Daily Inspiration: Meet Jay Bizzle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Bizzle.

Hi Jay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ever since I was a toddler I was in love with comedy. The first thing I remember watching on tv was a stand-up comic. My mom always tell me stories about me as a baby and how I would never cry, but I would laugh hysterically at myself. I’ve always been told I was a silly kid. Some teachers even hated that about me. They would say “He is a very bright kid. He just….talks….a lot. And he jokes….a lot”. Parent-teacher conferences were always the same. Telling funny stories and jokes has always been the way I dealt with things in my life. Not that my life was terrible, but I always saw things differently and was able to find a way to make people laugh. Making people laugh has always made me feel good internally. Knowing that I made someone’s day or that someone remembers something I did or said to make them laugh was always a great feeling. I never went above and beyond to get a laugh, the words naturally come out and they just happen to be funny. I’ve always known deep down it was something I wanted to do, however, I did not always have the confidence to do it in front of a crowd. Being from Ninety Six, South Carolina, I haven’t heard of anyone trying to become a comedian or anything of that nature. My friends would always hype me up but it just seems so far-fetched sometimes. My mom would always tell me “Jay you can write jokes all day long, but no one is going to hear them from the pages. You have to step out of your comfort zone and get yourself out there.” Those words stuck with me. I’ve been writing down jokes and stories since I was in high school. I was always witty, and I have some great stories to tell, but I was too scared. All of that changed on January 8th of 2018. The first time I went on stage was in Greenville. I was the last performer of the night. By that time most of the crowd had left. There were like 6 people in the crowd to witness a scared kid forget everything he had written down. It was almost an Eminem “mom’s spaghetti” moment. Honestly, the thing that I used to convince myself to actually go on stage was the fact that I would waste gas driving that far just to not get on stage. Let’s face it gas wasn’t cheap then either but it was definitely cheaper than it is now but that’s neither here nor there. It was enough to push me through. I had absolutely nothing planned. So I just talked about the moments that lead me up to that point. The six people there laughed and that was enough for me. After that performance, I ran outside in the middle of the street clapping and crying like I was Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness. It was at that moment I remembered my first memory ever. Comedy. It was now an official part of me. This was beyond telling jokes and stories to my friends and family. I’ve never felt joy like that until I told my first jokes on a stage.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Telling jokes to friends and family is one thing, telling them on stage in front of strangers is a completely different monster. If I’m being completely honest, the biggest obstacle for me though is myself. My confidence and mental health have come in the way for me a few times. I had to learn the hard way that joking about my problems won’t always solve my problems. Some demons you have to face head-on rather than hiding them behind jokes. I would also doubt myself and my creativity. I want to tell stories and jokes in my own way. I had to realize not everyone will understand my point of view or my sense of humor. I had to learn that’s part of it. I’m still learning that. Not every joke is going to hit and not every show is going to kill. It’s part of the process. It was a challenge in the beginning for me though going into rooms where EVERYONE was just as funny as me. If not funnier. Now that I’m getting older and more mentally healthy, I just focus on myself and telling things how I see them. I’m just being me and it’s up to you to laugh or not. Either way, I’m going to continue to be who I am.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for a little over 4 years. I’ve had a lot of moments during these few years where I felt proud. My proudest moment was performing in and hosting the talent show at my college. I went to USC Aiken and that year I placed 3rd in the talent show. There were tons of talented people there that year. I honestly didn’t expect to even get placed considering my main job was to host. A lot of my friends and family were there and it was the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed in front of. Not to mention it put a few extra dollars into my pocket. Being a college student at that time, that money was clutch. I think what sets me apart from others who share this passion with me is my relatability. Based off of some of the stories and jokes I tell on stage, I’ve been told that people can definitely relate to it in some way or another. I have always been that guy who says what people are thinking. I also think that my personality naturally draws people in. I have always been a person who gets along well with most people and try to understand and relate with other people. I try to bring light, positive energy, and be a genuine person. Being genuine in my generation is very rare. I try my best to be genuine in real life and on stage. The me you see on stage isn’t a character I created or an overly dramatic version of myself. It’s really me.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
For a while, I used to feel that if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all. My luck was so bad, that me and some of my best friends came up with an acronym for it. TJBL. Which stood for “Typical Jay Boyd Luck”. The most random, bad things would happen to me and my friends would say “only something that crazy would happen to you.” And it would be so true. For a while, I really believed that to be true. As I’m getting older I realize that it wasn’t bad luck. It was irresponsibility. Those things would happen because I didn’t think a lot of things through. Some things were out of my control. But I realize most of them were in my control. I also feel that if you expect bad things to happen, or you give energy to negativity, then negative things happen. That’s why now, I try to be as positive as I can. Even though some days it’s easier said than done. When good things happen to me, I don’t think it’s luck, it’s a product of the things I pray for and work for. I no longer view the bad things that happen to me as “bad luck” I look at it as a learning experience. Everything happens for a reason. The main thing is how you react to the things that happen to you and your mindset moving forward. I could easily blame luck for bombing on stage. Or I could take that experience and try to figure out what I can do better. I guess it’s just how you look at things honestly.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jaybizzlecomedy
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCkMVrqtueYpBV-DGE6Wcxrw