We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Ruppert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kevin, appreciate you joining us today. undefined
I think with building Bricky’s Comedy Club from scratch we’ve had to innovate almost daily to keep the momentum going. We’ve taken a unique approach to cultivating a network of comedians, establishing our business operations, and evolving the performance space over time. Currently something innovative we’re doing is attempting to make Bricky’s a one-stop shop for everything new up-and-coming comedians need to build a career in the industry. So, in addition to providing new comedians with stage time we’re assisting them with creating electronic press kits, digital media content, and effective strategies for booking more gigs. Our hope is that this will mutually benefit both Bricky’s and the local comedians we support.
Kevin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into standup comedy generally kind of on a whim. Back in 2018 I was unemployed living near New York City after just having finished my MBA. Before I went back into the working world, I had a bucket list of things I wanted to try and standup was one of them. So, one night I finally got up the courage and went into Manhattan to do an open mic. It went well enough that I decided I liked it and wanted to keep doing it. So, I spent the next six months living off savings from my previous jobs and going to comedy open mics in NYC/New Jersey nearly every night. Eventually my girlfriend at the time got a job opportunity back here in Ohio (where we’re both from) and I decided to move back here with her and see if I could keep the comedy thing going in spite of being in a smaller market. Once I got back to Ohio, I started doing spots at Wiley’s Comedy Club and fell in love with the Dayton comedy scene in the process. To help my friends in the scene I soon started producing shows in addition to performing. This eventually led to me starting up Bricky’s Comedy Club in 2022 through a partnership with Star City Brewing Company in Miamisburg, OH. Bricky’s is essentially an upstart, grassroots comedy club that is by comedians for comedians. We’re continuing to develop it and over time want to turn it into a Midwest hub for new up-and-coming comedians. We were recently voted the best comedy club in Dayton so we feel like we’re well on our way to achieving that vision.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In the first few months of Bricky’s existence we dealt with a litany of obstacles to establishing the foundational infrastructural elements of the business. Within the span of a couple months early on, our online platforms were attacked by internet trolls, our website was hacked, and at one point we had to cancel a show due to a flu outbreak. But with the help of the comedy community rallying around us, we persevered. Ultimately overcoming those obstacles made us stronger and prepared for future adversity.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
We’re still in the process of building up a robust social media presence across all platforms. But we’re making strides every day. And at one point during our world record festival in 2024, our Facebook reach was at over 500k, which was awesome to see. It seems like the key to establishing a presence for your business on social media is posting consistently and creating authentic content. It’s okay to use AI assistance for marketing posts every now and then for the sake of efficiency. But when possible, try to just speak from the heart. That seems to be the best approach.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brickscomedy.com
- Instagram: brickyscomedyclub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brickyscomedy/
- Twitter: brickyscomedy
