Digital Social Hour
Joe Gatto's Secrets to Comedy Success & Life Balance | Joe Gatto DSH #1258
Sat, 22 Mar 2025
🎤 Join us on this episode of Digital Social Hour as we dive into "Joe Gatto's Secrets to Comedy Success & Life Balance" with the one and only Joe Gatto! From his Impractical Jokers fame to his thriving solo comedy tour, Joe opens up about the hustle, humor, and heart that have shaped his career and personal life. 🕺✨ In this fun and revealing chat, Joe shares hilarious touring stories, his unique take on balancing family time with a hectic schedule, and even his secret love for chess and bowling! 🎭💡 Plus, get a glimpse into Joe's passion for filmmaking, his vegetarian journey, and why making memories matters more than material gifts. 🥗📽️ Packed with valuable insights, laugh-out-loud moments, and heartwarming anecdotes, this conversation is not to be missed. Tune in now and join the fun! 🎉 Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀 CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Joe’s on Tour 05:00 - Today’s Sponsor 05:59 - Fear of Aging 07:37 - Parenthood and Kids 08:36 - Chess Strategies 10:55 - Bowling Fun 13:38 - Cannoli Treats 14:25 - First Solo Comedy Show 15:50 - Engaging with the Crowd 18:44 - Taking the Subway 19:20 - Importance of Comedy Today 19:58 - Hosting Your Own Show 20:55 - Past Life Reflections 23:45 - Curiosity and Interests 25:57 - Road Trip with MapQuest 27:34 - AI Technology 29:16 - Healthy Diet Choices 32:54 - 32,000 Calorie Challenge 34:08 - Fiancé’s Baking Skills 35:10 - Joe’s Cooking Adventures 37:34 - Portion Control Tips 38:58 - Movie Theaters Experience 41:01 - Favorite Movie Genres 42:44 - Belief in Ghosts 44:37 - Analyzing Memento 45:44 - Reality TV Insights 47:35 - Dopamine Detox Explained 49:20 - Exploring Psychedelics 51:43 - Where to Find Joe 51:54 - Joe Gatto - Outro APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [email protected] GUEST: Joe Gatto https://www.instagram.com/joe_gatto SPONSORS: SPECIALIZED RECRUITING GROUP: https://www.srgpros.com/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ #worklifebalance #virtualimprov #standupcomedy #standup #impracticaljokers
Chapter 1: How does Joe Gatto balance touring and family life?
I came to see you. Yeah, yeah. No, I came, I'm on my way back from LA. I had a couple of things to do in LA. A couple of shows. I'm on tour. Yeah. LA was a couple of meetings and stuff. I got some scripts I'm trying to get going. So I'm on my way back to perform this weekend. Or in New York? No, I'm actually, this weekend, I'm in Indiana, Missouri, a little bit of middle America.
So it made sense to go stop on the way back home and then finish back in New York. So you're still on tour, huh? I'm on tour, yeah. Let's get into a tour. I start in September and it's June. Yeah, it goes through June and then I'll take the summer off to be home with the fam when the kids are off from school and then I'll start back up. Absolutely.
A lot of traveling, man. Well done.
Yeah. It's easier. It's like the weekends, you know, I do Thursday to Sunday, you know, I get home and then I'm home during the week with the kids and stuff. So it's good. It all works out.
Any cities surprise you or shock you in any way? Pittsburgh was cool. Really?
I like Pittsburgh a lot. I don't know. I just, when I got there, I just like, you know, you always see, you always have like a vision of a city before you go to it, I think. Yeah. You know, but like when I got there, the way it presents the you'd go through this tunnel and you just opens up into this bridge and it's this island where you see literally everything at once. It looks like a painting.
And I was like, I went there, I was like, this is really cool. Wow. Really nice. I've never been there, man. You've never been to Pittsburgh? No. I've been to all 50 states. I performed live comedy in all 50 states. I made my, I made a bucket list thing and I finished, uh, two years ago. Okay. Fargo, North Dakota was the last checkbox. And where do you write that? Uh, in Fargo.
No, it was completely different. Like it's way up there. I'd imagine New York is your first favorite state. No. Really? No. Yeah. That's a lie. It probably is. But like California, I love. I love Florida. I've pleasantly surprised with Ohio. I always have great shows in Ohio. Yeah. Columbus, Cincinnati, you know, Cleveland. I love those cities. There's a lot of... A lot of good people there.
It's cold out there, man. Yeah. I'm from New York. Yeah. Yeah. You're not out here in this desert heat. Well, I grew up in Jersey.
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Chapter 2: What does Joe Gatto think about comedy and its impact today?
A couple scripts, which is cool. And I love writing, so it's fun. But the stand-up, I mean, I just love performing. I love making people laugh. Yeah. Again, now making a reason for people to come out and forget all the BS that's happening, you know?
That's who you were on Impractical Jokers, man. No, you were the best at making people laugh.
Yeah, thank you, bud.
Chapter 3: Why does Joe Gatto have a passion for filmmaking?
It just translates so well.
Yeah.
You were doing comedy before that show, right?
Yeah, I've been doing it for since, performing live since 99. Damn. Yeah, we started our improv comedy troupe in 1999 and we've been doing that. So, yeah, way longer than, you've probably been alive. I was born in 97. Oh, there you go. All right. Come here, man. Birthday's tomorrow, actually. Ah, happy birthday. Let's go. That's good. Aquarius. Oh, nice. So your birthday is tomorrow.
You got big plans or what are you doing? Nah, a little bit. I feel like as you get older, it's not as fun. Do you find adults who celebrate their birthday weird? Yes. That's like a big, that's a big conversation. It's weird. People. Yeah. I think like, I mean, you gotta hit, you gotta do the bangers.
You gotta do the decades or give you the half years, you know, 35s, 45s, you know, but like somebody is there on like 47th birthday, you know, 32nd birthday. Yeah. Yeah. It's got to end in a zero five. That's right. A zero five. And do you think they should stop at a certain age overall? No, I think then you start celebrating. I think it starts getting more. I want to
It's like you made it grandma, 88.
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Chapter 4: What are Joe Gatto's insights on parenthood and making memories?
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That's cool. No, I'm not. I mean, I just, I lost my dad when I was young. I was 19 years old. My dad passed away and my mom was pretty young too, but I was just like always taught and felt live life to the fullest, you know, do what you can while you're here. That's important. I think it's really, I think it's, I think it's the most important thing.
Yeah, because a lot of people save up and save up. It's like, have some fun now.
Yeah, do it while you can, you know. You'll be responsible, do what you can, but also don't be afraid to, you know, put yourself in a position where you have to hustle a little bit to make a little more and make the memory. It's so true. I hear this all the time and I believe it now is like, your kids will forget whatever you bought them for.
Ask your kids last year what you got them for Christmas and then ask your kids what their favorite vacation was and they'll be able to recap the whole vacation and completely forget what you got them for Christmas. When I tried that with my daughter last year. And it worked? And all she did was she recapped the whole trip to Disney World and didn't even mention one thing she opened.
Damn. That's so true, though. I remember my vacation to Greece when I was a kid. Is that crazy? And it was my favorite one ever. It's all about Christmas. I can't remember a single gift for parents. It's experiences. It really is. Damn. Yeah. You got to live life traveling and experiencing things.
Making memories is true. Well, because like that too is like, that's what you leave your family with or your friends with. They remember your stories. You know, they don't remember the thing you bought them or the thing, you know, what they did. So facts. Family's super important for you. Yeah.
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Chapter 5: How did Joe Gatto's interest in chess and bowling start?
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I grew up in a divorced household, so it was kind of traumatic, but I think I really want kids.
Oh yeah. Yeah. You should do it, man. It's fun.
How old were you when you had the first one?
28.
Dude, that's awesome. Congrats. One kids by 30 and I want a few. Okay. I would just want one. I have two. I love, I love the Tuesday night. I had one girl, one boy. So I was like, all right, we're done.
I will.
You can't pick. If you, if you had your pick, would you want a girl first or a boy first? Do you want a boy first? You want an older brother? Yeah. Interesting. You have an older. So I have a, I've grew up with older sisters. I have two older sisters that are awesome. And I really think they help raise a gentleman or a guy who knows how to be handle and not be afraid. Oh, okay.
Women, like being a house full of women. That's an interesting take. Things like that. So I really like that. And I think later in life it comes in handy, but there is something to have an older brother. Like I used to get my ass kicked a lot and I kind of wish I had an older brother. Really? It's an older brother. Yeah. Wow. So you got picked on. Yeah, a little bit. I got bullied a little bit.
I was super nerdy when I was younger. What were you nerding out about? I saw the movie Willow. Do you know the movie Willow? It's basically like a, you know, Lord of the Rings light. Magic elves and stuff. And I started creative writing and, you know, fantasy stuff. I was good at math, chess, things like that. I wasn't good at sports, you know. You still play chess? I do, yeah. You gotta play, man.
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Chapter 6: What unusual experiences has Joe Gatto encountered in New York?
Oh, yeah, you play? I play every day. Oh, really? Yeah. Are you good? Well, it depends what good is. Okay. Your version. So do you know the rating system? No, I don't want to. I want to say it right to you. Like, do you think like, you're like, yeah, if somebody said you're good at chess, you're like, yeah, I'm good. I'll put it this way.
If a random player who's never played before played me, he wouldn't win. Gotcha. Like there's no way I would lose to just some random. Somebody on the street. Yeah. Okay. So I would put myself at almost good. Like I'm between okay and good because I don't play as often as I used to. When I was younger, I used to be better, you know? But my son started playing, which is fun.
So now I'm here to teach him. It's so fun, man. I love chess. Yeah, chess is good. I like it because it's also now like it's, it came back into, there was that show, The Queen's Gambit. Have you saw that? So it came back into like culture a little bit. That's why I started playing. No way, really? Yeah. I didn't play as a kid. Oh. Yeah, I was a late bloomer. Oh, wow.
That show brought a lot of people to the game. Dude, I'm watching it. It was like a perfect storm with that COVID pandemic. Like everybody getting locked up playing the apps. Everyone was bored. The chess, you know, like that's the chess app. They banned twice. Did you? Yeah. Why? How do you get banned from a chess app? What are you doing on these streets?
I'll be honest. I'll be honest. Yeah. I'm a sore loser. Oh, okay. So I was talking shit. Okay. And you're not supposed to talk in chess. No. I think you should be able to. Well, it's an app. It's not like a walkie-talkie. No, but there's a chat thing. Oh, so they can decide on you. They shouldn't have it then. Why is a chat thing there?
Some players can turn it off, but when you both have it on, you can talk to each other. You're like, checkmate, bitch. Yeah. When someone's about to win, they'll be like, go ahead, pussy. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. But I like that. Trash talking chess players.
Someone reported me, man. No. There's snitches on these streets. You got to be careful there, man. But even in person, because I go to New York. I played in New York once. That's a bustling thing. Did you play in the park? Yeah, I got destroyed. Oh, they are so good. I used to sit there and people watch hours. So good. I never sat down at those tables, but they were so fun.
Talk about trash talking. Yeah. But that's like, that's like, that is like a destination things for people. It's like a bucket listing. Like you said, like that people are like, I'm going to go play there. I went out of my way to play there. Really? Yeah.
I went, I told my girl, I'm like, we're going here to play. I know we're in Jersey today, but we're going.
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Chapter 7: What is Joe Gatto's approach to comedy venues and crowd engagement?
Without, yeah. Playing Jane for me. Me, yeah. You're a cannoli though, right? I'm a cannoli, yeah. I do a cannoli or a lobster tail. Okay. I love those like I've had a lot of bad cannolis though. Have you? Yeah. I'm sorry. Yeah. I'm here to apologize.
I have the cannoli community. I'm sure if I had a good one, I would like it because the concept of it, I would like.
Yeah. I think you get in the big cities, you're good. Okay. But I'll have people, I'll be on the road in these little towns and they're like, you got to get the cannoli from here. It's the best cannoli in town. And I go and I'm like, this is the worst cannoli. Sometimes the bread ratio is off.
Well, yeah, so a lot of it falls into, like, if you get a soggy, you know, if it absorbs too much of the cream, the shell, it's terrible. You need that crunch. It's not an easy thing to make. I don't think so. Have you ever made it? No. I didn't want to ruin it for myself. I'm not a baker, I'm a cooker. Yeah. I cook more. Because I love pizza, but making it doesn't taste as good. No way.
You know? Yeah. Did you have a big thing that happened, and I think probably in Jersey too, was like the backyard pizza ovens? Do you know those, like they did the brick oven thing? There was a big fad when everybody was doing the outdoor kitchens, but they would do a backyard. Oh, during the pandemic? Yeah. I was in LA.
So they were doing that kind of thing, and it was like, everybody would have pizza parties in the backyard. That's cool. Make their own pizzas. I miss Jersey pizza, man. Yeah? And Italian. Out here, no good.
Not really. No. Because they bring the restaurants out here, but it's the water. Yeah. Something in the water, right?
You don't go to New York, New York and get the pizza?
Or get a real slice of authentic pizza? Nah. Vegas has its restaurants, though.
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Chapter 8: How does Joe Gatto view the role of technology in daily life?
And I'll always garner a story or two from that. So I'll open with that a little bit to just to talk about that a little, and then I'll get into my.
Wow. I like that. You see some wild stuff. Yeah. Today I saw someone walking a wheel on a leash, a wheel of a car. I'm not even kidding. On the way to the studio. Dude, I have a good excuse for that.
That's insane. I was like, oh, well, this is Vegas too. So like, that's, uh, that's probably pretty normal. Like I was like, yeah, I'm just taking my wheel for a walk.
He's probably trying to sell it or something. I don't know. So was he, was it a push or pull situation? Pull. The wheel was behind him and he had something in his other hand. It was interesting. I think he was homeless, but yeah, wheels are worth some money, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
You could do a resale. There's a big resale market on wheels. Yeah. I don't know if he stole it or how he got the wheel. That was, that was where my, I threw your head right away. He's like, where'd you get this wheel from? Yeah. I don't know how you get one, one single wheel. One wheel. Yeah. That's crazy. What's the craziest thing you've seen on the streets? Oh my God. Forget it. In New York.
I mean, in New York city. Oh, I didn't think I was gonna tell this story, but in New York city, I had seen, uh, I'm not even kidding. There was two homeless people getting married by a third homeless guy. No, they were having like a full blown. It was down by wall street. And, uh, they were having like, I was like, I was like, Oh, these people. And then it was just the three of them.
And he was like doing a wedding. And I was like, Oh, I was looking around for cameras. I was like, Oh, is this like a, something being filmed? Like just, and it was just like the three of them. And then he like said it, he kissed her and the guy like threw rice at them. And then they like picked up their car and they just walked away.
And I was like, did I just see two homeless people get married on the street in New York? So it was insane. That was like one of the weirdest things I did. But love happens anywhere. You know what I mean? Home or not. There's been public love on the streets. Oh, I'm sorry. I've seen it on the subways. You see some cool stuff. Well, out here, the homeless are hidden.
There's a little documentary on this. They're in the tunnels. The hidden homeless. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they have to be, right? Because of the sun all day. Yeah. I guess it's too hot. And it's summers. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you see people that are like in Boston and they're homeless. I'm like, why aren't you trying to like to go south? Same with New York. Yeah, same deal. I see that.
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