Learn to pack light and be low maintenance: If you travel for gigs alone, luggage space is at a premium, especially if you’re bringing merch with you.
As a part of our series called “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chrissie Mayr
Chrissie Mayr is a stand-up comedian, political satirist, and podcast host based in New York City. Known for her unapologetic humor, she has appeared on FOX’s Laughs, REELZ Network, The Wendy Williams Show, and more. She co-hosts Friday Night Tights, the internet’s leading pop culture critique panel, and has guest-starred on major platforms like SiriusXM, Newsmax, and Gutfeld!. With her popular podcast, The Chrissie Mayr Podcast, consistently ranking in the iTunes Top 200, Chrissie champions free speech, blending sharp wit with personal insight, and navigating her own life journey with humor and authenticity.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better .Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Similar to Kamala Harris, I grew up in a middle-class family. My dad was a German immigrant and a landscaper; my mom was a school secretary. I’m the youngest of three kids. I loved to do puppet shows and make people laugh from an early age. In church, I used to doodle on the prayer request papers. One time, I drew the pastor jumping off the roof of the church and passed it down the pew to be submitted. Luckily, my grandmother intercepted it. I got really into springboard diving when I was 11 and did so competitively through college, going Division 1 at Fairfield University. I still hold the 3-meter record there.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path as a comedian?
After I graduated college, I thought I wanted to be a reporter. My junior year, I got an internship at Dateline NBC. After Stone Phillips bored me to tears, I pivoted and got an internship at Late Night with Conan O’Brien for my senior year. It was probably my time at Conan that convinced me to have some kind of career in comedy. The writers at Conan encouraged me to pursue Improv comedy, so I did that for 5 years before doing a one-woman show and then stand-up. I always had one, sometimes two, day jobs while pursuing improv, stand-up, and podcasting until December 2021, when I was fired for not getting the COVID vaccine. So, technically, I’ve been full-time since then.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I don’t know how interesting this is, but I once took a 4-hour Greyhound bus from Oklahoma to Texas to get to a gig. There are always a lot of colorful characters anytime you’re taking a bus somewhere, I highly recommend it! On the bus, there was a guy whose car had broken down, and he was taking the bus to “go win back his ex-girlfriend”. Everyone on the bus was trying to encourage him, but suddenly, a sweet older black lady from a few rows back chimed in “Honey you’re on a bus right now. You’re not in a position to be winning anyone back. Get your life right”
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was about a year into stand-up I started seeing a comedian who, unbeknownst to me, used to date the owner of the Creek and the Cave comedy club. When she found out, she threw a huge fit, threw bottles, etc., and then banned me from the club. I’m still banned to this day, and that was 14 years ago. The lesson there is, if you’re a woman, tread lightly around women in charge. Part of me wants to say “Don’t ever date anyone else in the industry”, but then I met a wonderful man who ran comedy clubs in Westchester, NY, and now we are happily married with a beautiful baby boy.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Absolutely my husband. He is my biggest motivation and inspiration. It sounds corny, but he has helped me make all of my dreams come true.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
There is no roadmap to success, so you really have to love the journey. If you don’t like failure, comedy is not the career for you. I would also advise keeping a day job for as long as you can. There is no guaranteed salary or health insurance in stand-up.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I am putting the finishing touches on updating my podcast studio, which will allow me to have in-person interviews! I’m really excited about that.
What do you do to get material to write your jokes? What is that creative process like?
The creative process is very non-linear and haphazard. I get inspiration from observations about life, ridiculous things in the news, and just thinking a lot about what I love, what pisses me off — whatever you have strong feelings about will become material.
What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian” and why?
- It’s not glamorous, stable, easy, or fair: I spent many a train and subway ride putting on makeup and would always keep an extra stage outfit in my purse.
- You have to make a lot of sacrifices: At a certain point, you have to put your career before having a family or vice versa. Men have it a lot easier in this industry for that reason. Open mics and shows happen between 5–11 pm, which is prime time for going on dates or hanging with friends after work, so you’ll have to give that up.
- There’s no right way to do it: Today, you can blow up on social media first, then get into stand-up, or just do the road, or just do clubs, or do a podcast. This job can take many forms.
- Be prepared for it to be one of several jobs you do: Keep a day job as long as you can for the health insurance and stable pay, and pursue stand-up as a side hustle until it’s big enough to be your main hustle.
- Learn to pack light and be low maintenance: If you travel for gigs alone, luggage space is at a premium, especially if you’re bringing merch with you.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you.” — Caroline Myss. It seems that in life, the things that we want to shy away from are what we need the most!
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would encourage people to not be afraid to get married and have kids. Make it your #1 priority to find a good partner and lock it down as soon as you can, because once you have a good person by your side, you can get through anything.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Joe Rogan! He’s very inspiring. He has stayed humble and in touch with the people despite his incredible success.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes! Twitter and YouTube @ChrissieMayr and Instagram @ChrissieMayrPod
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Chrissie Mayr: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.