We were lucky to catch up with Corey Ryan Forrester recently and have shared our conversation below.

Corey Ryan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I started doing stand up when I was 16 years old but in a way I had been pursuing it my entire life. I knew what I wanted to be the first time I saw my Dad laugh at a comedian, and pretty quickly I was impersonating the funny people I saw on television as well as doing original “bits” at school. My second grade teacher signed my year book “can’t wait to see you on SNL one day!”

There was basically never a time in my life where I didn’t know what I’d end up doing. I go back and forth on whether I started exactly when I should have, or if I would’ve been better off to give college a shot, get some real world experience, and then start out when I had something of substance to talk about on stage.

That said, I am very happy with where my career is at right now so it’s hard to say I’d change anything. And on the plus side, by the time I actually DID have something of substance to say, I already had a good 10 years of stage presence under my belt!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in the south. North Georgia to be exact. When I was a kid I knew I wanted to be an entertainer and I knew it would be in the comedy space. However, until I saw a man by the name of Jeff Foxworthy, I didn’t even know they allowed southerners to be stand up comedians!

The reason I say this is because when me and my dad would watch The Tonight Show together, they always introduced the acts as “from The Comedy Store in LA” or “from New York City!” And my child brain just thought “oh well I guess that’s where they make comedians!”

The entertainment industry is wild because basically you just decide that you’re gonna be in it. It’s not like being a lawyer. No one asks to see your diploma and there’s really no set rules on when and how you advance. You may never make a dollar in your life, but at the same time, unlike most jobs there is absolutely no ceiling.

I was very lucky in that I made money on my first gig. I had been writing a blog on MySpace (showing my age here a bit:) and a local promoter (from Chattanooga, Tn) read it and sent me a message. I’m paraphrasing here but it was something like “hey kid, your blog is funny. The way you write almost seems like it would be a stand up comedy set”

I explained to him that that was intentional on account of that’s what I wanted to do. He then told me he’d like to hire me to perform at a Mexican restaurant. I would be hosting a variety show comprised of stand up comedians and musical acts. I told him that I didn’t think I was ready yet and then he said “I’ll give you a hundred bucks”

I changed my mind and said yes immediately. Gas was like 89 cents then and I liked cigarettes and beer. 100 dollars could get you a lot of those.

After being on stage one time, I was hooked. That said, it was probably 6 years before I made another dime from it haha. I didn’t realize going in how insane it was that I was being paid for my first ever gig. Like I said, comedy isn’t like any other job, but doing open mics for free in hopes of getting noticed by the club owner IS sort of like an internship. An unpaid one of course.

That was 20 years ago. It took me 12 years before I would actually file my taxes as a comedian. Since then every dollar I’ve made has been from something I created, whether that be jokes, books, tv scripts, sketches, etc. It bought my house, paid off all our cars, and feeds me, my wife, and my baby boy.

It was just as likely though that I would’ve never made another dollar. More likely actually. I’ve worked very hard but I’m also extremely lucky.

Although a good friend of mine named Whoopi (I won’t say her last name cause I don’t wanna be accused of name dropping) told me that luck is just where hard work meets opportunity.

You do have to have both on this crazy business .

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Quit using A.I. to generate sub par bullshit and don’t support “creators” who put out unoriginal “content” just to be putting something out. Also quit calling art “content”. There ya go. Short and sweet

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I like them because they make it easier to know who I shouldn’t take advice from or talk to. If you start talking about NFT’s in any way other than “aren’t these stupid?” Then I know I can save valuable time and just walk away from the conversation. (I’ll pretend I’m going to the bathroom though. I’m not a jerk {but if I was I’d be the Cool Jerk})

Contact Info:

• Website: https://CoreyRyanForrester.com
• Instagram: CoreyRForrester
• Facebook: Corey Ryan Forrester (Fan page)
• Twitter: @CoreyRForrester
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/coreyforrestercomedy
• Other: BonusCorey.com (podcasts, essays, videos, more)