How I Met Theo Von

Back in early 2017 I discovered a comedian named “Theo Von” while watching a podcast called The Church of What’s Happening Now.

At the time Theo was a struggling club comic living out in Los Angeles with only about 7,000 subscribers on YouTube. Despite starring in MTV’s Road Rules back in the early 2000s, and even having his own comedy special on Netflix, he hadn’t generated much of a large scale audience on his own.

Around this time Theo was just starting his podcast This Past Weekend and was only a few months into it.

After catching him on The Church I decided to pop over to his channel to check out the rest of his work, and started following along with his content.

Theo was speaking about a lot of things that resonated with me at the time. He was going through a transition period of his life where he was stepping away from bad habits that had plagued his past and was moving toward a cleaner way of life.

Over the next few years Theo’s brand would grow substantially. Today he has over 4 million subscribers and is one of the largest comedians out.

In this article I am going to share how I met Theo, and was able to interact with him early on.

Calling In

Back in the early days of This Past Weekend every episode that Theo produced was done solo, and he would add in audience submitted questions that were taken in through his TPW hotline.

When I submitted a question myself one day, I didn’t really put much thought into him actually accepting it. But to my surprise, he did. Some of my comments in the call were a bit over-the-top, but Theo chose to play it anyway, which meant a lot to me.

Theo’s humility and willingness to provide genuine support had a really positive impact. At the time I was only 20 years old and was going through my own life transitions as well. Being able to have someone that was able to provide feedback and suggestions from a place of sincerity was truly impactful.

Keeping In Touch

Not long after submitting my question, I received a text from Theo himself just to check in and say what’s up.

I had the hotline number saved in my contacts as “Theo Von”, so when I picked up my phone that afternoon I knew right away who the text was from.

Over the next year or so Theo and I would occasionally keep in touch through text/email. He would text to check in and I would share that I was doing well, continuing to remove bad habits out of my life, and staying on track. I even submitted a call for his Comedy Central pilot. While I didn’t appear on the show, Theo played my call on one of his podcast episodes, a moment that was appreciated both by him and his audience.

Meeting Up

A couple of years later, I saw that Theo was performing in West Palm Beach, so I went to support his show.

I had never been to a comedy club before, so it was a cool experience.

After the show Theo was hanging in the lobby shaking hands and taking pictures, and that’s where I got the chance to officially meet him in person.

It was an awesome experience, and I felt so grateful for it.

Looking Back 6 Years Later

Over those early years it was really cool to see Theo’s growth first hand. I watched as he transitioned from doing his podcast from his home, to recording on the road, to eventually having his own studio and frequently bringing in big name guests on a weekly basis.

To this day my Mother still brings up how cool it is that Theo and I would text back and forth back in the early days.

Theo is especially inspiring because he is someone that didn’t reach significant success until later on in his career. Even in 2017, Theo was in his late 30s and had been doing comedy for quite a while. To see that he was able to stay consistent and find a position of success is truly inspiring.

Thank You For Reading

As always, I want to give a big thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope that you have enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing you on the next one!