Whether you’re an entertainer or not, you have influence in this world. So, what’s your purpose?

Learn how comedian, Chris Wineland, was able to find his purpose through hard work and ambition. He also shows us how to handle hecklers and keep moving forward.

To hear more from Chris and find his book, visit chriswineland.com.

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Host

You're listening to the No Grey Areas podcast with Patrick McCalla. Today's guest is Chris Wineland, author and comedian Chris talks about being an influential entertainer, having ambition and handling hecklers. Let's dive in.

Patrick McCalla

Chris Wineland, Welcome to No Grey Areas podcast. So good to have you. You and I work together for a very short time at a local church here in Greater Phoenix for a short time. That's what we got to know each other.

Patrick McCalla

Today, we're going to talk about Christianity and Hollywood history. I mean, I'm a history geek. And so when you were telling me you like talking about the history that I was geeking out already on that, so I'm excited about that.

Patrick McCalla

first, let's let's get to know a little bit. Tell us your background, right?

Chris Wineland

Yeah. So first off, thanks so much for having me. I got a haircut just for this podcast.

Patrick McCalla

I did what.

Chris Wineland

I.

Patrick McCalla

To see you.

Chris Wineland

I know it doesn't matter. That's how excited I was.

Patrick McCalla

We have 20 people to watch the YouTube and then, you know, the many, many who listen.

Chris Wineland

Well.

Patrick McCalla

I'm glad you got the haircut.

Chris Wineland

The 20 people are going to be so appreciative. They are going to.

Chris Wineland

Be like, Did.

Chris Wineland

He get a haircut just for this? Yeah. And it's true. I did because I hate haircuts.

Chris Wineland

And I got it. Just in case, just in case for your 20 people.

Patrick McCalla

Yes. So do you hate haircuts?

Chris Wineland

I do. I hate haircuts. I can't stand it.

Chris Wineland

Because people want to do small talk and then they're cutting your hair and they're like, What do you do? And because I'm a.

Chris Wineland

Comedian, it's a very awkward question to answer, because the moment you say I'm a comedian, they want a joke.

Patrick McCalla

They want to, yeah, a stand up routine, like a standard.

Chris Wineland

Procedure while you're sitting. Yeah, I'm like, No, keep doing their job. This isn't. This is an audience of it's very awkward. You know, no comedian.

Chris Wineland

Is getting up on stage and getting their haircut while they tell you, No, it doesn't.

Chris Wineland

It doesn't work. It doesn't work. It's true. So why would you question, you know, just give me the whole pie. I know, I know the whole thing.

Patrick McCalla

What do you say? And you just ask me, What is my question? I don't have a clue.

Chris Wineland

Oh, OK.

Patrick McCalla

But almost every comedian that I know is actually a really deep thinker, too. Like you, you get to know him, and you're the same way I found out. You're the same way you get to know you a little bit and you just think like, Oh, these guys are always funny and they're always been.

Patrick McCalla

Would you sit down to treat him like, nah? Yeah, I've asked your wife, Is she always funny? She's like, You really hardly ever.

Chris Wineland

It's true. It's actually true. I'm a we're very boring people. Yeah, comedians are so boring. I remember a few.

Chris Wineland

Years in, I went to this big party of comedians who was like after a show. And so all these comics were there.

Chris Wineland

And it was it was some pretty big names.

Chris Wineland

And there were these, you know, just the non comics that were there, like these fans or whatever.

Chris Wineland

There were these couple of girls that were hanging out with all.

Chris Wineland

Of us comics and we're just sitting around and it is like that intellectual thinking, Yeah.

Chris Wineland

We were just like, Well, did you know that that bees.

Chris Wineland

Really are not supposed to fly with their wings? Like, we're just saying all this random stuff? And the one girl speaks up after an hour of hearing this and she goes.

Chris Wineland

So you guys aren't really funny, are you? And we all were like, No, no, we're not. It's a skill. It's not like, it's not like we're constantly funny because we're really not very much deep thinkers. I think the most.

Chris Wineland

Boring lunches I've ever had are.

Chris Wineland

With fellow comedians.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And they're just boring. We're just sitting there eating.

Chris Wineland

Tacos or whatever.

Patrick McCalla

Well, when I say intellectual, I've enjoyed my conversation with the comics, including you that you've gotten to know. It's just that you think you're going to be sitting there getting nonstop jokes. You think that Wales is like, we're having deep conversations and good conversations.

Patrick McCalla

But when you just called it a skill, I think I love that, that you use that word because it's a skill. I mean, I'm a public speaker. I'm on the stage. I can't imagine doing standup comedy.

Chris Wineland

Like, Yeah, yeah, it's.

Chris Wineland

It is a skill.

Patrick McCalla

Why would you choose that?

Chris Wineland

I think it's the coolest thing.

Chris Wineland

Honestly, I think it's the coolest, most rock star thing you can do.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, because.

Chris Wineland

It's not like a band where you're working together five or six people and then you're playing. It's like one individual person standing in front of 200 400 people and you're telling them, you laugh. When I tell you to laugh.

Chris Wineland

Like that, that's ridiculous. That's rebellious. That's just crazy to me. And.

Chris Wineland

You know, I didn't want to do it. So I started comedy when I was 18. I'm 31 now. Yeah, I think it's OK.

Chris Wineland

But you're right.

Patrick McCalla

Oh yeah, with your haircut, I thought you were like 24.

Chris Wineland

Thank you. Hey, you see, that's why I did it. No, I started when.

Chris Wineland

I was 18, and it's actually because my mom forced me to get up on stage and do comedy.

Patrick McCalla

So your mom forced you to be so your guest today?

Chris Wineland

Because mom, because because mom made me. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Wineland

Usually parents want you to be a dentist or lawyer. Yeah, not my mom.

Chris Wineland

My mom was like, You're going to be a comedian. Literally. I don't know why she always.

Chris Wineland

Thought I was funny or something. Yeah. And so she told me, when you're 18, you got to go to a comedy club. So on May 18th birthday.

Chris Wineland

She took me to a comedy club.

Chris Wineland

And we found out they did an open mic the next day. So I went home and I just wrote material, and the next day we I got up on stage and somebody other than my mom.

Chris Wineland

Laughed and I was mine was on. I was like, That wasn't even my mom. I was like, Yeah, I was hooked.

Chris Wineland

I did 200 shows the first year, just totally hooked. And it was all free. Like.

Patrick McCalla

Did your mom laugh in that first comedy?

Chris Wineland

She did? She loved.

Patrick McCalla

You at reasonable laughing.

Chris Wineland

With you, two people? At least, I think I hope my mom's.

Chris Wineland

Always been so supportive of my comedy. So the whole reason like that I that I've been doing comedy for 14 years now is because my mom told me to get up on stage. I never thought I would really like it.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. I was just a.

Chris Wineland

Cool.

Patrick McCalla

Is that because, like you're saying, we were kind of joking about it, but a lot of times moms like, you know, to come on a comedian and you know, or but your mom is actually saw that skill, that talent is like, go for it.

Chris Wineland

You know, my.

Chris Wineland

Parents both are dreamers, and they both have always seen that like, I'm a pretty ambitious kid, so they've always done a good job. Both both parents have done a great job of like helping me, but my mom is always been like, whatever the weirdest thing is, you should probably do it.

Chris Wineland

I don't know why she's always been for that. So, yeah, so yeah, I just did it. I loved it in the first year. Like I said, I was doing 200 shows, but it was in Ohio, northeast Ohio, and there were not a lot of.

Patrick McCalla

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let me pause for saying yes. I might have missed that. Your first year, you did 200 shows.

Chris Wineland

I did 200 shows.

Patrick McCalla

So you're 18. If you find out there's an open mike, the next day you go home, you write some material, you get a couple of laughs, mom and someone else, you're hooked and then you end up doing 200 shows.

Chris Wineland

I did 200 shows that year, my first year.

Chris Wineland

But his offering was all free.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

OK, right? So I would just walk up and be like, Hey, I'm a comedian. Can I tell you a joke? And they would just be like, OK. And, you know, just in the middle of eating their chalupa. And I would just start telling jokes.

Chris Wineland

And so that's.

Patrick McCalla

When, you know, that's a pretty good place to test jokes.

Chris Wineland

It really is because someone.

Patrick McCalla

Chris Wineland

Laugh.

Chris Wineland

Exactly, exactly. Or they're just going to laugh because they're already laughing for 1,000,000 different reasons.

Chris Wineland

Yeah.

Chris Wineland

So I started just doing, you know, comedy people would like, you know, just kind of in the Taco Bell, they'd get there. And if there were if I would walk by bars and I hear that there's a speaker, I would go up to the band and I'd say, when you're taking a break, can I do comedy?

Chris Wineland

Like, literally, I would do anything. I would do birthday parties. I would do all of it. My first year, I did 200 shows, my first year, just all free. Whatever I could find.

Patrick McCalla

Chris, that's a lot of ambition.

Chris Wineland

Thanks. Well, yeah, seriously.

Chris Wineland

I've been told I'm slightly ambitious.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, I've heard it. But then it paid off because you're like.

Patrick McCalla

Chris Wineland

Yeah, I was 18.

Chris Wineland

Yeah.

Chris Wineland

And I'll tell you a rule, OK, if you ever want to do comedy.

Patrick McCalla

The rule, I don't but go ahead, OK?

Chris Wineland

But if you ever did, if you ever did, I'm helping you. The rule is don't.

Chris Wineland

Charge your first year because you're not going to do good. OK. Don't charge your first year, no matter what.

Chris Wineland

And right at the.

Chris Wineland

End of my one year anniversary, I decided to disregard that rule. And I charged a church that wanted me to do 30 minutes. And I am telling you, Sir.

Chris Wineland

I bombed. It was the worst. It was so bad that at the end I.

Chris Wineland

Walked up to the guy that was going to hand me the check, and I said, I don't deserve.

Chris Wineland

Money. And then he looked directly in my eyes and said, I already wrote the check. And he agreed that I was bad an hour. No, no.

Patrick McCalla

No, no.

Chris Wineland

Take it. He said it was bad. It was like, right, you know, it is right before my year or two when I was going to start a judge. And yeah, oh, it was terrible.

Patrick McCalla

What's the why? Why do you think that is like, like, we haven't pretty good success that first year when you do all these free shows?

Chris Wineland

Yeah. But you know, yeah, when it's free and.

Chris Wineland

When you charge, it's just two different worlds. Because when it's free, it's like, Yeah, OK, if you make me laugh, that's great. You know, we're all here together. If it's charged, it's like, Well, you better be worth the money that I'm putting up, especially for churches usually.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And so it was just this like small church and the pastor. If the pastor didn't laugh, the congregation didn't laugh, and that was my first experience with that.

Patrick McCalla

So they were looking at the pastor to see if they should laugh at correct.

Chris Wineland

And the pastor only laughed one time.

Chris Wineland

one time in 30 minutes.

Patrick McCalla

And you made fun of elders?

Chris Wineland

Yeah, exactly. Pretty much, yeah. And then you could see them all go, Oh yeah, yeah. It's like, OK, you're all, you know, whatever.

Patrick McCalla

So I'm just curious, were those new jokes that you were doing that night or was it?

Chris Wineland

Well, that's the.

Patrick McCalla

Thing. Was it a lot with the whole pacing? Yes.

Chris Wineland

So that's the thing. When you start off with a year, you really don't have a lot of good material, you know? So I had 30 minutes, but none of it was good. Like I would say, out of the 30 minutes in a year, five minutes was good.

Chris Wineland

OK? I didn't really learn.

Chris Wineland

To be a good writer until my second year. I was opening up for the head writer of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And I think the 200 shows paid off because I opened up for the whole weekend, and at the end, he said, Hey, would you ever want to write for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon?

Chris Wineland

And I said, I mean, yeah.

Patrick McCalla

Because he saw you had some pretty good.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, he liked my material. Yeah. So I said, Yeah, absolutely. And so I ended up becoming a monologue writer. And that really helped because I would write about 100 jokes a night.

Patrick McCalla

100 jokes a night. Yeah, for a monologue. Mm-Hmm. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, they they send you like they send you like all these subjects. You know, all these like top news.

Patrick McCalla

And current events.

Chris Wineland

Current events, stuff like that. And so I took it seriously again, a little ambitious, and I was like, OK, I spent I mean, I'm 19 years old. I can just stay up all night, right? Who's going to stop me?

Chris Wineland

Patrick McCalla

Would you pick the best out of the hundreds? Or I would give them 100?

Chris Wineland

No, no, no, no.

Chris Wineland

Because you're only supposed to send in, OK? So I would look at the hundred and then I would send my best ten, and then for the first few months, it was like terrible, like I don't even want to go back and look at those jokes.

Chris Wineland

But then after a while, I started to get it, you know, because I would I would watch the show every night and be like, OK, I get it. This is how I get better. This is how I do better and stuff.

Chris Wineland

So yeah, just really kind of paid off. And then and then I remember there was a comic that came up to me midway through my second year and he said, You know, you used to be not funny at all, and now you're hilarious.

Chris Wineland

And I remember he said that and I was like, All right, all this writing is paying off. Yeah. So, yeah, yeah.

Patrick McCalla

Then you could go start getting checks from churches, right?

Chris Wineland

Yes.

Chris Wineland

Then I did. I started to get paid quite a bit from churches and clubs and stuff about, you know, mid-year to, yeah.

Patrick McCalla

You know what I love about that story, though, is, is I one of the things that's just a pet peeve of mine is how for some reason in our western culture, we always try to display this overnight success.

Patrick McCalla

And there's no such thing. No, in any field. There's no such thing. So what you're describing is yet 18, you get your mom and someone else to laugh. You do a bunch of free stuff for a year. You're doing a lot of work, then you're doing a lot of work.

Patrick McCalla

Then you get Jimmy Fallon, you're writing for a show, but you're still doing a lot of work.

Chris Wineland

The grind still grind is still learning. Yeah, and.

Chris Wineland

It's it's amazing to have such a national opportunity like that, but it doesn't mean that you're perfect. Yet, you know, you have to, like, keep working on the skill, so to speak. And and to be honest, it's great when somebody else thinks that you're funny, but you have to, like, learn to be really funny.

Chris Wineland

You know, again, it doesn't.

Chris Wineland

Mean that you're funny. Naturally, like some of the most boring people are the funniest people. They just have to like.

Patrick McCalla

Wait, why is that? What do you what do you mean by that like?

Chris Wineland

Well, you know, like so they say.

Patrick McCalla

Like, are you saying I could be funny? Mhm. I appreciate your honesty. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Wineland

Yes. If anybody's hearing the audio, they just heard me do a high pitch. No, of course you good. Of course you could.

Patrick McCalla

No gray areas. You're not supposed to laugh. Yeah. So I appreciate your honesty.

Chris Wineland

I have an unpopular opinion. A lot of comedians believe comedy can't be taught. So that's that's a huge belief in the comedy community.

Patrick McCalla

Like You're born with it or.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

Either you can do it or you can't. They don't believe a lot of comedians don't believe in teaching comedy like, you know, there's comedy classes. A lot of standards will say like, don't go to them because you can't be taught comedy.

Chris Wineland

I disagree. Not just because I I run a comedy class. No, I'm just kidding.

Chris Wineland

That'd be funny. Yeah. If you want to be going to Chris, why on the dot com $500 and oh.

Patrick McCalla

I was going to say 200.

Chris Wineland

Seats. There you go. I bumped it up. Yeah, OK. Yeah. You know, you get it. Got to make money somehow. No.

Chris Wineland

But I feel.

Chris Wineland

Like you.

Chris Wineland

If you work really hard, you learn it. You can do it. But you really have to apply yourself like you have to look at comedy as not just a natural born thing, but like, how do you make people laugh?

Chris Wineland

Kind of how do you control the room?

Patrick McCalla

And if we started listing the comedians that are like, you know, socially, actually, no.

Chris Wineland

OK, that's all. Yeah.

Patrick McCalla

Probably.

Chris Wineland

It's like Jerry Seinfeld is known to be socially awkward people. When they meet him, they just think he's rude, but he's not. He's just all up in his head. Yeah, he's Jerry Seinfeld, you know? So most, most comics are like that.

Patrick McCalla

But I think too, if we started listening to like the Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams and all these people that international, we probably find they all grind. They all right there. None of none of them just walk out and have their stuff.

Patrick McCalla

Right? Yeah. Like, they're they're working not only in the past, but still.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. Well, and you know, in my book, The Great Heckle, which I had written and published, is there's a story because they tell a lot of stories of these comics and there's a story about you can kind of.

Patrick McCalla

Talk about the book, but.

Chris Wineland

Yes. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Wineland

Sorry. So there's a story about Jerry Seinfeld before he got famous and he got heckled by a guy who threw a glass at him. Yeah, like the guy was just they were in a bar. The guy was drunk.

Chris Wineland

He wasn't paying attention. He just started like booing Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld. Who's a legend now, right? But at the time, he wasn't. He was just grinding. And so this guy like through the Glass and Jerry Seinfeld, went off with this guy.

Chris Wineland

Then the club owner came up and was like, You have to get out of here. Jerry's like, why do I have to get out of here? This guy threw a glass at me. He's like, You just have to trust me.

Chris Wineland

Get out of here. Turns out he was a hitman.

Chris Wineland

For a mafia at the time.

Patrick McCalla

And so we almost didn't know who Jerry Seinfeld was.

Chris Wineland

Did not know? No, because of a different comedian.

Chris Wineland

A night later got his arm broken by this hitman. Literally, that's how intense it was.

Patrick McCalla

So you have a you have a dangerous job.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, something I might add a hero. I don't know if I would use the term hero so much. Thanks for use that information.

Patrick McCalla

I think you are a hero. Wow. So yeah, you deal with a lot of that. That's why I'm like, I can't believe anybody would choose that. And again, I speak on public stages. I mean, I get the whole thing prepping, putting something together, trying to grab their attention.

Patrick McCalla

But you're like, You're up there all alone. You're not just storytelling, you're it's just people are expecting to laugh. Like even as a speaker, you might tell a story. That's. And if people laugh, it's fine, right, if they don't, it's an illustration.

Patrick McCalla

Exactly. But in your world.

Chris Wineland

You have to.

Patrick McCalla

They have to laugh.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And after a while, it just becomes pretty comfortable. Like, you know what? Jokes will get people to laugh or what type of culture it is like. I always like to sit by the audience a few minutes before I get up on stage just to get to feel them.

Chris Wineland

Are they one liner type of audiences? Are they observational or do they just want to sit and hear stories? And it sounds crazy, but you can learn all that just by talking to one audience, really?

Patrick McCalla

Oh yeah. Now that's probably something you had to learn as well.

Chris Wineland

Yes, it's taken me, you know, a decade to learn that.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So tell us a little bit about the book The Great Heckle. So I'm for the people that watch holding the.

Chris Wineland

TV because it's not only.

Patrick McCalla

Secret is really cool haircut. But the book that I'm holding up here, the great heckle, which we're going to actually, you gave us a few copies to give away to our audience, and we will do that. Tell us a little bit about the great hack.

Chris Wineland

So I wrote this book.

Chris Wineland

A couple of years ago based on necessity, and it was my heart for comedians to get the gospel out to them because I was a featuring it and I was headlining at a lot of clubs. And so I was doing a lot of churches.

Chris Wineland

That was kind of the height of it where I was just performing at all these churches. But then I kept doing a lot of clubs, and the one thing I learned is, so when you're when you're featuring or headlining at a comedy club, you are with the other two or one comedian for the whole weekend because there's

Chris Wineland

there's about six shows that you'll do five to six shows that you'll do at a comedy club for the whole weekend and you get paid a little bit for it and everything. But you hang out with these comics and you hang out with the same comics all weekend.

Chris Wineland

And so I started ministering the gospel to them because that's my heart. My heart is that entertainers are the most influential people in the entire world, and yet nobody's reaching out to them for the gospel. And it hit me.

Patrick McCalla

Wonderful to see that again.

Chris Wineland

So entertainers are the most influential people in the entire.

Patrick McCalla

World, and I think most of us would agree with that. Yes.

Chris Wineland

And if anybody.

Chris Wineland

Wants to argue it, I would love to argue with you because.

Chris Wineland

I there's just so many different, you know, I mean, the Kardashians put out one episode and millions of people are watching right now. They'll do anything that they that they say, Yeah, you look at social media. Same thing.

Chris Wineland

If somebody's plugging a product and they have 200 million followers, everybody's going to want that product.

Patrick McCalla

We ask entertainers their opinions on politics, right? You're like, Wait, wait, why they're famous in the movie? I would, right. But that's they're influential, right? OK, so, so keep going. So yes, they're the most.

Chris Wineland

They're the most influential people in the entire.

Chris Wineland

World, and nobody.

Chris Wineland

Is reaching out to them for the gospel.

Chris Wineland

And obviously, that's a big nobody.

Chris Wineland

There are a couple of organizations going out there, but yeah, but it's so unreached. I mean, there's millions, and most of them have a hatred towards God, a misunderstanding towards God. They're atheists, they're agnostic. Or they left the church.

Patrick McCalla

And treated or in bad.

Chris Wineland

Experience, right?

Chris Wineland

And nobody, nobody looks at them as people because they're in front of millions of people. Everybody looks at them as like Hollywood unreachable or like lowercase gods. And they're not. Yeah, they're human beings that are away from the grace of Jesus Christ and desperately, desperately need it.

Chris Wineland

And yet nobody's even trying. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

And so that hit me a few years ago when I was doing comedy, and I'm hanging out with these people and I'm hearing such like bitterness and anger and, you know, their marriages are falling apart and all this stuff.

Chris Wineland

And so I made it my my my mission field, if you will, to say, how can I reach them for the gospel? So every time I do like a weekend with the same comics, I would be with them everywhere.

Chris Wineland

I'd say, Hey, before we do a show the next day, you want to go to breakfast together, you want to do lunch together, and I would just be in their face as much as possible. And then I would wait for the opportunity for them to ask me anything about Jesus or God.

Chris Wineland

And then it's like, That's that was it. And so I would minister to the gospel of these guys. I'd pray for them before their show. I would do everything I could. And at the end, I realized there was a missed opportunity where they didn't have any resources.

Chris Wineland

I mean, yeah, I'd give them a Bible, but they didn't have any resources to help explain the gospel in their language. And it kind of hit me when I was reading the Book of Acts, where Paul is at Athens, and he talks about the unknown God, right?

Chris Wineland

He uses their language and their understanding in their culture to minister the gospel. And so that's essentially.

Patrick McCalla

What the Corinthians 20 said. Be all things to all people, you know, it's like, Yeah.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think so. So I wrote this book called The Great Heckle, and it's a short book on purpose so that a comedian could just read it on the plane or, you know, just kind of in a couple of evenings.

Chris Wineland

And it preaches the gospel and it talks about, let's imagine that Jesus is the greatest entertainer to ever live now. Not not in the sense where he's like fake or anything like that, because a lot of entertainers could be considered fake.

Chris Wineland

No. What if he was the most artistic, most creative.

Chris Wineland

Human.

Chris Wineland

Being to ever live? Because he was.

Chris Wineland

Now which.

Patrick McCalla

Entertainers are creative and.

Chris Wineland

Yet and most.

Chris Wineland

Entertainers, they actually want to.

Chris Wineland

Speak.

Chris Wineland

Truth. They want to pursue truth, and they want to speak it out. Well, Jesus was the most truthful that ever lived. Well, and then also, he was the most heckled in the entire universe. And so that's why it's.

Chris Wineland

Called The Great Heckle, because comedians, we know what heckling is, right?

Chris Wineland

We been heckled before.

Patrick McCalla

Patrick McCalla

Absolutely. But but so you're helping these people understand this. This historical figure named Jesus was maybe the greatest entertainer of all times and was heckled more than anyone else.

Chris Wineland

Heckled more than anyone else.

Patrick McCalla

Probably put in a way that they've never.

Chris Wineland

Heard. Exactly. And I'll tell you something really cool. So we started partnering. I just published this two years ago, and I did it because it felt like the Lord told me to. And again, I just did it because there was no resources.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, I didn't know what to do with it.

Chris Wineland

So so far, this is amazing. I partnered with two comedy clubs in Phenix. Yeah. And what we do is when the headliner comes in, there's these gift baskets that I make and the gift baskets have the book in it and it preaches the gospel to them.

Chris Wineland

So I got an email at the end of the book. It says, Email me if you read this book, just send me an email so I know that you got it. And there was a comedian who is a dirty comic.

Chris Wineland

I met her for two minutes. I was headlining the show and she was opening and I just gave her the book. I said, Hey, here you go, this is for you. She read it in a in a night, and she emailed me and she said I used to be a used to go to church when I was

Chris Wineland

a kid and I just walked away from the Lord. And this has helped me to understand Jesus in a way I never did. And that to me is like, That is Hedwig. You know, that is like pushing the gospel to the entertainers.

Chris Wineland

And so that's that's the whole reason I wrote this book. Yeah, it's just like, Get it out there. Yeah, and stop looking at people like they're untouchable, but like they desperately need Jesus.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Love your heart with that, too. I mean, when you go back and you talk about the acts, the passage, you know, Paul is saying that and then Corinthians, where saying be all things to all people.

Patrick McCalla

I think a lot of times someone who's grown up in the church or people that are from a faith based perspective are going well, how do I do that? How do I do that in my field? I love that.

Patrick McCalla

Chris Wineland

Still.

Patrick McCalla

Being influencing people and still being heckled.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, yep. Well, and that's actually how the book starts, because the book says, you know you as a comedian, you've been heckled before. And the worst part of being heckled is that nobody's listening to you, right? You got up on stage and you only had a few seconds to speak before somebody.

Chris Wineland

Yells, boo, just because they want to. And so the whole.

Chris Wineland

Idea of the premise of the book is to say, Don't heckle Jesus, you've been heckled before. Read this one book and then if you're not satisfied, if you're upset at Jesus for whatever reason, send me an email, yell at me, right?

Chris Wineland

And then we'll talk. But most of the times when when a comedian takes me up on this challenge, they they don't know what to do with this. They read it and they go, Well, wait a second. Like, if Jesus is true and the words that you're putting in here are true, then what does that mean for me

Chris Wineland

? What do I do? Yeah. And that is one of the coolest situations that any person can be in because they have to make a decision.

Patrick McCalla

You used the phrase two, you talked about purpose. Yeah, which is is a perfect segue way into the No Go Areas podcast. I mean, what we talk about here is, you know, how do we live on purpose for a purpose?

Patrick McCalla

How do you make good choices? Yeah. So that's part of the reason you wrote this, too, is just to help people find purpose, right?

Chris Wineland

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I'm such an ambitious, ambitious person. So for the longest time, I overcomplicated what purpose was, and then I read the the two greatest commandments that Jesus says, right? Is the love god with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Chris Wineland

If an entertainer could understand that, then they would understand their purpose. And there's so many times where entertainers misuse what they think their purpose is. They think it's to get as famous as possible, any means necessary, and that's not it at all.

Chris Wineland

In fact, Jesus gives us, if we're loving God and we're loving our neighbor, then we're supposed to die to ourself a little bit. And I'll tell you one of the things I had to check my heart on this show.

Chris Wineland

I was a comedian. I was like six years in. I was doing okay in Cleveland, Ohio was like starting to kind of work my way up there. There was a guy I took under my under my wing and he didn't really start doing comedy.

Chris Wineland

I got him in to start doing comedy. Well, before I knew.

Chris Wineland

It, he was moving up.

Chris Wineland

In in the latter way quicker than me.

Chris Wineland

And I couldn't figure out why. And I went to a mike with him. And you know what this guy did? This is mind blowing. He, after.

Chris Wineland

Every comic we get offstage, he would walk up to him, no matter who they are, even if he's never met him and he'd say, Great job, can I get you anything near the light? I guess, yeah, I'd love a drink.

Chris Wineland

He's like, Great, I'll get you a drink and go get him a drink. Well, before you know it, this kid.

Chris Wineland

Was getting all the gigs, all the gigs, because everybody was.

Chris Wineland

Like, This guy cares about me. He's like doing everything for me. And I remember and he wasn't a Christian.

Chris Wineland

And I remembered sitting there.

Patrick McCalla

But he was living out the words of Jesus.

Chris Wineland

He was without religion. And I was sitting there and I was like, I have been doing this all wrong. I need to be serving these guys.

Chris Wineland

Not, not so I can move forward. Yeah, but because I need to care. I do care about them. Why am I not doing this? Why is somebody showing me up?

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And the moment I realized that I was like, Yeah.

Chris Wineland

Imagine if entertainers like myself would just take that full on and say.

Chris Wineland

Hey, great show, how can I.

Chris Wineland

How can I take care of you? Do you want to drink? You want anything? It's on me, whatever you want. And it's like just thinking about that would absolutely change somebody's perspective. They'd want to sit down and have a conversation.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, yeah. So you're about to start a podcast where you get into that moment. But let me let me before we jump into that. What was the worst experience you've had as a comedian? And then the best?

Chris Wineland

Yeah, the worst experience I think I've had as a comedian. Man, yeah, OK. I know what it is.

Chris Wineland

So this was a few years into comedy. This is maybe four years in, right? And you're just.

Chris Wineland

Doing all the mice you can get. And so there was this one gig. I think I got paid $20 for it, you know, nothing big. And it was at this bar and there were supposed to be an audience.

Chris Wineland

But for whatever reason, there was no audience. There were two people, two people in the.

Patrick McCalla

Audience, and your mom wasn't wonderful, and.

Chris Wineland

My mom was not one of them. No, they were these two ladies.

Chris Wineland

They didn't even know each other. They were sitting.

Chris Wineland

Across the way. So it's even awkward. It's this big bar area.

Chris Wineland

There's one person in the middle and one person on the side.

Chris Wineland

Well, apparently the comedian before me offended.

Chris Wineland

one of the ladies, so she got up and left.

Chris Wineland

It was my turn now. I only had one person in the whole audience. How do you entertain an audience of one person?

Patrick McCalla

Do you still look around the room like I did?

Chris Wineland

I didn't know what to do. I walked up and I was like, So where's my audience from? It was one person she didn't get the joke and she just left. I was like, That's just me. It was me.

Chris Wineland

So that that was the worst show, I think. Yeah.

Patrick McCalla

With no audience.

Chris Wineland

With no audience.

Patrick McCalla

Although if you would have just gone through your routine, you probably would have thought you were hilarious.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, I pretty much did.

Chris Wineland

At the end, I just started practicing.

Patrick McCalla

Did you just quit? Did you? I know I was.

Chris Wineland

Wondering right now I did the fourth or did the.

Patrick McCalla

Full 30 absolutely.

Chris Wineland

Full commitment. Yeah, it doesn't matter who's all in, you know? Well, yeah, because you're able to try new material, practice new, you know, or just or just work on the same one and and try to like, you know, timing.

Patrick McCalla

And it's.

Chris Wineland

Always an opportunity. Yeah. You don't just don't miss the opportunity. A lot of people like I remember there are so many people that would say, like.

Chris Wineland

I'm better.

Chris Wineland

Than this. Like I remember, you know, people would do that, then they would like leave. Well, those people are not doing comedy anymore.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, me.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

He's in New York City. I'm here in Phenix. We'll call each other once a month, and all we do is help each other up.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, we just say, You're still doing it. Keep going. Keep going. Keep doing it. Yeah, because everybody else quit. And I only.

Chris Wineland

Had one time in my entire career where I woke up and I thought I was going to quit. And I remember thinking, Well, you know what? Just by me, going means I'm winning everybody else. They just give up.

Chris Wineland

So it's like suddenly the race becomes easier and easier just because you're the only one still running it.

Patrick McCalla

It reminds me of Joe Gagliano, who wrote the book No Gray Area, a podcast after he always says if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Yes, and that's what you're seeing. You know, it goes back to the grind.

Patrick McCalla

It's like, it's not, you know, when you see the comedian up there with the packed house and having a great time and everybody's laughing and everything, that person at some point had a story like yours.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

me they were like, You know, we've had Christian comedians here before, but like, you're just a different Christian comic and they're there is because they don't do the churchy material because I didn't grow up in church, so I just do funny material.

Chris Wineland

And some of it can be a little edgy. I grew up with divorced parents, so I say that at church, at churches and people like, love it. Yeah. And so they said, Well, we want to give you like the prime spot.

Chris Wineland

So Sunday night and it was right after red and right before skillet and I got up. And what was crazy was I brought a friend to sell my shirts and he did such a good job. They sold all 200 shirts before I had ever performed.

Chris Wineland

And so now everybody's wearing my shirt. Yeah, yeah. And I'm like, Stay on the air. They don't even know if I'm funny yet.

Patrick McCalla

And you're looking at.

Chris Wineland

two other people with your shirts off? Yeah. And somehow they.

Chris Wineland

Started, I think, was my friend. They started like chanting, my name.

Chris Wineland

Mike, you know, nothing about me. But, you.

Chris Wineland

Know, I think it was just because I was right there, the height of it, like between the two. Like best acts of the show. And I just to be honest, like I killed and I said, I know that.

Chris Wineland

Patrick McCalla

Anybody in any field. You know, when you hit it? Yeah, you just you just just hit a homerun on that one.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, you just know.

Chris Wineland

And one of the coolest parts of it was a few acts before it was reliant. And when I lived in Ohio, my sister and I would love to listen to the line. Okay, and we would I would say, you know, one day like.

Chris Wineland

I'm going to get out of Ohio like, you know, one of those bodies, I'm going to get out of Ohio and I'm going to tour. And there I am with Reliant K on the band I used to listen to.

Chris Wineland

And so it was just such a cool experience for me.

Patrick McCalla

When when was that one year.

Chris Wineland

That was like.

Patrick McCalla

How long have you been grinding at this?

Chris Wineland

Yeah, I think I was eight years and I was. Years in with what happens now and then, since then, there was just so many breakthroughs of doing big shows regularly. But I remember that night people thought I was like, this big rock star and I was like, Are you kidding me?

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

I'm expecting half these people to leave, you know, it's like you're just used to the.

Chris Wineland

Grind you're used to like. And oddly enough, I think that's why the gospel is going to be so like. It's going to make a lot of sense with entertainers because entertainers know if you're going to go down this path, it is hard.

Chris Wineland

Like, expect to to sleep in your car a few nights, expect to like not have food. Sometimes expect to like eat ramen for a year and.

Patrick McCalla

Jesus a bit like what?

Chris Wineland

Jesus said. Yes, right? Where he says, Hey, there's no place to lay your head.

Chris Wineland

And that's why I take.

Patrick McCalla

Up your cross and follow me like, Yeah, I'm going to be easy.

Chris Wineland

Right? And that's why, honestly, I feel like I've had conversations with comedians where they're.

Chris Wineland

Like, Well, church.

Chris Wineland

Doesn't really make sense to me, and I.

Chris Wineland

Say, Well, that's because maybe they didn't.

Chris Wineland

Tell you the cost. If they told you the.

Chris Wineland

Cost, you would want to do it because.

Chris Wineland

Comedians love the cost. Like entertainers, we were all out for the cost. The whole reason I like, yeah, I got laughs. But it was that night, that first night of doing comedy. That headliner was like, Hey, if you want to be a comedian.

Chris Wineland

Expect to have nothing good for you for like five years. The moment he said that something about me was like, That's what I want. I want to sleep in my car like, I want to do something really hard.

Chris Wineland

And I think entertainers, if they hear that for the gospel, like it's about dying to self, it's a challenge that they're like, That's amazing.

Patrick McCalla

Chris, this is so cool because I never put these things together. I've never seen how that connects. And I love how you've connected those dots and then wrote a book on it. And man, it is. It is so true.

Patrick McCalla

Chris Wineland

Get the other. And some, yeah. And then.

Patrick McCalla

I mean, that's just that made it special and something so.

Chris Wineland

Special. Yeah. The wins you learn to just appreciate ten times more because it could become a loss at.

Chris Wineland

Any time, you know, as I did that night. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

deal. And I remember, like, it was right down the street from my house. The studio was so I would I would wake up every morning and I would be like, Babe, I've made it literally.

Chris Wineland

Like, I would say these words right. I've made it get my.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

it in a second. And I remember having a conversation with a sweet old lady at my church that said, Well, I bet you're just appreciative that you had the time with it. And I was like, Wow, I never thought of that.

Chris Wineland

You know, you usually just look at the losses being like the worst part. But what if you're just appreciative of the time that you had and then who knows what can happen, you know, coming up and just changed my whole?

Patrick McCalla

So there's the wisdom of someone who lived a few decades.

Chris Wineland

Yes. Yeah, I came from a sweet old lady. I was like, All right.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you have this new podcast coming out called Forgotten Hollywood, right? Yes. And you're not.

Chris Wineland

Excited about.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, yeah. When's that coming out?

Chris Wineland

So it's going to come out in March. Everywhere you can listen to a podcast, OK? And it's slightly different. Well, it's a history podcast if you ever listen to history podcast.

Patrick McCalla

No, but I want because I'm a history geek. I need to.

Chris Wineland

So you need to just take the love.

Patrick McCalla

I love history in March.

Chris Wineland

Type in forgotten Hollywood. Subscribe, you're going to love it. Trust me. Yeah, I'm not just saying it because I wrote it.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, but it's it's a really good show.

Patrick McCalla

Already established that you're my hero.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. Oh, okay, good. Good. You guys heard that right? OK, great. Yeah. So well, so it's a history podcast, which basically means like, there's no real interviews.

Chris Wineland

It's you're telling a story that really happened. And there's all these facts. And for me, like I wanted to make sure I have a friend that works for me. And his main job right now is to get just back stories, just get the story straight.

Chris Wineland

Like, I'll tell him, I remember reading this in a book and I remember reading this. I need you to find those books, find those highlighted and make sure that I'm right. And then I tell the stories. And so there's.

Patrick McCalla

Just let me let me give you a plug right here. I'm going to give a plug. OK, now. I mean, if you're a teacher, if you're a coach, if you're a speaker, if you're a writer, if you do anything like that, sounds like you need to listen to this because you're all right.

Patrick McCalla

Anybody who's doing that is always trying to come up with illustrations or stories.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. So, wow, I like. I never thought of that.

Patrick McCalla

We just listen to you and we're getting material for you.

Chris Wineland

That's right. That's right.

Patrick McCalla

Plug in you. Yeah, you're my hero now.

Chris Wineland

Wow. Thanks. Yeah, I am. So OK, it's the best interview I've ever been to.

Patrick McCalla

Thank you.

Chris Wineland

I'm your hero. Yeah. So, yeah, you're my hero now.

Patrick McCalla

How did how does someone.

Chris Wineland

Fire so so.

Chris Wineland

Anybody can find me on? Website, Chris Wineland, the dot.

Chris Wineland

Com or.

Chris Wineland

On Instagram on one every day at Chris Whalen comedy and I do a lot of this forgotten Hollywood stuff on my Instagram. Usually on my stories. And the whole idea is that there's so much of Hollywood history that you do not know.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And most of it is like Christian history that nobody knew. For instance, Hollywood started off as a Christian town. Did you know that? No, not a lot of people didn't. It started off as a Christian town, Hollywood, and in fact, they didn't want movies.

Chris Wineland

They didn't want alcohol, they didn't want gambling. And it was just this little town outside of L.A.. And when there was a drought, they had to they had to combine with Los Angeles. And the moment they did that, movies came in.

Chris Wineland

But originally it was a parade over all these churches were there, like just a parade over a piece of land that became a community of of die hard Christians.

Patrick McCalla

So where Hollywood sits today was originally a piece of land that people prayed over. Yeah. And launched a bunch of churches. And that's where Hollywood.

Chris Wineland

That's where Hollywood sits today. Wasn't that crazy? Wow. Yeah. And that's actually the first episode of Forgotten Hollywood. We've we have ten episodes for this first season. It's all going to launch in March. We've been doing kind of batch recording, so I'm just a bit of like a perfectionist, if you will, in there.

Chris Wineland

So we've been recording. I've even rerecorded a couple of episodes just because I haven't been happy with them. And yeah, they're all going to launch for ten weeks starting in March, and they're just going to go every week.

Chris Wineland

And there's just there's so much to it like, did you know the power of a joke so powerful that in World War two, Great Britain actually created a comedy show that would mock Hitler and would get into German airwaves like get into their radios.

Chris Wineland

Their whole idea, they funded it. The government funded it because they thought if if Germany can make.

Chris Wineland

Fun, if they can laugh at Hitler.

Chris Wineland

Game over.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, that's how powerful a joke.

Patrick McCalla

So, so they're they're they're taking money and they're building missiles and airplanes and boats and developing special forces and spies in the comic.

Chris Wineland

Yeah, an actual comedy show. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

And I like when I first read that because I'm a comedy writer, I've written for a lot of late night shows, and I thought, Man, I would love that job.

Chris Wineland

Could you imagine if the government called you up and said, we just want you to make a funny show making fun of some dictator? Make people a little Hitler? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chris Wineland

And they did a really smart thing too, because the whole the whole premise of the show was that he was a German soldier who was obsessed with Hitler, but everything he was.

Chris Wineland

Saying was terrible.

Chris Wineland

About Hitler.

Chris Wineland

So the German audience would know.

Chris Wineland

Like, wait a second, this isn't a real show. This is a comedy show. And then they started to laugh.

Chris Wineland

And it became a really big.

Chris Wineland

Part of World War two. Jokes are.

Chris Wineland

Powerful. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Wineland

So much so that like you look in the Bible and what was Elijah doing with the prophets, the false prophets? He was making fun of their fake god, you know?

Chris Wineland

Hey, maybe, maybe he's in the bathroom, right? And the moment you tell.

Chris Wineland

A joke that that side that you're telling a joke towards loses power.

Patrick McCalla

You know, I have never thought of Elijah as a stand up comic. Oh, you just shared that he was.

Chris Wineland

A great guy.

Patrick McCalla

I mean, that's one of my favorite stories. And I mean, at this time, yeah, that's one of my favorite stories in the Bible. When he does that and he's up there, someone has. If you don't know what we're talking about, go find.

Patrick McCalla

That's the story of Elijah with with the false prophets out there. But you're right, he's he's using using humor to make his point to both the prophets and the audience, the people that we're watching.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. And so that's one of the episodes we talk about is the power of a joke because one of the episodes for Forgotten Hollywood and we talk about Elijah and we talk about how in China, for instance.

Chris Wineland

Did you know Winnie the.

Chris Wineland

Pooh is banned? Because, yeah, because Winnie the.

Chris Wineland

Pooh supposedly looks like their president, and they said, That's it. Nobody can make fun of. I like.

Patrick McCalla

How you said supposedly, so you can stay.

Chris Wineland

Alive just in case. Yeah, this is against China's listening. I'm going to be OK. Yeah, because it yeah. And so literally it's the power of a joke.

Chris Wineland

They're trying to shut it down because why.

Chris Wineland

He would lose power in the minds of the people. Yeah. A joke can.

Chris Wineland

Can power shift. That's why. That's why you see the the mob right now, just trying to get rid of comics, because when a comic tells a joke, there's a power shift.

Patrick McCalla

Yeah, man, that's that is so interesting. I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait. March forgotten Hollywood. OK, tell us again how to get a hold of you. So to.

Chris Wineland

Find you.

Chris Wineland

So you can get a hold of me, Chris, when I come or at Chris Wineland comedy on Eastbound.

Patrick McCalla

Wineland, your.

Chris Wineland

Last name. Yes, it's in L.A. and you drink too much wine. You land on the ground.

Chris Wineland

You know.

Chris Wineland

That's our family.

Chris Wineland

Slogan. Yes, it.

Patrick McCalla

Is wine land. Yeah, Chris Wine, Lancome.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland dot com. And I forgot to tell you this, but forgotten Hollywood is partnering with the coolest Christian history studio podcast studio in the whole world. They're called Revive Studios, and they do Christian History podcast. So if you want to listen to any others, you've got to listen to them.

Chris Wineland

I partnered with them because they are literally my favorite Christian History podcast.

Patrick McCalla

I am definitely going to look that up. This is so applicable because, as you know, with no gray areas, we're in the process of making turning this big sports. Scandal turning it into a movie, so we're leveraging entertainment and we're trying to reach 1,000,000 kids with the curriculum, and so again, it's just the power of entertainment, the

Patrick McCalla

power of that world and and leveraging that is you're trying to do so, so good. So one of the things we do on our podcast is I asked two truths and a lie, which is ironic again, no gray areas.

Patrick McCalla

I'm telling you lie to me. So right? So audience gotten to know you a little bit. I've gotten to know you. Tell us two truths and lies, if we can guess.

Chris Wineland

OK, let's do this to truth in a lie. Here we go. I am a marathon runner.

Chris Wineland

I died before for.

Chris Wineland

A really long time. I led a celebrity to the Lord.

Patrick McCalla

Died for a really long time, what does that mean? I think I think I remember seeing because I do follow you on social media and people should follow you. You have some you have some hilarious stuff. It'll bring a smile to your face almost every day.

Patrick McCalla

I think I remember you saying sometimes that you ran a marathon or that you ran. So that's a truth, isn't it?

Chris Wineland

That is a truth.

Chris Wineland

OK, I'm a marathon runner. I say that very loosely.

Chris Wineland

Because I'm the worst.

Chris Wineland

Chris Wineland

So I just picked something impossible because I'm not a runner and I've ran two half marathons already. I have two more coming up in the next three months and I'm doing the San Diego half marathon in June.

Patrick McCalla

That's so cool. Congrats, man. I love hearing that. OK, so I'm going to say I'm going to say the dying one is lie.

Chris Wineland

See, this is why I'm great at two truth in a lie. Because it's true. I died.

Patrick McCalla

You're a good liar.

Chris Wineland

Thanks. I appreciate it. Yeah, you know, I.

Chris Wineland

Usually put that on my resume.

Chris Wineland

Yeah. No, no. I just pray for great. Great, great. Great man. Yeah.

Chris Wineland

No, I was dead for 36 minutes, according to the medical report. And it was when I was 19 and I had it was routine surgery and it went wrong. They gave me, according to the medical record. Again, they gave me five different types of anesthesia, four of which were lethal and they died and they just didn't know

Chris Wineland

how to bring me back. They tried everything, and my mom, who we did not have a great relationship with at the time, even though my mom helped me get up on stage and stuff, there was just so much from the past that it was hard for me and I had gotten saved.

Chris Wineland

But like, I still couldn't figure out forgiving one another yet. And my mom just prayed for me in the chapel at the same time because she felt like something was going on. And so out of nowhere, I just came back to life after 36 minutes, which is crazy.

Chris Wineland

Came back to life. And not only did the Lord resurrect me, but he resurrected my relationship with my mom in that. Yeah, through that is.

Patrick McCalla

Really great story. See, you're a great storyteller.

Chris Wineland

Because.

Patrick McCalla

You take two truths and a lie.

Chris Wineland

And then it's like, Yeah, great job.

Patrick McCalla

Yup. Chris, thanks so much. Thanks for being on here. Really appreciate it. We got we have two great the Great Heckle, the books you talked about to give away. So we're going to give it there was a way to the audience.

Patrick McCalla

Love your upcoming podcast. I'm going to check it out. I encourage the audience to check it out. But thanks for what you do and keep it up, man.

Chris Wineland

Thanks. Thanks for having me. I appreciate.

Host

It. Thanks for listening to the No Grey Areas podcast to dove deeper into the story. Be sure to subscribe. Follow us on social media and check out no gray areas. Dot com.