The Power of Laughter -- Comedic Keynote Speaker, Scott Bloom

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Frust. Scott Bloom, what's up, dude? Hey, how you doing, Sebastian? Good man. We finally got a chance to connect here.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah, no, it's been a while, and I think I told you when we were corresponding that Sebastian uh is my Starbucks name. Yes, you did.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

You did. I'm I'm honored, Scott.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Yeah, it's it's not only my Starbucks name, but for whatever reason I have a cult leader name, and my cult leader name, I'm gonna make this up, was gonna be Sebastian, just in case I fell into that uh that industry, because it's very profitable, I understand. And uh I don't know, I just always love the name Sebastian, so I'm I'm glad to uh you know finally connect with you. It's been a while.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yeah, it most definitely has. You're a busy guy. Well, I I weighed 12 pounds, so I needed a big name. So my mom wrote for the newspaper at the time. I was born in a little small town in Indiana called Peru, Indiana, and uh there was a German exchange student in town at the time, and his name was Sebastian. He entered the contest and he won. So when I came screaming into this world at 11 pounds, uh I needed a big name.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

So uh And is is your nickname Seb? What what what are the orb uh Sebass?

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Uh yeah, I mean I've kind of shaken the Seabass, you know, name because it's you know the older version of me. Uh but uh Seb, uh my mother calls me Sebi at times. I'm not proud of that at all. Yeah. Uh mainly Sebastian. I just keep it at that. Uh sometimes Seb, but Sebi is, yeah, I usually keep that out of the Sebi and Seb Seabass. I've I've uh I've retired, or at least I think I have. And then you run into that one friend.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Yeah, Seabass is always uh a common name for Sebastian. It reminds me of my uh, you know, John D. Domenico, right? Good good friend of mine. Do you know him? He's a Trump impersonator, he does lots of different impressions.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

But uh we're in a mastermind group. Uh John's in it, uh Jeff Savillico's in it, Jason uh Hewlett's in it, Wayne Lee, uh Tim Gabrielson. And John has these enormous calves. Like you've never seen calves like that. So what made me think of it, we call him Seabiscuit. He's built like a horse. I mean, it seriously, that's a uh that's a YouTube channel on onto its own. I bet. Uh just of his calves. Seabiscuit.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

So speaking of Jeff Savilico, that's how you and I ended up. And then the power of social media, you get connected with one individual, and then you see who interacts with them, and you are one of those, and uh Wayne was another individual. Uh, because I my my thought process was as I've been refining my MC business over the past ten years or so, not the easiest uh trail to blaze, uh as you know. Uh but it makes it that much easier by getting around people that have been doing it significantly longer than you, learning from them, connecting with them, have conversations with them. And that's well, that's basically what led us to this interview today. So it's great to great to connect with you. It's great to be with uh individuals that have been doing this far longer than I have, and hopefully, well, I can teach you a thing or two about podcasting. You teach me a thing or two about this whole MC game.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Sure. I think I'm the I'm the only person without a podcast as of now, though uh I'm thinking about doing something. I'm definitely gonna do, I think I'm gonna go more in the video content world and put up funny videos, but uh, I mean, I should eventually get to podcasting. I mean, that that's where all things end, is to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

I hey, you're those are your words. I'm just agreeing. You most definitely need most definitely need uh a podcast. So I like to tell people stories on this show, just back up and find out how we got to present day. So when was the day you woke up and said, you know what? I'm gonna be a live event MC and keynote speaker. How did all this come together?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Well, I mean, it was definitely uh it definitely started uh well, I know let's just fail, let's put it this way is when I tell people what it uh what it is that I do, I never would have said when I was younger that's what I was gonna do. I didn't even know that existed. I didn't know I wanted to be funny. I didn't know I wanted to do comedy from an early age. I I knew I was funny. I remember someone in second grade, like literally pointing out at day camp, going, you know, you're really funny. I mean, kids know when they're funny. And uh both my kids are funny, they know it. You know, I grew up with a dad who uh I think always was a frustrated comedian who was a salesman, always wanted to do uh what I ended up doing, which was stand-up and improv. Um he actually, when he was 60, I think he started doing some open mic. I think he was doing a combination of my old material and a whole bunch of uh Chuck uh Norris jokes. I think that was his his act at the time.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

A little hybrid action.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

You know, I I I had an improv group. I'll give you the quick story. I had an improv group in college, you know, uh what went to a Second City uh show, uh traveling show. I said, oh, okay, I can do that. We put on this improv troupe, and everything about it was improv because we didn't know anything about it. So we'd perform outside on Fridays in the common area, and then we started doing cabarets. And then in the cabaret, when we're doing improv, I would do a little stand-up up front. I'd do a little MCing. And so I was destined to be a salesman uh with my dad's company in uh Houston. My when growing up, my dad had the second largest uh telecommunication company in Houston, as far as he was concerned. That's what he liked to say. I don't think it was anything close to that, but that's his storyline. And uh so I was supposed to be a salesman. I told him senior year, I'd come down in the summers to work for him. I was making really good money. Um, but senior year, I realized, you know, this is what I want to do. I want to be a stand-up, I want to be an actor, uh, I want to be a comedian. And so I had to make that call and say, Dad, I'm not coming to work for you. Uh, I'm gonna go. Uh I was living in New York at the time. I think I'm gonna move to New York after college and become a stand-up. So I started stand-up in the late 80s when um when stand-up was big. I mean, every TV show you would turn on, there would be a brick wall behind so on. Every restaurant would have a corner of the room with a light and a little stage and a mic, and you do a Tuesday night, you do a Wednesday night, one nighters and and weekends. And then from uh from from stand-up, I you know, I started doing little TV stuff. I did um I did a show uh on VH1 years and years ago. And what was crazy about it, and then had all those sitcom development deals that everyone gets based on your character, because that was the time of Tim Allen, Ray Romano, everyone was basing a stand-up uh sitcom on their on their stand-up. And uh then I had an opportunity, you know, in the early 90s to uh someone needed a comedian to host a game show. So that's where I kind of sort of came in, got paid literally nothing to host this game show, but they needed someone to ad lib, be on their feet, you know, uh have some fun with people. And after that one game show in the New York area, I became the game show guru, you know, because they they had to sell me as he's the guy, he's the man, he's the one to do it. And uh so I started getting booked as a game show host that led to hosting uh actual meetings, general sessions, MCing, that kind of stuff. And so um I was, you know, uh we talked a little bit about this and we can talk more about it, but in the early days, which was like you know, early 90s, people weren't bringing outsiders in to host their meeting. It was almost inconceivable. But my material was always based about uh around the audience. All the humor was corporate friendly, it was about them. So I sort of developed this sort of niche and uh became at some at a certain point as a you know a go-to MC, especially in the New York area with the New York production companies. And uh, you know, from that it just sort of evolved. And uh I I I stopped doing stand-up in 2000. I think my last gig was in in Vegas at um I think it was at Harra's and uh been doing you know corporate MCing ever since full time. I was doing uh you know 50-50 for a while. But uh to tell you, to be honest with you, I love it so much more because you have smart audiences. Uh I used to perform at 8 p.m., now I'm performing at 8 a.m. Um I know what the gig is about, I know what the audience is about, and because they don't expect it a lot of times, especially if they have an MC, uh, they're just happy to have someone who's, you know, having fun with them. They, you know, they're they're not used to laughing at a at a business meeting. So that's that's how I got to where I am today, and then I've moved forward from there as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Well, there's a lot of crossover with stand-up and MC work. And just like you said, comedy is so easy when it's not expected. I'm I'm actually petrified of stand-up. I've done a one open mic night in my life. Um told five jokes, got three laughs. Most comics would say that's good percentage. That's not playing baseball. Not bad percentage. Not bad, not bad at all uh for my for my first at bat. And but as part of uh of being an MC uh it is your job to to keep the audience engaged. And part of that is thank God for improv, right? Thank God for that that that that uh that that ability to think on the fly and have things show up as things are taking place, because I would be dead in the water. Because as you know, a lot of times the MC stuff isn't exactly well, Scott's gonna take the stage at eight o'clock at first speakers at eight ten. It's not always like that. It's hey, where's the speaker at 10 o'clock? Scott, get out there and tell some jokes. So there's a lot of time to I always like to tell, you know, I tell clients, I'm I'm here to cut time, add time, and entertain to the best of my ability. But that's that that there that comes a lot comes with the territory on on that. But there's a lot of crossover with with with comedy, I would like to think. In fact, now after everyone's been stuck at home for umpteen months, I thought the first open mic that I get the opportunity, I've been writing material and and uh obviously the best way to figure out if that material works is is open mic. So I am adamant about going to one open mic every single month minimum, and I know that if I do that, I'm gonna get hooked and I'll be going several times a month. But it's a great way to be able to to exercise your craft and also work the kinks out and you know, get the marbles out of your mouth.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Absolutely. But, you know, I think the biggest change since um, you know, probably YouTube. I mean, change, you know, my generation of stand-ups were people like uh Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, um Dave Chappelle. I remember Dave Chappelle uh popping in a club in in DC that I was headlining, and he was like 16 at the time, and he just blew the room out. I mean, we all saw it at you know at an early age. But, you know, with YouTube, those stand-ups had a different trajectory where we needed to be in the clubs to showcase, get seen. They had YouTube to let people show, hey, this is some content I can create. Uh improv uh companies and schools like uh uh not only Second City, but um uh help me out here. I'm I'm thinking of the one in uh in New York. I'm just blanking on that name. Um uh UCB. Upright Citizens Brigade. Uh UCB, those schools really taught people not only just to do comedy, but to do sketch, to learn how to write. So people became more prolific. You know, back in my day in stand-up, we'd get an act, we'd bake it, it was it was killer every time. But, you know, going back a second, third, fourth time, this is before podcasts where people have an audience and they come every year. So people like Louis CK, before that, George Carlin, uh, but Louis C.K. more of a contemporary uh stand-up, is putting out a new special almost every year, doing a new act every year. And there are a lot of comedians now have to do that. So it's it's forced everyone to write material more. But as far as you know, going out and doing stand-up, we have so many more platforms now to entertain to do comedy. And at these, you know, um uh live events, in-person events, we can talk a little bit about virtual and what that change has been. But in in-person events, um, what I decided to do was develop these sort of modular bits that are business oriented, you know, whether I'm talking about their acronyms or their speak or something about the company, and be able to have 75% of it written and then add that little 25% to personalize it, which goes so much farther when they say they feel that the comedy is about them, is written just for them. But you can't just write new comedy and then try it out in front of an audience of 500,000 people. So the 75%, uh and when that 25% is more about details and about them, the comedy is already tried and tested. So I developed all these different modules. So when I'm uh doing an event, they'll say, hey, why don't I do this bit up front? I do this thing about your acronyms, I've memorized like 25, 30 years of your acronyms. The audience feels like, wow, not only did he put the time, but we don't even know these acronyms. Um, they uh they really uh gives me an opportunity to really ingratiate myself with the audience, let them know that I'm there for them. I didn't just walk off a plane and walk on stage. And that sort of starts the relationship. And you you probably know this, whether it's podcasting or doing stand-up, it's really about building a relationship with the audience and not as a platitude or just a trite statement. That's what that's what comedy is. Because in my personal opinion, is that you can tell a joke that's like, let's say, a seven out of ten, but if you have that relationship with them, there's that sort of unconscious sort of connection they have that bumps the laughter up to a nine. And I think that's a lot of what my comedy is about. I mean, it's really good, solid stuff, but I'm getting a little added bump of laughter because I'm making an effort to build this relationship.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Which isn't easy to do. I mean, first day of the gig, I always walk out there and I always like to say, there's nothing like walking into a room of 5,000 people. You're the only one on stage, and everyone is mildly hung over and staring at you like you have 10 heads and boogers. Like there's nothing worse. So I don't I automatically default to just um to to just getting on their level a little bit of going, oh, it's gonna be one of those mornings I see where I'm telling jokes and I'm also laughing at them, too. Can you guys in the front row at least help me out a little bit? I'll buy you a drink later. Being able to laugh at yourself in a role. Of course, I wear bow ties, doesn't make it hard to laugh at me because you know Virginia and the bow tie, you look very sharp. Thank you. I appreciate it. Bow bow ties are never bow ties never go out of style because bow ties were never in style. So I I always I always hang my hat on that. I was thinking uh I I spent some spent some time with uh with with NSA, been to a couple annual conferences with National Speakers Association and and met somebody. And the same thing when I was getting my speaking career started, I thought, well, let's just start at the top, work our way down, and be able to connect with some uh with some with some great folks. And when you talked about being an MC and giving keynotes and and really owning your audience on our the first person I thought of was Dale Irvin. You know, Dale?

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Oh I I've got I uh well I'll let you I'll tell my Dale Irvin story after you tell yours.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Yeah, so well, first of all, I had never met or been witness to a master summarizer by any stretch of the imagination. But I had that experience at NSA, and of course he usually does his bit right after lunch, and he's got everybody going with the napkins and the whole nine, and he's there to to summarize and to recap. But I mean a master, and but a very funny guy just hanging out at the bar, too. Just a very, very funny dude. And you see how his craft actually has become the way it is, but yeah, had to connect through had got a chance to connect through uh through um NSA a few times that I went to the conference on there and had a chance to talk with him offline too. But yeah, uh what an art.

unknown 15:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, I mean, I I think what makes what he what Dale does special is that it's clearly written that day, and it's funny, it's about them, it's about things we just heard, and that's a craft he's been uh, you know. I knew of Dale back in probably '91, '92. And my business, my now business manager was working for an agency that booked Dale all the time for corporate gigs. And I once was in his office, I saw his calendar. He had five gigs in for May, and I found out you know, this was back when I was maybe making $200 a show for a weekend. Maybe I could make $600, $100 during the week. So, but he was making $5,000 at that time. Wow. Uh a gig. And I was like, how do I make Dale Irvin money? How do I make $25,000 in a month? Now, obviously, Dale's, you know, price has probably gone up, but uh that was my first exposure to someone who was, you know, was an MC, doing it, doing it successfully, and having a hook. I mean, that's that's his hook, and uh, you know, people seem to love it.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

One of the years that I went there, that's when I really started to go, wait a second, this is saturated. I'm sitting in a room with 2,500 speakers. And I always like to, I mean, I joke constantly that you know NSA is kind of a tough crowd. Uh in it and it is, because it's people that have been speakers longer than I've been than I've been alive at some time. Um, but it's also very uh carefully cultivated relationships that I've found. So as the new guy, it was cool. I just toted the whole I know I know about social media, you guys probably don't card. And that worked out really well. It was very well received. And then I also had people that were in my space that were very, very prominent keynote speakers within the NSA space too. So that helped bridge the gap a little bit. But the MC that year, I couldn't pick the guy out of a lineup now, but I thought to myself, this guy's got the main stage of the NSA conference. And he was okay, I guess. But man, I I I don't know how to get up there, but I need to figure it all out. And that's when the antennas really started to go up. Where not to not to knock the guy's talent by any stretch of the imagination, but when you get that feeling of like I could totally do that and I could do a better job, um, it really it it does motivate you, and that's when I think that I I started doing this stuff free. So I just hey, I'll yeah, I'll just let me on stage with the bow tie. I'm taking I'll take pictures, I'll post them on Facebook. I I know I can do this. In fact, the first gig that I got was back in 2012 with an outfit called uh Social Fresh. And they did a social media conference on the East Coast and the West Coast. And I went to the East Coast one here in Tampa, and after I I said I connected with the event organizer, I said, I'm a good guy to have in in in the building. I had wear bow ties, I run around with the camera, I'll create content, we'll see what shows up. And he said, All right, cool, no problem. So I showed up, did just that, connected with the speakers and did interviews, etc. Then we get to the we got to the end of the conference and he said, Hey, thanks again for being here. I really appreciate it. Do you have any feedback for me? And I said, But I do. And he said, Well, what feedback is that? I said, you know, sometimes feedback is awesome. Sometimes feedback makes you feel a little funny. I've got a little, you know, I I don't know where this is gonna show up for you, but I'd like to give it to you because I think it's very important. He's like, lay it on me. And he's he's he's not really an excitable over-the-top guy, he's extremely introverted. But he said, uh, what's the feedback? I said, Well, you're bringing in speakers from large brands that are um that that are talking about what's happening behind the scenes at Hershey and JetBlue and Southwest Airlines. And it's really cool because you have the actual team there going, Hey, here's what's worked on a on a C level with social media, and the audience is full of agency owners, social media managers, and individuals like myself. Fantastic. However, by lunchtime on the first day, I wanted to punch myself in the face due to the lack of energy in the room. And I understand the whole thought process of this is my show, this is my deal, and having a face of that brand, very important of it. I just feel it can be better. And he said, Great. With that being said, how? I said, just give me the mic for the next show and let me run with it. And he goes, All right, let me uh let me think about that. I was talking about staring at me like I got 10 heads and boogers, and I ended up calling me back three months later and said, All right, let's uh I'm gonna let you do San Diego. Uh I can't pay you. I said, Nobody tell no, nobody said anything about paying. I just don't want it to cost me anything. So get me to San Diego, feed me, put me up, and I will knock it out of the park. And that was the first gig I actually had. And uh it ended up working out, thank God. I ended up doing that gig for two or three years after, got a little stifing from here and there, and then continued as I build credibility and relationships on there, was able to actually be compensated accordingly uh for the job. And um now I look back in retrospect, that would have never happened had I not been the, hey, look at me over here, I'll do it for free. Because you've got to get your chop somewhere, you know?

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Well, I think that's a great story for for anyone who's starting out. I mean, there's a lot of people, you know, that I see on LinkedIn that'll either reach out to me or I'll see they're starting out and they're always asking, how can I, you know, how can I get in this business? And, you know, it's still uh, you know, still uh, you know, is it's not as crowded as keynotes, but it's still a crowded space. And how do you break through all that, especially if you have no credentials or you haven't done a lot of this? And that's what it is, is try to offer your services where you can, try to get up on stage, get some some video, start to get a little buzz, you make a relationship with someone, they're like, hey, you know, we really liked you here, you know, we're gonna bring you back in in three months, that kind of stuff. So that's that's exactly the uh the path most people should take.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

Yeah, absolutely. Getting there and getting getting the reps in and finding out, you know, what what's what's possible with being able to do it. But you have to prove yourself too. I mean, that's people handing over the reins to their stage is no easy task at all. So it's a it is definitely a crawl, walk, run, and boy, we hope this this works out. And I and I've I've had we'll talk about this in a second, but um well first let's back up. Why why do people why why do brands, why do conferences, why do events need to hire an MC?

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Well, uh, you know, I would say that every conference is doing a disservice by not having one and it has nothing to do with me. That's you know one of the main things I do. It's just that it elevates everything to a a more uh uh a better, more professional uh experience, a more engaging experience. I mean, you know, we've probably talked uh you know before about this, about the idea of when they bring up, you know, they they either say they have someone funny or they say we want to give it to our you know our senior VP to give him some stage time. First of all, this is something he doesn't do professionally. He does once a year. Even the speakers, I I coach a lot of the speakers, you know, on site, you know, a lot of times just to let them engage better with the audience. And one of the things, the most important thing, is take the attention off of yourself and put it on the audience. So if you don't have that experience of doing it day after day, year after year, um, you're on stage the whole time going, I hope I'm doing well, which the audience can immediately pick up. It's just like that stand up who's who's flopping on stage. Stage, you can feel it. Even if he's not showing flop sweat, you can feel it. And you can feel when people are uncomfortable. The main thing is that that SVP or VP has more important things to do than worry about who's coming up next, worrying about some housekeeping notes. So we put that aside. Now they don't have to do that. Now you bring a professional in. And the big um, I think, obstacle in the beginning was that people were like, well, why we bring an outsider into our into our event? And one of the ways that I combated that was that I created all my comedy uh from an insider's point of view. I did what we were talking about, Dale was doing in advance. So I would learn a lot about them. I'd write a lot of my comedy uh for them. So it seemed like, oh, I know just as much as about them. And that insider, that building that relationship, oh, I'm part of the team, really goes a you know a long way. And to have a uh a more engaging experience from an audience point of view, I always say when I come on stage, if you've never had an MC, um, we immediately sort of shift what we've expected the the uh the meeting to be. And I uh I have some built-in things that within a minute I can get my you know, my first sort of laugh that's going on. And they're not used to laughing at 8 a.m. They're not used to laughing at a at a business meeting. So it elevates the energy of everyone who's there. Uh, it creates a different experience, and that experience transcends into the other speakers. What I see a lot of times is the speakers now become a little bit more relaxed. They uh that whole I have to be sort of stodgy and stuffy and just read the prompter, they start to crack, you know, little jokes and they start to be a little bit more their personality shows. And that's what's missing a lot from the corporate speakers is how you take the speech that you don't maybe you're not a speaker, that you don't speak uh, you know, every day, uh maybe you just you know twice a year at a conference. How do you make that uh seem natural? How do you bring your personality out? And just by shifting that energy, that that uh that the spirit of the meeting just slightly, by having something different, having an MC that's that's fun, that's engaging the audience, the speakers become more lively. Um, me coming back on to connect everything, it just seems like a better produced event. And listen, everyone's used to seeing things produced well now, whether it's, you know, even virtual has upped its ante on what professional looks like. And people have some expectations. And if you don't meet it, it's gonna be your same boring meeting. You have a host that's funny, that knows about you, that is uh is excited to be there. The audience has a relationship with them. Um, it creates a whole other experience. And and so what my track record has been is I build that relationship that first time, and there's many companies that I come back year after year. I mean, there's uh I think the most I've ever done is my seven, eight years, but there, there I know some guys, uh, my friend John Domenico we mentioned, he's been with uh with a company for 21 years because they love him so much, they're looking forward to him coming back, and that's what you want. Each time I come on stage, hey, we're looking for a little humor break, we're looking for a little comic relief, hey, we're having so much more fun at this meeting than we've ever had before. It just it's it's a game changer as far as I'm concerned.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yeah, I agree with that. And I hear you you've heard things like you add a really different dynamic to the event, you know, when they're giving you accolades and talking. And people love to talk to the MC. They love to have conversations. That was one of the main reasons that I became an MC, in addition to being able to have the talent to do the job, was that I don't have to work so hard to network with people in an event. And it's kind of hard to do when you're booked at the event and it's a gig on there, but you're still meeting new people. And after the event, uh there's opportunities, you know, that that that you know, I could be here till next week sharing, you know, the possi opportunities that that show up based on the people that you met on there. But I I thought, you know, no one's gonna forget the guy in a bow tie. I'm on stage all week long, or to the end for the extent of the event. Um, and it's a phenomenal opportunity to to to meet and connect with people. But yes, I have ran into that too, where it's hey, well, you know, our our new VP, senior senior VP uh is gonna be MCing. I've actually got to a gig before, I'll never forget in New York City, it was 2014. I got there and it was at the Hammer well, it's not the Hammersine Ballroom anymore, but it used to be. And um I walked in there and it's a wow factor. And you go in there and you go, wow, anybody who's anybody has recorded in here and done something and had like, wow, this place is absolutely amazing and historic in the whole nine. I can't wait to get on the stage and went back to the for a production meeting, and they said, Well, we've got a new senior VP that we'd like to introduce to the brand. So we're gonna have him go ahead and head up the MC duties. And uh my response is is is immediately okay, sounds great, fantastic. We're gonna have you run around with a camera crew and do interviews and create content too. So it's kind of the same thing. I'm like, yeah, absolutely the same thing. So I mean, I was like, so I talked to one of the production people, I said, Where's the senior VP at? I need to talk to this guy. So um and uh I I tracked him down and said, uh, hey, hey Greg, great to meet you. I look forward to working with you and uh welcome to the team. So because I said you're the new face of the brand on here, and uh have you ever done any MC work at all? I mean, oh, I haven't at all. I'm sure I can learn a two c a couple things from you. And I said, Well, uh, and I'd be more than happy to maybe I can learn something from you too. But my true gift is kicking the show off. The initial, like I can, I can I can do the whole deal, and it's part of the job. But like my real forte, my real thunder is is the beginning of the event. So, what what do you think about me kicking off the event, doing my thing, coming in, getting everybody all fired up? It's gonna make your job easier, uh, and then teeing you up. So I'm like the NC of the MC's like that's a great idea. Because I'm thinking to myself, there's no way that I'm in New York City, first time in the Hammerstein ballroom that I'm not gonna rock that stage. And sure enough, ended up working out okay. And by lunch, he was like, Yeah, you know what? Why don't you go ahead and take the next speaker? I'm good. Exactly, exactly. I you talk about thinking about it. By the end of the day, by the time we're at the after party at the bar, he's like, you know what, Mighty, they were from they were from Europe or somewhere. He's like, you know what? That was one of that was a brilliant idea. Brilliant idea here. Uh, because yeah, man, that's hard work. Wow, how do you do that all day? And I'm like, well, you know, you guys, you know, you guys pay pretty well. So I can do two or two or three days in a row.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

When I've run into the yeah, when I've run into that situation, you know, where they, you know, uh, well, they really want to have that face he's new, they want him up. I always suggest why don't we co-host it and do something similar. Let me let me open it, I'll throw it to him, I'll let them know if I'm doing videos and stuff like that, that you'll see me pop up from time to time, and you know, we'll find different places and we'll we'll do it together. And that way he doesn't have to deal with housekeeping, he doesn't have to deal with some of the transitions. And uh, you know, there at this point that you know when you're doing creative with a with a company or production company, they're usually uh amenable to to suggestions. Yeah, and that's that's how you get your ideas out there going, really. I have a I have uh just a suggestion, you know, and and that's an artwork in itself in the creative field to be able to express your ideas and not uh have someone feel threatened or sort of recoil like you're taking over. But you know, it's weird. Um when I did TV, when I did a little TV, um the thing that was um the most challenging is you had so many people that were giving you feedback, you had to conform to so many people's ideas. And what's great about uh doing uh MC work or even my comedia keynote is I'm the I'm that spot, I'm that show, and I'm the producer, I'm the host, I'm the creative. Of course I work with conjunction with them, but I I they they usually listen to I say, hey, this would be a good bit to do here, this would be something good because we're gonna need a little bump here. And you know, from years of doing that, you have that sort of respect. Not that I I need it, but I'm trying to produce the best show, not just my segment, the best show possible. And a lot of times I will during a show, and I have to really be careful, because on a on a TV set, you can't talk to the director, you can't talk to the writers, you're just a hired hand. But in the uh in the corporate world, I can I'm always going, hey, you know, we're we're we're not really getting the best sound back here or something that's so not my my scope. But as an audience member and as a producer, I want to pr you know produce a great show. So I'm always trying to give feedback and trying to do it gently. Sometimes you go, you know, that fight is not worth it. Uh, you know, if that's the way they want to do it, let them let them do it that way.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

It is when just like you said, you know, I've there there are there have been times which is just part of the territory where it is, listen, you're a hired gun, you're hired to do one thing. We'll let you know if we need any feedback. And that's that was a tough lesson to learn too. Because I mean, first it was like and then I had I would call a couple mentors and they'd say, you know, you realize they're right, right? And I and it was to be able to stay in your lane. I think, you know, as a as a young MC, that was challenging for me too, separating the fact that this is not my show and uh this is this is our show, and you're a hired gun to do a job and go home. Okay. Um, and that was like well, and but again, it comes from a you know, the in the entertainment space, any type of entertaining as it is, you've got to check your ego at the door and realize that it may not your recommendations may not always be welcomed on here. But uh lot lots of humble pie available in the entertainment space.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Oh, oh, definitely, definitely. I mean, I you know, as I said, I w my my heart is in the good in the right place. I'm trying to give you folks the best show possible. So I will make suggestions, and if I as long as I keep my suggestions as opposed to this is what you want to do, they'll they'll hear it, they'll make their decision on their own. And, you know, more times than not, I mean, I love when I'm working with uh a creative producer and we're in rehearsals, and uh there are a couple that come to mind right now. Uh there's a great uh producer over at uh Wilson Dow Creative, a guy named Mark Dow, who when we did things, there was such collaboration. I would say, how about this? And he would take that idea and then say, Oh, what if we added this and then we build something that neither one of us had? Uh you know, it's it's challenging when you have, nope, this is the way we're gonna do it. This is my idea. And I I love that collaborative energy, especially on site, where you know, you know 90% what you want to do, but there's that 10% wiggle room where, hey, I never thought about doing that. And and I'm open to this, you know, the same suggestions. For sure. So, you know, I'm I'm cool with that. You know what I wanted to ask you, Sebastian, is uh with 2021 or 2020 happening, you're already in this sort of podcast space space. What did you have to adapt to? You know, forget about the live stuff. What did you have to adapt to? Um, was there any sort of shift or change for you?

SPEAKER_00 32:28

Only in the amount of business that was coming in because everyone was stuck at home with a podcast microphone and said, Well, I all the shulda coulda woulda conversations I've been having. And I guess now's the time because I mean, what else is there to do? So it helped business significantly. Um it's my the MC business slowed down um because everything was transitioning and people were trying to figure out ah and then we picked up with the hybrid model and the remote model and things of that, which as you know is not the real is not the is not the same thing. There's not that true human live energy that you've got on here. I've done a couple hybrid gigs uh that are that are that are that are better at that process, but I would say those are the biggest adjustments, even with but the hybrid stuff's not bad either. I mean, you still got you have 457 monitors in front of you, and it's kind of like they're right there. But having the AV team and a stage manager and being on stage and lights and the whole night does does does help get you into the groove a little bit. But I'd say that was probably the biggest challenge. The all virtual ones where I'm right here and I'm hosting a live event and I've got to drag and drop people on a stage. Now that that was that was new. So I would say that was probably the biggest, the biggest hurdle I've had. And that was my question to you too. So this whole this whole transition into virtual, um, you know, what did that look like for you? Especially a guy's been doing this for for a minute now.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Yeah, you know, it it's funny. I think all of us uh who did live events, especially someone like me being a comedian, um, is you know, when we lost the audience, we lost the the laughter, we lost all the people, it was it was a little bit of a a mind twist.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Uh, you know, uh what are we gonna do? Now also on my own TD, on my own cameraman, I don't have all this equipment. I remember starting, you know, with a with my 2017 laptop mic, which was all kind of fuzzy. And then I had to go on the black market uh and get myself a decent, you know, uh 1080 camera, you know, from Logitech, you know, because they were all gone. Um and so it that was a progress uh process, just the technical stuff. But also, I mean, I got I had my first virtual meeting in May. So we we shut down in March. Uh it was for Pfizer. I had done work with them before. Uh it was a big global international launch. So I was getting up at weird hours. We were going through all of Europe, all of Asia, and it's my first one. And I'm trying to get a teleprompter. I bought a little teleprompter gear that would go on my laptop or on a tripod. Um I got my little camera there, and it's hard to, and I'm running my tri, you know, my teleprompter on my own. And then, you know, the lighting is kind of weird, and uh there was a lot of stress. I gotta be honest with you. I think all of us went through a lot of stress, lots of anxiety. And, you know, that talk about being humble, you know, you're you're having to realize, hey, how am I gonna make a living now? And we just I have a team that we just kept on uh you know developing things. I'm now in my family room, which is a full-on broadcast studio with professional prompter rig, a couple of uh monitors, uh lights all around. Uh if you notice how my I don't know, is this video or just audio? Uh it's both. Yeah. Both. Okay. So if you if you've been watching, you notice the clock hasn't changed. This is my beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills. Uh-huh. So I put everything together, and then the next process was, you know, I started doing a couple of uh pre-records. So what I started to realize is this is a little bit back to my TV roots, that I'm not going to have a studio audience. And as a comedian, you kind of know what's funny. I mean, you want to test it out, but you have a sense of what's funny. And I realized, oh, I can just play comedy the way I would if I didn't have a studio audience. And I got more comfortable with that. Uh sometimes I can see the audience, you know, through a Zoom. A lot of times it's just a one-way, you know, webinar thing. And I've developed a lot of engagement techniques to uh interact with them live during the meeting. A thing that I've been doing lately that's been great is I have them connect to me on LinkedIn during the meeting. And then I do shout-outs to them. I write kind of like what Dale is doing. I write material during the show uh about them, and it's always just a fun little thing. They love hearing their names uh, you know, shouted out, gives it even more of that live effect. And, you know, to be honest with you, I've gotten so used to this, and I'm doing, you know, almost one a week now. So I've moved into that realm. And I love, I actually love doing virtual. I mean, I'll continue doing, I'll keep the studio running. I'll still do live events, but I'll keep the studio running to either create content. I'm trying to work with a couple of companies to be their sort of internal uh spokesperson, which I think is a gig that I've been trying to get for a while. But now, you know, it used to be I'd do their live event and I'd say, hey, let's have some pull-through. Let's bring it to the next year when you're gonna have me back. Let me do some videos with you. And I've done a little of that, but I think now where they're meeting me first time on video, that's where they expect to see me. So I'm working right now trying to negotiate some deals where I can be coming in every couple of weeks with some funny content, maybe some interviews to really, you know, almost take the podcast thing into the corporate world, which is something I tried to do in the past. But now it's uh, I think people are a little bit more open to it. Sure. So the year has been uh sort of incredible where there was uh some times where I didn't know how I was gonna make a living. Am I gonna be able to afford this beautiful home you see behind me? Um and uh to a point where I started to get my C legs, started to get comfortable with it, started getting the equipment, starting to get the connections. And um, I absolutely I love this medium now because it's such a challenge, and I love the idea of writing new material each time, whether it's before the event or you know, while the event's happening. It's it's it's it became more rewarding. You know, we were on this track of doing one thing, and uh I'm in front of an audience and I get laughter. Um, it's great to be able to have the same satisfaction without the studio audience and just knowing you're doing a you know, doing a good job.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Yeah, it is. Technology allows us to do that. It's amazing. We, you know, we either fight technology or we run with it, and we're grateful for what it can do to be able to help us continue to move the ball. I always said to what what in the world would we have done without the internet uh during a pandemic? You know, it's uh we would have you know would have been we definitely know your neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

That that's a great movie idea right there. Yes, seriously. What you know, well, let's go back to 1919. I guess they could have told us what happened without the internet.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

Sure, sure, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

That'd be an interesting thing. Yeah, what what happens when everything shuts down and we can't communicate with each other? I guess everyone's on a phone. Hey.

SPEAKER_00 38:56

It is right, right, right. Or getting to know your neighbors really, really well. Well, Scott, we're out of time, man. It's been great hanging out with you and learning uh about your craft and and about my craft too, and about what about you know what it what it truly takes to make sure I'm not the only crazy one that thinks like this as far as the world of an MC, because it truly takes being an MC to really understand the culture of the MC uh of the of the craft and being able to continue to perfect that in addition to moving with the times and technology and pandemics, et cetera. So well, I just wanted to to commend you on your work. Uh I I love it. I'm a huge fan, and I know our our mutual friend Jeff Savilico brought us together by default over on LinkedIn on here. It's just great to be associated with guys like you uh that are uh that have been that have been refining their craft for for for many, many years now, and uh will continue to do so. So come back to the show sometime, will you?

SPEAKER_01 39:47

I I I'd love to. And and if you ever want to talk some more, we can we can talk offline as well. Really enjoyed speaking with you.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

We we 100% will do that. You listen to the show right now, you're thinking, I want to I got a meeting coming up. I need to talk to this Scott guy. Uh his uh his LinkedIn profile is gonna be available in the show notes. Make sure you reach out, connect to him, and say, Hey, I heard you over on the Beyond the Story podcast. Uh, because that's what this is all about connecting people. Uh one interview at a time. All right, Mr. Bloom, I appreciate your time, and uh we'll hang a way, we will hang out again sometime soon, I'm sure of that. Thank you. Thanks, man. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story Podcast. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Be sure to appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.