We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dan Rathmann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

“EFFORT MEETS FATE”
The Dan Rathmann Story

I’ve told my story on my start on becoming a local and national performing comedian, but that didn’t come without risk. In the comedy world, they talk about paying dues, which means sometimes you perform just to get your name out and even lose money to get the opportunity to do so. Performing in front of crowds of 5 to 20 people will humble you but also give you an experience that many may never get in life. When I think about risk, I think about how taking time away from your regular job to fly across the country to perform in front of strangers. I think about putting your own money into your flight and hotel to chance making more than the cost of travel and lodging to even perform. In less than 2 years, I’ve been very blessed with opportunities to perform but all that came with risk of loss but it introduced me to very talented people who connected me to other opportunities for future shows that could make up for any losses. I say to anyone who reads this, if you use Effort Meets Fate to follow your dreams, then the risk will always be worth the outcome. A failed risk isn’t the end of the road. It’s a lesson in the book of life!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was raised in a small town, not many opportunities in the town outside of farming and work of that nature. Nothing wrong with that work, but that wasn’t my dream. My dream was to become an entertainer and to be paid to bring others happiness if only for a moment in time. Now like many others have experienced, life can throw us curve balls along the way. I pursued my dream after high school with auditions that I could afford to get to and worked many different jobs along the way and of course had children so the pursuit of my dream eventually was put on hold for well over a decade until February 2023 when I got the news of a mentor and very special person in my life passed away unexpectedly. My high school Theatre Arts teacher, Mrs. Rockey, was a believer in my career even before I was. In fact my last conversation with her was when I was working a security position and I ran into her and her husband in the food court having a dinner. As we were talking, she said “I thought you would be in Hollywood by now.” Now to some, that may be shrugged off but to me, when I heard of her passing, a fire lit inside me and from the pain came creation. I created the Effort Meets Fate philosophy and made it a way of life to honor my favorite teacher and to show my children that anything you want to do in life is possible through Effort. My journey is still going and I’ve gone from local comedian to national performing and currently working on building a tour. “Effort Meets Fate” is my story that continues along as my way of life.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would say, being inspirational to others along the journey, it’s great to get opportunities but it is a great feeling being told you’ve inspired someone else to pursue their dreams as well. You can be famous and alone or you can make a difference a long the way. I choose to make a difference and help guide others to their path to happiness.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We all start local, that being said, society should support local talents by going to shows, concerts and productions. I don’t care how many followers I have or how big my name is on a billboard, I think we all should humble ourselves and support local entertainment as a whole.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sleepcockenproductions.net
• Instagram: @danrathmanncomedy
• Facebook: @danrathmanncomedy
• Linkedin: Dan Rathmann
• Youtube: @danrathmanncomedy
• Yelp: SleepCocken Productions

Image Credits

Tucks Photography(Ian Tucker)