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The Style Behind Josh Ocean Thomas' RISE to Comedy Stardom
Episode 9 • 23rd October 2024 • House of Style • House of Style with Grant Alexander
00:00:00 01:00:58

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Grant Alexander:

Do you find that eye contact makes people feel uncomfortable, or do you think it helps?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Depends on how you do it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm, like, gazing by just to be like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not like, don't you think that's funny?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, it's more of like, a.

Grant Alexander:

That might be funny, though, for the right person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Grant Alexander:

Style is more than just the clothes you wear.

Grant Alexander:

It's the essence of who you are, and it's in everything you do.

Grant Alexander:

Discover it here and unleash your style beyond what you wear.

Grant Alexander:

Welcome back to house of style.

Grant Alexander:

I'm your host, Grant Alexander.

Grant Alexander:

And today we've got a guest whose story is guaranteed to bring some laughs and a whole lot of inspiration.

Grant Alexander:

Today we are sitting down with the social media adored and incredibly talented stand up comedian Josh Ocean Thomas.

Grant Alexander:

Josh is known for his high energy, magnetic stage presence and hilarious, relatable stories.

Grant Alexander:

So thank you very much for being here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Magnetic.

Grant Alexander:

Magnetic.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like you're magnetic.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I appreciate that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I wrote that in my own bio.

Grant Alexander:

Actually, so it's pretty spot on.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, I like that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Thank you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I appreciate it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's good to be here, Grant.

Grant Alexander:

Thank you for being here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Grant Alexander.

Grant Alexander:

What a Grant Alexander.

Grant Alexander:

Thank you very much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Very, very constitutional name.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like that name.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Alexander.

Grant Alexander:

My parents were going for good.

Grant Alexander:

It's good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's good to be here, Grant.

Grant Alexander:

So I want to dive into how your unique style developed, how your journey through comedy shapes your perspectives and decisions and what it takes to.

Grant Alexander:

To bring such vibrancy and energy to the stage and to life.

Grant Alexander:

So let's dive into that.

Grant Alexander:

I want to start with the early influences in childhood.

Grant Alexander:

Like, you started off as a child a magician.

Grant Alexander:

What got you into entertaining?

Grant Alexander:

What made, you know, you wanted to be on stage in front of people?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Well, I'm still developing, obviously, both comedically, mentally and.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And physically.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I think it started a long time ago.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was really an over the top kid.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Very annoying, very loud.

Grant Alexander:

I couldn't tell.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Very jazz handy kid.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

A lot of jazz hands.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's great youth.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And they still.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have an outbreak once in a while, but they're settling down now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I've always kind of into, like, being kind of very energetic.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like I said when I was a kid, I did magic tricks.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I did magic shows in my dad's backyard and would invite the neighbors, and then the magic shows turned into comedy shows, and I would sell tickets and rent party chairs, and we'd reconstruct the living room to look like a comedy club, and we'd get, like, 25, 30 neighbors in the living room.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

nted to do since I was, like,:

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then when I was 18, a family said, get out.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No, they didn't say that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I moved to Chicago right across the way.

Grant Alexander:

Awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And you can't see it, but there's a place where I lived over there, and I moved here, and I went to college here, and I started studying at Columbia College, Chicago.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I studied comedic writing and performance.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I was confused because it was the first time in my life where I saw other people pursuing this thing, and it was the first time I saw it being pursued.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Seriously?

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I didn't know what to do with it, and I didn't really want to do anything with it yet.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just wanted to enjoy being in college.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then the flu went around or something and sent us home for, like, a year.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And when we came back from that is when I started doing it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I kind of just did what I thought was funny and comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I wore a suit to every open mic.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

ressed guy at the dive bar at:

Josh Ocean Thomas:

on a Wednesday night.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I loved it that much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'd wear, like, a little linen suit, and it was very bad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I would tell jokes about, like, my mom or just physical, just making faces.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was very.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I remember a comedian came out to me after my act, and he went, that was not good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I said, okay, we have some work to do here.

Grant Alexander:

Did you like that?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, it was kind of like a wait, yeah, let me do something here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm working on something.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then my first open mic was a terrible experience, terrible human experience.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was one of the worst experiences you can have as a person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was a place on the south side.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was called Riddles Comedy Club, and it was a Monday night, and I was number 48 on a 51 person open mic.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I classed the next day at:

Josh Ocean Thomas:

and I waited.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I waited, I waited, and I woke up to the sound of myself being introduced to the stage because I fell asleep in the back of the room.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And there was three people on stage, number 49 50 and 51.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

52 went home already.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it was a terrible time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was terrible.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was bad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But my way home, I just remember thinking, like, I can't wait to get back on stage again.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that's, like, a crazy thing to want after having such a bad experience.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like that's a separator for people that get it and have such a passion for what they do.

Grant Alexander:

No matter how tough something may be, it doesn't matter, you know, this is still what you want to do.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You just gotta do it.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And so I just kept doing it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I was like, I'll do it for another week, another two weeks.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then, like, six and a half months passed, and I was like, whoa, I've kind of been doing this for six months.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I realized that when, like, my friends started, like, acknowledging that that's something I just do now is these terrible open mics, which, looking back, is charming, but in the moment, it was a terrible thing to be known for.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, that's the guy that does dive bars on the south side on a Monday night.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm like, hey, please, ladies.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So my style started to develop once I stopped worrying so much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Where.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I started just getting on stage and having fun, was there a moment.

Grant Alexander:

That you realized, like, that that happened in, were you like, I need to just go out and have fun?

Grant Alexander:

Was it that, were you before I went?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think when it was is when I.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was the first time returning to my hometown with comedy experience.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So now I, let's say I've been doing it for almost a year, maybe no, maybe less than that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe like, seven months, six months.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I went back to San Diego and I booked a show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I booked a show at, like, a comedy club.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, okay, this is pretty cool and real.

Grant Alexander:

This is happening.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

came out and there was, like,:

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So it was like, my big crowd for me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I remember just, like, doing a little bit of crowd work.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then, like, I just, like, asked some guy what he did for love and made a stupid joke about it and laughed.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that first laugh, I was kind of like, oh, I wasn't even really trying.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was really just kind of being myself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Just there, like, just goofy, schwanky, you know, very swanky, and it was a great time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then I started relying on that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, if I just go up there and I just kind of, like, be goofy and be myself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

While also I know that my, every comedian has their strength.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some comedians it's delivery.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some comedians, it's confidence on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some people, it's, you know, being a good person offstage sometimes it's writing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

A lot of comedians are great writers.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not a fantastic writer, but my jokes come from, you know, dialogue with friends.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And me being like, that's funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let me throw that on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I don't really write any of my jokes out.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I don't have a single joke written out.

Grant Alexander:

Really?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, I just kind of have ideas that I know are funny, and then you do it once or twice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So now I know how the joke.

Grant Alexander:

Goes, and you just remember, and then.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You just keep doing it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And every time you do it, you add a line.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You take out a line.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm just, I never tell the joke the exact same way.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So it's like something is always changing about the joke.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I have a joke now that's like a minute long, but started as, like, three minutes where it's like, okay, now I, like, figured out how to trim all that fat down.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Now I'm just doing this once.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I kind of go on stage with the loose.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I don't have, like, a running order.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have, like, a normally a crumpled up piece of, like, you know, receipt paper.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, I like that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I hit the feed button.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's what I like to write my sets on.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then I write, like, one or two words down for each joke, and I literally just, like, crumple it, put in my pocket, and I pull it out, and I'm like, okay, those are the jokes I want to do today in no particular order.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then when I'm on stage, it kind of just starts to flow.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I started relying on that flow.

Grant Alexander:

That's really interesting.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like most that I've heard of or know, or at least what I imagine it would be, you have your a script and you, like, you follow that, and sure, you can add a remove, but you stick to that.

Grant Alexander:

You practice that.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like one question I thought of Washington.

Grant Alexander:

Is that what you learned in school?

Grant Alexander:

Do you feel like comedic writing?

Grant Alexander:

Is, can you.

Grant Alexander:

Is school for being a comedian worthwhile?

Grant Alexander:

Or is, like, do they teach you stuff that it's good foundationally, like, the three times, because that's funny, or, and you learn from that?

Grant Alexander:

Or is it.

Grant Alexander:

They say, like, here's what's, you know, here's the style that you probably should go for.

Grant Alexander:

Go.

Grant Alexander:

Go with that.

Grant Alexander:

And then, like, does it, does it kind of constrain any of your creativity or your style or personality or, like, was it valuable?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think what I took out of going to school for it was not how to be funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It wasn't how to write funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think what I took out of it was how to treat it like a professional career.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think that's the knowledge I got.

Grant Alexander:

Cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think being around other professionals and every comedian that I, almost, every comedian that I started with.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

From my college, quit by the time I started, like, picking up speed and, like, picking up momentum, kind of.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I started with a group of, like, 15 people I would, like, lure out to mics every week, and then it's dwindled down.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Dwindled down.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Most people in my department were into the sketch acting, writing of everything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I was kind of, like one of the only stand ups.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Stand ups out of, like, the thing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was the only person that kind of really went down that route.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But then, you know, later, my college career, people started doing it as well.

Grant Alexander:

But do you look down on sketch comics?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No, absolutely not.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think it's so cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think it's hard.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think it's really hard.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think it's like, I think it's work.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I mean, it's a short.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, sketch comedy is so cool, especially done right, which it's not always done right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And when it is done right, I think it's really incredible.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's something I love to be a part of.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I've had my sketches.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I hope my sketches aren't over.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I love acting.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like doing stuff like that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's just not the thing that I found to be what I call, like, you know, my drive.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My drive isn't, oh, I want to be a sketch comedian and also do stand up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Mine is like, I want to do stand up comedy and whatever comes with that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm so excited to be a part of.

Grant Alexander:

Cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I want to be a part of the whole world of comedy.

Grant Alexander:

Nice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But my, everyone's got their, you know, everyone's got their focus, everyone's got their thing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And mine was definitely stand up in college, so I don't think my school really offered too much for that, for stand up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But, you know, it encouraged me to, like, you know, teachers are, like, telling me stories about, you know, other comedians at and how they do it, where to go, and, you know, you meet all these people, and then there's a network of the school, you know, in the real world.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So, you know, you mentioned the school.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I went to that school.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know something that went to that school.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It taught me just, it introduced me to the real world of entertainment.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Grant Alexander:

Is.

Grant Alexander:

Is comedy a world where who, you know, is critical?

Grant Alexander:

Who, you know, clubs?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I mean, yeah.

Grant Alexander:

Getting a good slot, getting whatever it might be.

Grant Alexander:

Is that all on who?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's all.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I mean, there's plenty of comedians who have made it very far in their career without being the funniest comedian around.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's all about who you know.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think that's in every industry, though.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's all about who you know and all that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But adults are just like, about comedy, in my opinion.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Everyone has their own opinion on it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

This is my opinion is that being a good person is so important in this industry because there's so many people who are not sure and, you know, not even being good, but being kind to other people and all that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that's something people remember.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And, but then you see a lot of people who do that because they know people are like, oh, he's nice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, but then you gotta be genuine.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I think, for me, comedy has taught me how to be around so many people, so many different kinds of people, so many people from different backgrounds, stories, different kinds of humor.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's, it's put me around such a contrast of people where it's taught me how to, you know, adapt to different conversations and all that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I'm 23 years old, so I don't know what the I'm talking about, but from what I've experienced is that it's, it's just taught me a lot about people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, in a good way.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's taught me to love being around so many different kinds of people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And, you know, you meet people, and it's all about connections and building relationships, and there's no better feeling than walking to a comedy club and knowing all the staff by first name and feeling that family dynamic and hugging people, and.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's nice to see you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How you been?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How's your family?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It feels like a family.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You want to walk into a comedy club, and when you feel like a family, you feel welcome there.

Grant Alexander:

It's, there's no feeling like, yeah, I imagine that helps set up a better show for everybody.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When the vibes are good, everything is good.

Grant Alexander:

I preach kindness.

Grant Alexander:

I'm pretty sure I bring it up in every episode.

Grant Alexander:

To me, it's the thing that people remember totally.

Grant Alexander:

I always say, people remember your first impression that you leave, and they remember if you were kind and, like, how you made them feel.

Grant Alexander:

They don't remember anything else.

Grant Alexander:

And I think, especially for, whether it's comedian or musician or a stylist and entrepreneur, it's very much for House of style, for the bigger business.

Grant Alexander:

We're trying to raise $42 million before we ever make a dollar.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Should have just asked.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I could help out.

Grant Alexander:

Now I know.

Grant Alexander:

Now I know.

Grant Alexander:

And when you're doing that, the way you treat people is so critical because they're like, who the f are you?

Grant Alexander:

I'm like, I'm nice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm nice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm Grant Alexander and I'm nice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

$42 million.

Grant Alexander:

It's not that much.

Grant Alexander:

It's not that much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Small loan.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, it's very tiny, but.

Grant Alexander:

So I want to get into kind of the style in action, like right now and how it's kind of helped your personal and professional growth more so, like, now, so a little less, but the early on.

Grant Alexander:

So your comedy brings, like I said before, this, like, vibrant energy.

Grant Alexander:

And some of it's, I think a lot of it's through crowd work.

Grant Alexander:

Like, from what I see on socials, a lot of it's crowd work.

Grant Alexander:

And I am excited to go to your show after this to see it live and experience it.

Grant Alexander:

But how has embracing your performance and your style set you up for success now out of the doing all these little open mics as you get bigger and become a household name in comedy?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I walk on stage, it definitely is a different feeling than not being on stage, which is obvious, but I can't tap into that offstage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've never been able to.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The only time I can tap into that is back home I was a kayak tour guide, and when I would do those kayak tours, I could tap into it a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

:

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They've never seen you before.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They're only there because they're at the comedy club and you happen to be on the bill and you're meeting all these people for the first time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So my, when I go up there, I want to bring this energy where it's like, I'm so excited to meet you.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I'm so genuinely and I'm honestly so grateful every time I get to be on stage because, you know, I've had times where I can't be on stage for a long period of time because I'm, you know, other things in life.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So when I get on stage, it feels like this, okay?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm meeting all these wonderful people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't know any of them.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They don't know me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But you try to build a connection right away.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And the only way to, like, try to tap into all those different people is by providing enough energy to be like, I got enough for all of us.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So you guys, don't worry.

Grant Alexander:

Just enjoy yourself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I got it right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I like moist scanning.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm always making eye contact.

Grant Alexander:

And do you find that eye contact makes people feel uncomfortable?

Grant Alexander:

Or do you think it depends on how you do it?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm, like, gazing by just to be like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not like, don't you think that's funny?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, it's more of like a.

Grant Alexander:

That might be funny, though.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Grant Alexander:

For the right person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Grant Alexander:

But try that out next time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's more like I'm looking around and I'm like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, you get it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I'm trying to have a conversation.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And my favorite thing is, like, when you do that, you're looking at someone and they're going and they're, like, listening.

Grant Alexander:

Right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then when you see people listening, it's this kind of, like, you built this connection with a random person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And there's something special about having 200 people that don't know each other either.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

All, they come from different places, different economic classes, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and they're all coming together and laughing at one thing.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it kind of builds this big connection.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then I love going to the lobby after meeting people, and it's.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's made me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It just makes me excited to be around new faces and to be around other comedians and be in the room when we're doing those.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's a special, special feeling.

Grant Alexander:

That's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like we were talking about this before we started, but to me, the things that bring people together and have the power to do that, it's like music, comedy, magic, and food, too.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Food, yes, food is good.

Grant Alexander:

And those are.

Grant Alexander:

Are you musically inclined?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I played violin for a long, long time.

Grant Alexander:

Really?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yes.

Grant Alexander:

And so played you don't still.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have one, and once in a while I'll pick it up.

Grant Alexander:

All right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I still got it, but, yeah, I was a classical violinist, Suzuki trained.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was in the San Diego Youth Symphony for like, ten years.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Really?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

For eight years.

Grant Alexander:

Why did you stop?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Sorry, mom.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My mother really loved it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, a lot.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

As a kid.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was like one of her favorite things that I did.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Her favorite thing that I did.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it kind of became this thing of, oh, why am I still doing this?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, I don't love it.

Grant Alexander:

Get joy out of it.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm like, I like it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't love it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Why am I trying to even pursue.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I tried to pursue it for a.

Grant Alexander:

Second, but at this point, though, after stopping now, are you like, crap.

Grant Alexander:

I wish I was still that good because it would have killed for this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Opportunity or yes and no.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cuz it's like, it doesn't feel like it's gone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe if that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If it was gone, I'd be like, shit, what did I do?

Grant Alexander:

I feel like you probably like, pick it up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's what I mean.

Grant Alexander:

Something like really, really basic and people like, oh my God.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I still like, God, I picked up the other day and I like, I know where all the fingers go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I can still play it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I could still rip it up a little bit.

Grant Alexander:

There you go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So it's like, it doesn't feel like it's gone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I don't regret it cuz I would.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I would regret it if I let go of it and I didn't do anything.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I was like, that was my thing.

Grant Alexander:

That was it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I picked up something that genuinely feels it's the only thing that I picked up in my life.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedy that feels like it's what I need to be doing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Without a question.

Grant Alexander:

Cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I've never had a doubt in my mind about Santa comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've never been like, what's plan b?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've never been like, what if that doesn't work?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've never said, maybe I don't.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What am I doing?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Am I wasting my time?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, even when I was wasting my time, I wasn't, you know what I mean?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Even when I was doing those terrible open mics and not getting booked for months and none of it felt like a waste of time and I was like, this is part of it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

This is all part of the process.

Grant Alexander:

Do you think that drive and passion for it and knowing that's the thing made you just more confident in your delivery, made your sets better?

Grant Alexander:

Or do you think, did that give you the drive to be like, I need to reach out to 20 people so I know that I'm on stage and I'm doing.

Grant Alexander:

It's kind of like the work side of it.

Grant Alexander:

Or is it the attitude side of it that came.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The work came later by naturally, by itself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, learning to, like, reach out to people respectfully and not being annoying.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I definitely did an annoying way and I would get called out being like, don't do it like that.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, you know, people start to not like you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The older people in the scene are like, what is this kid doing?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then you, like, you have to just, you have to make those mistakes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause there's no.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Unfortunately, they haven't made a rulebook for being a stand up comedian.

Grant Alexander:

You can do that?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, there's no, there's no.

Grant Alexander:

Think of how many aspiring comedians there are.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But it's like, it's one of those things where it's hard to cause there's no one started the same way other than going to the.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's the only thing every comedian has in common.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Every comedian went to an open mic and put their name in a half, but then from there, it's just like, it's a launch pad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It goes so many different directions, you don't know where you're going.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And for me, oh, no.

Grant Alexander:

Launchpad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Launchpad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, it was a launchpad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Into your own thing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And like I said, I started to learn how to reach out to people in a respectful way.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That all came, but like I said, it all just kind of felt like the process.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I was never in a rush to get there.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's one of those things where you can't learn it from a book.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You have to just do it, and you have to make the mistakes, and you have to be an ass and learn to not be an ass.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You have to get checked by people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I'm still getting checked.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm still making mistakes.

Grant Alexander:

And you're 23?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, I'm 23 years old.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna be doing, not like it's.

Grant Alexander:

An excuse, but it's just from an experienced perspective.

Grant Alexander:

I mean, I feel like most stand ups don't make it until later, way later on, in their late thirties, forties and beyond, like, that's when they start to make it.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like you have plenty of time.

Grant Alexander:

I mean, obviously, let's, you know, try to reign in some of that energy.

Grant Alexander:

Of course you have time to make those mistakes.

Grant Alexander:

That's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I like it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like the journey.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like the ride of it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And, yeah, it's all very exciting.

Grant Alexander:

So given your age and how long you've been doing this, I feel like I've been a fan of comedy for longer, and there's definitely been a shift in comedy, and maybe this is something you study in school.

Grant Alexander:

I'm sure you're aware of it, but I feel like really, over the last few years, crowd work has become such a big part of comedy.

Grant Alexander:

Do you think that helps or hurts comedy and comedians?

Grant Alexander:

What do you think about it?

Grant Alexander:

Because I know I've talked with a few that think it's great because it suits them well.

Grant Alexander:

But one I had a conversation with thought it took away from the writing and the comedy because you're so hyper focused on nailing that social media clip to get your name out there.

Grant Alexander:

It's like, what do you think about that?

Grant Alexander:

And then we're going to get into, how do you balance?

Grant Alexander:

I just thought of this question.

Grant Alexander:

How do you balance like those, you have to get your name out there.

Grant Alexander:

You want stuff on social media that's going to go viral so you can book more and so you can continue doing your thing.

Grant Alexander:

But if that's not your style, if you don't like social media, how do you balance those things?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Well, I disagree with the people that say crowd work is ruining the art of comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What I will say it has done, it has changed the public opinion, the generic public opinion on stand up comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

A lot of people go to stand up comedy shows now because they saw it on their algorithm.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause they saw it on Instagram, they saw it on TikTok, which is bringing in a whole new demographic into standup.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Standup is in a huge boom right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Stand up is bigger now than it's ever been, and maybe since, like, the eighties or nineties, but since, like, Carson and all that stuff, but it's bringing in this new young demographic, people who are 21, 22, 25, going out to comedy shows and being like, oh, I saw this Matt rife doing crowd work, or anyone on stage doing crowd work, they're like, oh, I hope the comedian picks on me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe I'll say something to interrupt the comedian.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So they pick on me, and that's the negative effects of it.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

From the comedian's perspective, I think crowd work is important.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think if you're on stage for a long period of time, it's necessary, and I think it's engaging, and I think it's fun for both parties.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Another thing is, I don't think it should be your intent.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

This is, I can't speak for other.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

For me, I try not to make it my intent, and I try not to make it my goal to do crowd work.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I go on stage, it only comes naturally.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have an act.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have my jokes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know how much time I have on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If I do crowd work, that means it's coming out of my time, which means it's coming out of the pool of jokes I had prepared for the act.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I'm constantly editing on stage, live.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not like, okay, three and a half minutes in, I'm gonna ask that guy what he does for me.

Grant Alexander:

Right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, it's.

Grant Alexander:

No, that's interesting.

Grant Alexander:

Thinking of it from, like, a zero sum game where it's like saying one thing takes away.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Totally.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You're sacrificing your time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, when I do it and you're risking your time, because sometimes groundwork doesn't work.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And sometimes it works, and when it works, it's great.

Grant Alexander:

What happens when it doesn't work?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's just awkward for a second, but then, you know, skip back.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If you're a professional, you just, you have some sort of stock line that can pull you out of that, where it's like, well, we're not gonna be conversing today, and we'll get right back into the act or something like that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And so, yeah, when I go on stage, I go on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know what jokes I'm gonna say, but you have to read the room.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So if I go on stage and I'm like, oh, you know, the comic before me didn't do great.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

These guys aren't locked in.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna, they're not wanting material.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Sometimes you go on stage knowing that the audience doesn't want to hear your material.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So you have to go on stage and immediately make fun of the guy with the tight shirt in the front row, and you bully him a little bit, but it gets a little laugh.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Everyone's on the same page.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

He's laughing while laughing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We're having a good time.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then you find some sort of natural flow into your act.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Or if something happens in the audience during the act before yours, you call that back.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

In the beginning, you start your act with a laugh based off something that happened in the room, which shows that you're present.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You've been here, I'm here, you're here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let's stay together.

Grant Alexander:

Realize how much strategy seems to go into each act.

Grant Alexander:

Like, I've always thought, it's like, here's your script here.

Grant Alexander:

Here are your jokes.

Grant Alexander:

You do them exactly.

Grant Alexander:

It really sounds strategic, like, real time.

Grant Alexander:

You're editing this in your head.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Totally like that.

Grant Alexander:

It's part of quick wit.

Grant Alexander:

Like, the best comics have a quick wit and are able to do crowd work, you would hope, at least.

Grant Alexander:

But that's interesting, like, thinking of it from that strategic perspective.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Totally.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And the other thing is, like, you have to be so present on stage, and you can, and everyone can tell if you're not sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Everyone can tell if you're like, hi, here are the jokes that I wrote my cat the other day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, we know you're doing an act, right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Your goal as a comedian is to convince the audience that this is your first time telling these jokes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's your goal.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You want to make it sound like everything's just coming out of you naturally.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm just naturally hilarious, and I just happen to have these constructed jokes at the top of my head.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No, I've done these jokes 100,000 times.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Okay.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's a magic trick.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It really is.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's a magic trick of me trying to convince 250 people that I've never told these jokes before and they're all naturally in the moment just coming out of what's happening in the room.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You go, you see a couple on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How long you guys been together?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Great.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How'd you guys meet?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Hinge.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have a joke about hinge.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We'll do the joke about hinge right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's what I mean when I say I don't have an order or I'm always like, where are you from?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, I'm from Morocco.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm tunisian.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Here's my tunisian material.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Who you with?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My mom.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I got material, but my mom, like, so I like to do that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I like to use the audience as navigation through my act, and that will naturally lead to crowd work.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If I hear someone sneeze saying bless you is gonna get a laugh, and then you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Okay, we're good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Okay.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We can.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You know what I mean?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, little, like, if you can just stay completely in the room in the moment, it'll unlock such a different kind of performance because basically, you want to get to a point where your material is autopilot.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't need to think about my material.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I wrote it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I came up with it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know what it is.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's not written down on paper, so there's no structure to it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's no, like, it has to go like this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some comedians are like that, and it works for them.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Seinfeld, he's to the point.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

He has every word written on a piece of paper.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's not a single comma that hasn't been pre written.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Mine is like, I'm just kind of mumbling, jumbling.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know where the punchline is.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can get there.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've done it a million times.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't even need to think about the joke.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Instead, I'm thinking about what's going on in the room.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So the jokes are coming from the back of my head.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The front of my head's like, oh, what's going on?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What's going on?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, what happened over here?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let me tie that into this material, and it creates this organic flow.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Now, sometimes I'm an ADHD freak, so sometimes that doesn't work, and I spiral and I'm like, and then your jokes go out of the, out of the, in the back of your head, and you're gone and you mess up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So there's definitely a risk to be right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So it's definitely some sort of risk to being so nonchalant on stage, but there's way more of a reward.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And, yeah, the risk reward is very much worth it.

Grant Alexander:

So that's been.

Grant Alexander:

There's been a lot of, like, the success and the strategy, which is fascinating to me.

Grant Alexander:

What about when stuff doesn't land or it land with a bunch of people, but some shitheads on social media, like, you're the worst, you're not funny, and, you know, people telling you you're not funny or your stuff sucks or why would you say something like that with, you know, the temperature of comedy at times?

Grant Alexander:

How do you deal with that?

Grant Alexander:

And I'm guessing some of it probably comes from the, you know, this is what you're doing, so you're doing it, and you do make plenty of people laugh, and you're there for them.

Grant Alexander:

But, like, how do you deal with it?

Grant Alexander:

Does it impact you at all?

Grant Alexander:

Like, what would you tell aspiring comedians that are, like, in it?

Grant Alexander:

Like, doing the open mics that you talked about early on?

Grant Alexander:

How do I get through that crap?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They're right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Anybody that says something shitty to you on social media or anyone that doesn't agree with you or doesn't think you're funny, they're right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They're right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They can't be wrong.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's their opinion.

Grant Alexander:

Their opinion.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So how can you argue that they're right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But also, the people that think that leave being like, you're my favorite comedian.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That was so funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm coming back.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Or, you know, you get.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They're right.

Grant Alexander:

So does it hurt your feelings when they're right?

Grant Alexander:

Okay.

Grant Alexander:

You're just like, it doesn't.

Grant Alexander:

You're not for me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can't care.

Grant Alexander:

Right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How can I care?

Grant Alexander:

I feel like at some point, there had to be a comment or someone that was like, you suck.

Grant Alexander:

That got you a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Sure, sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yes, yes, sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's definitely been.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Things have been said in the past, but it's more people who, you know, if you have someone that, you know, who personally who has something like that to say that stingers a little bit, you go, oh, what a shame.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But then you go, you're right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What am I going to tell you wrong?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But then you got to remember, for me, I remember who I'm doing it for.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Who am I doing stand up for?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I started doing standup when I was 15 years old in my dad's living room, little kid filled with hope and life and happiness.

Grant Alexander:

Same now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Dreams, of course, of course.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And excitement and energy and no negativity.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I saw the world with sunshine and rainbows and goldfish and gummies and everything is happy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yippee.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yippee, yuppie.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Was I thinking, what's user 156,000 going to say?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What is that?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What is that guy in North Carolina with a profile picture with him and a dead duck?

Grant Alexander:

What are you going with that one?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What is he going to think?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't care.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I look back, I go, who do I care about?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I care about my immediate circle.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My friends, my friends that give me opinions on comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I care about my mom.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My mom watches everything I do.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My dad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Those are the people I'm trying to impress the most in my life.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Before they die, I want to do something that they can sit in the front row and see the dreams that they watched from the ground up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm there for my best friends back at home who root for me every single day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm there for the comedy clubs that have given me opportunity every single day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm there for the people online who tell me that they look forward to my videos.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Those are the people I'm doing it for.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that is enough love and drive and excitement and thrilled to just.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You can't care about what's over here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's no comedian in the world that every single person's like, yeah, for sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's impossible.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's such a subjective art form.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Music is a little different where music, it's like you can kind of hear something and go, right, yikes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Right, right.

Grant Alexander:

There are good songwriters.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Of course.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's good songwriters, there's bad songwriters.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that is a little.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's still subjective, but it's a little less.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedy is a personal.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's a personal, very personal thing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And not saying music isn't, but it's like, it's such an easier thing to judge is to watch someone and go, that's so you're not relying on.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's also not something you can practice.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You can't practice doing standup comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The only way to practice doing stand up comedy is by doing stand up comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can't take a microphone in my room and do my act.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Sure I can, but it's not gonna do anything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But you could bring a guitar in your room and master it, and then once you master it and take it onto the stage, but you gotta learn to master it in front of strangers who are ready to judge you and hard.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Judge you hard.

Grant Alexander:

So hard.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Literally, you walk on stage 200 people going, go ahead.

Grant Alexander:

Oh, yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What do you got?

Grant Alexander:

Oh, yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that can get scary.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But it also conditions you to be, like, focus on the people that are rooting for you.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And if you do that, the hater, the people that hate don't.

Grant Alexander:

That's always resonated with me.

Grant Alexander:

There was a book I read early in my entrepreneur days.

Grant Alexander:

This is marketing by Seth Godin.

Grant Alexander:

And basically, the premise is you should be creating whatever you're doing.

Grant Alexander:

Make the best version of it for the people that care the absolute most, and don't worry about the rest.

Grant Alexander:

Like, don't try to get everybody to love it.

Grant Alexander:

Don't worry about it.

Grant Alexander:

Don't make stuff for everybody.

Grant Alexander:

But if you make your best product, your best thing for those that love it and want it the most, that's what's going to spread.

Grant Alexander:

And he had some fascinating stats.

Grant Alexander:

I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was right around the time where game of Thrones was.

Grant Alexander:

I thought blowing up everywhere, it was the biggest thing happening.

Grant Alexander:

And then he provided the actual numbers of how many people watched it.

Grant Alexander:

It was like a 6% of the US.

Grant Alexander:

What?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I haven't watched it.

Grant Alexander:

It blew my mind.

Grant Alexander:

And there were a bunch of those stats.

Grant Alexander:

But for those that are in that Game of Thrones world, it's everything.

Grant Alexander:

And they made a ton of money and, you know, had spin offs and everything that came because of that and them focusing on those that live and breathe Game of Thrones, I thought that was so interesting.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's super fascinating.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's the kind of thing where, like I said, one of my favorite things to do after a comedy show is to go in the lobby.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If it goes, well, if it doesn't go, I'm going out the back door.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Running?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, running home and now biking.

Grant Alexander:

You just got a new bike.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, I'll leave the bike tomorrow.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I got to get out of there stat.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can't unlock the bike in front.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

All these people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So embarrassing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Meeting people and putting a face to the laugh is my favorite thing to do.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And shaking a hand.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then looking at me and being like, that was really fun.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Thank you so much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then I go, that's all you need, right?

Grant Alexander:

These are your people that keeps going.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And maybe they don't come back.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe you never see them again.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But you know that this random person liked your.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Liked your stuff.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Which means you have something you do remember, too.

Grant Alexander:

Like, you'll remember that.

Grant Alexander:

You won't remember the guy that didn't come up.

Grant Alexander:

Shake your hand exactly.

Grant Alexander:

Didn't laugh.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Exactly.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The faces I remember the most aren't the people that walked out and gave me a glare.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's the people that stopped and what's your name?

Grant Alexander:

Right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Where can I see you again?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And those are the people that you genuinely.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It feels like family.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You're just excited to see them.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You're like, thank you for being here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That was for you, in a way.

Grant Alexander:

What do you think it is about your stage presence or energy that does connect with people and gets them to come up and shake the hand?

Grant Alexander:

Is it the kindness that we talked about?

Grant Alexander:

Is it the strategy and nailing the set?

Grant Alexander:

You know, like, is there.

Grant Alexander:

Because this boils down to the style of how you deliver it and the style of you as a person.

Grant Alexander:

How.

Grant Alexander:

How can you, like, definitively say, like, you're connecting with somebody through this style?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think it's the.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The energy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like I said, I bring a lot of energy, and I try to channel my mom's.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My mom works with a lot of different people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And when people walk into her store, she's a fashion, like, merchant.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When people walk in her boutique, she's like, hi, so good to see you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And, like, you know, she's.

Grant Alexander:

I hope she does that every day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

A lot of people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And she's just excited to see people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that excitement is something that most people aren't used to from a stranger.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How often do you go up to a stranger and they go, hi.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You don't ever see it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So when you come on stage and you're genuinely excited, it's not like I'm putting it on.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm genuinely excited to see these people, and they can feel that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I can feel them feeling it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then it's like, this guy's happy to be here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

This guy's happy to be in front of us, so we're happy to listen.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then if it goes well, then it's like, this guy's happy to be here, this guy's happy to see us, we're happy to listen, and it was fun.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Why wouldn't we want to meet?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, let's go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's like having a really good date.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, a great date.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then being like, never call me again.

Grant Alexander:

Right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, it's not gonna happen.

Grant Alexander:

It's not gonna happen.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You're gonna.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You're gonna wanna see each other again.

Grant Alexander:

The energy that's been.

Grant Alexander:

Been one of my big things that I live and die by its positivity, energy and the kindness.

Grant Alexander:

But energy has, like, being willing to like, a second of courage to do something different.

Grant Alexander:

The one thing that you've mentioned, a surprise.

Grant Alexander:

The one thing that is one of my favorite things.

Grant Alexander:

I'm the type that, like, if somebody's on a bench at Millennium park, I've done this numerous times.

Grant Alexander:

So if you happen to be sitting alone on a bench eating ice cream or doing whatever, I'm probably gonna come up to you if I'm there and I'll start talking for a while and just have, I'll say ridiculous things, do ridiculous things.

Grant Alexander:

But one of my favorites, there was a woman that was taking pictures right in front of the bean, and she was a little ways off, so that when she went like this, she was like, holding the bean, but her arms routes will just spread out.

Grant Alexander:

Wine.

Grant Alexander:

I walk up and I just give her the biggest bear hug.

Grant Alexander:

And she was so confused.

Grant Alexander:

And I'm like, oh, my God, am I gonna get arrested?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Grant Alexander:

But moments later, we all started cracking.

Grant Alexander:

Like, everybody around just started cracking up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

See, if I did that, people would go, what is this arab grabbing me for?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Am I a hostage?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What is going on?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But, yeah, people enjoy a strange interaction in a way.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, absolutely.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Something they won't forget.

Grant Alexander:

Exactly.

Grant Alexander:

They will always remember that.

Grant Alexander:

She will always remember, next time she's in Millennium park, she will be on the lookout.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

She'll be on the lookout.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

She'll be like, oh, God, he's gonna hug me again.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But, yeah, connection with a stranger is a special thing, and, yeah, I think it's something everyone looks forward to.

Grant Alexander:

Comedy is not just entirely about laughs.

Grant Alexander:

It's like, it's the vibe of getting people to feel better, leave their crap at home, and just experience something kind of different and to embrace some value or feeling that you gave them.

Grant Alexander:

Like, how do you, or do you try to inspire people to do more?

Grant Alexander:

Or is it just a, you just want people to feel happy and, you know, just glad to be there in that moment, you talked about presence.

Grant Alexander:

So do you try to get people to feel a certain way?

Grant Alexander:

Do you want them to go out and do something like, be kind to your, be kind to your friends and neighbors type of thing?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't care what they do once they leave the comedy club.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But what I do care about is when I walk into comedy club, I don't think, oh, I'm gonna go, and then we make their day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna make them forget about their dead dog and their mortgage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's my goal.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go in there and I go, I know what I like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I know what I want to do in there.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I want to go have fun.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I want them to have fun.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let's do that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And if I can just lock into that moment.

Grant Alexander:

Mmm.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Everything will happen naturally.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I'm never on stage being like, these people are having fun in the back of my head.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm never going, I'm in the moment, right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm in the moment, and I'm in the moment, and they're in the moment.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And you don't realize that until after the set, when reality comes rushing back to you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Because when I'm up there, nothing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about anything else.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about my rent.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about the tickets in my car.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about my credit card bill.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about what I need to get from the grocery store.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm thinking about what I'm going to say next in this microphone that is on videotape.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, no, no.

Grant Alexander:

And that makes a lot of sense.

Grant Alexander:

Like, based on what you were saying, again, I didn't think of it from a strategic perspective or that zero sum game, but if you're in it like that, you have to be that focused.

Grant Alexander:

And I guess that's a great goal of if you're having fun other people have.

Grant Alexander:

And then all the problems disappear for a second.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

For a second.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then you get off stage, and like I said, everything comes rushing back in.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then the show's over, and the lights turn back on, and people are walking out of the lobby, and they got a little smile on them.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No one ever leaves a comedy show unless it was a bad comedy show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was a good comedy show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

People are leaving a little smile on their face.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They go, thank you so much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go, thank you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it feels like we took a break for an hour just to.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

First, we just took a little break from everything, and now we're parting ways to go back into the world.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We go, see you later.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Thanks for coming by.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I hope that that joy or whatever they got, whatever they got out of this, the drunkenness, the buzz, you know, they drank, they ate.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just hope whatever they got from the comedy club that night follows them home a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't know what they're gonna do with it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just hope they don't like, you know, just go do something.

Grant Alexander:

Do you see social media as a way for them to continue connecting with them, or is social media for comedians or for you, a tool and means for promotion?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Both, for sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

For promotion, I mean, but also it's an.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's a way to connect with the comedian and the audience on a deeper level.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I love getting messages after the show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I'm sure I go in my inbox, and it's like, hey, great show tonight.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Thank you so much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When can I see you again?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I go, hey, here's my schedule.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'd love to see you again.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So there's definitely that connection aspect that you get outside the club, but then there's the promotion.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I post a clip, I posted a clip for the people that can't beat the show, who I care about.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's what I'm thinking about.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go, oh, my friends are going to see this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, my mom's gonna see this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Oh, my dad's gonna see this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My family's gonna see this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But I go, then everyone else is gonna see it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't really care as much about what everyone else has to say about it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I hope it brings people to a show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, but when I initially post something, it's for the people that I personally care for who can't see it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go, hey, here's what I did tonight.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that's when I started.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I started my social media, that's what it was for.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Now my social media has grown a little bit, so, you know, I have a little bit more of a public eye on my stuff.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I mean, it's great, whatever.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's definitely a little bit more pressure, but, yeah, you post it to, you know, you want people to come to a show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You want to build that followers you want.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Even if it's just because I'm not in a place where, you know, I'm pulling my own crowds everywhere I go, but when I do have someone come to a show that's there to see me because they found me online, that's cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then you get to meet them in person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It is a cool feeling.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't care if it's one person a show, five people a show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Sometimes it's a lot more.

Grant Alexander:

That's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But the times where it's just randomly, like, so I'll get a message, like, hey, I'm coming to your show at laugh factory tonight.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, oh, cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then afterwards, they're like, thanks for the tickets.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I messaged you earlier, and I'm like.

Grant Alexander:

This is super cool.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, that's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, this random person just happened to find me in their living room, and they're like, let's go see this person.

Grant Alexander:

So does the pressure from your growing social media and just kind of social media in general and, like, the expectations to continually be posting, do you feel that ever changes you or changes your strategy at all?

Grant Alexander:

Not from the joke perspective, like how much you have to do something?

Grant Alexander:

Are there certain things that just hit way better on social media?

Grant Alexander:

You know, like what?

Grant Alexander:

What pressure?

Grant Alexander:

What does the pressure do to make you either conform or stick to yourself?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I would have a completely different answer for you if you asked me this question two months ago.

Grant Alexander:

Oh, okay.

Grant Alexander:

I want to hear both answers.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So if you ask me this in May or June of this year, I would have said yes.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The pressure is definitely getting bigger, and now there's this expectation, and now I have this platform, so people are expecting me to use my platform for good and to share my voice on things and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's what did my answer.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Then the summer, I started to feel a little overwhelmed by that because my platform really started to grow the most in May of this year.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I started to feel that pressure a little bit, and then I started seeing myself working for my social media, not my social media working for me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My social media is meant to be a tool to help me, not the other way around where it's like, oh, I need to help social media.

Grant Alexander:

What made you realize that?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just started to feel really overwhelmed, and my subconsciously, my purpose started to feel like, oh, I gotta get.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I gotta do my stand up to get this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I gotta get more footage out.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I gotta do more editing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I gotta.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then I was like, and then I started to dread it a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

For the first time ever, I started to dread doing stand up a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Well, I was like, well, that's not why I started all of this at all.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just got a little taste of, you know, acceptance from the public eye, and it made me chase that a little bit, and it made me go, ooh, let me get more of that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Ooh, let me get more of that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like a drug.

Grant Alexander:

So you are getting more of that, though.

Grant Alexander:

Are you worried or concerned, or have you, like, thought about what happens when you do blow up and you're everywhere?

Grant Alexander:

And does that worry you, or has this shift that's happened in the last two months set you free?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I think I'm a completely different mindset.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I went camping for 30 days.

Grant Alexander:

Where to?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

California.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I did a road trip with my three best friends, and we all wanted to we do a trip every summer, but this summer, it was kind of like we all had four different.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We had four people going on this trip for four different reasons.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

We all had personal reasons for wanting to be on this trip.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some people, it was a sense of adventure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some people, it was a sense of wanting a break.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Some people, it was a sense of wanting to collect these stories and things and experiences.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And for me, it was for growth and to disconnect.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I felt so connected.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Too connected.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Into the world, as in social media.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I felt too plugged into everything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I felt like I was in 25 different places at once because I'm here with this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm here with this person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm texting this person while planning this, knowing that I have to do that.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Whoa.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was too much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It was way too much.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

At one point where June of this year, I was like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It literally felt like.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like I said, I'd be hanging out with a person, knowing what I had to do later.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

While I'm hanging out with that person, I'm texting this person.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But the thing I need to do tomorrow while also thinking about what I'm gonna say tonight at that show, I wasn't in the moment ever.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I never found myself being in the moment.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Even though I have house parties, I'd be in the kitchen being like, what's going on in the living room?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What's going on in the kitchen?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let me go walk around.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Let me go check what's good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I could not find myself locking into the moment anymore like I did when I was first starting stand up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I knew I had to go on this trip.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

One of the trip turned my phone off.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I didn't use my phone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Really?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Everything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

My screen time was, like under half an hour every day.

Grant Alexander:

How did that feel?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Amazing.

Grant Alexander:

Amazing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Amazing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And you're with your four best friends or three best friends.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Four total.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And you're in the woods, and you're in nature.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I caught myself accidentally being in the moment without even doing anything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I just found myself looking around, taking something in, laughing, and not thinking about anything else.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And that feeling of emptiness in a good way, a positive emptiness of, like, oh, I'm feeling.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I feel empty inside because everything I have is right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So there's nothing else.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about what I'm going to do after this.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about where I need to be tonight.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not thinking about who I need to call in an hour.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm purely thinking about right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it gave me a whole new view on life and a whole new excitement and a whole new mindset of I'm so young.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't need to chase anything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Nothing I've done to this point that success came from, came from me chasing anything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It came from me doing something my way, naturally, and everything just happening for itself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Posting a clip that I was like, that's kind of funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then it going mega viral.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I didn't think about that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I didn't think, oh, I need to overanalyze how we're gonna make this far.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No, I just was doing my thing, and everything came naturally.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I started thinking about that, reflecting on that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Also, I cared way too much about people in a way of, like, what people were thinking about me.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, I know, like, you know, you try not to care, but in the back of your head, you know, you're still, like, you walk in a room, you go, what are these people thinking?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Definitely yada, yada, yada.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And then this trip completely wiped all of that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And this trip taught me to just be there and be good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Be good to people around you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Do the things that you love, be in the moment, enjoy that laugh, enjoy that beer until it's completely gone.

Grant Alexander:

Hell, yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Don't worry about your next beer.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Don't worry about, you know, where you're biking to.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Worry about that bike ride.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Have fun on that bike ride.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, the whole way here, it was a completely different feeling than if I was biking here two months ago.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I would have been like, I'm gonna be late.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Where am I going?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It just kind of felt like I was looking at people, smiling.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was watching couples.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was watching the cars pass.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, oh, that's a nice cardinal, being in the moment and, like, fully absorbing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That has completely changed the way I'm thinking about everything.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So I don't feel that pressure from social media anymore.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause now I'm like, it's there.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The following is there.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I have a decent following on social media.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna keep posting.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If you don't like how little I post, or if I'm not posting a cliff every week, or, oh, here's a photo of me camping instead of me on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If you don't like that too much, that's okay.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You don't have to be here, right?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Just go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's totally fine.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I don't feel pressure to have to serve.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I feel like if I'm on my authentic self, I will get my authentic crowd.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, that's awesome.

Grant Alexander:

That's an incredible style.

Grant Alexander:

And to have that kind of wisdom and the wherewithal to realize all of this at 23 is insane.

Grant Alexander:

And you know, like, just sets you up.

Grant Alexander:

It's like, how are you going to going to use this to evolve your style?

Grant Alexander:

Or does your style just stay similar and you just hone in the art of what you're currently doing, or do you see it evolving as you continue?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, it's a big transition period in my life.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So right now, I walk in and I repeat certain words to myself in my head.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I hear my mom's voice in my head going, don't give everyone your hundred percent.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Keep your head down a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Humility.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Stay humble.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Stay positive.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Stay kind, stay funny.

Grant Alexander:

Stay funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I know if I walk into a comedy club with that, I walk around.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm kind to people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm nice to people.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go on stage, I do my job, I do it well.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I come off stage and I just, I'm kind of just there in a more chill, less aggressive manner.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I used to walk in and be like, hi, everyone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How are you?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

What's going on?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And now, like, I'm definitely calming down a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm aging a little bit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can feel myself kind of, you know, flowing into myself.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I can, I can feel a natural flow picking up and.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, so I think just walking in and going in with the intent of leaving a positive vibe and a good impact on stage is all I'm really chasing right now.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not really chasing the success anymore.

Grant Alexander:

Cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm more chasing the process.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, that's a great way to go about it.

Grant Alexander:

That ultimately is usually what leads to success.

Grant Alexander:

People that master what they're doing and enjoying the journey.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, stick true to themselves.

Grant Alexander:

You get more out of that, too.

Grant Alexander:

As a creator, as an entertainer, you get the most out of that when you're not worrying about the following.

Grant Alexander:

It's like, what advice would you give aspiring comedians, entertainers?

Grant Alexander:

I feel a lot of it generally falls into entrepreneurs as well.

Grant Alexander:

But staying true to yourself, dealing with the objections, when there are a lot of, when there's a lot of pressure, like, what's the best way to get started and to stick true to themselves.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Just do it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Every day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Just do it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I literally, I wish I could just go back to 18 year old me who was so stressed out about doing it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How do I do it?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Where do I do it?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When do I do it?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

How often do I do it?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Just do it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If you just do it and you do it with your heart, you don't really, there's no, you won't have any questions.

Grant Alexander:

Action.

Grant Alexander:

Just action leads to more action.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Exactly.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I love the word action.

Grant Alexander:

It's a great word.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Big action guy.

Grant Alexander:

Action.

Grant Alexander:

And funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Action.

Grant Alexander:

Funny.

Grant Alexander:

Action.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Funny.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Action.

Grant Alexander:

Funny.

Grant Alexander:

Action.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's like any young comedian I meet who are like, I'm so excited.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm like, good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's good.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Be excited, and don't not be.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If you're not excited anymore, stop and come back.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, don't.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If it ever feels forced, stop, come back.

Grant Alexander:

Or switch.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Or switch it up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I love taking a break.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like that camping trip, coming back.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'll never forget that feeling of getting back on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I came back on a Thursday morning, and I'd show a Thursday night at the comedy store, and it was a sold out show.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I was like, I haven't been on.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I went from going on stage almost every night to not performing for a whole month.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was, like, nervous, which was a good thing.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was like, whoa.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I've never been never nervous before I go on stage, so it's like, it's healthy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I just remember going back up and being like, leaving was the best thing I ever did.

Grant Alexander:

That's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

To leave, stand up and come back to it.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause I was in the moment where I was not excited to walk into a comedy club.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was not excited to be on stage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was overwhelmed.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I was stressed.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And so to leave when it's right and then come back when it's right is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Grant Alexander:

That's awesome.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

The people that start to, you know, there's that stigma.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedians are all miserable and dead inside.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause those comedians went through phases where they hated it and they hated themselves.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And instead of working on themselves and working on that, they were like, I'm just gonna go back on stage, bury it.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, no, leave.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If it's hurting you, leave.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like a toxic.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedy can be a toxic relationship.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Or it feels abusive, but then you're like, but I love him.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It's like, shut up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It doesn't care.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedy doesn't care about me.

Grant Alexander:

Right.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Comedy will.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If I die tomorrow, you think comedy is gonna come to my funeral?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

No.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Maybe some comedians will.

Grant Alexander:

There you go.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But it doesn't care.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

He doesn't need me.

Grant Alexander:

I would take a few comedians.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

In my opinion, comedy doesn't need you, so don't act like you need comedy.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You need.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You need to be in a good.

Grant Alexander:

Feng shui for the listeners that kind of want to embrace their own unique style, whether it's work, life, play, whatever it is.

Grant Alexander:

What's the one thing, one piece of advice you would give them to live their authentic, true style today in comedy or in general?

Grant Alexander:

In general.

Grant Alexander:

Or both.

Grant Alexander:

We'll take both.

Grant Alexander:

There's some comedian right now, some aspiring comedian that's listening to this, saying, this piece of advice Josh just said, changed my life.

Grant Alexander:

No pressure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Yeah, no pressure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I guess mine is personal, but mine is.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I go back to my mom and dad.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They know me better than anybody.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And you look at your closest circle and the person they know, those people love you in a way no one else in your life ever will, other than maybe a spouse or a.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

A new lifelong friend you meet in your twenties and you know them till your eighties, but those people know you so well.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So if you ever feel lost, you don't know who you are.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Get on the phone with those people, talk.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

It'll remind you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And I needed that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

When I went home and I went on that vacation, those three boys I went on that trip with mean the absolute world to me.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Because there wasn't a day that I was around them where I questioned who I was.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Because they remind you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

They remind you who you are, and they remind you why they love you.

Grant Alexander:

Sure.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And everybody needs that.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause it's a lonely world.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I mean, it is.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

You can have a girlfriend, you can have friends, whatever.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

But as soon as I leave this podcast, I'm alone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna walk home alone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna bike home, bike Schwinn, and I'm gonna.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna buy you.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm gonna be alone.

Grant Alexander:

Yeah.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

I'm not gonna be on my phone.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

There's not gonna be anyone that knows exactly where I am.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And we're totally solo players in this world.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So it's so important to remind yourself of your roots, where you come from.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And those people love you for who you are.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cause those people knew you before you did, in a way.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

So looking back at that is what I consistently remind myself of every day.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

If someone's judging me for something I did, I look back and I think of my mom.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Like, why would these people hate me if my mom loves me?

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And it's like, because these people don't know me, and they're judging you based off of one action, one thing you said, one thing you did, while there's these other people who are judging you for the way you've acted in an average over 23 years.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

And looking back at those roots and surrounding yourself with that will give you a lot more drive, motivation, and push than you could ever imagine, in my opinion.

Grant Alexander:

That is beautiful.

Grant Alexander:

Very profound.

Grant Alexander:

It sounds like these last two months in that trip, completely life changing.

Grant Alexander:

I feel like.

Grant Alexander:

I wish I could take a month off, but two daughters and wife makes it a little difficult.

Grant Alexander:

But I think there were so many things I learned during this conversation I absolutely loved.

Grant Alexander:

I mean, the strategy, the zero sum that, the connecting with your circle.

Grant Alexander:

I think that's fantastic advice for everybody living their own authentic style.

Grant Alexander:

Thank you so much for being here.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Of course, Grant.

Grant Alexander:

Hang tight.

Grant Alexander:

We're gonna do some bonus footage.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cool.

Grant Alexander:

And then bonus footage.

Grant Alexander:

Mike, can you switch to the.

Grant Alexander:

It went more prompter stuff and I paused so that there was a second to edit.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Cool, cool, cool.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Well, that was great.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That was fun.

Grant Alexander:

And that's not even the.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

That's not even the nitty gritty of it.

Grant Alexander:

That's not even the next part of the fun.

Grant Alexander:

Viewers and listeners, we've had such an amazing and lovely conversation today with Josh Thomas.

Grant Alexander:

Talking about the power of style and how it shapes who we are, helps us connect with others and pushes us towards success.

Grant Alexander:

Josh's journey is a perfect example of how embracing your authentic self, whether it's in comedy or whatever aspect in life, can lead to amazing things.

Grant Alexander:

We're going to continue our conversation with Josh over on Patreon, so don't miss the juicy, potentially salacious topics we have coming up.

Josh Ocean Thomas:

Salacious.

Grant Alexander:

Salacious.

Grant Alexander:

And if you're watching, be sure to subscribe.

Grant Alexander:

And if you're listening, be sure to subscribe.

Grant Alexander:

That way, next week and every week after, you'll get more inspiring stories and conversations about style, success, and everything in between.

Grant Alexander:

Thanks for joining us on House of Style.

Grant Alexander:

I'll see you next week.

Grant Alexander:

And remember, style isn't in your closet.

Grant Alexander:

It's in.

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