The Comedy Club Podcast · The Comedy Club of Kansas City

Corey O’Brien On Community, Cult-Like Fandom, Reaching The Mainstream, & More! | Ep 51

·28 min·1 clip

Corey admits he accidentally built a cult—and loves every second of it.

Dustin Kaufman opens by greeting Corey O'Brien after a strong Kansas City set. Corey is still riding the energy. The first topic is the crowd and how intense the fans felt at the meet-and-greet. Corey jokes that he has built a cult, and says he has always wanted to be a cult leader. Dustin pushes on the Kansas City angle, and Corey talks through what he expected when he landed. He describes the airport view as plaid, Chiefs hats, and a lot of sameness at first glance. Once he got farther into the city, that impression changed. The conversation lands on how welcoming the crowd felt. Corey says the line for photos and conversations went on for close to an hour. He likes giving people attention after the show, even when it stretches the night out. That leads into the broader problem of boundaries. Corey admits that meet-and-greets can run long because he keeps talking once he starts. The show also digs into the moment he felt his stage presence click. Corey describes stepping up to the mic and feeling another character come out. He talks about the power of claiming the stage and deciding that, when someone heckles, they are not the reason people are there. The conversation turns to how he got discovered. Corey says social media took off during COVID. Before that, his feed was mostly slutty photos. He decided he wanted to be more true to himself and started making funny videos instead. Wigs and recreations became part of the act. Those clips spread. From there, comedy started to take off in a real way. Corey says each show began to feel like a red-carpet event. There were photographers, a bigger sense of arrival, and a feeling that the audience should feel like stars too. He connects that instinct to what comedy has given him personally. Being open about shame and hard things made him feel like he had earned the spotlight. The interview keeps that balance between the funny and the practical. Corey talks about how he welcomes people, but also how the post-show attention can get out of hand. The episode ends with the usual club-housekeeping energy: follow Corey, subscribe to the show, and keep an eye out for the new club in Lawrence.

As heard by us

A funny backstage look at fandom, stage confidence, and comic momentum.

Corey O'Brien's segment settles into a comic, slightly cultish fan vibe, with Kansas City, stage confidence, social-media momentum, and the odd business of meet-and-greets all feeding the same backstage energy.

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Why you'd press play

You want a fast, loud look at a comic whose crowd energy spills into the whole room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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