Winston Hodges on Going Viral, Kevin Hart's Funny AF & Headlining His First Tour

Winston Hodges sits down with Martin Amini at Room 808 to talk about what it's really like to have your moment in comedy. After appearing on Netflix and making the top 6 of Kevin Hart's new show Funny AF, Winston is gearing up for his first headlining tour — and the anxiety, excitement, and pressure that comes with it. Plus, he just got married. No big deal. In this conversation, the two DC comics get into: What it actually feels like when years of grinding start to pay off Balancing marriage and life on the road Winston's 2020 grief special Grieving Productively and the story behind it Growing up in a small town and finding his voice in a diverse city Teaching kids with autism and how it made him a better comedian The Kevin Hart show experience — including what Chris Rock was really like on set Goals, dreams, late night sets, and where Winston wants to take his career next Winston's DC hometown show is July 22nd at the DC Comedy Loft. Tickets going fast. Follow Winston: @WinstonHComedy Follow Martin: @MartinAmini Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro & Winston's moment after Netflix/Kevin Hart's Funny AF 1:16 - How long Winston's been doing comedy (11 years) 1:51 - How Winston is feeling emotionally about the tour 3:01 - Martin shares his own experience having his moment 3:28 - Winston's wife's reaction & pressure to sell tickets 4:16 - Getting married right before the tour takes off 5:46 - How Winston's wife has become like a second agent 6:19 - Being married in comedy (a rare thing) 7:18 - Martin's experience bringing his wife Charlene on the road 8:43 - Winston's hustle & grinding at Room 808 during Netflix taping 9:47 - Building in DC and the local comedy community 13:00 - Martin met his wife in LA then moved back to DC 13:55 - Do comedians need something "wrong" with them to be great? 17:06 - Winston's teaching career before comedy 18:21 - Coming up at Big Hunt & the early DC comedy days 19:37 - Winston's grief special Grieving Productively (2020) 25:07 - How the title Grieving Productively came about 27:35 - Growing up MAGA, moving to DC, and shifting politically 29:32 - Food as a unifier (pupusas, Bolivian food, food review show idea) 33:32 - Teaching kids with autism & skills it gave Winston 35:57 - Winston's vices (food, spending money) 37:13 - Getting roasted on Kevin Hart's show (Drew Carey, ice cream man) 39:03 - Martin finding his love for comedy again 44:35 - Getting recognized by fans post-Netflix 45:43 - Winston's goals: late night, voiceover, moving to theaters 47:21 - DC hometown show announced: July 22nd at DC Comedy Loft 49:08 - What Kevin Hart, Chris Rock & the other judges were really like 50:41 - Friendships formed with other comics on the show #podcast #standupcomedy #martinamini