Ep. 14 - Big Theatre Kid Energy with Ryan W Garcia | Gross To Net

This week I was joined by the hilarious, energetic, extremely talented Ryan W Garcia. Ryan is an actor, a coach, a podcaster, and kind of a big deal as an influencer and official Try Guy.

Ryan's exuberance is infectious and he is constantly knocking on a lot of doors. We talked about the business of show business, his mindset and staying power, and his neverending quest for energy and connection.

I hope this episode is as joyful for you as it was for me! 

Follow all of Ryan's exploits on Instagram @muchosgarcias and go check out his amazingly entertaining podcast Big Theatre Kid Energy RIGHT NOW!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Welcome everybody to Gross to Net, the podcast that analyzes and looks at what people and businesses are optimizing for and what that costs. I am so excited for our guest today. Today's guest started performing as a kid in Miami. He got his BFA in theater at a little school in Orlando called UCF, where I went for a little while. And then he did what every what every theater major's parents fear. He moved to Los Angeles, and gosh darn it, if he isn't making it work. You've seen him on Community, The Lincoln Lawyer, Jordan Peel's Nope. You've heard his voice in Big Nate and Fireheart. You've watched him try things on YouTube with the Try Guys, where he's been a member since 2000 uh since 2024. He's performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and on stage at the Geffen Playhouse. He coaches actors, and if that wasn't enough, he hosts his own GD podcast called Big Theater Kid Energy, where he is a one-man mission to convince you that Los Angeles is one of the greatest live theater cities in the world. And I believe it. He's doing more things simultaneously than most people attempt in a lifetime. And somehow he's making it all look pretty fun, which honestly might be the whole point. Uh, he's also an old friend of mine, which makes this one especially fun for me. Please welcome my guest, my dear friend, Ryan Garcia. What's up, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Wow, that was that made me feel so good. That was such a great intro. You should feel good. Like that just made me feel like, yeah. Yeah, my parents are sad that I made this choice. But it's paying off.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

It's paying off, gosh darn it. I hey, look, dude, my I was a theater major, I moved to LA, and uh now I run a hot sauce company. So everybody's got a different path, is what I'm saying. Um, and yours has been, I mean, I will say, I I say you're an old friend. I do consider you're an old. You're one of those people that I've got like I could go 20 years and not have a conversation with and be like, hey man.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, we pick it up like it's never like no time has passed.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah, and I think that has to do with the way that you get to, and I've heard you talk about this on your podcast, which by the way, I was like, I need to do, I haven't listened to a full episode of Big Theater Kid Energy. And I listened over the weekend to like five hours of you talking to theater. So like I am, I feel like I'm talking to celebrity right now because I've been wow, I've benched your podcast, uh, which I think is excellent. Um, and that was a thing, like when I went out to LA, it was that was one of those things where everybody was talking about, even I mean, this was gosh, I was in LA before we knew like I'm I went to UCF after I lived in LA. So I had already gone to LA, and everybody in LA was talking about like, well, really, LA theater is just underappreciated. We've got all these great actors out here, there's acting coaches, there like everybody's doing stuff out there. I don't remember there being a lot of musical theater when I was there, but there were certainly a lot of straight plays that were like uh that were like going, and then you could go like you know, see whoever, like major celebrities, which of course is like not you don't want to just see celebrities, but like they're all doing plays.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

No, it's so true, and it's like every level of it. There's um so many small houses, there's like the Broadwater Theater and so many small houses on Santa Monica Boulevard that just have like 50 seats to 99 seat theaters where experimental, cool things are happening. There's also so many comedy houses doing improv and sketch. Uh, and then obviously the big houses like the Geth and Pasadena Playhouse that it and Pantagus that has all the touring shows, the Amundsen, the Mark Taper Forum. Like there's actually so many theaters per capita, it's ridiculous. And but nobody thinks, oh, I'm traveling out to LA. Let me make sure I hit up a show while I'm there. It's always like, oh, I'm heading out to LA, I'm gonna get on a bus and look at rich people's houses.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yeah, right. Or like go to the beaches or go get a smoothie at Arawan or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Yeah, which are of all valid things. Like, I will say I went to Erawan and I got the breakfast burrito. And while it was very expensive, it also was very good.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

It's very good. So they got I be because uh because I'm like in the food industry, I get some of these stats, and like Erawan for many years has been one of the top 10 food service places in LA, like competing against restaurants, and they're a grocery store, and but like they're if you go at lunch or whatever, go to their lunch counter and it's like holy crap, like line around the block for this grocery store's lunch counter. Crazy.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

It's a high-end restaurant kitchen in Erawan.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah, it's uh it's great. And I know it gets I know it gets pretty hyped, but uh I enjoy it a lot.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

And I also uh binged, by the way, this weekend gross to net. I went through three episodes at least. Um, and I'm I'm a crazy person that listens to podcasts at 1.5 speed, so I was like ingesting so much.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

How do I sound at 1.5?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Uh like like maybe like you you just did a quick line. Like you like you just took a shot of espresso, and you're like, boom, I'm ready to talk about business.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Well, speaking of take speaking of doing a quick, I mean uh taking a shot of espresso. I I did I did have like three espresso before this because after listening to your stuff, I was like, man, Brian's got so much energy as a podcast host. How do I how how am I gonna match that?

SPEAKER_00 5:58

I I had a guest recently, Manon uh uh Manon Matthews.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

And yeah, I listened to that one.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

She's great, and she all the stuff that she puts out there, like I think the thing about being in LA is it's so much about one, it's a very isolating town, and uh because you can go from your apartment or home to your car, to your job, to your car, to an audition, to your car, to your home. Like you might not see anybody. Uh, and so you have to make a valiant effort to create community. And also, if you're just sitting around waiting for auditions, you're just in your home not talking to anybody. And so you have to diversify in a lot of ways. And Manon is somebody who did it back on Vine and then created this whole internet persona. And when you see her internet persona, you think, oh, she's got a lot of energy. But then when we're actually on the podcast, she's so low energy. And I'm like, all right, great, here comes the yin to your yang. I'm gonna bring it to keep this boat afloat. And that you may not match me, but at least we'll have like a balance of energies. But yeah, she it's it is uh it I feel like it takes like for me, that feels like my role as a teacher is a lot of times like my role on set is I want to bring like a positive, uh infectious energy that people are energized by and hopefully want to be around to make it like a good time because like why chill out, you know? Let's just have a good time while we're working.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah. I I agree with that, man. I I will say one thing, uh, because I want to I want to talk a little bit about the business. So we'll do I heard you love a segue, so we'll do some really, really cool segues. But yeah, yeah. Um one of the things that I that I noticed, and I want to kind of get your take on this as well, is that there were there were a bunch of like interesting things, and I think coming from having a performance background and somebody who who like was optimizing for that thing earlier in my life, and then kind of like I don't know, I I have a really weird resume. Like my resume, I hope, I hope by the time I get through life, my resume just makes no sense to anybody. But like, but like having that performance background, the theater background, I found that that translates into other things in like really unexpected ways, like in the world of business or like in the world of relationships or uh whatever, like in the world of going to where you go to like a social event, a networking event, etc. Like that being able to put on that hat of like here's who I need to be today, right? There, there's a uh there's a thing that I've noticed that that the ability to put on here's how I need to be today is a thing that you train in theater, right? Because it's like here's who I need to be for this two hours on stage, or here's who I need to be when they, you know, when the little clacker clacks. Is that the technical term? Clacker.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

It's a clacker clacking, yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

The clacker clacking. When the clacker goes clack, yep, the here's who I need to be, and there's kind of like a a translatable element of of that that I found goes into real life. Have you found something similar? Like how how far have you found these skills extend?

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Yeah, it has. And uh I think one thing, like studying for film and TV and studying for theater has really even before actually, let's go quick before that. As a kid, I moved around so much that uh I was constantly put in situations where I was the new kid in school. And so I would have to adapt to this new place. And kind of the way I did it was I would look at the group of people that I was surrounded by, and I'd think, okay, what's missing? And how can I fill that gap? Uh and so I'm accepted. And I think it was like the best acting training because then getting into working on scripts, not only are you getting into genre, you're also understanding, like, okay, there is an antagonist and a protagonist, and then a whole world of human beings in here, and each of them serve a function. And so I find that sometimes when I'm coaching an actor on something, they're trying to play the function of they're the lead of the scene. And I have to remind them like you actually have a function to serve here. And it's reminding myself that anywhere I go, like here, I don't have to host. I get to like let you set the tone and set this. And my function is to listen and be present with you and hopefully be able to like latch on to what you're talking about. And then whatever my life experience is, I my function is to share that so that hopefully I can enrich the conversation, you know. So it it it has like shared in that way that understanding of like what is your function within the scene, what is your function in the greater story, helps to understand what is your function in every event you go out into.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Yeah. Uh good stuff. I I mean I I feel the same way about it. I I've I've gone further away from uh theater than than you have, but I want to talk a little bit about kind of coming to LA because i I was uh I didn't start in theater until much much later, right? I was not uh I didn't do st really do stuff as a kid. And um, I get to go see like nieces and nephews doing their first kind of theater stuff now, and uh that's really that's really neat. Uh but like one of the things that we didn't learn was like the business of entertainment. Like I never learned I I went to school for music and theater, and nobody ever said anything about the business of the business side of either one of those things. So I'm not asking you yet what you've optimized for in your life. I'm gonna save that for a little bit. But but I do want to ask, like, how did you get exposed? Like, when do you remember first getting exposed to the business of theater? Did that happen when you were in school? Did it happen all of a sudden when you moved to LA?

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Jim Helsinger at UCF actually had a uh theater business course that you would take. And I will say that what it set you up for was a life in regional theater. Okay. So whether you moved one of these larger cities, Chicago, New York, or LA, that specific class set you up to know how to audition to be in shows as you know, in a regional production of something in St. Louis, and how to set yourself up to make the artistic director and casting director at those places excited to see you. And so it was like making this cool resume and how do you stand out and what does your headshot do to actually sell you? And I know we're not talking about it yet, but I think the weirdest part about being an actor is like you can't separate yourself from the product that you're selling, like it is very much it's so personal, super personal, it's so personal, and I think the thing that I was more attuned to was learning who am I, because I think it's hard sometimes to see from the inside how you're perceived. But I have to know because when you're watching TV, the moment that somebody steps on screen, you're already projecting ideas onto that person, regardless before they even open their mouth. And so I have to know how are people perceiving me? Because that's going to help me understand how to market myself in Los Angeles or in New York or for whatever. But then when it came to be completely honest, so I I got into I need to be the best actor I can be. That's that was my mindset kind of outside of the idea of how do I market myself. I was like, how do I be the best at doing the actual on-camera, on stage job? And so I dove so deep into classes. I was enrolled in like three or four different acting studios. And years after being in acting class and really, really devoting myself to understanding that, I took this business for acting class and I cried because I hated it so much. Because I felt so out of water. It was so not the reason that I'm in in the entertainment industry, the actual selling of myself at that point. I so wasn't ready. And so I I maybe met lasted in that for two months because there was all this stuff about I have to send postcards, I have to send emails to all these casting directors to introduce myself so they know who I am. And the idea of doing that, I think was so hard on my ego. Um, it was so hard to think like, I don't, I don't want to do that. That makes me so uncomfortable. Where we're if we're now that I have a podcast, I'm telling everybody I got a podcast. There's this separate there's this separation of like that makes me feel safer to be able to say, I think you would love this and you should look at it. And I think making that step as an actor was really hard to do. And so I just dove deeper into learning, and that's when I became a teacher, I think. Um so honestly, it was it's been really hard, George.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

Yeah, no, I I get it, man. And that speaking to that thing about like having the yourself be the product, like that was a big I moved out to LA in in God, what was it, 2005? Wow, and I came from a theater program where like I was I like I was a young athletic guy, full head of hair. Like I was getting cast as like I was like leading man to leading man to leading man, and I would do like you know local stuff, and I would that that was kind of like the role. I was like the guy. So like I had maybe more than maybe more than other people. I had this idea that was, yeah, yeah, I was a leading man. And then I went out to LA as a 20, what, 23-year-old? You know, fairly handsome guy, right? Not like not compared to like Hollywood guys, but like coming from Birmingham, Alabama, I was like, yeah, I'm the shit. And I went out there and they were like, you know, casting directors would be like, yeah, you're maybe like we could cast you maybe as a dad. And I was like, right. I was like, what? What do you mean? Like, what do you mean a dad? Like, I'm 23. What do you mean? A dad? I what about like a heroic, like fire, like a firefighter type, like maybe like a nope, sorry. Sorry. You could you could be maybe like a funny best friend.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Yeah, it is wild. It is, it is like the industry just goes, now we've decided what you are.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

We've decided. Yeah, we took one look at you and we know who you are, and you're like, that was really hard for me. I did I did not uh I was not able to for a long time put a pin on it until you know I started like selling hot sauce, you know, 13 years ago. And it was so like I could go in and be like tell people about the hot sauce, I could watch somebody try it and spit it out and not feel anything. Like I was like, I was like, they don't like they don't like this external thing, fine, right? When somebody was like, and I think uh I think you go to one of these competitive cities, LA, obviously like a hugely competitive city, and and people, at least in my experience, like people would just give you this brutal feedback. And I remember in in Orlando too, like when when we knew each other in UCF, like it was there's a lot of the Disney Universal stuff down there. And I was at one point I was trying out for like Spider-Man, like the Spider-Man at the theme park, and I was like, great, I'm a fit guy, right? I'm just gonna be wearing like a latex, whatever. And so the the whole audition was about like how do you move and how do you look in a full like spandex suit? And um, I got to the stage where you like go into the audition, you put on the Spider-Man outfit, and the guy was like the guy was like, Yeah, you're too chunky for this. And I was like, What? He was like, he was like, Yeah, you're just like ca because I like to eat, right? So like as a fit guy, but I had kind of like I had some love handle, you know, whatever. I was like, I was like six. Also, like we're in we're in college, like you're having like a good time. Yeah, I'm like having a yeah, yeah, I was like, you know, drinking too much and wait, whatever, right? Like, so I he was right. Like, I had some little like I had some little like college love handles, but he was just like he was just like, no, too chunky for this.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

It's so hard, and it was like to hear that.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

It's hard to hear that. Like, I feel like for a lot of people, because I I've always had a really d overdeveloped probably sense of self, but I feel like it put it protected me from like that turning into like an eating disorder or something because it does for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yeah. Um when I when I was first meeting with managers out here, because I think one of the things that I run into is like I have this way in that a lot of man, like a lot of managers, you know, we're in a part of the industry where it's like we're trying to be very representative um of with the stories that we tell. Like if we're going to do a show about Indian, uh like the story of an Indian family, we want to cast all Indian actors in that in that piece. And so being Cuban, uh, I was like put out for a lot of um Latino roles, but because I don't necessarily look very Latino, like I don't look Mexican Latino, which is what a lot of people are casting it as. I met with this one manager and she was looking at me and she's like, What if you shaved your head and just got super tan? And the other manager was there, like, don't try to make him something he's not. Like it would they wanted me to put on, yeah. That other manager, like, say, and I was very, I was 22, very impressionable at that point. I was like, sure, whatever. I want to get a bandana and a machete. Whatever you need, I'll do it. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

The bandana would cover up the fact that you shaved your head, though, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Right. I know, like, but I could have guessed cut my hair at that point. Um, but I think it's something that I've like run into. It's like, look, you've just got to, and I think the the the point of it too, it's like with bringing up man in earlier and the diversification I've done in my own career is that the way that I've seen people be the most successful out here is not wait for somebody to tell them who they are, but to show them who what they can do. And so creating your own projects, like not waiting for the phone call, but making a short film, making a series, writing your own projects, shooting your own stuff. The the with with the way social media works now, there's so much availability to just like make your stamp, show people you are but who you are before they can start to define you.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah.

unknown 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

I I think that's I I think that's kind of a phenomenal call out, right? The fact that you do have and this happened in this happened in music, right? As well, where you could you've got the ability to say, here's here's who I am before the industry tells me I can put something out on YouTube, I can put something on Spotify, and and I don't you don't need a label to do that. Now I know there there are huge problems with platforms like Spotify, like taking advantage of their uh of their artists and not really paying them much, but you can at least show people who you are, like how you can sing, what kind what kind of songs you like, and you can prove to people that like you know, like like for Manon, just as an example, like there like she could bring her followers with her too, right? There and that's gotta be I'm I'm interested in your take on that because I've got you know my own perspective on that, but like as a as as somebody who is you know auditioning for things like are are casting directors looking at like your following on TikTok or so I'm gonna get weighted.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

It gets weighted. I uh met with the uh head of casting for animation at Sony, and we just had coffee and I was talking to her about how casting is going, and she said, Look, there's a quota we have to meet for followers for any animated project. And she said, I worked at Netflix, and they're also they also have a quota. Now the quota is probably gonna blow your mind. It's 50 million collectively followers on Instagram with the whole cast. So she'll try to hit a big person, you know. Get 25 mil or to get 10 mil, but still, like you become a much more attractive commodity if you're bringing a built-in audience. One, like we're saying before, you've you've proven that you are you that you are wanted in the marketplace by having already gone out there and done it yourself and brought this. And then you're also like this advertising juggernaut that they get to bring your whole audience along with you. Um, so I think it matters a lot. And I think it's to ignore it would be kind of a way of like ignoring a new technology that comes through and kind of getting then kept out of the system because you're unwilling to be flexible and change. So that's I think a lot of the reason also that I have started doing the podcast um as a way to like uh and I know I'm jumping a little bit, but uh working with Try Guys has led me to get a lot of new fans. You know, I I jumped from like a 5,000 to 27,000 followers. So I'm like, okay, this is an opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Congrats, man.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

Thank you. So it's an opportunity, and and I need to create a landing place for these people and hopefully also help bolster this growth. And so I thought I'll create something that's authentic to me, which is a theater review podcast because I just love theater so much. So it's like, and I I'm thinking about it in the way of like, if I can get more followers, it's actually going to hopefully lead to more acting work because now I become an attractive thing for a casting director and a producer.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Yeah. There there is this uh ongoing conversation. I don't want to say it's a new conversation, but in any market, it's just about like creating your own brand, right? And probably actors and musicians are aware are more aware of this than anybody, but it's like it's getting talked about in like the more business-y circles as well, is that like you know, pe people are like jobs are pretty flu, pretty fluid. That's that's kind of another thing I want to talk about, is like I am so interested, like coming from coming from the like gig kind of world, like hey, you get like the world that you live in, the the the podcast because you created it is probably the most stable thing you have, right? And the acting, you've been teaching at the same acting school for what 13 years, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:12

A while just about, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

So like these are the stable parts of your life, and you had to create them essentially. You didn't create the acting school, but like you had to kind of like create your role as a teacher there, and um in in in my industry or just like in the business world, people get really, really upset when it's like oh, I gotta God, it's so the careers move so fast, I gotta think about a new job every four years. I'm like, are you kidding me? Every four years, like the amount of stability, could you imagine having security for four years?

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Oh my god, to be on a TV show for four years.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Four years, right? And be like, and and like you you know that it's anyway, that's it's kind of crazy to me that there's this like I I feel like I feel like just having done like acting and music and being like, I'm the brand, nothing is guaranteed, and then coming into a world where you can be like, oh, I can actually like create a year or a couple of years worth of stability, and then and then having a bunch of people kind of like whine about like oh, three or four years of stability, that's nothing. And it's like, well, okay, I mean, maybe try being an actor, like just like yeah, thicken up that skin a little bit, fella.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

I I I remember I like I had a big aha moment of like, oh, this industry owes me nothing. Like I I I'm not I can't sit here and get upset if things don't go my way. It's so out of my control anything to do with casting. Because I could be the best actor in the room that goes in for a role, but I'm not right for it. And that's that's not any of my business. Uh, and and I'm not going to convince them or myself otherwise that I'm better for that role, even if I'm more talented. So, like, unless that perfect moment comes together and kismet, like and the perfect role comes up to me that I'm right for and it happens to all come together, I've got to be doing something to create, like you're saying, a foundation that I actually have to stand on. So I'm not each time I get told no, I just fall on my ass and you know, have to pick myself up again.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Which is which is tough. I and I never got over that part of it. I never got over the like, how do you pick yourself, you know, because like I was in LA for I don't remember the exact dates, but not a full year. You know what I mean? Like I was getting beat up for parts by like guys that I would that I would like work with it at the at the like labor ready and stuff, right? You know, and it's like being right for the part, especially if you're just starting out and you're getting a lot of non-speaking stuff. You just have to look right for the background, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

And and the other thing I'll say about it too, it's like I there I've had so many close calls. Like there are so many other multiverses where like I've got I've booked huge things where it's just been down to me and one other person, and I tested. And when I didn't get it, a week later my manager dropped me. And I'm like, You dropped me? I was second in line to get that job. Like, I'm clearly doing something right. Um, and then another manager immediately picked me up, and then I tested again for another role. And then I and then I there was this other one where like I was the choice for by the director, the producers, everyone wanted me, and then they decided just the studio decided not to do the show. So it's like you never like it's just such a wild it's a wild what am I doing? It is a wild choice of a life, you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Yeah, an interesting choice to be sure, though. Sure. Like as interesting as my resume may be, it's never gonna be as interesting as yours. I don't know about that. But I I think that this idea of like uh, you know, kind of what we're talking about, like building your brand. Yeah, and that's too like when like I because I do some like the this podcast, um, some like writing on LinkedIn and Substack and like different things where it's like, okay, well, if you're out trying to find people to work for, like a resume is just not good enough anymore. And I like it that I'm not saying that it's valueless, but like in a world where you can show people instead of just tell them on a in you know, letters on a page, right? If somebody can click through and hear, you know, and hear your energy and hear the way your voice sounds, right? And see some clips of you, like uh see some clips of you, like your real or whatever. Like your real used to be something that you like had to find somebody who could edit and what, but your real could be anything now, right? Your real is literally just like your Instagram page is your real. I could just scroll through and be like, see your Try Guy stuff, I could see your podcast clips, like you know, I can see your animation, like I can see your animation stuff because you're putting it up there. You don't you don't really need any effort except for like to do some basic editing on you know our little phone machines, but like building that brand makes it more likely that those opportunities will connect, right? If somebody's like, hey, actually, I saw this guy who would be right at least to get you in the room, right? It might not get you the job, but like getting in the room is like that's like the impossible thing, is just get in the room, right?

SPEAKER_00 29:18

I I had been told by my acting coach uh years ago in like maybe 2013 or something, saying, You have a good voice, you should do voiceover. And I said, How do I do that? And he said, I don't know. And uh so years later, I was like, Well, you know, I have a microphone, I have a computer, I could record my own voiceover reel. And it took me a while because I kept dragging my feet. But basically what I did is I just listened to other people's reels. And I listened to their commercial reels, and I stole the copy from their commercial reels and changed it a little bit, and then I recorded myself, and then I went to YouTube and I ripped sound effects and music and I made it sound like it came from a real gig. And then I did the same thing for animation. I thought, well, what kind of voices can I do? And I started doing some voices, and then I thought thank you. And I thought, like, what would this character say? And so I'd write a three-line little script for each of these voices, and I did the same thing. I pulled sound effects, I recorded it, I made it sound like it came from something real, and there I had an animation reel and a voy and a commercial reel, and I sent it out to different agents. I got an agent, and then my manager was like, Oh, you do voiceover, pitch me for something. I booked that first thing, this movie Fireheart with Kenneth Brandon, William Sh William Shatner, and Olivia Cook. And they flew me out to they flew me out there. But it was because I, and it wasn't even because social media, it was because we have all the equipment we need to to create that brand as an actor. You know, I can use all of these tools in front of me to build my own reel, to show you, like, well, this is what my voice can do. This is why you should work with me.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Yeah, I I love that. I I mean I love I love the fact that it democratizes that stuff more. It get it is it's not it's not that it's easy to know how to do it, right? You still have to figure out what is a reel supposed to be, etc. But like the the fact that you're like, okay, well, I need what a$200 microphone or whatever and some basic stuff. Like this used to be way harder to do, and now it's not. Like you can do I mean you can and you could do the gig, you could do a lot of gigs from your home studio at this point.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

I did. I can I tell you that voiceover is what kept me alive through the pandemic and then also through the double strike that we had a few years ago because animation was not a contract that was being renegotiated during the SAG and writers guild strike. Um, so I recorded everything from this garage for Big Nate. So two seasons of a show completely from home over Zoom and then continued to be able to work while nobody else was able to work on camera because animation was still good to go. And it kept me with health insurance because the way SAG works is you have to make a certain amount of money under SAG each year to qualify for their health insurance. And so that kept me and my wife on health insurance for six years.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

That's wild, man. Yeah. Do you think that y'all would have if you had not had the animation voiceover thing, would you be in LA today? Do you think?

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Yes. I yeah. I mean, like that there's nowhere else I can be. Yeah. I'm dog I'm dogged about it. I think I think one, yes, it was a great way, but maybe I would have found some other way. It just happened that because I like you're saying, like I just keep trying, I keep poking and knocking on different doors and seeing not only which one do I enjoy and inspires me, but also which one gets me something back. Like I tried to knock on the door of writing. It I had a writing partner, we wrote a feature and a couple of other scripts. It just didn't turn me on, but I'm happy that I tested that and I may go back to it someday.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Um well, I think that uh we're when we come back, we gotta take a quick break. But when we come back, we're gonna talk about knocking on a bunch of different doors because I think you're doing it uh better than anybody in the game. So you guys stick with us. We're gonna be right back.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

I'm so sorry, everyone, but we're getting it going. Oh, I guess they like it. I thought they wouldn't be into it, but they like it.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

What does he got on there, man?

SPEAKER_00 34:31

Let's see. I got I got one of these.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Oh gosh. That's great. That one's gotta come back. Bring it back in like 20 minutes when we've all forgotten that it's there.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:43

Uh, you got some voice changes? You got some voice high, voice low.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

I do. Let's see what I got here. Yeah, I gotta do a little bit of something.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Um, or like if I'm far away. Hey, George! George, can we start the podcast?

SPEAKER_01 35:00

I can't hear you. I'm so sorry. I can't hear you. Okay. He's been killed by AI. Holy shit. That's uh we're gonna talk about how actors are getting killed by AI. What a great segue. Pretty good, pretty good. Okay, we were mentioning before mentioning before the break, uh, you're knocking on a lot of doors, man. Get it back together. I'm here. I'm having a great time. We're going from one and action. We're back with I'm just kidding. Uh you're knocking on a lot of you're knocking on a lot of doors. You talked about writing, you've, you know, you're you're coaching, you're acting, you're doing uh you're doing voiceover, you're doing a podcast, uh, which I love. Uh what what is the like what's the impetus to knock on a lot of doors? Is it just because there it is so hard to find opportunity?

SPEAKER_00 35:58

Like yeah, and I think there's just like I get bored, you know, I get bored doing the same thing for a long time. And so I there's a there's that like creative itch in me to try something new, to get into a new venture. And you know, that's been really great with Try Guys, because while I joined the cast in 2024, I've been doing videos with them since 2020, um, here and there, and it it constantly makes me uncomfortable. Um because I'm so if you give me a script and a genre and a POV to come from, I thrive. Like that, I can do that in my sleep, and it brings me a lot of joy. But the idea of now Ryan has to be like I have to not know who the character is, but I have to know who Ryan is and what my function is in this improv uh experience with people who've been doing it for 10 years and the intimidation factor that comes up. Like I think part of it is like I want to keep putting myself in places to be uncomfortable, um, so that I can continue to grow in some way. So part of it is looking for new things to create just joy and creative uh fulfillment. Um, and part of it is that I just don't want to become stagnant or become like, oh, well, I guess I'm good at teaching, so now I'll teach forever. And it's like, no, I'm good at teaching. I before the pandemic hit, I was coaching and teaching nonstop. I had two classes and I would spend all day coaching and taping actors. And when the pandemic hit, I realized, oh, I haven't put a lot of time into my actual acting career. Everything has been in service of other actors. And it also made me realize like, I don't have to say yes to everyone. I can be more selective. And when I made that choice, my acting actually had another bump in uh in booking and positivity. And it's because I put my focus there. So it's just the realization of like where I put my focus, I will thrive.

SPEAKER_04 37:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

Um, and so just making sure that wherever I'm putting that focus is something that's actually brings me some kind of joy and fulfillment.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

And how do you how do you think about or are you actively thinking about like because you've got this podcast, how many episodes are you in? 24 or something like that?

SPEAKER_00 38:14

24. 25 just dropped today.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

Oh, okay. Well, congrats, man. Thank you. So 25 episodes in. How how are you thinking about like the duration, or do you think of this stuff up front? Because like starting a new project, like a podcast, for example, I mean, may in today's day and age, today's day and age might not be might not be might not be relevant to the extent that you want it to be until you've got like a hundred episodes. Right. So so pretty much everything is kind of like a to it to a certain extent, like a game of consistency. You can't decide you want to be an actor and then give up a year later, right? So, like, how do you think about like balancing the like I want to knock on a bunch of doors, but I've also and and this was a big one for me, right? When I was like when I left Orlando, I decided I was just gonna do music because trying to get gig music gigs and acting gigs was like at the same time was like eating me alive. So I was like, that's always been the thing for me is like deciding like knocking out a bunch of doors, love to do it, deciding where to like focus. How do you balance those things?

SPEAKER_00 39:22

You know, for me, I I thought, well, I want to do something that it I kind of felt pushed by Try Guys. I felt pushed by getting this new fan base and new eyeballs coming at me and wanting to have something that I was actually able to provide. And I I toyed around with some different ideas, like, oh, maybe I should start doing a bunch of sketches with other actors. Um, and uh or what what is it that's going to be uh fun for me and also fun for this new audience that's coming in? And it really came down to the authenticity of it. I authentically love going to theater, yeah, and I authentically love then talking to somebody else about theater, and I love uh propping up what seems to be something that's like ignored a little bit in Los Angeles, which is the incredible on-stage performances and and productions that are happening out here. And um, it kind of happened in a kismet way where I was doing this shoot in New Orleans with Try Guys, and some of the other guys were like, dude, you got to get into merchandising. And I thought, oh, okay. And I didn't really love the idea, but I did love the that it brought me to the thought of like, well, if I was to merchandise, what is it that I am providing to the Tri-Guys? And I thought, oh, I'm like the theater guy. I'm the most theater guy of any of these guys. They're they're all buzzfeed guys.

SPEAKER_04 40:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Um, and then I got invited to a show at the Amundsen Theater and Juliet, and it was because one of the marketing directors was a Tri-Guys fan. And so she invited me and it said influencer on my little ticket. And I went, oh, theater kid? And Kelly was all excited, my wife, because she's like, I'm gonna get invited to so many shows now.

SPEAKER_04 41:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

And I went, actually, no, you're not, because I'm gonna invite somebody else.

SPEAKER_01 41:12

Take somebody else. And that went over, how did that go over? That was good.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

It was yeah, no, it's it's really so it it kind of came together in that way of like I was looking for something, and that thing presented itself to me. And I really did say, like, before I made the leap, I thought if this show never gets monetized, if I never get any a cent out of doing it, would I still do it? Yeah, and 100% I would.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Um because I the the actual like and for many theater people, this is the dream. To see theater and then be able to sit down and talk about it for an hour is kind of the dream come true. And what I've loved about it too is bringing in people who know a lot about theater has been just as uh rewarding as bringing in people who know nothing about theater in that conversation. Um, I actually was talking to somebody else because they were like, all shows should start at 5 p.m. So we can get dinner after the show and talk about it. Because shows start too late after it's a yeah, you like you just go home.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

Yeah. Yeah, I do I like that. Um, and I always I I will say too that like it's been so like I don't know if nostalgics is is the right word, but like listening, just like spending some time listening to your podcast. I was like, I was like, man, I want to go do some theater. I haven't had that thought in like I don't know, uh many, many years, probably 15 or 16 years, but just like thinking it, like hearing you guys talk about it. The other thing that I think is really cool about it, um, because because really this is just like 60 minutes for me to tell you how cool you are.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

Um yeah, and I'm love, and can I tell you, I'm loving every second of it.

SPEAKER_01 42:58

Okay, I don't know if that was the yeah, I I can yes, that's the one, right? That's the one we needed right there. But I think I think another cool part of it that like um a lot of interview podcasts kind of miss, and I'm saying this on my interview podcast, right? Is that like you're you're doing an interview, right? Like the podcast is kind of an interview, but then you have another, you have another you have a backdrop for the interview is like we're gonna talk about this, uh, we're gonna talk about this theater experience that we had. So not that I have anything against like a pure interview podcast, as long as there's some sort of like a theme, which is you know what I'm doing here, but having that backdrop of like the theater, we're gonna talk about theater. I'm talking to people who are, you know, who are at least adjacent to the to show business. And then we've got kind of a backdrop of like we went and saw this show. So we're gonna tell you about the cast, we're gonna tell you about the characters. If there's a lull in the conversation, you've got the program right there, and you can be like, let me tell you about the Like that's great. If there's a little art conversation, I I I just have to make something up, or you start hitting the soundboard, or I start hitting those buttons again.

SPEAKER_00 44:08

And then that doesn't matter if they make sense, George. It's just that they're fun. Um, but yeah, it is, it is, and and what I like about it too is everyone gets something out of it. The theaters get something out of it because they're getting more publicity uh based on the the things that I'll put out on social media about having seen the show. My guest is getting something out of it because they get to come and see a show, which some of them don't ever do, and usually it's something that they didn't realize how much they were going to love. And I get the most out of it.

SPEAKER_01 44:37

Um, yeah, because it's just like sponsorship dollars. All those sweet, sweet sponcy dolls. Sponcy dolls. Oh, that's the name of this episode, Sponcy Dolls with Ryan Gracie.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

I love it. Seems wrong, but I don't think we should change.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

I think, but because people are gonna be like, what is that? What is spongy dolls?

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Yeah, sponcy dolls? They'll have to listen.

SPEAKER_01 44:58

And how far into the episode are they gonna explain it? Certainly within the first 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

No, maybe 40. Maybe 40 minutes, they'll finally get to what a spongy doll is.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Yeah, minute 41, spongy dolls. Skip to minute 41, spongy dolls. Uh no, I love it. And I I want to talk a little bit too about the business side of this because I think that um, you know, like one of the things that you're doing, and like one of the things that I didn't realize until I was in like kind of out of the entertainment industry was that like I was always managing a small business. Like as an actor, you're managing a small business, right? Like you have to think about your marketing, your distribution list. Like you've got you've got your assets, right? Which is like I mean, you're one of your biggest assets, but then you've also got you've also got all the print prints that you need, right? You've got your you've got like all of this stuff. Sometimes you're managing a website, you know, because you're like, oh, I've got to have this digital president.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

You're obviously you have to have all your equipment because everything is self-taped from home. You have to have your entire community that's going to be your readers for self-tapes because that's how you're actually providing the auditions that come in your way, like actually getting it done.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

So you're a business. I didn't realize I didn't realize how many business skills I had learned from being in the entertainment industry until I wasn't in the entertainment industry. And and and people have asked me a lot, like, well, how did you get started? How did what was the first six months, first year like? And it was like, man, it was no different than going to LA and being an actor, just being like, Holy shit, what what do I do next? What do I do now? I have to make a list. I here's the people I have to call, right? Because that's what you're doing. You go out there and you're like, here's the people I have to call. Um, I just took a class that says I have to send postcards to all these people and I'm freaking the fuck out, right? Like, and that's kind of running a business. So, like, I'm I'm you're already you've been running a business. Yeah. The the podcast, the podcast is kind of like a new extension of that. We're like, um, and I guess I'll ask first, is like, does this feel like the most Ryan project that has that you've done? Because it's it's your name on the marquee, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:06

Yeah. Um, you know, it's it's the one that's most public, I'd say. Like, I think that I have made a lot of like Ryan businesses. I wrote this, you would love this script, by the way. I wrote this script, Dad Band, with my buddy Sterling. I love it already. And like that was a very Ryan project. We also wrote a um a pod, we wrote a narrative children's musical podcast called Dangerous Danger. And that was like a very Ryan, it had so much of me in it. So I think this is the one that it didn't just stay on the page. It actually like I started it, I had the idea for it, and a month later I had my first episode released. Yeah. Um so I think it's the one that had has the most legs in the sense that I actually went from A all the way to to whatever letter is releasing it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:57

Um, I think.

SPEAKER_00 47:58

Yeah. I went from A to N. Um, so uh I'd say in that way, yeah, it is the most me. And it's the most to me also because there's not any character or anything to hide behind. It's just me telling you, and I'm exposing one thing that Tri Guys has helped me with is to just like know, like I can be open and vulnerable about my real life, and that actually sometimes it's not even about being funny. Sometimes it's just it's actually more important to be authentic and honest. And that's the thing that I've seen as you know, especially as I'm testing out the podcast, but also what actually works on Instagram or TikTok in order to bring people over to the podcast. What are the things that are actually getting hooked in to my audience members? It's the funny stuff, but it's also when someone just really says their truth. Um, and so I've learned a lot from that aspect of it. And I was gonna say one of the things, just business wise, that is wild. The thing about LA too and being the product, it's every single interaction that you have, whether it's in the industry or not, is important. I've gotten job, I got a recently I got a VO dubbing job from my barber, um, cool, who is now directing VO uh dubbing gigs because he speaks Japanese and would do a lot of the translations for them. And then they said, why don't you come on and direct? And so he brought me in to work on it because I was a I told him I was an actor, I told him I was doing voiceover, and I was a nice guy to be around. Like those three things made me more like something that someone that he wanted to hire for an actual job.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

And you have great hair, which I think a barber appreciates.

SPEAKER_00 49:32

Yeah. I mean, he he was just like, please tell everyone who does your hair, please. So we we feed each other.

SPEAKER_01 49:37

So who's your barber? Can you shout him out? Can we shout out your barber?

SPEAKER_00 49:40

Yes, Teddy Matthews. Teddy Matthews is the best barber in LA. He he was doing I have I was using him when I was doing skin fades, and I still use them now with the long hair.

SPEAKER_01 49:49

Yeah, yeah. You heard it here. Teddy Matthews. You said you were gonna shout him out and you did.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

I promised it. I I emailed you, like, hey, can you please can we please organically find a way to plug Teddy?

SPEAKER_01 49:57

Well, it kind of defeats the purpose now that you're talking about that email that we had it.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

But again, authenticity, honesty. What am I gonna be? Other actually, I made it up, okay? There was no email.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

Yeah, there wasn't. But although our email thread leading up to this recording was very entertaining to me. Yeah, uh, we just both had our AI assistants talking to each other. That's right. Uh that was a good time. Um, yeah, no, I I love that. The the power of the power of networking, the power of like run running this business is like a it's been fun for me, I think, to do a podcast because it is, you know, like my you know, food business has taken on a life of its own. Like it, it is a big it's a big business now, which yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

I love seeing Yellow Bird. Whenever I go to Costco, whenever I go to Ralph's, whenever I go to Whole Foods and I see your stuff there, I'm almost always either like making a video with it or I'm texting you how much I love seeing you everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 50:57

Yeah, and I appreciate the I appreciate that. It I doing the podcasts and doing this sort of stuff is really like um it kind of I like getting my hands all the way around it, you know, where it's like it's like if something doesn't go out on time, like that's a hundred percent my fault, right? If I say, if I say we're publishing on Monday and it goes out on Tuesday, like that's my fault. And it's kind of a little it's like a little broken promise to the viewership. I mean, like people are not gonna give you a hard time about it, but like if over time your podcast always comes out on Thursday at 7 a.m., then there's like a level of trust that you build in your brand and in the product and all that sort of stuff. So like um what what's what's been what's been kind of the most interesting thing for you about this particular endeavor?

SPEAKER_00 51:48

Uh the most interesting thing, well, one, I love new tech. So getting to like upgrade all my little tech pieces as I go through is also something that scratches an itch for me. Um, new microphones, new stands, new recording uh implements and software, but uh and learning more about Premiere Pro for editing and Logic Pro for sound recording and editing. But the biggest thing is I make a mistake, I made a mistake with almost every single one of the first 20 episodes. And it was always a different mistake, but which made me happy. Like I'm like, okay, good, I'm growing and I'm learning. Um, but like for the very first episode that I recorded, I have two cameras, and the camera that was recording me was so out of focus it was unusable. And like you're saying, I made this promise that I'm gonna release this podcast on YouTube and on every like listening network, every podcast network. So like I can't have my first foot out the door not follow that promise and not, you know, um deliver on that promise. So I got back into the podcast studio and I played the whole podcast just on my headphones and set up my camera in focus and re-recorded myself talking to nobody as I recorded my half of the podcast talking to him, and then I Frankensteined the first take that was in focus of Ben, my guest, Ben Giroux, and the second take that I re-recorded with the earwig together to make it seem like a single conversation. So I think that is not only the mistake.

SPEAKER_01 53:33

That's what that's a wild story.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

Yeah, it was crazy. And I was so I was editing it while I was in Carmel doing a play. So I'd go back to my hotel room and I'd edit, edit, edit, and then have to go to rehearsal and then come back home and edit, edit, edit throughout the rest of the night as I was trying to force these two things to think to seem like a singular conversation.

SPEAKER_01 53:53

Yeah, that's wild. I I've had a couple of those, not that not that extreme, but a couple where it was like, I got, you know, maybe my guest had a the the audio track didn't upload right or something like that. Like I've had some real nightmares of like the audio didn't sync up properly, even though the software is supposed to do that in the background, and then you're like, oh my god, I gotta pull every piece apart and then be like, is this where I started talking? Yeah, I think so. And then you've just got like that little bit where it's like that matches up here. This answer sound, this answer sound, this thing I said sounds like the answer to a question that he just said, and it still wasn't perfect, but that man, it wasn't video, and I will say that like I did not come out of the gate with video because I was like, I know I'm gonna have problems. That feels like one problem I don't want to deal with just yet.

SPEAKER_00 54:43

So yeah, I kind of went in maybe a bigger leap than I had to, but I'm very happy I did because even though there were some growing pains along the way, now I have a system that is easy and not easy, but that I know how to work.

SPEAKER_01 55:00

Yeah. One of the things that I like about this style is like once you kind of get the system, in my experience, once you kind of get the system rolling, you do less edits. Like the more you the more you do it, the more you're like, okay, I can maybe edit out of dead space, but like this podcast will this particular one probably will not have that many edits because of how good you are at jumping on cues, right? Um, and and how much you've got like the crickets in the back if you don't.

SPEAKER_00 55:31

Right. But we'll never need those.

SPEAKER_01 55:38

No, we'll never need those. I'm glad we don't have to use them.

SPEAKER_00 55:41

Um so bullet dodge.

SPEAKER_01 55:44

And I can edit that out if I wanted to.

SPEAKER_00 55:47

Right, but why? It's so fun.

SPEAKER_01 55:49

It's so fun.

SPEAKER_00 55:49

You gotta commit to the bit. Yeah, no, I have noticed that too. Like there's certain things that I've learned about myself through doing this that I want to adjust. I want, I've noticed that I can be a better listener, that sometimes they're saying things, but they're going right through because I'm so focused on either the structure of the podcast and maybe I'll miss an opportunity or a nugget that I should take advantage of. And I'm taking that not only into the next podcast, but I'm taking that into life of like, okay, people are constantly delivering me nuggets. How can I take those and and run with it and yes and them back? Um, so it's to to witness that is one, a little vulnerable because it forces you to see your own flaws, but it's also wonderful because that's where all the that's what I'm talking about. I love the discomfort because that's where I'm getting to grow in some way.

SPEAKER_01 56:37

Yeah, I I feel that, man. I'm I'm so like when I listen to my episodes back, I'm like, did you not hear what he just said? Respond to that. But I could hear myself being like, there's a there's also that element of like, oh shit, what am I gonna say next?

SPEAKER_00 56:52

Yeah, I'm listening to you, but I'm also listening to what my plan is.

SPEAKER_01 56:55

I'm listening to what my plan is, I'm listening to me as well, and I'm louder because I'm right here inside my dome.

SPEAKER_00 57:01

Yeah. Um totally, I totally that's that's how it is. And and it's you you try and you know, and also just having some grace with myself to say, that's okay. I think we still had a successful podcast, and and the next one I'll I'll be better at being a conversationalist, and I'll be better at making them the star and and finding a way to like just get better. I guess I don't have another way to say it.

SPEAKER_01 57:25

Just get better.

SPEAKER_00 57:26

Just get better. Be best is what I always say.

SPEAKER_01 57:29

Be best. You say be best. That's tough, man. That's a tough, that's a tall order. Yeah. Uh speaking of tall orders, this is how I do my segues. It's wow, it's so good, by the way. Yeah, thank you. It's always speaking of, uh, but speaking of tall orders, let me give you the let me give you the tall order of like um searching and maybe trying to get at what do you like what do you what is it that you think that you're uh optimizing for? Because one of the things uh one of the things that I see a lot in like, you know, I'm kind of in business-y business land, and there are a lot of people over here that optimize for maximum financial outcome, right? That before they go in, like if they start a hot sauce business, they start it because they see a double-digit growth in the hot sauce category over the next 15 years projected by whatever, right? That there's some like financial reason to start it, other than like people are like, Why did you start a hot sauce brand? I'm like, because I fucking love hot sauce, and that is a unique answer in this industry, which is weird to me, right? It's like, why would you but there are a lot of people in business e business land who are like who are like maximum financial outcome? And it's like you don't get a theater degree with the goal of maximum financial outcome. That's just not what you're optimizing for. So, like you've been doing all of these things, you've been knocking on all of these doors, you're doing the podcast, you're doing all of this this whole gamut of stuff that's out there, and from my point of view, it seems to bring you great joy. I don't know, you seem like a joyful person. So, I what is it, I guess, that you are optimizing for? Like, what do you want the most of?

SPEAKER_00 59:15

Yeah, I think I'm optimizing for opportunities to connect and to perform. Like I'm optimizing growing my community and I'm optimizing a bit, and I think I feel like, by the way, this moment right now is an opportunity to perform. I don't think of just performance as a sense of like memorizing a script and getting on stage and performing it or doing an improv piece or whatever. It's connecting with another human being that in a way that other people are going to witness is performance. And so the fact that I built this podcast and it led to you being interested in bringing me onto your podcast was something I'm optimizing for. I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to grow my audience and grow my community so that I get more opportunities to continue to do the things that I love, which is to connect and to connect in so many different ways, in ways that I'm comfortable with and ways that I'm uncomfortable with. Because I think all of that is feeding this creative itch that was put into me either before birth or when I joined uh SAG at seven, um, that I just have this want to spend to spend time entertaining, to spend time connecting, and to to do all of that, not in a void, but with an audience of some kind. And so I think I think that's that's what I'm really because i i if if you look at each of the things that I am doing, uh be it Try Guy's voiceover, acting on the teaching, or the podcast, it's all leading to that. It's all growth of community, it's all growth of opportunity to perform.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:51

Yeah, I love that. Well said. Um it's stuff you're you're you're kind of talking about stuff that I've thought a lot about too, is that I there's a there's a part of me that optimizes for a similar thing where like having a having a space to have a connection that is that is kind of defined, if that makes sense. Like the like the podcast for me is like a opportunity to say, here's an hour, and here's a here's a framework, here's a box, right? And it is it is going to get viewed. So there's a production element to it where you're like, okay, well, my diction's important, the way that I edit it is important, the fact that I come prepared is important, right? Like, I think that that's one of the that's one of the core things that like I I mean you do you probably remember the uh Stanislavski and actor prepares, right? I remembered that that was like, oh man, like everybody talks about like the nerves and the like and it's like oh if you do a hundred hours of preparation before you s show up for that one hour of performance, you're like it's like the nerves are they're not gone, but it's like you just redirect them into that thing, and and just having a framework, having a box that you can put all of that work into is is uh I I love it. And um, I love the connection too. So that's well said, and I appreciate that. What what was you mentioned this earlier, but like what was the what was like one of the most kind of like nerve-wracking things you did on Try Guys? Like what was the what was the most uncomfortable you felt?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:28

I know it comes up really quickly. So um I think there's one thing that comes up for me is that uh look, I went to high school with Keith, who is an OG Try Guy. He started Try Guys at BuzzFeed, Keith Habersberger. And we did so many plays together and we were very good friends and we kept be kind we kept being friends for a very long time. And then when he invited me to be part of the Try Guys, I was like, this is amazing. But now I'm dealing with not like my friend who was kind of my equal in high school. He's now an expert in this field and I'm a novice. And so a lot of times I know that I have daddy, like I'm I I constantly cast people as my dad in my life. Yeah. Just because my dad was always traveling as he was making money for the family and working his ass off to provide for us. And so because of that, I'm I didn't, he wasn't there as much. So I would I just put people in that position in my life. And I've put Keith in this daddy role, and it makes it really hard to be a performance partner with someone that you've put on a pedestal. Um, and we did this one shoot for this show, phoning it in. And one of the aspects of it, it's these chefs that are in another room on a payphone that are and and I'm competing with Keith in the kitchen. He has his own chef, I have my own chef, and they're telling us instructions over a payphone on what to do. Um, and then they have to present the dishes that we created to other celebrity chefs um while we in another room feed them lines to say through uh headphones and microphones. And I got so nervous to s to not I thought I have to be interesting, I have to be funny, I have to be witty, I have to be on, and Keith is so good at it, and I clammed up. I couldn't say anything, and I felt like such a failure. I had to uh message him afterward to apologize for how much I felt like a failure because he was feeding me lines to then feed to the chef, and he had said to me, Ryan, you say something. I'm like, I can't, I have nothing. Oh man. And it's and it it's it was scary, and it still haunts me a little bit. Um, but I did just do another episode of that show, and uh I I I was uh with a different actor, but Keith was in the room with the chefs while we were feeding them, and I could hear his laughter off of the things I was making the chefs say, and I'm like, okay, there's one step toward me getting over this new fear I've built for myself. Like rather than that happen and me say, Well, I guess I can never do try guys again. It became okay, that happened, and now I gotta figure this out because it's I I can't allow myself to let this relationship be the thing that holds me back from succeeding because I know Keith wants me to succeed and I want to succeed, and this block is holding me back.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:12

Yeah, yeah. But you gotta try. Guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:15

Hey, I'm just a guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:17

Just a guy who's out here.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:19

Just a guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:20

Well, I think all the stuff I I remember seeing that uh I think on Insta or something, and all the stuff you do is amazing. And and I've got a gift for you. We're gonna get dad band produced. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:33

Yes, let's go. We're getting it produced.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:36

Yeah, yeah, we're doing it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:37

Hey, we're doing the scene. You're doing it side and scene.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:39

Sight and scene. We're doing it vertical. I hope that's good with you. We're going vertical.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:43

I don't care. Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:44

It's gonna be 100 one minute segments.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:50

You read my mind. You read my freaking mind. Ryan, where can people find you? And I wanna this list is gonna be long, so take a big breath.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:58

No, it's I'm gonna Make it real easy for you because everything you need to find is in two locations. Go to Instagram and just check out at Mucho Scarcias. At Muchos Garcias. That's my personal page on Instagram. And I'm and the links on there lead you to everything else. And if you want to know more about the podcast, go to at Big TheatreKid Energy. At Theater R-E, because it's a little fancy. So you can check out the thing on at Big TheatreKid Energy. It's on YouTube, it's on TikTok, it's on Instagram, it's the same name everywhere. Go check that out. Go give it a follow, subscribe, rate, review. Just like you're gonna do for this podcast. Give it eight out of five stars. And yeah, so that's that's where you can find everything you need to know about Ryan Garcia.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:48

Yeah, you've got just Garcia ever since I've known you, so it was a good pun. It's a good pun.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:56

I'm really proud of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:00

I don't think so. I think your peak is still out of you. And I'm proud of you. You're doing a great job. I'm just keep seeing all the amazing stuff that you're doing. Go subscribe and listen to the Big Theater Kid Energy. I think, even if you're not a theater kid, I think that you really enjoy the conversations, you'll really enjoy the guests, and you'll really enjoy Ryan. If you've enjoyed him here, you're gonna enjoy him even more in his own playground. Ryan, thanks for coming. You guys, thanks for coming. Uh I love you. And I'll see you next week. Bye.