Goop over at Taylor Swift. You're not the only one dropping big entertainment news today. You may have heard Fannie that she's actually coming out with a new album. She declined our request for comment, but we got the next best thing. Drew Ski, the comedian, actor, entrepreneur and everything in between, the multi hyphen it had a chance came
into the Bloomberg studios earlier today. We had a chance to catch up with him and really talk about just how much the entertainment industry has evolved, particularly for someone like him. We got to start on social media and is now kicking off an arena tour next month. Take a listen.
I'm actually very excited. Man. We've transitioned through a lot of different stages of my career so far, and like being able to say that this is my first arena tour is like still mind blowing. But yeah, no, it's definitely amazing. And we yeah, we're working on so much, man. We got TV shows, now, we have a movie on the way. Yeah, there's so much in store.
So was it always your goal to be a comedian? Was that what you grew up wanted to be?
Yeah, I think I just didn't know when I was younger, I used to just want to be funny in school, but I got in trouble for it. So I was kind of confused early on because I didn't really know am I supposed to be doing this? You know what I mean? Because everybody painted to be like a bad thing in school. So yeah, it is. It is amazing how it actually transpired throughout life. I had to figure out what my purpose was.
But yeah, no, I am curious about just the economics of your business. I mean, we talk about the big could A fests tour, but you have all these other shows, dating show, the Cold a House Show, and I'm knowing for getting a few others out there as well. But you're producing all these yourself, right, yes, to your own company, So effectively this is your business.
Yes, you control it. Yes, one hundred percent ownership, that's what we promote. Yeah, one hundred percent. No, but there's there's a reason for it though, Like we I know, I make the joke all the time, even with could have been records that you know, we we. I do enjoy doing it, but I mainly do it for the fans. Knowing that I can do it myself now that I have money from brand deals and people that I work with in order to do it. It's like I don't
need another company to come in, which is cool. I do enjoy that, but I think building my own IP in this area is probably the most, like strongest thing that I enjoyed developing.
In the process from when you started to where you are now, were you ever tempted to maybe sign or take a job with a bigger company?
Yeah, yeah, well there's some deals out there. I'm still tempting, but I'm not saying it's not out the picture. But the main thing I did start doing my own shows and giving it for free on YouTube was because I wanted to build something bigger by myself first, and then you know, as things happen, we are actually we have a lot of stuff coming up that will be with
other companies as well. But yeah, no, I think I just wanted to build out my IP and like I looked up to, you know, the Adam Sandler story of how he built up Happy Madison and like just all his movies and his production company, So I wanted to do the same for mine.
When you look at the opportunities out there for the next Drewski whoever that may be and coming up. Do you think that that path that you took will still be there?
Yes? With social media is so it's moving so fast, and I think so many people are starting to find out that they can do it themselves, which is why I pride myself on what we have done. I hope others will follow that same process and know that if you are getting money from these companies, don't just think that you have to go buy a car, or go buy a big house, or go just splurge your money. A smart thing you can do is try to build your own IP and try to build your own business
around you. So what I would do, like, let's say Nike, we work with Nike, So if Nike gives me a million dollar check, I don't go and put that in my pocket and try to go get a bunch of cool stuff. I'll go and try to spend that money on one of the episodes on my TV shows like Yeah and Where It. Maybe it may sound crazy, but like that money never goes just straight into the pocket. I try to always reinvest.
Reality mentioned Nike, I mean, you've had a lot of brand partnerships, Beats by Dre, Nike, raising Canes, Mountain Dew, Google, Pixel, I'll.
Probably forgetting a few Monster and Riz Picks is one of the good ones. Wow.
And so they all came knocking on your door wide because you're so popular there.
Just I don't think it's always my popularity. I think they they may feel like I have that pull on this next generation. Not to brag, I'm not. I'm not a big brag. I'm just saying I do think I also bring a good entertainment level to the brand deals that I have been that we could do commercials on TV or commercials for social media, and my fans they adapt to it like they really do, like go and buy the stuff whenever we drop anything. So I think that that has probably worked out the best for me.
There is some I mean, looking at some of the clips that have been put out with some of these brands, I mean there is a level of authenticity. I made that word that I see in you what you do compared to other influencers, And I wonder are you picking sort of brands or products that you maybe use or you have a love for, or are you kind of agnostical?
Yeah, we're very picky about who we work with as well, Like majority of my company for life is entertainment. We try to make sure that we have a say so in any of the stuff that we're putting out or any of the commercial stuff. Like, we want to make sure that this is just as funny as the content that I'm putting out by myself. So yeah, that's definitely marked in the contract before we sign anything with any company, is to make sure that we have say so on any creative.
I do have to ask you about just the idea of protecting your reputation and in the context obviously for a Nike or raising knees to whoever, these big brands are taking a risk, right, I mean, normally they like to play it safe. They want to make sure that the people they're aligned with are going to say, you're funny. But you've had a few jokes, a few sketches that didn't quite land the right way. You got some pushback.
So how do you navigate that? I mean, because you're trying to sort of, you know, not be controversial, but be provocative.
Well, yeah, I think a lot of stuff and I appreach about this, like relationships are key, and you know, with comedy, they have to understand that comedy is comedy, and sometimes you do have to walk that line of what's funny and what's too far. So I think with having a good relationship with some of these brand partners or some of like you know, some of the higher ups in that company, they understand like, Okay, this is this is fine, and we trust him in this because
we know this is how we found him. So being able to have these conversations with some of the higher ups of these companies, it's like, Okay, they do have a certain sense of trust that Okay, this is Yer Ski and this is why we love him. So we can't cut ties because maybe we see a skit was too far, or maybe this was this joke was too far left. So it's worked good just off of just having good relationships with majority of the people that we work with.
I mean, how do you see social media comedy, Instagram comedy evolving?
It's had it in a great direction. I think social media now with just the streaming stuff and like the twitch world and us getting into that. So now I'm starting to develop even pivoting my content into the streaming world and like how that works. So yeah, it's definitely headed in a good direction though for sure.
That was my conversation with the comedian and entrepreneur Drewski. I always just want to point out Bonnie that last question that I asked him. My son gave me that question because I think of all the guests I've had on the show, on all the years I've been on this network, this was the one he cared about most. We could have David Solomon, Jamie Diamond, and Jamie Fraser around the table, he would not have cared Drewski. Yeah, he's tuning it out. He's sixteen, sixteen
All right, Okay,