Flip Schultz's path in the comedy realm spans over three decades. Flip shares his origins in the sunny state of Florida, his pivotal move to Los Angeles where he expanded his craft into television and film, and his recent transition to performing on cruise ships. His tale is one of evolution and adaptability, navigating the changing landscapes of the comedy world with grace, humor, and an unwavering dedication to his art.
Flip dives deep into the intricacies of building a career in comedy, from the early days of mailing VHS tapes to comedy clubs, to leveraging social media as a powerful tool for bypassing traditional industry gatekeepers. Flip and the hosts discuss the challenges and rewards of connecting with diverse audiences, the importance of networking, and how relationships forged over years can lead to unexpected opportunities. The episode also touches on the sensitive balance between creative expression and audience sensitivities in today's comedic climate, highlighting Flip's perspective on comedy as an essential bastion of free speech.
For the aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on perseverance, adaptability, and the importance of building and nurturing professional relationships. Flip's journey underscores the value of persistence in the face of industry shifts and the power of staying true to one's creative vision while navigating the complexities of audience engagement. Entrepreneurs can draw parallels between Flip's experiences and the entrepreneurial path, where innovation, networking, and resilience are key to carving out a successful career. Join us for this compelling exploration of comedy, career growth, and the undying spirit of the entrepreneur.
Contact Flip Here: https://www.instagram.com/flipisfunny/?hl=en
Questions that this episode can answer:
1. How can social media transform traditional career paths in entertainment and comedy?
2. What strategies do successful comedians use for networking and building lasting professional relationships?
3. How do entertainers adapt their careers and creative expression in response to changing audience sensitivities and platforms?
Join the App: Owwll App | Join Owwll today using referral code CONNECT for a $10 credit!
Email the Show: Feedback@Owwll.com
Connect with the Owwll Community on Social Media (@OwwllApp): Facebook | Join our Facebook Group! | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Twitter | Clubhouse
Interested in supporting the show? Contact the Owwll Podcast team today!
Contact OceanTree Creative for your FREE podcast episode production. Just mention that you heard this on the Owwll Podcast! We also help you with your social media presence, whether you are a podcaster, or a small business owner/entrepreneur! Let's get your message to your crowd!
http://www.oceantreecreative.com / 763-331-1632
If you're an entrepreneur, interested in startups, funding, marketing, networking, social media, podcasting this podcast is for you!
Flip Schultz's path in the comedy realm spans over three decades. Flip shares his origins in the sunny state of Florida, his pivotal move to Los Angeles where he expanded his craft into television and film, and his recent transition to performing on cruise ships. His tale is one of evolution and adaptability, navigating the changing landscapes of the comedy world with grace, humor, and an unwavering dedication to his art.
Flip dives deep into the intricacies of building a career in comedy, from the early days of mailing VHS tapes to comedy clubs, to leveraging social media as a powerful tool for bypassing traditional industry gatekeepers. Flip and the hosts discuss the challenges and rewards of connecting with diverse audiences, the importance of networking, and how relationships forged over years can lead to unexpected opportunities. The episode also touches on the sensitive balance between creative expression and audience sensitivities in today's comedic climate, highlighting Flip's perspective on comedy as an essential bastion of free speech.
For the aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on perseverance, adaptability, and the importance of building and nurturing professional relationships. Flip's journey underscores the value of persistence in the face of industry shifts and the power of staying true to one's creative vision while navigating the complexities of audience engagement. Entrepreneurs can draw parallels between Flip's experiences and the entrepreneurial path, where innovation, networking, and resilience are key to carving out a successful career. Join us for this compelling exploration of comedy, career growth, and the undying spirit of the entrepreneur.
Contact Flip Here: https://www.instagram.com/flipisfunny/?hl=en
Questions that this episode can answer:
1. How can social media transform traditional career paths in entertainment and comedy?
2. What strategies do successful comedians use for networking and building lasting professional relationships?
3. How do entertainers adapt their careers and creative expression in response to changing audience sensitivities and platforms?
Join the App: Owwll App | Join Owwll today using referral code CONNECT for a $10 credit!
Email the Show: Feedback@Owwll.com
Connect with the Owwll Community on Social Media (@OwwllApp): Facebook | Join our Facebook Group! | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | Twitter | Clubhouse
Interested in supporting the show? Contact the Owwll Podcast team today!
Contact OceanTree Creative for your FREE podcast episode production. Just mention that you heard this on the Owwll Podcast! We also help you with your social media presence, whether you are a podcaster, or a small business owner/entrepreneur! Let's get your message to your crowd!
http://www.oceantreecreative.com / 763-331-1632
If you're an entrepreneur, interested in startups, funding, marketing, networking, social media, podcasting this podcast is for you!
Everybody, welcome to another episode of the OWWLL Podcast. I'm here with my co-host, Danielle Santilli. Danielle, why don't you kick things off by introducing our guest today? Yeah, I'm excited about this one. So Flip Schultz, I saw him at a comedy show. It was I don't remember the name of it, but it was a comedy show at the West Palm Improv, which is now closed. But it was stand up for suicide, I think, prevent suicide prevention. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just thought he was hilarious. And I had to ask him to come on. And I'm so glad he agreed. You thought right. I am incredibly hilarious. Woohoo! And modest. So, yeah, that's pretty much how this happened. So, Flip, I want you to tell everybody just about your background. Maybe, I guess you're from here, right? You're from Florida? Yeah, I am originally born and raised in Florida. I started my comedy career over 30 years ago down here in Florida. My age. It existed down here? It existed? Wow. All right. I got to go. No. Yeah. Back in the 90s. Yeah. And yeah, started my comedy career down here in early 90s. Well, I was going to school down the street at FAU, actually got my degree in theater. And then, um, after I graduated, I started doing comedy full-time pretty much. And then, um, work the floor at work. The Southeast a lot was one of the youngest headliners working the comedy circuit back then. And then I moved to LA in 2001 when I was about 26. lived out there for 20 years, did a lot of television, stand up on television. I did acting, starred in a movie, and then recently moved back to Florida during COVID and have been pursuing, continuing to make a great living doing comedy. I primarily work on cruise ships right now doing comedy. I was going to ask, obviously, everything has shifted so much from back in the early 2000s to now. From the 90s. Yeah, the 90s. I mean, hey, I remember even CDs, right? And that whole industry changed. Like for my music industry, like I was talking to my friend today and we're like, I wish we were in like the Vanessa Carlton era, Michelle branch. Like we would have killed it in that singer songwriter, like selling CDs era. And we're just failing right now with the streaming. And so like, I just want to hear like, How did you make it? That's pretty impressive that you just got out of school and full-time comedy. Was it easier back then without the social media? How does it compare to now? I think social media leveled the playing field. As they say, it took the power away from the gatekeepers because you don't need a development deal to blow up anymore as far as comedy. You could just get some videos that go viral or have a podcast or have a TikTok that just blows up or whatever. So it might be a little easier now, but I think it also is a little... Oh, what's the word? Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen, and it's hard to stand out now. Whereas when I started... You know, that's back in the day when you couldn't just send somebody a YouTube link like, hey, here's what I do. You actually had a I mailed VHS tapes to comedy clubs to try to get work. And back then it was more of a grassroots feeling as far as becoming successful and getting more work. And maybe, I don't know if I'm just old-fashioned or whatever, but I think there was more fun back then because it really felt like you against the world. And it really, if you met another comic on the road that you clicked with, there was a camaraderie to it where, you know, you guys almost felt like you were in war together. Whereas nowadays, just again, you just, you know, and then, hey, look at this. And there seems to be a less... Plus connection in a way? Not so much a connection. There's just less of a... visceral uh of a sense of success you know now or to me then versus now um but I i think my luck happened in that I started very young and I was very tenacious and just knew this is what I was going to do never saw any um thinking back on it now am I allowed to curse Yes, you are. Go for it. The fucking balls that I had as a young kid. You're a comedian. You can do anything you want. Okay, great. Foul podcast. Perfect. Anything goes. Yeah. I was just like, I look back now and like, I didn't know any better, but I was, you know, I was fresh out of college and just like, I'm going to be a comedian. And I didn't see any way that wasn't going to happen. Did your parents, were they supportive? 100%. Oh, nice. That that makes a big difference. Huge difference. Yeah. Huge. I mean, I look back now again and I realize I'm blessed because the first time I knew I was going to be comedian since I was a kid. First time I did comedy, I was eight years old. Wow. And my parents even back then said you could do whatever you want. Just go to college. They're teachers. So they just want me to have a degree. So I went down the street to Florida Atlantic University. I got my degree in theater while still doing open mic nights and starting to build my career. And yeah, and then just like I said, I just started hitting clubs. I started meeting, and this is again before apps like Owl, which are great for networking now. Back in the day, it was like, You meet a comic on the road. Hey, who do you know? You give me your information. I'll give you my information as far as bookers go, and that's kind of how you do it. Everyone wondering that. He had to take out a pen and write it. There was no iPhones. There was no iPhones. If you lose it, you're like, oh, no. We've all been there before. We're like, where did the number go? It was in my back pocket. It's gone. You washed it? You ever have it? You're like, that was Bill Burr. It was in there. I had his phone number. I had his cell phone. I actually have Bill Burr's number on my phone. Call him. Let's call him on the owl pockets. I bought tickets. I think I'm gone. He's, he's coming to the hard rock. Oh yeah. I worked with bill back in, I think it was 1998 at the old Miami improv. And I remember this is, um, he, you know, he was just another comic. Nobody knew who he was. but we were talking to the green room and he's like, yeah, it's just, uh, I'm going to do an HBO half hour special. I'm very excited. You know, that's what fucking Carlin did. Now I'm going to do one. And it was, it was just very, it's always been a very sweet. He's benefited a lot through social media. Yeah. His short clips have done phenomenal on apps like Tik TOK, of course. And that's where I don't think I knew about him. And then I started seeing clips of him on, on Tik TOK. And now here I am, I'm going to a show in a couple months. Well, he actually, he was, because, like, him, like, Dane Cook was the first one to really monopolize online content with Myspace back in the day. He was the first comic to really kind of blow up virally. But Bill blew up, really, because he had a clip of when he was working at a, he was doing a comedy festival in, I think it was Philly. And it was, yeah, it was... shout out my hometown uh it was oh my god who's the uh opiate anthony uh big radio guys up there were doing this live festival and their audience is very rambunctious to say the least and so every comic going up was just getting not every but most of them were getting food and heck like dom herrera bob saget and bill went out there and they were immediately just giving him a shit and so bill just turned on like you know fuck you And the audience suddenly got behind him because they were rooting for him to really rip him apart. And somebody taped it. And that clip blew up on YouTube. And that's what really propelled Bill into more of the national spotlight, which, again, shows the positive nature of because it shows that a comic like Bill, who'd been working really hard, finally got his break through social media and through the online content world. What was your big aha moment in your career? And you look back, you look back at a moment where you're kind of chugging along and then something blossomed or a certain relationship that puts you to the next level. It might've been your move out to LA, for example. I feel like most people in your, in your world kind of, you know, move along, move along. And you're like, I've made it. Like, what was that moment? Or I'm working with this comedian. I'm going to, you know. I mean, in that context, I've had a few, like I got to work with George Carlin. I don't, you probably don't know who that is. You know who that is. I do. I'm trying to match your face. I feel better right now. I'm like trying to put two and two together. Seven dirty words you can't say on TV. I mean, he's, if you look at, pardon me, list of the greatest comedians of all time, he's always in the top three, usually number one. And when I moved out to L.A., his manager scooped me up and signed me. And I got to, I'm so sorry, I got to open for George, I think, three times in Florida. I got to come back to Florida a few months after I left, opening for one of the greatest comedians of all time. That must have been like a fuck you to anyone that was your friend that didn't believe. I don't know. It sounds like you had supporters. I've always had, like, I've never had somebody go, you're never going to make it. I would love to be like, fuck you. All the people that told me like, what are you doing? Don't pursue music. You know, that'd be great. So that's amazing. My family, my friends, nobody ever said, you're not going to do it. They just, that's amazing. If I see friends from high school, like 30 years later now, and I say, yeah, I'm a, you know, I'm a full-time comic. They go, of course you are. That's all. That's so nice. Yeah. But I think opening for Carlin was an aha moment. Um, when I got passed at the Hollywood improv, you know, and I got, um, I did the HBO comedy festival in 2002. Like I had a lot of great moments, um, in my career that I got them very young too, that, uh, made kind of gave me like, all right, I'm doing it. But this is going to sound, I don't know, trite or modeling, but, um, At the end of the day, I make a really good living right now doing comedy, which not a lot of guys can say. You know, some guys... especially over the longevity that you've had 30 years, like over 30 years, that's in any entertainment industry. Like it's like you're hot for a little bit and then, so the fact that you've, it sounds like, you know, you, you said you're tenacious and you have hustled and you don't, you just keep going. Yeah. Yeah. You have to, especially cause you said you, you're your own manager. Like you have a booking agent, but you know, I'm still my own promoter. I still do my own social media. Um, but yeah, like, uh, again, you know, and I got very lucky that I got into a cruise ships, which at first I'm like, oh, that's for comics go to die. That's like, but it, uh, you know, it's a lot of my contemporaries are on there and it's a very coveted gig right now. And I'm, you know, lucky that I know how to do it really well. I could do adult shows. I can do clean shows. Sometimes you have fucking six year olds in the front row and you got to keep their attention too. So because of that, my calendar is full. My bank account is really good right now. And I know a lot of guys that I started with who are either still struggling or they had to get a side hustle or they just got out of it. Just tell them to get on OWL and get their old fans to give them some calls and side hustle. Yeah. you can just be on the during the day on the cruise ships when you're laying by the pool you know go live yeah hello hey fans what's up fans make an extra it's easy easy extra money I am curious though so I listen to a lot of podcasts there's I'm trying to think what it's called it's the one with like Dax Shepard you know him Kristen Bell's husband and it's like really popular and um a lot of like big comedians what's the comedy place in LA where like Amy Schumer no not Amy Schumer Amy Poehler and like Tina Fey Upright Citizens Brigade like I know that's a big I don't know if you were ever in that those courses uh that's that's like that's sketch comedy um I mean I love I've done I put I produced two three of my own sketch shows out in LA um And again, I got my theater degree from FAU, but I never pursued that. It's kind of this catch-22 because my main... way to make money was stand-up and especially when I first moved out to LA I couldn't afford to stop doing stand-up to take classes because yeah and it's it is also really expensive to be to even just to register for those but they were talking about um just a lot of the censoring now and just the way that the political climate is and how there used to be a lot more comedy movies just in general. And now it's all superhero movies and you can't say so many things because it's not PC. And like, I'm just curious what your take is on all of that and how you've dealt with that. I mean, well, I think it's fucking stupid. Comedy is the last bastion of free speech, especially stand-up. And I think people are just so fucking uptight now. Is that why you moved back to Florida? The land of the free? That's what I call it. Cause that's why I left LA. I was living in LA. I'm like, this is bullshit. Like I can't take all these politics and people just trying to shut everyone up and I'm out of here. Everyone's too sensitive. Bye. I left LA because of COVID. Okay. More of a matter of survival then. Well, me too. I was like, I can't go anywhere like that too. And as a performer here, I can perform there. I couldn't. Florida didn't give a shit. Yeah. Yeah. Florida, you come down here like COVID, let's go out and drink. Um, but, uh, Looking back, like looking at L.A., you know, it's funny, Florida, not all of Florida, but majority of Florida is way over here on the right. And the majority of California is way there on the left. And either one is hard to live in. I do find this area is more centric though. Yeah. That's why I like it here. Cause people just don't really care. They're like apolitical. I'm a centrist. Yeah. Yeah. Me too. Um, but yeah, the, uh, just the whole climate right now. And as a standup and again, I work ships. So I always tell comics, if you ever worked ships, this is a lesson to anybody who wants to be working on a ship as a comic. When you're on a ship, you're not an artist. You're an entertainer. Remember that, uh, They don't want to hear political views. They don't want to hear anything graphic. They don't want to hear depressing stories about divorce or this or that. They're on vacation. And you're part of their entertainment package, which is why you're getting paid more than you would on land. So on one hand, and again, I'm able to do that. It's good. But on the other hand, creatively, it is a little stifling. It's like this trying to one hand type on your back. So that's why I like going to comedy clubs when you're, when you, should be allowed to say what you want to say, but I found even now certain comedy clubs, not the clubs themselves, but the audiences will be like, Oh no, don't, don't go there. Really? Yeah. Take the stick out of your head. It's a joke. I post on social media every day, usually clips of me doing crowd work. Cause I'm really good at it. Do you have a videographer? You just like put the phone on a stand and. Yeah, I pretty much do what you do. Yeah. Phone on a tripod. I take my shows and I edit it myself. I add the subtitles myself. Yeah. And I'll get a lot of comments like, oh, that's funny. And you're so quick. And then like I posted one the other day where I was talking to a kid who's a 12 year old in the front row. And I'm just kind of busting his balls, but he's laughing along with it. But somebody commented like. The fact that you're making fun of a 12 year old shows you. Oh my God. I'm like, I wanted to say it's a fucking joke in the kid. But if you have to defend yourself against everyone who's given you shit, you're going to be doing this forever. All day. Yeah. So I learned a long time ago, comedy subjective and not everyone's going to like what I do. and I don't you know I don't feel I need to defend myself all the time because I'm working and my resume and my schedule speaks for itself I just want to be like why don't you try what I do like that's what I do too to be like people like whatever just you suck like that I know I don't suck like they're just making jealous or whatever and I'm like okay let me hear you sing like like you know just flip it around you get up in front of a group and make them latin Yeah, I think comedy is the hardest entertainment, you know, form of entertainment. Because like with what I do, it's like people can just like fake clap even if they don't like it. But for you, it's like you can't really fake laugh, you know. Laughter is really one of the only human responses that is truly visceral. You can't fake a real laugh. You can fake, but a true laugh. You knew when I was like, huh. earlier, you're like, you're faking laughing. I'm like, yeah, I know. It was just like, look, I've heard women fake it around me before, but I was like, I was like fake laughing to show you like, yeah, that's a cheesy fake laugh. You know, like it was on purpose, like not really funny, but you're a comedian. Yeah. But, um, so when, so again, when people give me shit or say this or that, it's like, you, you've got to separate the ego from the, uh, from the I also think like engaging the audience in a show makes it so much better. Like I always love seeing that and, you know, I just think it's great. So that person can, you know, go away. So we might have to book a future trip. Me and Danielle. Stephanie. Yes. Stephanie, you coming? She's our producer in the background. Um, where are we going on a corporate trip? Yeah. uh I'm I got him but right now I'm booked through early 2024. I'm mainly norwegian cruise lines oh I love that yeah matter of fact um next month I'm gonna be on the norwegian encore in alaska for a week wow and then all of september I'm gonna be in the mediterranean brand new norwegian viva let's do that one yeah italy um I've been wanting to go there There's there's a, I'll be on a ship for a month there. So come on out. And see, again, to me, that's success. You know, I'm getting paid to travel and experience these amazing places on a beautiful cruise ship doing exactly what I love. Sometimes people, Oh, you know, keep working. You're going to make it. No, no. Screw that. You already have made it when you're the artist and you get to do your craft full time. I feel like that's making it like a really good living. Like I said, doing exactly what I do. Traveling. Anyone that's like trying to be famous. I feel like they're just not going to be successful. Like unless, you know, they're Kim Kardashian and they show a nude video of themselves. Like maybe that'll get you far, but I don't know. It doesn't trust me. But the, uh, What went wrong? What went wrong? Well, I'm not, who wants to see a naked middle-aged Jew with a dad bod? I mean, come on. Come on, is there, have you ever seen that porn? You know, if Moishe does bokeh? I don't know, Danielle, have you? Not me. I don't know about that. I think success is just, like you said, if somebody's just trying to get famous for fame's sake, I don't prejudge, but it seems very shallow and vacuous. If you do what you love in the entertainment world and fame becomes a byproduct of that, that's good reward. And I'm always striving for more. I'm always striving to get to another level of success and financial stability. But at the end of the day, if the rest of my career is just touring the world, doing ships and doing clubs and working with great people and again, making a comfortable living, it's fucking sick. We actually I just realized we have a guy on Owl. I forgot his name, but I did talk to him who also does like ships in Europe and he hires entertainment. Not that you don't that you need it, but like it's always good to have more employment. Yeah. And that's the power. If he's on owl, you should say who, who works on ships. Hmm. Ha ha ha. Ha. Another fake one. Yeah. No, that was, that was good. It was good. Um, a little, a little, a little bit. But that's like, that's also the beauty of it because you do all your own hiring and everything. And I think for me as an entertainer, as a teacher, like, I don't know if you teach acting or anything as well sometimes, but it's just another avenue that's amazing to get some other gigs. So I think, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. How have relationships made an important part of your process to get these gigs? Lots of times people are posting on social media, opportunities come, but it's also just good old handshakes. Oh, yeah. Or like old friends, like, you know. I actually, so back in 90, I'm so sorry. You have water there, too. Don't forget if you need. No, no. I wish I was joking. It's more just I got a little burpee. Oh, yeah. Back in 96 and 97, I did musical theater in Texas. Me, too. Did you really? I mean, not like professionally, but I was like, I used to be a theater kid. No, I'm kidding. There's a bond. You know, anyone that was a theater kid gets it. Yeah. It was my only professional time doing theater. But there was a guy that I worked with who has since become a cruise director for, I think, Regent or like a high end cruise line. And we've been in touch and he's trying to get me on to to his line now. Nice. And again, that goes back to just relationships you make over the years, you know, sometimes old friends. come back sometimes you meet like just how we met at the show you saw me invited me to this and it's and I already just from I if you are interested like have three names in my mind of people that their music on ships but like they're the directors and hiring managers of ships that I'm like if you like ships like I'm happy to give you their info you know just like why not absolutely so yeah So relationships definitely affect booking and affect future work. And again, apps like OWL are ways to connect to either your audience or to other people in the field to, again, cultivate these amazing relationships. And that's what, until you're at a certain level to where people are pursuing you, this is how you maintain employment, how you maintain relative, not relative, relative. Relative. Relativity? No. Relevant. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Relevancy. I'm trying to use a lot of big words. I noticed that. I was like, I am impressed with your vocabulary. Thank you. I just downloaded an app that was for bettering your vocabulary because I realized I say literally and like a lot. And even just listening to this, I'm really attempting not to say like so much. So if I'm speaking more slowly... that is why it's not the two starbucks but that too I'm like I'm talking more than ever today but I want to actually get a little less serious for a second because you are a comedian um no I'm uh No, that was good. But I want to know like the craziest story that you have from the road or just like crazy, just like the crazy stories, the things that people get a kick out of or something that an audience member did that was wild, like anything that comes to mind. And I'm so sorry. Your volume is so loud in my headphones. It might not be you. Is this better? Yeah. No, no. We have a volume control there. Thank you. Sorry. It's just like every time you have a lovely voice, but we have a producer in the studio. That's happened to me before. And I've just sat through the episode. Like my ears are, I don't know if it's just my headphone. Is that better? Hello? Hello? Oh no, I'm low. No, it's just, uh, How about now? How about now? Well, that's better. Like, yeah, because I think you were kind of eating the mic. Yeah, I'm used to singing. I'm like, listen to me. As a comic, I'm like, don't eat the mic. Just stay right around. So one of the... Thank you. That's great, Stephanie. One of the craziest stories, like... It's hard to put you on the spot. I just have so many. There's always a rowdy drunk one in the crowd. This is actually a clip on my social media. I was working on a ship. It was in the comedy club on the ship. It was packed. I'd say about 150 or maybe 200 people in the room. In the middle of my act, this drunk woman who had been drinking at the bar. I think it was during the Super Bowl last year. And when they were showing it on the ship, she came into the show in the middle of the act, in the middle of the show, belligerently drunk. And just, I remember I was on stage and I should see her walking up toward the stage. And I'm like, I literally have the microphone like this. And she comes on stage and just like, Hey, everybody, who wants the Pittsburgh to win? And I'm like, oh, and I'm looking around like because there are staff in the room and I'm like, are you not going to call fucking security? And nobody was doing anything. So for like three minutes, which is an eternity, I'm trying to keep the show from going off the rails forever. and getting this drunk fucking woman off the stage. And the audience is like, get her off. And she's just. And so at one point, there was like a little step to get off the stage. And I said, do me a favor, take that step right there. And she goes, I don't need a step. I said, I think you need 12 steps to be honest with you. But right now, just take the one and the crowd erupts. And that would have been the perfect time for him to leave. But no, she still wouldn't leave. And there was a singer who was one of the guest entertainers. And we were friends. And she even got up to try to get this woman off stage. And I had a water bottle on stage. And this woman threw it, almost hit a guy in the audience. Finally, we get her off the stage. And that's right when fucking security shows up. And then I still had to do another 10, 15 minutes. It was just one of those things that happened. But that was pretty crazy. I'll tell you a cool story. So, OK, you know, Dave Chappelle. Yes. OK. So do you remember years ago when he Comedy Central gave him like 50 million dollars to do another season of Chappelle's show and he eventually gave it back? Yeah, he talks a lot about that. Yeah, exactly. So this is right when that happened. He had given $50 million back and he flew to Africa and nobody knows like where he is. All he knows is in Africa. And everybody's like, oh my God, Dave Chappelle, he's out of his mind. He's gone crazy, blah, blah, blah. So I'm at the Hollywood Improv. I think this was a Wednesday night and it was packed. It was a hot show. And one of the comics couldn't show up. So the manager comes up to me and goes, hey, Flip, do you want to do a spot? Like, yeah. So it goes, okay, we just brought up so-and-so. There's one more comic, and then you. I'm like, cool. So the way the improv worked was there's a bar, a hallway, and then the showroom. So I'm in the hallway just talking to the other comics. And the comic, they just brought the one comic up, maybe a minute. And I'm in the hallway, and all of a sudden the manager comes running down just – screaming to the host, get him off the stage now, get him off the stage. And the host is like, I just brought him up. He goes, I don't care. Get him off now. And we're all sitting there going, what the hell's going on? I turn, Dave Chappelle's walking in. And again, this is, everybody still thinks he's in Africa. Nobody, he literally landed at LAX and came right to the improv because he wanted to talk about what was going on. So I'm like, And the manager goes, yeah, flip. You're not going up tonight. I'm like, damn it. I get it. No, I'm like, I get it. I just want to see this. Yeah. So the host goes up and in the middle, again, this comic just got on stage. He's maybe on a minute or two. And the host just comes on stage and goes, hey, man, you got to get off. And the comic's like, what's going on? He goes, I'm so sorry. You got to get off the stage now. And the comic's confused and pissed and rightfully so. And the rest of the audience is like, what's going on? And the host says, ladies and gentlemen, so sorry to interrupt this comic, but somebody just showed up and we want to get him on stage right away. Please welcome Dave Chappelle. Wow. And. Look, I've been at the improv when Seinfeld dropped in or Chris Rock, like huge. And I've seen the place go nuts. I have never heard an audience erupt like this. They were on their feet cheering. The floor was shaking. It was incredible. And Chappelle went up there. And just like, yeah, man, I was, I just went to Africa for a little bit. And I'm come back and said, Dave Chappelle lost his fucking mind. But he only did like 10 minutes and then got off the stage. So the manager goes, okay, flip, you're still going to go up. I'm like, okay. Luckily for me, but sadly for this other comic, this other comic had to go up right after Chappelle. And nobody could give a shit. Nobody could follow that. Because everybody's like, whoa, did you see what happened? So this poor guy took the bullet. But then I went up and had one of the best shows of my life. Was he there? No, no. Although I did work with Chappelle years before that at a comedy club that used to be in Davie called Uncle Funny's. It was where I actually started. And Chappelle came in. this is right when half baked was happening. So Chappelle show hadn't come out yet. So he was known, but he wasn't Dave Chappelle yet. Um, But yeah, I got to work with him there. And then we actually smoked weed together behind the club. Nice. Yeah. I smoked weed with Dave Chappelle and Tommy Chong. Were there, I guess there weren't the iPhones back then? No, no. This is before. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Selfie to prove it, right? No, I did take a picture with him. Sadly, that picture is lost when I unfortunately accidentally deleted it off my hard drive. But I did get a picture with him later on in L.A., And I reminded him about that. He goes, oh, yeah, man, I remember that. I remember that. So we got like, do you really? The question was, what were you deleting? What were you deleting? It was so it was like I was cleaning. I do my own website, too. And unfortunately, space, space, you're creating space. No, I because I had the picture call. It was called me and me, Dave. And then I had another picture that I uploaded called me, Dave, with my friend, Dave. I knew how to separate. So I just accidentally read. put the wrong and I didn't have a copy for whatever reason um but yeah so those are some crazy fun stories that happened I think it's time I think it's time oh yeah let's call some call somebody on our platform all right this woman she's an emmy award-winning tv show host maybe she'll get your own tv you never know right podcaster tedx speaker Let's give her a ring. What do you think? Let's try it. I'm going to call her and she should be in Bluetooth. Find out real soon. When she comes on the air, we're going to ask her about what she does. Then you're going to ask her a question. We need some theme music for this segment. That's impressive. Wow. That's what, got a lot of free time. That's impressive. So you're a musical as well. It's like me. I play the kazoo. Oh, really? Not a real instrument. People are like, wow. And I'm like, it's just singing into a plastic, you know, fake thing. I'm not going to call it an instrument. Okay. Well, this is annoying, guys. This is why you have to turn your notifications on. On. say this every time and I'm going to keep repeating myself until everyone listens. Okay. Let's cancel that. Let's try something else. Okay. She's doing a little bit, you know, about the breaks on the cruise. Is it four weeks straight? You've got a couple of days off in between. You have to go into some of the cities when they stop at different ports. Yeah, like generally I'm on the passenger list, so I get all the perks of a passenger. Like this last cruise I was just on, they had me in a crew cabin, which was still very nice. But I got all the perks of passengers. I get to go to the restaurants. I get off the ship. I'm so sorry. That's okay. I'm so sorry. Usually I have all the benefits. I am so sorry. Of being a passenger. The only time that recently where it's... I had more limited perks. I think it was last year. This is still when COVID was kind of in the air, a little worrisome. I did a transatlantic cruise, and I was supposed to be a passenger. It cost me a stop in Canada. I had a crew member, and they just never switched me back. So when we got to Belfast, Ireland, over here. All right, Maria? Yeah. Sorry to interrupt you, but hello. Sometimes it takes a second. Hi, Maria. Hi, how's it going? Good. You are actually live on the OWL podcast right now. Nice. Yeah. And so we have our guest today is Flip Schultz, and he's a famous comedian. He's worked with Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, other people. George Carlin, Robin Williams. And I know you're in entertainment as well, right? Yeah. Absolutely. And I'm actually doing a comedy documentary for a comedian named Stephen Kimbrough. I don't know if you know him. Oh, he's on the owl app. Stephen Kimbrough. Where's he out of? Yeah. LA. Oh, okay. Yep. I don't know if our paths have crossed, but kudos. Very cool. So yeah. While we have you, do you have any questions for flip? Just yeah. Well, let's see. I mean, I would love to know more about your background a little bit. I mean, I know your background as a comedian, but how you came about, what you've done. What was your favorite, most exciting experience? Probably at this point, you're doing a comedy. Do you know who George Carlin is? Of course, yeah. I got to... I love him. I got to... He's throwing the dagger to me and Danielle right now. I got to open for Carlin like three or four times because we had the same manager. And that was pretty amazing. I worked with him at a few theaters down in Florida. Well, that's incredible. I... Um, what, so have you considered doing, because I'm in kind of the background of like doing, you know, film as a director and producer, like, have you considered doing like a documentary of your life story too, or having your story be like heard overall? Um, I, well, I've been in the business like about 31 years now, and I've actually thought about writing a book. That's what I was going to say, or a book. The idea is a bit of a biography and all about my theories of comedy because there are a lot of things about stand-up technical aspects that I don't think a lot of people might realize because comedy, there is a science to it. I like that. It's educational. It's not just like, this is me, me, me. You're actually giving something back to people. Weaving the two, a biography and a handbook, if you will. So I thought about that. And I actually did years ago make a little documentary about a tour of Europe that I did with Pablo Francisco, if you know who he is. Yeah, no, I know him too. That's cool. Yeah. That's really cool. Thank you. And then so what is this documentary that you're doing? Well, essentially, it's the life story of Stephen E. Kimbrough and, like, everything that he's been through because he was in, you know, Last Comic Standing. He was on the Queen Mary. And, like, he has a really... Was he on Last Comic Standing on the Queen Mary? Yeah. That was season six? Yep. I was on that season. Wow. He's on OWL, too. He's a brand ambassador with us. No, I was in the top 40 of that season. That's the one with Josh Blue and Chris Porter, Gabriel Iglesias. Yeah, no way! Well, I mean, now we really, really We got to talk. Maybe you can be in the documentary. I don't know. Maybe you can write your book. You can write a book and she can make a documentary for your book. You can turn it into a movie or YouTube. Let's make it happen, guys. We can have you within this documentary too if you're interested. We can have an interview and just talk about Yeah, yeah, no doubt. I always love being involved in anything that has to do with comedy, especially stand-up, because it is such a fun art form. See the power of Owlap. My gosh. Isn't this wild? This is a hoot. Yeah. Like, out of the blue, too, you know? Like, you'd never think. Yeah, I just randomly called you. I was like, hmm, she's cool in the entertainment industry. Boom. Let's definitely connect on the Owlap. Yeah, absolutely. Flip just became an expert. So he'll be going live and you can give him a call soon. Well, that's awesome. Yeah, well, if that's the case, you know, I would love to get on a call. I could call you too. Are you, I guess you guys are doing the podcast right now. So I know you're busy, but like whenever you can, actually give me your full name spelling wise, just so I could search you and follow you so I could keep track of when you come live. Perfect. Flip, F-L-I-P, Schultz, S-C-H-U-L-T-Z. Maria, we put him on our Instagram account. He's right there. He's the last post. You can follow his Instagram. Beautiful. We'll be promoting him like crazy next week on our newsletter and on social media. Perfect. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much, Maria. We're going to head out now, but yeah, that was great. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for connecting us. That's incredible. Yeah. And it was nice meeting you too. Absolutely. Bye. Bye. Take care. You too. Later, Maria. How cool was that? That was very cool. Right? Yeah. And you have someone in common. That's awesome. By the way, talking about crazy, it just hit me another crazy story. Okay. Yeah, go for it. And this is a story of just hitting a brick wall but not giving up. In 2002, CBS brought back Star Search. I remember that. Arsenio Hall was hosting it. Wait, wasn't, like, Bill Cosby? No, that was the funniest kids. Yeah, no, Bill Cosby's not hosting anything right now. I was like, no, no, no. But he was. What was America's, the kids, the one with the kids? Can't say the darndest thing. That was him, right? Yeah, no, Star Search was. I know Star Search was the OG, like, American Idol. Exactly. Sorry, I've been confused. No, it's okay. They brought it back. CBS brought it back for, I think, two seasons in 2002. And I was picked to be on the show to be the comedian. I think I was on the third episode. And how it worked was it's live to the East Coast. And so the performer would go out, do their thing. Two performers would go out, do their thing. And then during the commercial break, the audience at home would call or go online and vote. And then they had four judges in studio that would vote as well. They take the average and that becomes the winner. So, pardon me. I go out, right? Live. This is in this big studio at CBS. And the judges were Ben Stein, Ashley Judd, this very funny comic writer named Carol Leifer, and then the guest judge was Lance Bass. Oh, my God. So... He's not a comedian. No, but he was, you know, every week, it was almost like American Idol. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, so I go out there and I'm standing center stage and they're playing my video package, like flip Schultz, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the, you know, then it comes Arsenio goes, please welcome flip Schultz camera pans to me. And I got the microphone and I go, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That was me kind of going testing one, two, three. My microphone wasn't on been there. On a live network show in front of millions of people. Shit. So people in the studio couldn't hear me. People at home could. People in the studio couldn't. So all the people at home see is a very young, nervous comic getting no laughs because nobody could fucking hear me. Ugh. And I think I only had 80 or 90 seconds, which is near, you know, it's that for comedy. So I think the microphone came on in the last like 20 seconds, whatever. So I just didn't do very well. And the judges in studio gave me kind of shitty scores. That sucks. That's so unfair. That actually happened to me. I performed at the biggest festival I've ever performed at, Sunfest in West Palm, which I never got to perform at a festival before. I was super excited. So it was like a few months ago. And then my song with this band, for my song, the guy hands me the mic. I go out and I start singing. And for probably the whole time, everyone's like, we can't hear you. Yeah. And then the last like 20 seconds, like it turned on. And at that point I was screaming so loud. Cause I was like, I just wanted people to hear me. So I sounded like shit. Cause I was screaming. And so like, I'm like, whatever. I got pictures. It looks legit. Like I performed, I guess. I was like, Oh, look at that. But it was like really disappointing to be like, this was my big moment. And like, I got fucked over. I got wildly fucked. But you were even more fucked because you had the judgment going on. I had the judgment from these guys in the studio. They should have let you redo it. Now, if I had the sense now then, like all the knowledge now, I would have stopped and went... Can you guys hear me on live TV? It would have made CBS look like idiots. And the audience at home would go, is this guy, what's going on? And it would have created a moment and it would have created like maybe this like, give him another chance. Come on. But instead I was just on autopilot. She was like, that's exactly. I'm like, why didn't I just say stop band? Like, why didn't I? But like when you're in the moment, you're like so used to probably at least for me, like pleasing the audience and just wanting the show to go on. For me, it was just like in my head, I'm like, what the fuck? But outside, I'm just like I said, autopilot because I've done so many times. And then but in my head, I'm like, well, they're going to give me another chance. This wasn't fair. And the producers came up after the show said, look, we're sorry, but the judges in the studio said they could hear you and the people at home could hear you. So technically they're, Oh my God. And it took me a year to get over that. And I really, I'm like, my career's over. This was my only chance. This was my big break, but, but, but you know, again, you, you move past it and then you realize no more opportunities will come, more opportunities will come. But that, that, that was like my first real experience with, am I doing the right thing? And you'd think that like, this is why I was like, okay, I perform at shitty bars. Like I think that like Sunfest would have their shit together or like CBS, CBS, you'd think they'd have their shit together, but, No, we were on the news with owl, you know, where we launched mentorship Mondays and I went into CBS and I was like, so excited. I thought it was going to be like, go into this room, go into that room. Like, no, they're like, go on the air. They're like, go four minutes before. And I'm like, well, I'm like, we do more for this podcast here than they do on, on, on the real news channel. And you realize like, they don't have their shit together. I think the higher you go up, you think, okay, well, it's gotta be more together at these levels. No, lots of times it's not. Sometimes CBS means complete bullshit. Yeah. I like that one. Okay. Took a minute for it to claim. I'm like, Oh yeah. Yeah. NBC. Nothing but shit. No kidding. No, that's not crap. Hire me. Yes. Would be nothing but shit. Oh yeah. Sorry. Gotta make up one up for owl. Yeah. W W L L. Let's see if you got one on the spot. Uh, that's hard. Uh, how about, uh, oh, wow, we link likables. Not bad for going with it. Yeah. Or, oh, wow, we love linking people together. That's pretty good. We're getting there. We're getting there. Off the spot. Off the spot. Honestly, I... Our voiceover came up on our commercial. It was like, make sure to download OWL and make sure it's two W's because OWLs are wise and two L's because you're going to love it. So that's what we did on the voiceover. Not every digital voiceover. Welcome. Owl. Download the app. Two W's for we're wise. Two L's for we are lovable. That's good. One O because that's men can only have one O. Women can have multiple. Men can have one. Is this the male app or what? This is. For men only. I can't go that deep. For men only. The summer owl is coming to you with one big o. That's good. Thank you. Wow. Yes, the movie preview. We need to get you and Josh in here together. He was our voiceover. Trump impressionist. Yeah, Trump impressionist. It was doing as Donald Trump. Very good. Very good at doing Donald Trump. Very good. It's all bullshit. People don't understand. Wow. You even got the lips down. Yeah, let's do a LinkedIn live and get you and him and have people vote. Do a Trump off? Yeah. Or Trump and Biden debating. That would be fun. All right, here we go. Hey, come on, man. Yeah, Trump. Trump is very good. It's very good. A lot of people don't understand. People ask me all the time. They go, Donald Trump, you're a beautiful man. How can you talk so much shit? You're like Trump with a little rasp. Well, I think I learned Trump when he was on the campaign trail. So he had a very raspy voice. Or like when he had COVID and he was just like, Hey, everybody, it's bullshit. Yeah. But now, now he's very loud. People love him loud. I love it. That's amazing. How about Jeff Goldblum? Very good. Very, very good. This is Jeff Goldblum as a stand-up comedian. I was walking down the street. Very good. And we saw me and my friend saw this empty place where there used to be a building. And my friend said, oh, look at that. It's a lot. I said, there's nothing there. It should be called a little. Oh, yeah. So do you do voiceover work too? No, I would love to do voiceover work. I would love to. Okay. Already, we have a voiceover actor on OWL who gives people advice on how to get voiceover jobs. And he has like a course and connects you. So I'll connect you with him too. Cool. Anyway, I think our time is up. Unless there's anything else we want to talk about. I mean, I do have to ask you, what do you think of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? Have you watched it? I love it. I love it. I, like, cried. I watched the whole thing. I was like, it felt really, it hit home. Like, it was. It was the perfect way to wrap up that show. Yeah, I loved it. Because you find out at the heart of it, the whole show is just about their relationship. I know. It was so good. Midge and. Susie. Susie. Yeah. No, but it was, yeah, it's great. Did you think it was realistic? Um. Well, I mean, I wasn't... I'm older. Back then. I wasn't around then doing comedy. Yeah, no, I know. But I think... Just as a comedian, like... Yeah. In a sense, like, for female comics, even today, it's still an uphill battle. Yeah, yeah. To be taken seriously and to be considered one of the guys... Or taken funny, I guess. Or taken funny. Like, my ex-wife is actually a comedian. Oh, wow. And I've seen, you know, that it could be... harder for women, like you said, to be taken seriously, be taken funny. To me, funny is funny. I don't care. Black, white, gay, straight, male, woman, whatever. Funny is funny. And I respect that. But yeah, I think Maisel tackled the issue very well. And also great storytelling. Great characters. I mean, I did find like the middle seasons got a little boring. Yeah. but I just like did laundry and pushed through them and then like it was like one and two amazing three and four boring and then like five and six got better in my opinion it was just kind of like I don't know I think a couple episodes maybe fell a little short but I think all all in all the story yeah it's just great and even because like um okay the the episode where she um kind of outed the singer that she was opening for. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was like after that, that I was like bored, like that happened. And then I'm like, or she's like in the low part of her career again. And she has to like start over and she's kind of just like, okay. I'm like, but I think, I think what that showed is what a lot of comedians go through where, you know, where she didn't want to play the game. Yeah. Yeah. Ego was like, no, fuck that. I get, I get that. Yeah. You kind of got to play the game. I always say you got to play by their rules till you can rewrite them. And then the cute comedian, the guy who told her to keep going. Oh, Lenny Bruce. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, you don't, that cute comedian. I'm like the guy, not guy. Lenny Bruce was even the precursor to George Carlin. Lenny Bruce, like everything that they showed in the show was, Was real. I wasn't sure if he was a real person. Yeah, he was a guy that pushed the boundaries. He was a guy that he really got arrested just for saying shit and fuck and stuff on stage. If not for people like him and George Carlin and Redd Foxx. They did mention George Carlin in the show too, I think. Yeah, and Mort Saul and these really great innovative comics that made it possible for comics like me and Burr and everybody to say what they want to say. Even though we're kind of going backwards now, but it's okay. And there is, yeah, we are kind of swinging the other way a little bit now, but still no one's getting arrested. Yeah. You might get canceled stupidly, but you're not getting arrested. Free speech. And, but it's because of guys like Lenny Bruce that we were allowed to. So cool. Yeah. There's actually a great movie called Lenny. that was directed by Bob Fosse starring Dustin Hoffman. And it's dark, but it really shows what he did and went through, again, for the idea of freedom of speech. So if you get a chance to watch that, it's a great movie. I will. Thanks. You're welcome. All right, guys. I think now we're officially done, now that I got to ask my Maisel question. That was a marvelous question. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Well, everyone listening, go ahead and call Flip on the OWL platform. And we are new on LinkedIn Live. So, of course, every week, catch us around 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. Take care, everybody. It's an owlgasm.