We recently connected with Rodney Badger and have shared our conversation below.

Rodney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I have had some health issues and they got worse. I decided to retire from work and become a full time comedian in October 2022. I was diagnosed with ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease) which is a terminal illness and originally given 3-5 years to live.

It’s crazy because my illness provided the motivation to pursue my dream.

Rodney, 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 got in to comedy not by choice. My older sister, Dora, was a comedian. She came to visit me from Detroit in 2007 to network and perform at open mics in South Florida. At one of the open mics, she had put my name in to perform but without telling me.

I didn’t know the rules, timing, or even how to craft a joke. I was reluctant to go up, but I have never shied away from attention.

I was horrible. I went way over my time and I just talked for 20 minutes when I was supposed to do 5 minutes. It was a disaster. However, I loved being on stage and I started hanging out at open mics. Pretty soon I was writing crappy jokes and performing as much as I could. The following year I was producing and performing at local bars in the South Florida area.

In 2013 I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer. I had to step away from comedy to make sure I was taking care of myself and my family.

In 2020 at the end of COVID a comic friend of mine was doing a show at the Miami Improv. I went to support and see my friend. As the show went on he called me in the green room and tells me they had been asked to extend the show by management. My friend asked me to do 10 minutes on stage to help by time. I didn’t want to do it as I had not been on a stage for 5 years. But as I said, I love the attention. I did it. I messed up the first punchline and thought it was going to be a rough night. Then my next punchline hit, and the next. I actually did quite well. I called my wife after the show and told her I was back in the game.

November 21, 2022 I was diagnosed with my lung disease and heart disease. This made me buckle down and get to work writing and performing. After 3 months I was given the chance to produce my own show at the Improv and I was going to be the headliner. My first time headlining. The show was fantastic.

That same year I joined forces with Have Not’s Comedy Show. Have Nots has been around the south Florida area for over 11 years at this point of time.

I spent months hitting as many stages as possible. I was writing at a crazy pace. I was perfecting the craft. I improved more that year than the previous 10 years. I think my terminal diagnosis made me realize time is not infinite and that making people laugh was therapeutic for me.

In June of 2023 I filmed my first 1 hour special. Have Nots produced the filming. The show was magical. I only had one take. Most comedy specials are filmed many times. We only had one shot. Rodney Badger “Off the Rails” is now available on Amazon Prime.

I perform monthly at the Miami Improv and Dania Beach Improv every month on the Have Not’s show. This year I am going on the road. It’s not easy balancing comedy and my health therefore traveling has been difficult. I believe I will be able to travel this year as I have been responding well to the treatments.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am a 6 time cancer survivor. I have had 3 heart attacks and a stroke just in the last 12 months.

I was scheduled to do 4 shows, in 3 days, in my hometown of Columbus Ohio. I had a stroke 11 days prior to the shows.

I was still able to perform all 4 shows.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

There are many things I don’t think noncreative people would understand about any artist’s journey.

First, the amount of time, effort, dedication and money it takes to be in the arts. You have to live in your art. Always working on it, always thinking about it and always looking for ways to improve.

Second, as an artist we are creative. Most of the time we are blessed with a skill or natural ability to do our craft. However, I think most people just think we are naturally great at what we do. They don’t realize we have to sharpen and practice our craft and how much time and effort we put in to it. We have to exercise the part of our brain and this takes a lot of work and time.

My last example would be that there are a lot of people who think the lifestyle is glamorous. It really isn’t. My wife tells people that I married comedy and she is just my side chick. That’s because I am always gone, or writing or networking or practicing or performing or on the road or all the other things we have to do. They see us when we are great or improving and most people think we are making a lot of money. I had a relative ask me to buy them a house. Another one wanted me to hire them in as an assistant. It doesn’t work like that until you really reach the masses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LaughingBadgerComedy.com
• Instagram: @therodneybadger
• Facebook: @therodneybadger

Image Credits
Ross Van Pelt photography