We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Cunningham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.
Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I would have absolutely started earlier. Growing up I thought I was going to be a rockstar. The problem was, I never took it seriously. I always just played the part. But I knew I wanted to be in front of people and make them happy. Then I saw Kevin Hart live and knew I had found my calling. I could give people the same excitement with humor. I was class clown in high school, and I could always make a room full of people laugh, so it just made sense. I think had I been pursuing comedy through high school, I would have had a huge following and built in audience. Unfortunately it took a little while for me to realize that. But looking back on it now, I think I needed to learn more life experiences so I could have something to talk about.
Alex, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a stand-up comedian. I really got into comedy because I knew I could help spread joy. I have always loved making people laugh, so it was a very natural transition. I come from a very rough background. Both of my parents committed suicide when I was young, so I knew the darker side of life. I know everyone has a story and life can be very hard, so if I’m able to help distract from that for a while, I have done my job. In my comedy, I tend to talk about my life story and the experiences I deal with day to day. I feel this makes my content relevant to all audiences. Even if people have not gone through the exact situation, I do my best to frame it in a way that they can find a connection to their own lives. I think what really sets me apart from others in this industry is my willingness to push the boundaries. I like to talk about uncomfortable situations that provoke a feeling. I’ve had really great feedback thus far.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, it’s the connections I make: I don’t mean industry connections, but real human connections. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten off stage and someone will come up to me and tell me a personal story that they felt was closely related to a joke I had told. I love these stories. I love these people. My sole purpose in this industry is to inspire people and shed light when maybe it’s hard to find. One situation in particular, I had just done a set in Maine, and someone wrote me on Instagram almost immediately after I was done. They explained to me that they were struggling with their father being diagnosed with cancer and it was really hard to cope with. But hearing me talk about my parents and turn a tragedy into something we can laugh about, made that feel like everything was going to be okay. That’s the most rewarding part of this crazy journey.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is an ever changing beast. I’ve spent 10 years trying to build my pages, and it wasn’t until very recently that I started to see some serious growth. When I started to just go all in, no holdbacks, my numbers jumped. When you are trying to build your channels, you have to fully commit. Post consistently. Find your “thing” and do it wholeheartedly. I am a comedian, so I post funny reels and crazy thoughts all day long. If it runs through my head, I probably post it. But then again, I am in Facebook jail at the time of this interview, so maybe don’t take my advice about EVERY thought. I guess you can call me a Facebook convict. I’m going to add that to my resume. Makes me sound tough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Realalexcunningham.com
- Instagram: @therealalexcunningham
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/therealalexcunningham
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/@therealalexcunningham
- Other: TikTok @realalexcunningham
