah, you know, it's funny. Blaine, magicians hated David Blaine at first. Why? Because they'd never heard of him. He was so popular. He was so famous. How is he so famous so quick?
Starting point is 01:14:01 Yeah. And then most important is that he's doing the same tricks I do. He's doing tricks that you can buy from a magic shop. Why is everyone freaking out? He's biting a quarter and spitting it back. He's like, I do that stuff. And I was one of those magicians who would be like, how is this guy so famous?
Starting point is 01:14:22 I do the same thing. But we didn't. We're so deluded. It's like, no, he was famous like i i do the same thing but we we didn't we're so deluded it's like no he was the first magician but to do that trick and people actually believed it the first person to do to do that material and like get it get it to get the reaction that it deserves you know it's the reaction was it man it's the reaction was it man you go to a bad neighborhood you get some good magic right and he kind of looks like he's got power. He does look a little...
Starting point is 01:14:47 He owned that whole thing. But magicians, man, real tough love relationships at first. Magicians love to hate you. Until it's undeniable.
Starting point is 01:14:55 Penn and Teller are magicians hated. Magicians would pick it. Magicians would say they are not magicians because they're revealing the secrets.
Starting point is 01:15:02 They're, you know... Really? Yeah. Yeah, but they're revealing the secrets of someone else's trick. Well, revealing the secrets of their own tricks. But also, I mean, Penn and Teller were very careful to often invent the methods that they would reveal and say that, you know, like. But the fact that they were exposing anything at all, magicians just, they're blind to the brilliance that they're doing and just focusing on one thing, you know.
Starting point is 01:15:24 Right. But then Penn and Tell Taylor are around long enough and magicians are like, oh, yeah. David Blaine, people are like, oh, wow, he's pretty great. It's like, I must be dumb because I've seen those guys. I thought they were unbelievable. I was like, God, they're fucking good. And it's also, again, does it sound funny coming out of your face?
Starting point is 01:15:40 Does it look good coming from you from a- and f- from a visual standpoint. It's kinda like Carrot Top, right? Yeah. Got so much shit for so many years until eventually, you know, just- Doing his own thing. He's an institution. People are like, you know, he is kinda the best Sean Vakes.
Starting point is 01:15:54 Couldn't be- couldn't be a nicer, cooler dude. Why couldn't you- why weren't you nicer to him earlier? Like, we take so- it takes us so long. Cause we're awful people. We're such assholes. We really are. We're such assholes, dude. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:16:04 Well, if you, at home, wanna go see this asshole, Um- Wait, we started? Yeah, We're such assholes. We really are. We're such assholes, dude. Yeah. Well, if you at home want to go see this asshole. Wait, we started? Yeah, we just started. Please go see him on tour. Is your website, what is it? JustinWillman.com. It's just JustinWillman.com. That's it.
Starting point is 01:16:18 Nothing more. Isn't yours Andrew Santino? Yeah, but you know, some people couldn't find those. A lot of people, there's like, you know. You have to buy. It's like Andrew Santino does comedy.com. You own that, huh? Yeah, Icom roll that yeah, I do I do that alone just incredible you do. Mm-hmm. You don't utilize it Well, it goes to Justin woman. No, did you should make it its own separate page? And I had to buy Justin Williams calm as well. Who's that? I don't know
Starting point is 01:16:37 But why'd you have to buy that because people think you're Justin Williams Williams. Oh, wow Well, ladies and gentlemen go see Justin Williams live, please. Oh, no credible with a K just incredible my Williams. Oh, wow. Well, ladies and gentlemen, go see Justin Williams live. Oh, no, Credible with a K. Just Incredible, my friend. Yeah, come on. Like someone would? Yeah, I should probably look into that. Just Incredible with a K. I'm on tour.
Starting point is 01:16:55 There we go. I'm in a bunch of places. Go see Justin Willman live. He's on tour everywhere. By the way, playing in Boston, which we just got back from, Wilbur Theater, one of my favorite places. Did you just do the Wilbur? No, we did the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
Starting point is 01:17:06 Oh, that sounds pretty cool. It was phenomenal, and they brought us around. It's attached to Fenway, and you walk through the stadium, and they treated us so well in Boston. I love them, but he's got a bunch of dates coming up all the way through the end of the year. Go to JustinWillman.com
Starting point is 01:17:22 to go check him out. It's a pleasure seeing you. I really appreciate you. I think you're so talented. Is that one of your kids? That is my son, Jack. Yeah. He's got his son on his, he's selling his kids on the internet already. I love, yeah. I love milking a kid for a video. Honestly, when you look at what works. Yeah. Kids. Kids. Gotta have.
Starting point is 01:17:38 Yeah. Well, I have one right there. He's 24. That's the problem. We end the show the same way, with one word or one phrase. You can choose, but you look inside of that camera, you're single, and you do one word or one phrase to end this episode forever. This will be embedded in history. This is your keep it crispy. All right, let me think.
Starting point is 01:17:53 One word or one phrase to just kind of really define you in this episode and that camera whenever you're ready. Find me. Magician beef is rare. In here, we pour whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey. You are that creature in the ginger beard. Sturdy and ginger. Like vampires, the ginger gene is a curse.
Starting point is 01:18:20 Gingers are beautiful. You owe me $5 for the whiskey and $75 for the horse. Gingers are hell no. This whiskey is excellent. Ginger. I like gingers.

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