Email:neill@outloudculture.com
Socials: @neillfrazer
Originally from St. Louis, MO, Mike Glazer is an entertainment juggernaut with extensive credits including appearances at the 2023 NHL Awards, HBO‘s Night of Too Many Stars (earning an Emmy nomination), Comedy Central, and Food Network‘s Worst Cooks In America. Glazer’s live shows, which consistently sell out, have been praised as “the most promising show in LA” by Rolling Stone and hailed as an “instant classic” by High Times magazine, who also recognized him as one of the “Most Influential People in Cannabis” in 2021. Mike Glazer’s portfolio extends to high-profile events like the Outside Lands Festival, SXSW, and the immensely popular BuzzFeed series, High Guys, with over 100 million views. His comedic genius has shone on truTV‘s Billy on the Street and even at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
As if his impressive resume wasn’t enough, Mike Glazer has shared a smoke session with the legendary Snoop Dogg, has cooked alongside Gordon Ramsay, attended culinary school, worked at Second City in Chicago, PA-ed for the Late Late Show upon arriving to LA, wore the Left Shark Super Bowl costume while being interviewed by John Mayer and clinched a gold medal as a roller hockey goalie with Team USA.
Now, he’s set to release his debut comedy special Life Rules! Mixtape Vol 1., alongside the release of his newest limited podcast series Life Rules! and a national tour to support (starting at SXSW’s Sharpie event which he’s hosting and making its way back to the Comedy Store in Los Angeles).
With wild stories from all layers of his life (his grandfather worked for Al Capone!), Glazer is truly an enigma within the industry. His philanthropic passion is as strong as his devotion to comedy. Over the years he has raised money for the Missouri Wildlife Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, the Downtown Women’s Center in LA and helped coordinated a ‘letters to Santa’ program with Second City Chicago which helped deliver the Christmas present requests of children less fortunate in the Chicago-area community. Most importantly, he is dedicated to normalizing the stigma behind mental health (especially in men), as he is a diagnosed Manic Bi-Polar and grew up with Schizophrenia in his immediate family. His additional hobbies include hockey, cooking, Al-Anon, sneakers, hip-hop, basketball, Eskrima (martial arts), bowling, weightlifting and hiking. He is currently Los Angeles-based.
Hi Mike and welcome to OLC! Can you share a bit about your journey from growing up in a challenging environment to becoming a successful comedian, writer, and podcast host?
Totally! The best armor I know of is comedy. It protects, deflects, and is my survival mode. The biggest problem with being funny as protection is – I’d be so consumed with cracking jokes that I’d avoid my own feelings. I didn’t know who I was. Now, my comedy comes from a deeper place and is way funnier because I’m a more well-rounded human being. And I’m no longer quoting Ace Ventura non-stop. I think people got tired of that.
Your upcoming limited podcast series, Life Rules!, sounds intriguing. Could you tell us more about the concept and what listeners can expect?
I’m creating a brand that helps people live better lives. I think life rules, and I have specific life rules that help me be my best. The more I talk with people about why their life rules and what their life rules are the more I learn and can share those ideas with the world. We all need help celebrating life.
How do you balance your various talents and projects, from comedy specials to podcasting and live performances?
I’m living my dream life. Everyday I’m one step closer to my goals of selling out theaters around the world, living in the Hollywood Hills with three old cats, and taking my friends to fancy dinners. It’s easy to schedule my life when I know who I am and what I want. The hard part is allowing myself to balance work with spending time with people I’m close with. My biggest struggle is I feel guilty for having fun, but I can’t do my job if I don’t so I’m constantly reminding myself that.
What has been the most memorable experience of your career so far, whether it’s performing alongside Dave Chappelle or cooking with Gordon Ramsay?
I created the hottest show in LA, Glazed, and one night Chappelle loved the vibe so much that we ended up co-hosting for four hours, and sang Radiohead’s Creep with my live band to close out the night.
The next show Jerry Seinfeld dropped in. At the time, he was working on a joke about Pop-Tarts. In May 2024, his feature-length Pop-Tart film Unfrosted will drop on Netflix, but I’m not bitter that I didn’t get the call to make a strawberry-frosted Pop-Tart cameo…
After I went to culinary school on the weekends I was hired to cook and improvise on The F Word with Gordon Ramsay. Gordon watched me cook perfect medium-rare fillet mignon steaks and told me, “Great job.” It felt better than being yelled at with my head between two pieces of white bread.
Another good one was doing warm-up for the NHL Awards. As a former Team USA goalie, standing in an arena telling jokes in front of the best hockey players in the world was incredible.
Your commitment to raising awareness about mental health is commendable. How do you hope to continue making a difference in this area, especially among men?
I’m just tired of being ashamed of who I am. The more comedy I do about my broken brain the better I feel. Leading by example and doing the work speaks for itself.
With your extensive background in entertainment, what advice would you give to aspiring comedians and podcast hosts?
My therapist Peter Tuesdays at Noon always says, “Perfectionism is camouflaged hard work that denies risk.” Put it out there, be consistent, and grow.
You’ve been involved in philanthropic efforts over the years. Can you share more about your passion for giving back to the community?
The government doesn’t care about homelessness. They don’t care about the unhoused. They think of the unhoused as an example of what can happen to you if you don’t fall in line, and do what they say big picture, long term. It’s disgusting.
What can audiences expect from your upcoming national tour and comedy special, Life Rules! Mixtape Vol. 1?
Well, one time a woman peed herself laughing, and another time a man threw a beer bottle at my head, so I guess I have something for everyone.
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