We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Goolsby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.
Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I’m the type of person who thrives when backed into a corner. My best projects and papers in school were almost guaranteed to be done right before the deadline. I guess you can call me a “clutch player” of sorts, or maybe more accurately, a chronic procrastinator. Nothing motivates me more than high stakes.
In 2022, I was stubbornly unemployed, living with my girlfriend, relying on freelance work and Instacart to get by financially. Essentially hellbent on trying to find a way to start doing comedy full-time. I was looking for the next step. I knew at some point I was going to have to hit the road but up until then, I had never traveled. Honestly, the thought alone was terrifying. I came up with excuses left and right on why I couldn’t. “It’s too expensive. What if I lose money (which I did)? I don’t want to put all those miles on my car.” Pushing back my goals further and further.
That April, we found out my girlfriend was pregnant. Immediately, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. Being a bit dramatic, I thought it was all over. I was never going to be a professional comic and started looking for a real job. After a string of bad interviews, I felt utterly defeated. How was I going to provide for my family? The only skill I had was writing and telling jokes. After a few more weeks of zero prospects, I made an executive decision. I was going to do stand-up comedy full-time.
Along with another comic, I was able to get some shows booked in Charleston, New Orleans, and Atlanta for late June and early July, 7 shows total. My first time on the road. In my mind, this was my big break. The first show in Charleston was amazing. Didn’t pay much but I was officially a professional comedian. Next was New Orleans where we had 4 shows lined up, including a double-headling gig at the Comedy House. We were down there for 10 days and made a whopping grand total of $5 before factoring in expenses. Our headlining show was canceled due to zero ticket sales and we only got paid for one show that had 4 audience members and a flying cockroach.
By the time we got to Atlanta, I was pretty frustrated. I had spent hundreds of dollars on gas and food with nothing to show for it. Once again, I felt defeated and just wanted to go home. But as the fates may have it, our first show in Atlanta was headlined by JC Currais, who was fresh off doing work for Disney Channel, Comedy Central, Conan, and a bunch of other dope comedy achievements. He gave me some of the best encouragement and wisdom I could have possibly received at that moment. Simply put, he told me to keep hitting the road and learn the business inside out. It’s one thing to get good at the craft but if you want to make money, you have to learn the business.
Once I got home, I was deadset on learning the business of comedy. I started producing my own shows, reaching out to comedy clubs, and networking with touring comics around the southeast. Within a few months, I was hitting the road regularly and actually turning enough profit to pay some bills. Now, almost a year after that first run of shows, I’m proud to say I’m a working comic. I’ve even been able to take my family with me on occasion and it’s all because I took that one crazy leap of faith.
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?
My journey to stand-up comedy started in high school. I spend most of my free time writing and filming sketches and vlogs for YouTube. After graduating, I went to my first open mic at The Idiot Box Comedy Club in Greensboro, NC. I kept going back for a few weeks but decided to stick to doing videos when I started college. About a year and a half later, I was going through a tough time and lost a lot of motivation for both YouTube and school. My friend and rapper Antion Scales invited me out to a show he was doing where they had a mixed open mic before he performed. I debated in my mind if I would give stand-up another shot and eventually gave in to the urge. I told a quick story about an incident with one of my roommates and it went surprisingly well. So well that afterward, the venue owner asked me to come back and perform at a showcase later that month and I haven’t stopped doing comedy since.
One thing I think is special about my comedy is how willing I am to be vulnerable. I’ve never shied away from talking about what was on my mind. I’m always going to be 100% me on stage and I feel like that allows me to connect with audiences everywhere I go.
The thing I’m most proud of is honestly the fact that I haven’t let life stop me from pursuing my dreams. It’s not about money, fame, or anything like that. It’s about being the best version of myself and enjoying the process. The highs, the lows, and in-betweens. The main takeaway I want people to have from me and my work is that there’s always a bright side. And the easiest way to find that is through love. Love for the craft, for the people that you hope to impact, and for yourself.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I love making people laugh. Period. That’s why I get on stage. That’s why I drive hours and hours on end. I want people to come to the show and forget about all the drama they got going on in their life. Check the baggage and the door and just have a good time. Hopefully, they can leave with a new perspective or in such a good mood that they leave the baggage on the way out. Life gets hard for everyone and it’s okay to joke about it.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was the idea of competing with everyone else. There isn’t a finite number of successes. I think that mentality causes you to focus on the wrong things in life, not to mention all the information and experiences you’ll miss out on because you want to compete instead of collaborate. It doesn’t take anything away from you to cheer for someone else. It doesn’t take anything away from you to work together. Especially creatively. If we learn together, we earn together.
When I started doing comedy, there were certain shows that everyone wanted to be on. If you did this show or that show, you were a ‘big dog’. When I started getting booked around the scene, I set my sights on those shows. After a while, I started getting frustrated, seeing other people get those shows. “How did such and such get booked for that and not me? Why don’t I get booked at this club? That person isn’t funnier than me.” It sounds so ridiculous to me now because when I finally got on those shows, I realized it was just a regular show. There was nothing special about it other than the flyer or the venue looked cool.
Even when people around me started seeing real success in comedy like going on Comedy Central, doing late-night, getting acting and writing gigs, and other cool stuff, I had to learn to clap for them. They didn’t take those opportunities from me, they earned it. I’m not the only person working hard. I didn’t lose anything. Now I celebrate everyone’s wins. I love to see it. Their success may even help me achieve my own so why would I waste energy being upset? Even if it doesn’t help me, it’s just cool to see someone you know doing great things. It inspires me to dig deeper into my craft. It lets me know that my goals aren’t as far off as I think. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goowapwitdaoowap.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goowapwitdaoowap
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoowapWitDaOowap
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/SirGoowap
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goowapwitdaoowap
- Other: My podcast ‘The Oowap: Philosophy of a Homie’: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theoowap