AND HERE’S MODI
AND HERE’S MODI is an inside look at the man behind the microphone. Hosted by comedian, Modi (@modi_live), AHM features a raw and unfiltered side of the comedian rarely seen on stage. He always finds the funny as he navigates the worlds of comedy, trending topics, his personal life and spirituality. AHM is co-hosted by Periel Aschenbrand (@perielaschenbrand) and Leo Veiga (@leo_veiga_).
AND HERE’S MODI
Murray Hill Boy
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Episode 180: Modi and Leo sit down with Max Cohen (@murrayhillboy) to discuss everything from content creation, to dating in the city, and the importance of changing your internal dialogue.
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Meet Max Cohen And The Bit
SPEAKER_02Hi everybody and welcome back to And Here's Modi. The podcast that da da da da da da we don't have a da da da da da da da da we don't we don't have a the tagline music yeah yeah and who's with us? No, I'm gonna wait a minute. We are with somebody who is on I thought I needed cough, but I don't because he's here. Um his name is Max Austin Cohen. Sam Rush. AKA AKA Murray Hillboy. Murray Hillboy. Yeah, we don't do that.
SPEAKER_03We don't bother you with the We should get an air horn.
SPEAKER_02I don't think our audience wants an air horn, by the way. I don't think they need to. Audience, let us know. No, no, if I were to have an air horn meeting. We should just enjoy you too the way you are. We don't need to be bothered with noises. Exactly. Yeah, our audience is not looking for noise. It's too high. So we are with you, and we just got to know you ten minutes before we began to record, and you are good looking, humble, young, fire, energy.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes. What else? Future model. I don't know. What were you gonna say though?
SPEAKER_02Well, first of all, I was gonna be like you you came in. I mean, I saw your your videos. Your videos are great, and then we asked you what you do, and you said you also do speaking engagements.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_02Well, what kind of speaking engagements?
SPEAKER_01I do a lot. I mean, listen, I'm like, I'll do whatever you want me to do, but that means that doesn't who's hiring to do whatever you want me to do? Well, I can I can adapt the show for your needs, but it's a little bit of everything. We've got some comedy, we do QA, we do motivational speaking.
SPEAKER_02Okay, QA.
SPEAKER_01What are they asking you about? It depends. It depends where I'm going. But usually, you know, it's all the usual is how'd you get started? What does it mean to be a proud Jew online?
SPEAKER_02You know, how did you get started doing what?
SPEAKER_01The videos?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Everyone thinks it's interesting when you're like a young person who's like not pursuing a typical career path, but it's not, it's not so interesting.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01I just I just know what I'm good at and I went and did it. Okay, a lot of people my age don't even take a second to think about what they're good at. So they just become a lawyer or a doctor or a banker. That's what Jews do. And give us a little background. Where are you from? I don't know where you're from, big shot.
SPEAKER_02Five towns, baby. You're a five-town boy. Which town? I think I just bring anyone to this. I know listen, if you're sitting here, it's been vetted by Leo.
SPEAKER_03It's not like I found like there's a few of those slipped through the cracks, but yeah. No, they haven't we we've had bad ones. No, that I they're not vetted by me. Oh, vetted by you.
SPEAKER_01That's scary.
SPEAKER_03We'll get back to that.
SPEAKER_01Anyway, I've been very proud for passing the Leo check.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. You should.
SPEAKER_02You should. No. Dr. Joe here means you need to. This is the iron dome right here. Like I made it through. This is great for me. Yeah, yeah. So Leo's the first gig I've ever spoken to. The iron dome that you made through, but hopefully you don't bomb.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's true.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, so again, you're from the five towns. I'm not even from the five towns. I lie. I'm from East Rockaway. You asked which of the five towns. Uh-huh. So I'm from I live on the border of East Rockaway and Hewlett. But I say I'm from Hewlett for clout because no one knows what East Rockaway is. But I went to Limbrook High School.
SPEAKER_02Limbrook, okay. Okay, so you have nothing to do with the five towns. Of course it's.
SPEAKER_03Let's just hold it whole like nothing. Modi went to Hewlett High School, and I want to get him a park bench with Hewlett based off.
SPEAKER_01How old are you? Don't worry about that. I can't ask any of you. And you can't be first of all, my mom, my mom would be mortified if I said you're battling off your mom's age over here. 56. What do I Lisa Cohen? Lisa Mandelbaum. Lisa two other brothers, Alan Mandelbaum, Kenny Mandelbaum. Should I give you her social security as well or no?
unknownUh uh.
SPEAKER_01You might not know her.
SPEAKER_03Did you take her to prom?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_01Me and her were the same heel set. She graduated in 89. I you're telling I maybe, yeah. Yeah. So you do know who she is. Don't worry about that. Point is I'm very Hewlett of Jason, and a lot of my other friends went to Limbro. A lot of my other friends who went to Limbrook also lived in Hewlett. Um, so I say I'm from Hewlett, if anybody asks.
SPEAKER_02Let us know if you need us to be on this podcast with you. If you could just keep going on your own, right? I love a camera. I love lights.
SPEAKER_03Okay, but let's recenter. Let's recenter. You are a content creator. And no one even knows what I did. Yeah, you are a content creator. You make funny videos under the alter ego Murray Hill Boy. All true. Let's start
Why He Calls Himself Murray Hill Boy
SPEAKER_03there. Why Murray Hill Boy? Who is Murray Hill Boy?
SPEAKER_02And where? Because Murray Hill.
SPEAKER_01Give it to me. Um, right. Yeah. Who's the Murray Hill is on the side? Um Okay. Called Murray Hill after the New York City neighborhood, which for those who don't know is a hot spot for college graduates to live in. Yeah, so they come here and they land there. To live in theoretically, compared to other places, but it's still like a safe and nice and cutesy fun neighborhood. It's also like very close to Grand Central, which gets you back to Long Island, which is where all of the postgrads are from. Right. Okay.
SPEAKER_02I could This is the postgrads that are not Shomershabis and religious. Oh my God. No, I'm not Modi. The ones that are the ones that are Yamukka Jewish that are coming out from college, they're on the upper upper west side in the middle. Okay. Yours is the I'm not religious, but we're just gonna meet um and they live in these buildings that have a thousand units in them, and it's all one bedroom with an extra flex bedroom sheetrock of at the and they call that another bedroom. Okay, so now we know that's a neighborhood. It's like a college dorm. It's literally a college dorm, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, compared to Modi, I'm a devout Catholic or Christian. That's a QA. I'm just saying for your crowd. Like, yes, the the the the we are not upper west side Jews, it's a totally different Murray Hill. Murray Hill, okay. And you you're the Murray Hill boy. I'm the Murray Hill boy, self self-diagnosed. So no one's ran against me though.
SPEAKER_03So uh but my impression of Murray Hill Boy is like kind of like douchey straight, bro.
SPEAKER_01And that's well, you guys are bringing out the best parts of me, but I I could have went on this podcast, like, yo, it's good, happy to be here. Name's Max, I'm Hewlett, here at these Queens, who's Queens, selfie, Queens.
SPEAKER_03Meanwhile, he's the one. I uh we're gonna get into it, but he came out to his high school singing a song. It's true. He's a theater kid, it's true, and he came out in via song, like that's how he came out to everyone. He sang a song.
SPEAKER_01It's from a very obscure musical. I am what I am, man. What I'm gonna do. You're you're like gypsy and like and like hello. I'm like, I'm like Dervin Hansen in that sense.
SPEAKER_03I have two theater queens with me. I'm gonna just step out.
SPEAKER_02Any theater queens with me, I'm not a theater queen. You I'm I'm not I'm only only a fiddler on the roof.
SPEAKER_01There's no in high school. So was I senior year. So was I shut up. I was telling you, I was I was a rich man.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna leave. I don't need to I don't need to be.
SPEAKER_02I'm sure I was you know how was your how was your how did you end Shabbos prayer? Oh here a shabbat prayer. Um I don't know. No, no, no. So that's a good yeah, you just remember. I don't know how you Oh Sabbath prayer. Okay. So I don't know if mine was that I hit the high school with that. Do you understand that? And Hewlett. Yeah, and Hewlett. I don't hit them. You've never seen Limbrook Fiddler on the Roof. I promise you. It was some ghetto shit. Hold the candle to the fiddler I pulled out. They couldn't believe it happened. Go ahead. All right, so now you're doing video content. Yes. And and you're and you're gay.
SPEAKER_03But it's because you're a theater kid. So it's not because I'm a theater kid, but the foundation's all there.
SPEAKER_01I think most content creators were theater kids, but I don't think it's a prerequisite.
SPEAKER_03I don't know if most of them were theater kids, but it's definitely an indicator.
SPEAKER_01When I say content creators, I mean like sketch comedians, like like the very the subgroup of consider yourself a sketch comedian. What else do you call it? I do. Which videos have you seen?
SPEAKER_03I've seen all of them on your screen where you're like you're wearing your mom's dresses and running around the house.
SPEAKER_01In my opinion, like you're doing like five different characters all getting ready for Passover. That's like sketch comedy.
SPEAKER_02I call it, I call it, I you know what you know. I call it I call it they they they question and answer themselves. Like you ask the question and then you change the angle and you answer the question and you change and you answer this question back and forth. Yeah. And it's like Hillel and Shamai. It's it's literally you're asking the question, answering the question, all the same person. Well, I'm used to being a one-man show.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's great.
SPEAKER_02Now I'm in a three-way with a you know with yourself in the same you're really in in a menagerie moi with yourself in the in I like that in in your videos.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, oh yeah. Oh the yeah, yeah. You're answering yourself, you're questioning yourself. I'm a schizophrenic. Are you? You can't even say it anymore, I got canceled. I'm I'm I'm a I'm a whatever.
SPEAKER_03I'm a neurodivergent.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm a schizophrenic completely. I hear voices. I literally like they they come to me in dreams. Like, that's it, like that's what has to go down.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
The Videos That Turned Into Work
SPEAKER_03So, what was the first video idea that you're like, I have to make this? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so I started out not doing the Jewish mom stuff at all. Now that's my bread and butter, now also it pays my bills. When brands reach out, they want me to be doing it as my mom. But at the beginning, I was just making fun of like what you described Marie Hale as. It was all like the worst guy. The bar comes up to you, and you know, he like subtly calls you fat, but he buys you a drink, so you feel insecure enough to go home with him. That was my whole shtick. And I was great at it because it wasn't me. So I was like an outsider because I was a gay guy who I could see where my friends were doing it.
SPEAKER_03But you were going to these bars, so you knew.
SPEAKER_01But I go, I still go to these bars, so I also knew exactly how to do it.
SPEAKER_03I get the impression that you're a girl's gay, not a gay's gay.
SPEAKER_01You want to know what I am? Yeah. I'm a straight guy's gay.
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_01No one ever do that. All my friends are straight guys.
SPEAKER_03The jury has reviewed, and that's not a thing.
SPEAKER_01You can't deny my existence, Leo. Straight guys gay.
SPEAKER_03Watch me.
SPEAKER_01No, but it's true. I mean, all my friends are guys. All of them are straight.
SPEAKER_03So, how do they feel about you appropriating Marie Hillboy culture?
SPEAKER_01They love it because it gets them points with their girlfriends. I'm I'm a I'm a professional third wheel, fifth wheel, seventh wheel, ninth wheel. That's all I do. I was just out with my friends on Saturday.
SPEAKER_02Why always the fifth wheel? It's uh straight guys when they say to their girlfriends, I'm with Modi or Leo, like, oh, he's with the gay person, that's okay. Yeah, correct. Like, okay, he's not like, yeah. Not like I he's with his friend John, oh, they're gonna get drunk and go hit on girls. They they know that, yeah, yeah, I understand what that is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they know they're in safe keeping with me. Right, right. But that's not true. Because I live for the drama. And I have a lot of girls who come up to me, and I'm like, oh, you should go meet my friend Jason, but he has a girlfriend, so that doesn't work.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So the videos. Yeah. The videos to get get you where people then hire you to come and do he said the Jewish mom was the first was later.
SPEAKER_01That's when I started like really kind of popping off, I guess. I was doing videos for a while until then, but that's like when things sort of really shifted. And that was when during April, I made April of twenty. I started making videos January of 2024, like in April of 2024. I quit my job three months in. What was the job? Parally got a law firm.
SPEAKER_02Which law firm? Kirk and Ellis. This is a great time to mention the sponsors of our podcast. Whites and Luxembourg, the law firm that not only does well, they do good, they help, they're philanthropic. They are our partners in this podcast. Oh, you're being a good idea. We love 100% serious. Arthur Luxemburg, who I'm gonna have dinner with tonight. Um and uh and also AH Provisions. AH Provisions, which is the most delicious glad kosher foods. Um, and with promo code Modi, you will get 30% off your first order. We love seeing you people sending us pictures of their products in Costco or wherever you find them and send them. Oh my god, that's Modi's uh sponsor of AH Provisions, kosher dogs.net, best hot dogs ever. And I I can testify I'm an aide, I'm a I'm um I can testify that they are. And thank you very much for sponsoring. So you are paralegal.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that was crazy. Um, yes, paralegal, investment funds cried every night.
SPEAKER_03And so, what was the video that popped off that you were like, oh, I'm not clocking back in?
SPEAKER_01Here's my it wasn't even a specific video, it was a lot of in-person stuff. Like, you know, you get stopped once and you're like, oh my god, someone recognized me from the phone. Then it happens twice, then three times. Then it's like his mom stopped me and his girlfriend stopped me, and the guy knew who I was. Now a whole group of people knows who I am, and that was just happening enough where I was like, fuck it. I mean, like we live in a bubble like of New York of Jews, but like it I saw the momentum and the way it was going, and I was like, let me let me quit now while strike while the iron's hot, and then I could just go all in on this, as opposed to waiting until like I felt safe enough to leave because you know you never you never get to that point. If you keep waiting for that perfect moment, it doesn't happen.
SPEAKER_03Um So how did your mom feel about you?
SPEAKER_01When I called my parents to say they're buying a ring light, mom, dad. No, it's horrible. I'm buying a ring light. It's horrible. I sang it to them. No, I'm kidding.
SPEAKER_03Um and I need a tripod. You should do too.
SPEAKER_02No, you're not as good. No. Wait, he's wait a minute. So wait, hold on. It's going too fast here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because you're not going to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02So you call your mother, you call your mother to I'm not working anymore.
SPEAKER_01My mom calls me and she said, How'd the LSAT go? I said, So funny you should ask. I canceled it this morning. I never told it.
SPEAKER_03Oh, this is a there's shivers going down Jewish mother's spies.
SPEAKER_01She goes, What do you mean? I go, I I I can't. I I can't do this. She goes, Okay, so you're not taking the LSATs. He'll take it the next time it comes around. I go, I'm quitting my job.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01She goes, Okay, so you're gonna quit your job. Whatever, you could find a new one. I say, I'm moving back home, my lease is up, I don't have any money. Oh, and that was all just one quick phone call.
SPEAKER_03And I'm trans. And then you say, just kidding, and
Quitting The Law Firm For Content
SPEAKER_03it makes everything at that point.
SPEAKER_01Mom was already on the floor.
SPEAKER_02That's it. I'm trans. And then go, just kidding. I'm quitting my job and not taking the LSATs. Oh my God.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Exactly. It doesn't matter. She was unconscious at this point. She they couldn't believe it. They didn't see the vision. They didn't they didn't they didn't see the dream.
SPEAKER_03But she did see you running around in her dress and shoes.
SPEAKER_01Not yet. I hadn't even done that yet. And when she saw that, she hated that too. Did she hate it? She's five nine. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_03But you wear the same heel size?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What size shoe do you wear?
SPEAKER_01I can fit into any size shoe.
SPEAKER_03So you could do drag race.
SPEAKER_01You go on RuPaul's drag race. I don't do any of the makeup. All my makeup's a filter. If you're a fan of mine and I'm if if you know my stuff, it's all a filter. I don't know how to do makeup. I don't know how to do anything.
SPEAKER_02And he's yelling it out as if there's a live audience here. He he turned to the and just to yell it out.
SPEAKER_03So you just did a speaking engagement at University of Awesome. University of Texas in Austin. Used to the University of Texas in Austin. And what did you what did you speak to the kids about?
SPEAKER_01So it's a little bit of everything. You know, I make them laugh. Everybody wants to laugh. Who brought you in? What group? It was long horned students for Israel. 99% of the time it's a chabad or halal bringing me in. Okay. Even more so halal. This time was actually a little bit unique. But I get up on a stage with like a moderator who's a student who is relevant to the students who are watching. And they say, like, what makes you smile? What makes you tick? What how'd you get here? Where do you want to go? And then I talk to them and I say, You over there and A5. Like, what's your favorite part of your day? And then all the kids ask me questions about like their future.
SPEAKER_03Okay. And I for them. Do you feel like you you know what to say to them? No. You just thought before we started recording. Don't tell the people that you lie.
SPEAKER_01I do. Well, they'll they say, like, well, you know, am I gonna like my job in finance? I'm like, you'll love it. You'll love it. Look at you. You got a big future ahead of you. You've got a face for remote work.
SPEAKER_03I don't know So would you say that you embrace toxic positivity?
SPEAKER_01No, I just relentless opportunity. I just embrace telling people what they want to hear when they're paying you to do so.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01Listen, I'm not a psychologist. They're not bringing me in to solve their problems. I go in there, I make them smile, we have a good time, we take some pictures, we have some drinks. It's fun. My shows are fun. You would like them. I'm sure. What are you like a vodka?
SPEAKER_03Well, you wouldn't be you would it wouldn't work for me. You like a vodka crayon guy? What are you?
SPEAKER_01I don't drink vodka.
SPEAKER_03Tequila? Yeah. Yeah. Tequila. Tequila soda? Nas cow. Are you a tequila soda? No.
SPEAKER_01Look at me. You think I carry you can't see it? There's like a whole uh, you know, I'm carrying twins on this podcast. I don't I don't know. The kids show just covering a lot. I don't care about my body. Not the way some of us do, right? Because some of us have personalities and stuff that carries us through dates. So let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_03What's what what are you okay?
SPEAKER_01What was the question? Sorry, you guys can't see it. Leo's very cute, so it's a whole new dynamic for me. I don't have any gay friends. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03Except for men, except for men, Leo. I just said earlier, you're not a gay gay. I told you I'm a straight guy gay. You know what I believe. What's the thing? I'm not a thing. You're my friend. You're a straight guy's gay. No. They are. You're friends with their girlfriend. No, I'm not. And then you'll hang out.
SPEAKER_01I'm friends with them first, and I'm friends with their girlfriend second.
SPEAKER_03Okay, let's talk about your dating.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about what's dating.
SPEAKER_02You're dating. How do you where are you dating?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Are you dating? My dating life's abysmal. Um, I am currently dating, and I'm very, very single. So only women watch this podcast.
SPEAKER_03Literally, it's it's 45-year-old. 45 to 55-year-old moms. That's not true at all. What are you kidding? It's mostly the biggest slice of the pie chart. It's fine. We love them.
SPEAKER_02They buy 12 tickets for their for the Yeah, we love our fans, and they're adorable, and they're cute, and they're all.
SPEAKER_03No, I want to hear about what it's like out there in the dating trenches as a 26-year-old gay man.
SPEAKER_01So were you when you met Leo, you were already doing what you do now, or no?
unknownOh.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I was a comedian.
SPEAKER_01Right. And do you think being a Jewish comedian led you to date outside of the faith, or that was always, or you never cared?
SPEAKER_02Oh. When I met Leo and we met and had our first day, I knew right away this is this is it.
SPEAKER_01Right. But how'd you end up on the date with Leo? Like perchance, or were you act like you were like, you're like, Leo's cute, I'm gonna pursue him even though he's not Jewish? Or like you just literally bumped into it. Didn't even think about that. Right.
SPEAKER_03Are you hung up on the Jewish thing?
SPEAKER_01So I'll be hung up on the Jewish thing. So I'm in a funny, I'm in a funny place. One, I I love Jews and I and I love dating Jewish. Um I'm in a funny place right now because it's like it's a the Jewish bubble's one thing, the gay bubble's another thing. The Jewish gay bubble's this big. I'm now making content as like a good-looking, straight passing Jewish gay guy in Murray Hill. Like anyone who there was for me to meet has already seen my videos, or worse, I've already slept with them, or I've slept with their friend or their friend slept with me. And I think I've like exhausted my option of the New York City gays. Obviously, I haven't slept with every single one of them, but I'm getting like a little like you know, cage crazy. I'm like, I think I need to just get out there and date an Irishman. Someone who doesn't know my videos, someone who doesn't
Speaking On Campus And In Synagogues
SPEAKER_01know my trauma, doesn't have another crazy mom.
SPEAKER_02Do you have to weigh in on that, Modi? I'm gonna weigh in on this. So when you keep saying things like, there isn't this for me, there isn't that, that's not available, that you're so you're gonna create more of that. Right. You're too young to understand.
SPEAKER_01I'm speaking into existence.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you don't you you think to you it's still something like you've heard on a on an Instagram. Oh, if you speak it, it'll happen. It's real. So when I met Leo, I was I was open. I was like, this is I'm gonna find somebody who's happy, come into my life, and we move on. And that's it.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02And it happened. I didn't know how it was gonna happen on a subway, two dates, move in, we're done, and here we are, right? So you already are like this bubble and there's nothing room in this, and this one's bubble. So you're a little, it's a little, yeah. So I'm my own worst enemy in that sense, but we'll see.
SPEAKER_01So that's a horrible thing to say. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to dating. Yeah, I'm a self-sabotager for sure.
SPEAKER_02I send myself for failure, and then I keep complaining about it on podcasts like that. If you keep saying that, you're gonna be carrying that. So change all of your dialogue to like, I'm I'm I'm gonna find somebody. I am fine. Already picture yourself with the world is full of Jewish gay guys. But what uh but it has to be a Jewish gay guy.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't have to be, but I definitely listen. Before I was doing this, when I I definitely thought I was gonna marry Jewish, people think that. People are raised to think that's a normal thing in our community that you want to be. I already told my parents I'm gay, and I have to say I'm marrying a goy, and it's you know, it's double homicide. Let's just there's nothing. Double homicide.
SPEAKER_03I'm sitting right here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but by the time that Modi met you, his mom's just like Okay, we need to talk about this. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03The Jewish gays who are listening to this podcast, you really need to take a deep breath and let it go. All six of you admit. You need to let it go. No, there's more than you think. There's a lot more than you think. Listen, you're being gay is the biggest gift that you can receive in terms of it's a free get out of jail free free pass to say fuck off to whatever expectations everyone has any ever put on you. That's true. You can do whatever the fuck you want. So especially if like a situation where Modi and I were not planning on having children, the the Jewish thing doesn't should not even factor in. That's true.
SPEAKER_01If you're not, you know, if you're not having if you're not having kids.
SPEAKER_03I understand if your primary goal is to have children, then I will retract five percent of what I just said. But if you're if you don't, then this whole thing that your partner needs to be Jewish as a gay person in the year of our Lord 2026 is a lot for me.
SPEAKER_02And it's and it's and it's and your main thing with your partner, with your soulmate, should be how can you create Mashiach energy? It might not be with another Jewish person, it might be with somebody else, but your your goal should be how can I bring more light into the world? It might be with somebody that's not Jewish, it might be with somebody that's Jewish.
SPEAKER_03So speaking of bringing light into the world, what are some of the things that you've seen it for making content creation? Like, do people come up to you and say, Oh my god, I bet my mom? Like, what's what do you love hearing?
SPEAKER_01I mean, come on. It's uh you know, well, my favorite thing to hear is when it's the parent who says, like, I look at my gay son differently. Like, I I I think I have a window into my gay son's life that I didn't have before. That's always very close to home. So that always means a lot. I get, you know, I I think that when social media first came out, it was very divisive between generations. Like I'd show my mom a meme and she'd be like, which one of your friends is this? And I'm like, it's not one of my friends, mom. It's like a meme. Like it's it's Ariana Grande. Like she just doesn't click. And I think one of the cool things about what I do is like the kids like it and the parents like it. So I love when it's like our whole family chat just sends your videos back and forth. Like, you're the only reason I talk to my cousins. Like, my mom didn't speak for five years.
SPEAKER_03So that's bringing light.
SPEAKER_02So that's that's that's that so that's the light. That's mashir energy. And so now now that you understand what Mashirch energy is, that that the family that doesn't talk or all you need to do to show your videos. Okay. So now your goal with a partner, with a soulmate, should be to create more of that, not whether they eat sweet or salty gefilter fish. Okay.
SPEAKER_01That's well, that's the problem with modern dating. We all treat it like a game. Like you look at hinge, you can literally just factor out exactly who you want, and you end up creating the idealized person in your head, and they don't exist. And it's it's a whole thing. Are you unhinged? What are you on? All the dates that I end up going on are either mutual friend or DM. I am I'm unhinged.
SPEAKER_03Would you say on the mic right now, like to to your DMs are open and people are encouraged to slide in?
SPEAKER_01They know my DMs are open. I get more DMs. First of all, I get more DMs from girls than guys. I just what was the DM we just got?
SPEAKER_02I just got Did he post those traps or no? Oh no.
SPEAKER_01I just post just a drag. Just a drag. And we just got a DM from a girl who's like, I really don't think you're gay. You know, like I'm gonna change you. Like I get more girls than guys. The most DM I get is the most is a mom saying, My son is perfect for you. Sometimes I just listen to some of them. Sometimes I decide I want to have fun for the day, so I actually respond. And always this he's a junior in high school.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01Or or or or okay, well, he's not really my son. He's actually my ex-husband, and he's 55. Oh, listen, I'll go young, I'll go old. I think both of those numbers aren't, you know, I have a pretty big window.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I have a pretty, you know. You're 26, you're in a sweet spot.
SPEAKER_01We're gay. So I I can go both ways. I can't go back many years.
SPEAKER_02You can many, many years. You can go back.
SPEAKER_01I'll go up. Once you're somebody who theoretically could be my father's friend, I cut it off.
SPEAKER_03But so so I slide into your GMs. Yeah, but you did. I slide into exactly how I got here. Well, no, we met at events. Oh yeah. Various Jewish events. That's true. Met. That's true. So you were on my radar. It's not like I was just raw dogging your DMs.
SPEAKER_01Although at one point you must have.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_01Or did um who put us in contact? Was it UJA, maybe? I think it was UJA. It was UJA. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02What happened in the last 10 in the last few beats of this podcast? You accused my husband of sliding into your DM. And that's not at all what happened. But what a crazy. So now let me just tell you what let me just tell you what happens. Let me let's listen, Max. People listen to this, people listen to this, not fully, completely. Right. Right. But they hear things here and there and that and here. And then all of a sudden they're just but-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah. Leo, and you slid into my DMs, Leo, and that they catch that piece of sound bite. So you gotta be careful, you gotta be with your words.
SPEAKER_03So let's say, let's say that was a lot. Let's say I'm just saying it's fine I slide in, we set up a date where you where what is the Murray Hill boy experience? I'm not planning it. I'm very Oh, you're a pillow princess. No. You don't whoa. Um You just said I'm not planning it. I'm shy at first. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Max after the date is not Max during the date.
SPEAKER_03So what are the differences? Well, who's Max vote during the date?
SPEAKER_02Um But Max during the date's not gonna let the guy get another word in. Correct. Yeah, the guy's gonna say nothing. It's not gonna say our full.
SPEAKER_01I say every first date I go on, I have the best time. So I talk to myself. Right. I'm a delight. A hundred percent. Yet again, I took myself out for a drink, said the best. Second dates are always horrible because then I let them talk.
SPEAKER_02No, this by the way, you that's a very attractive thing. Sometimes I can wow, oh wow, this is exactly what I need. I don't have to be on. I'll be dating somebody who's on 24-7. I can I can be a flower on the wallpaper.
SPEAKER_01Well, my assistant always tells me is I need a every relationship is a rock star. Someone's the star, and someone's the rock. She thinks I need a rock. I'm like, I want to be two stars, and then we could be like a really big star together, and it could just be like a star relationship, but she thinks I'll end up with a rock.
SPEAKER_03I think that equals black hole. That's a yeah, star plus star equals black hole.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I can't I can't handle a big ego. Um no, honestly, I'm a chameleon. I I'll follow their lead socially on the date. If they're gonna yap their face off, I'll be the macho guy who's like just a check. Thank you so much. You live around here, but if they're someone who I could go like bad for bad with, that's where do you go on dates now? Where that's what I was asking flat iron. So there's like a lot of like bougie, like overpriced drinks, moody lighting places all around me. So whichever one. None of them are like a spot. I don't have like a set spot. Okay. If I if I'm going on a date with a Jewish guy and I want to impress him for like how many people recognize me, I go to Hillstone because every freaking you know, mid-20s.
unknownOh god.
SPEAKER_03Hillstone is you've been there. We've been to the one in Florida. It's a chain.
SPEAKER_01They have a chain, yeah. If one of the cities I got hot spots, it's like hard to get a res. A lot of like mid-20s, like young professional Jewish people go there. I I get stopped there 10 times just walking to my table. So if I ever want to impress a guy, I'll be like, why don't we do our first date at Hillstone? I don't know. And then the guy's
Dating As A Known Jewish Gay Creator
SPEAKER_01like, Wow, people really know you. But that's a horrible way to start the relationship because now I'm already setting him up that I'm like, you know, performing from day one. When he sees the real me, will he even like me? And anyway, insert my erectile dysfunction, which is a separate conversation that we're not that we're not having on this family show right now.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Wow. Yeah, wow. So we we're going on a date to Hillstone, you're getting stopped, you're schmoozing. Hopefully, like that's turning you on ideally. So your ideal partner is like because that could scare some people. Has it scared some people off?
SPEAKER_01Or do you what's your success? If it has scared them, they haven't told me that, or I would stop doing it.
SPEAKER_03I think you know No, someone's someone's never been like, listen, I I like you, but like the fact that people are coming up to us or whatever.
SPEAKER_01Well, nowadays it doesn't happen that way because anyone who's DMing me is already they're they're already knowing what's happening.
SPEAKER_03They know what they're getting into.
SPEAKER_01They're hearts art. Yeah. I I haven't met someone out in the wild that wasn't through a mutual friend. I haven't like properly just like met a straight.
SPEAKER_02Listen, If I did, maybe I would not give you go to the gym, like do you work out? Yeah, there's a gym in my building though.
SPEAKER_01I'm I'm like cutting myself off in every way of ever sleeping with someone.
SPEAKER_03Get the flat iron equinox. Yeah, go to equinox membership.
SPEAKER_01Like just like make eye contact.
SPEAKER_03You'll just have fun in the steam room, if anything.
SPEAKER_01I've had my fun. I came out when I was 15, Leo. I've lived a thousand lives. He came out when he was 11. Are you out of your mind? I'm done.
SPEAKER_03You're not done. Because let me tell you something. Let me tell you something.
SPEAKER_01Party girl days are behind. I've settled down with a woman at this point.
SPEAKER_03That's not so bad. It is so bad.
SPEAKER_01That's all I mean, though. It's like, I'm 25 now. Enough with the gay shit. Time for a wife and kids. I'm like, so man.
SPEAKER_03Boy, but listen, I never see you out in these under the rock gay places. Yeah. I never see you at knockdown center. Yeah. I never seen you a basement. I've never been to clean is a clean show. Keep it everything, guys. I've never seen you at horsemeating.
SPEAKER_01I've never been to a gay bar.
SPEAKER_03Well, and then you're complaining that I'm not complaining.
SPEAKER_01I just said I'm leaving the Jewish.
SPEAKER_03You're not working out, you work, you work out in your building. Yeah. That's not a real thing. You're going to Hellstone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And you're you're not you don't go to gay space.
SPEAKER_01So this is the bit of my life. Like, I'm a straight person. You know, I'm either like a not fully actualized gay person, I'm a straight person trapped in a gay guy's body. Like, this is my whole shtick. This is I've made a whole career. It's just like performance art of being straight. It'll happen. Like, I'll come out of my shell, I'll do my butterfly wings, I'll do the whole thing. I'll do my butterfly wings. Mean me and gay guys, it's very hit or miss. It's very hit or miss. It's very like competitive or awkward. Or it's sexual. And I can't, I can't find that good mix. I don't like that you went competitive and went like this. Yeah, I know. And then you went.
SPEAKER_02What's competitive about what does that mean?
SPEAKER_01No, like just not about us. Like me as a person, I will get very competitive when I'm around gay guys. Like a different side of me will come out that I don't see at play when I'm with what is this, a therapy session?
SPEAKER_02No, no, I'm just we're trying to figure out we're trying to say just we're your dads and we're concerned. No, we're just we're so you sound like you sound like my dad. That's how he talks to for me, just a window into a whole world that I didn't know existed.
SPEAKER_01Like so I don't really do the whole gay thing. Listen, I'm one of three queer brothers. So hold on one minute. So we have enough gay shit at home. Oh, so the apples your app your brothers are gay too? So he's gonna kill me for saying this. Okay, uh I'm the oldest, I'm gay, middle is gay, youngest is very much straight now. And I'll I'll and I'll put a pen on that. No, it's now it's fine. It's old news if you know my family.
SPEAKER_02So where just so you understand something, I I was I when I was in the city at your age and onward, I wasn't gay, gay. I was into men, but I wasn't running around. I was become I was a comedian. My my definition was comedian. Right. Then gay came a lot after that. I was running around doing sets every night, three, four sets, hustling, cat skills, smat skills. I was working as a comedian, and I had, you know, I was with with guys as well, so I wasn't attracted to guys, and it wasn't, but that wasn't my main thing. So on stage, it wasn't the main thing I was talking about. So it's not. So so you know, but so don't say that you're like an anomaly that you something like you never happened.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, like, you know, when people find out I'm gay, they go on to ask all like that, well, do you go to a basement and do you work at Equinox? And like I never give the right answers to those kinds of questions.
SPEAKER_02But no, there's no right answer. Do you what whatever it is?
SPEAKER_03Well, there is a right answer. Well, there is a right answer if you're if you're trying to meet. Working out in your building.
SPEAKER_02No, if you're working out in your building, you're saying a lot about a lot. First of all, it means you're not really working out.
SPEAKER_01It also means I have a mandatory amenity fee and I have to make use of it. Otherwise, what am I paying?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't know. Working out in your building, don't you need to see people and have like like a workout experience?
SPEAKER_01I see I'm not listening what do we talk about the body? I don't need the gays to see me working out. Let them see me like out in the wild, like drinking backwards hat, you know, being all cute and sexy. Now when I'm like struggling to lift up 50-pound weights, not even 30.
SPEAKER_02No, but you feel good when you work out. It's a it's a and I need to see other people just not to hook up with it, just to a visual.
SPEAKER_01I mean, there are my my building, there's the gym's never empty. Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_02No, so you have all the answers already, so you don't need anything.
SPEAKER_01I don't have any answers. I'm all the answers. Listen, listen, I'm a smart ass. Uh uh, I'm gonna be single for for a little bit. We'll see what happens. But I shouldn't say that.
SPEAKER_02I am going to be saying you I shouldn't say that. If you say that it's so you don't say that the I am thing is a very dangerous thing. Be careful what you say after the words I am. Well, it's better than a you it's better than a U phrase. Like you are, you know, it's better than at least. No, no. I I am is a very strong thing. Be very careful what follows the I am, because you're gonna create that. So I am narcissistic. It's a bad thing to say. Yeah, it's true. I am six feet tall. There you go. There you go. I'm I'm I'm attractive. I am I am going to find I I am already with my soulmate. Just even think that already. Maybe maybe you don't need one right now.
SPEAKER_01I definitely don't. Well, I'm I'm like, I'm I'm I'm in my running around era. I'm doing the temple circuit, I'm all over the city, I'm filming back on Long Island. I'm in my like, let's grow my career, let's blow it up, let's just put all of them.
SPEAKER_02You're on a temple circuit without an act. That's what's blowing my mind away. I know you don't have an act.
SPEAKER_01What do you think go up there and talk to them with somebody else asking you questions? It's a little, it's a little bit of everything. It's a little bit of everything. It's not that it's like it's not that it's not an act, it's just a difficult to be defined.
SPEAKER_02And when they and when they advertise to the congregation, they say live QA. Live QA with Murray Hill Boy. Murray Hill Boy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01With a picture of me like this.
SPEAKER_03You go by your stage name, by your handle?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they go to call me boy. I don't know that I let them. If they want they can call me whatever they want to call me. I have minor it as to the posters. I couldn't care less. I white in my teeth.
SPEAKER_03You just a little bit of face tune?
SPEAKER_01I face tune every single picture I've ever posted. My entire Instagram is a catfish. And if you look, my Instagram bio, my personal Instagram is worse in person.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you have a personal one too?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, that's why I post my thirst traps at Max Cohen. You know, I had to buy that username from somebody for a thousand dollars. About you know how many Max Cohen's there are. You know how many Max Cohen's there are?
SPEAKER_02How many Max Cohen's? A thousand. Did they know who you were when you reached me to buy that?
SPEAKER_01How much Max Cohen without a one or a two at the end? Max Cohen. I used to be Max Cohen one. I had to buy Max Cohen from this guy who was a Jew who was my fan and goes a thousand. I go, fuck you. He gave it to you.
SPEAKER_03I've not given it to you.
SPEAKER_01You could have not give me a break. I was so lucky. I was DMing him for years. Max Cohen, if you're watching previous at Max Cohen, you didn't make it easy. Your days are numbered.
SPEAKER_02Max Cohen, you could sell that for millions of dollars.
SPEAKER_01I would have paid, I would have paid him a lot more. I had to. It's I mean, for me, it's like my career, it's everything.
SPEAKER_03And then if I ever want to get rid of Murray Hillboy, I'll now be able to take Max Cohen from Modi underscore live because Modi is like very That's because you made your account in like 2005 before I had any oversight.
SPEAKER_02What's your last name, Modi? Rosenfeld. But like Modi.com didn't exist because everything in India is named Modi. That's tough. So I had an Oregon net. I had it when I my first website was Modi.cc. There was a CC thing. And that was my what do you and then I had a but what year is this?
SPEAKER_01Where am I? This was 1900 ishy. Okay. I was born in 2000. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't remember 9-11. Yeah. So that's what I always tell people. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Is that your that's Spark? Yeah. He has I don't know if you do do you know what a Rolodex is? A Rolodex? I do.
SPEAKER_01Index cards you flip through with the phone.
SPEAKER_02Right. Back in the day you had like a Rolodex, you look to look for photos and so he has thoughts and sayings in his head like on a Rolodex. So when someone says this, he goes and he hits them with that.
unknownBam.
SPEAKER_03So you have three brothers. You have three. You're one of three.
SPEAKER_01One of three.
SPEAKER_03And is your mom is your mom undone that you're all big quick bags?
SPEAKER_01No, yeah, you can say whatever you want. Um, middle brother went to Harvard, so we're happy he's smart. Oh sham.
SPEAKER_02I'm I'm you should know that I am a uh an honorary resident. Well, he just finished his Harvard uh residence. I just did a residency at Harvard. That's amazing. I spoke at the law school, you should know. I also uh I guess um me and Leo are honorary members of the Harvard Lampoon. Oh, I love the Lampoon's major. Everyone who's I am major because I have to be they gave us this goisha tie, they gave
Family Stories And Being One Of Three
SPEAKER_02us his goisha tie, and me and me and me and Leo. We were inducted. We were inducted. Wow. Yeah, yep. Really proud of you guys.
SPEAKER_03So the middle one went to Harvard.
SPEAKER_02And it's so funny because growing up, he went to Harvard, so there's good genes in this good breath in this family, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm smart. Yeah. What'd you go to school? Tulane. That's good. That was fine. I got 30,000 a year to go there. Academic, not financial. Wow. Um so I could have gone somewhere better, but it was open me 30 to not come.
SPEAKER_02Here's 30, go somewhere else.
SPEAKER_01I mean, listen, we started this whole call with these drocclavers hewitting. I don't know people thinking that I'm poor.
SPEAKER_02We know you're not poor.
SPEAKER_01Cartier, David Yerman, David, David Yer, Kiff.
SPEAKER_02Right. We get it. The whole thing right there is $3,000. No, more. I mean, yeah. I don't know. Wait, come here. Wait, wait, wait, come back. By the way, can I tell you another family that has three gay sons that are all very successful? Who? The guy the guy that invented Grinder.
SPEAKER_01Really? Yeah, great. That's in my future. Wonderful. My family and Grinder, we're done. We're done. Yeah. Because my middle brother's picked up a lot of my sloppy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you guys are parting ways.
SPEAKER_01We are? Okay. We can go with your way. Mine's not. Mine's not, kosher.
SPEAKER_03But it's just, it's well, let's yours is so But it's funny.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Oh, what I was gonna say before is it's funny because growing up, everyone thought my brother was smart. Nobody thought he was gay. And I was like, what do you mean? You can't be smart and gay. Like, well, he wore nice clothes because he was smart, and you were gay because you were gay. And that's that's how it goes. You only get one adjective growing up. So if you're smart, you're smart, and that's your thing. You can't also be gay. But I knew he was gay the whole time. Everyone's like, oh my God, a second one's gay. I was like, wait see him, wait to see me the third. It's really bad. It's actually bad. He's outing his little younger brother. You want to take it even further. A lot of people think my father's gay because he loves Elton John and he has three bones. But I know he's not. He's too miserable.
SPEAKER_03So where's this apple falling from? What tree is this?
SPEAKER_01It's no tree, honey. It's just, it's just, there's nothing.
SPEAKER_03There's a tree. There's a tree.
SPEAKER_01It's just a gay nightclub, and that's where I was conceived. No, my parents met in West Hampton at a sharehouse. They don't do that anymore. Oh, that's why I'll never meet my husband. Nah!
unknownNope.
SPEAKER_01I will meet my husband. Just it won't be at a Hampton sharehouse.
SPEAKER_03Maybe it'll be at a Fire Island sharehouse.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if I ever get my ass there. I've been to Fire Island, but straight Fire Island.
SPEAKER_03So that's not a thing.
SPEAKER_01I know. It's like working out in your building. I got it. It's it's no, it's completely different worlds. I know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Wow. You don't need cocaine or anything. You're just like, that's it. That's you. Yeah, it's a mental health issue. That's right. Is it? Is it? Does it get in the way? No, it is though. This is this is per this is you channel it for what we do because you channel it. Amazing. Come on. It's just like No, I'm off. When I'm off, I'm off. If I'm off stage, I'm off.
SPEAKER_01I'm on 24-7.
SPEAKER_02You are twenty you are 24-7. You know what?
SPEAKER_01When I'm on stage, I actually have to remind myself breathe. Slow down. Yeah. Take a beat. Let them laugh before you start talking over them. I actually try to really, really calm down on stage and just relax.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because I could finish my whole set in 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_03You pop a beta blocker?
SPEAKER_01No, I don't do any kinds of drugs. I don't do anything like that.
SPEAKER_03Oh my God. I'm going to be popping beta blockers before Radio City this week.
SPEAKER_01I don't want that. I don't want to. I want to live life the way it's meant to be lived. I don't have to take drugs and make things happen. If you have to, you have to. Listen, I'm all for medication. My mom's a psychologist. My mom's a psychologist who prescribes meds people for a living. Probably why I don't want to take them because I know that my mom's the one prescribing them.
SPEAKER_02She's a psychologist, your mother. Yeah. She's a psychologist. Women can work, Modi.
SPEAKER_01And they she's not a psychiatrist, a psychologist. So she can medically like give you the diagnosis that you need to then go get the med.
SPEAKER_03Were you medicated? No. Never.
SPEAKER_01Come on. You had to ask if I was medicated? I clearly have ADHD completely undiagnosed.
SPEAKER_03So why it's the the cobbler kids always have no shoes.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely fucking not. I've seen her with a glass of wine. I'm like, and then you go and you diagnose somebody with ADHD. Yeah, absolutely not. I love her though.
SPEAKER_03So you you feel like you the content that you've made, it's helped some moms come closer to their gay, the their gay kids.
SPEAKER_01No, straight kids, gay kids, probably more straight kids, but and vice versa. And vice versa.
SPEAKER_03It also specifically Jewish moms.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, I have a lot of Italian moms who love me, a lot of Asian Indian moms, high performing minorities and loud minorities. That's who likes Jewish stuff.
SPEAKER_02High performing minorities? Indians, Asians, Indian. I didn't think that would you stop me?
SPEAKER_01Would you better let you let me say something like that?
SPEAKER_03I don't know. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, I don't have a manager who I'm sleeping with, so I don't really have this kind of like caution and peripheral on.
SPEAKER_03Maybe it's what you need. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Maybe.
SPEAKER_03No, he wants two stars.
SPEAKER_01I do have a man. By the way, I do have people on my team. They're all straight Jewish men. How did I want to sleep with them?
SPEAKER_02Who's your agent? Who books you? Rory Rosegarden. Oh wow. Old school.
SPEAKER_01Old school. Old school. He uh he was Ray Romano's uh still is. Still is. He still is. Love you, Rory. He's not gonna watch this far in the video. So stop watching after talking about all the gay shit on the clubs and stuff. He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't want to know Satamax. I don't want to I don't want to know that.
SPEAKER_02Rory Rose Garden, wow, and his brother. Uh he has a brother too. They were both managers. Rory? You could be right. I don't I I haven't met his brother. I haven't heard that name in so long. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01He's still around. He's still around. Still taking new clients. Thank God. I'm lucky he found me. Yeah, yeah, it's great. You know who you know how he found me? His wife. Because that's how everyone finds me. Their wife or their mom, their girlfriend. That's that's not true. I use the women to get to the men. Because that's where the money Many people have found about me from their moms. Moms are uh Yeah. That's how I f I mean I've known you for a while, but when I first first heard of you, it was from my mom for sure. Yeah. Way before I was doing that. Like when I was young. Thank God. Yeah. Thank God. That's a great way for people to learn about us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then when you, you know, when you finally get too old, I'll take over.
SPEAKER_02You don't need to wait for me to get old. You can you can do your thing now.
SPEAKER_01No, I know, but I want I want to give you. Take over what? Take over what? Take over being a gay Jewish comedian from the Five Towns who was Tevy in high school. Yeah, you're never gonna top my Tevya.
SPEAKER_02Don't even worry about that. You you can whatever goals you got going on, you can never top my tevages.
SPEAKER_01I have no goals. I want to be happy. I want to make people laugh.
SPEAKER_02Like I really That's a good. There you go.
SPEAKER_03I've got no agenda. From the beginning of this episode to right now. This is big. That was a big we made progress.
SPEAKER_01I've grown more as a person here than I have in therapy. I've never I've never seen a therapist.
SPEAKER_02Put him on with that woman that was a therapist. She was a couples therapist. She was a couples therapist.
SPEAKER_01I I don't do well with women.
SPEAKER_03You just said you get to the men through the women.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, to get to the men.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Wait, wait. So so it's okay. So back to uh Yeah, don't worry about being me. But what worry about being the best thing to do with the thing, so what's next?
SPEAKER_03What do you want to do? Do you want to do stand-up? Like stand-up, stand-up,
What’s Next Beyond Short Videos
SPEAKER_03or I've never done stand-up.
SPEAKER_01I mean I've done stand-up in the way that I do it. In like a very like pre-rehearsed thing. It's only for five minutes, ten minutes, then it's like bookended by like a structured questions that are part of like the show that I do and someone's paying.
SPEAKER_02How many questions could they have for you? They have a lot of questions for me. Tell me what could their main questions. Like tell me what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_01How'd you get started in this? Well, okay, so I have a like we go through we go through my whole life story. I was in the weird bunking camp, then I moved to the cool bunking camp.
SPEAKER_02What camp?
SPEAKER_01Trails ends. I'm family friends with the owners. I have not a bad thing to say. They gave us a discount. Um and then, you know.
SPEAKER_02Do you see he had the Rolodex? Yeah. Well, so as soon as he sends camp, he has the that's the that's the what the the pitch for the campaign.
SPEAKER_01Well, I want to make sure my bases are covered. From my camp owner does inevitably watch this. He keeps very close tabs on me. Hi, Mark. Um, high school, you know, Limbrook's not a very Jewish high school. So what's it like being one of 14 Jews in each grade? And what does that mean? Then we get into the college of it all. I rushed the same frat twice. They told me no because I was gay the first time. Then I went on to be the vice president. So we go through like all the different steps of life, which is basically just a reoccurring story of someone told me no until I got what I wanted. And it's like some like larger tale of like Jewish gay resilience that has led me here making jokes for you guys. People resonate with that mode.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01People like an underdog. Not that I am anymore, but when they when I'm telling the story, it's like young Max is this like underdog, like this like poor kid. How's he gonna make it in the world? I don't I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Young Max is still young, by the way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, young well now I'm like young, young, young Max, whatever.
SPEAKER_02So they hire you and you sit there and tell your story. I tell my story. And that's it. And then stand-up. There's no stand-up unit.
SPEAKER_01There's like planned comedic bits that c that go along with each milestone that I just planned out for you, but they're not like you in the first row, like how do you guys meet? Oh, you're not gonna be.
SPEAKER_02That's not stand up either. That's not stand up either. That's cool. She should be should begin to identify things.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I have a funny stand up bit. I have a funny bit I do. I say how um, because I'm gay and I'm gonna marry Jewish, and if I have kids. All the kids like make fun of that kid for being named after a law firm because it'll be like Jason Cohen Goldberg, that whole kind of thing. So I have like little bits like that that I do that could be considered stand-up-ish. I don't like the way your eyes are looking at it. I'm watching you. Maybe that's not stand-up. But long story short, I don't do stand-up, which was my original answer. But would you like to do like a Yeah, I think it's nerve-wracking. It's like there's definitely that live improv aspect to it that that scares me. So I've stayed away from it. I'm you you can be such a perfectionist on the phone as a someone who's only a content creator. I get to micromanage every second of what people see of me.
SPEAKER_03And whiten your teeth?
SPEAKER_01So yeah, whiten my teeth, tan my skin, the whole thing. Even in the videos, I do that. So it's very scary for me to say, now I'm gonna go to a basement in the city and just whatever happens will happen. Because I'm, you know, right now I'm just putting out this idealized perfect version of myself. But I would love to do stand-up.
SPEAKER_03So do you wanna you're writing these sketches with these different characters? Do you ever want to like do a screenplay?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I think in the directions that I'm maybe going. One, I got a couple of things in the works, no big deal, none of your business. But um, I can't really disclose those because they're not really far along far enough along yet. They're really not far enough. Whatever. Yes, if I'm going in two directions, if if one way is stand-up and one way is like screenplays and directing and writing and acting, I definitely want to go this way.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01I want to tell stories that are longer than a minute that somebody's watching while they're taking a shit, which is honestly what happens on TikTok, which is the only place I exist in right now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you are TikTok-y.
SPEAKER_01Right. So I want to get to a larger screen. I want to make it to their TVs. Yeah. They're watching me when they're waiting for their subway to come. They're watching me when they don't care what's happening. I want them to care when they're watching me. So I have to get them to care. It's a lot of work. It's not easy getting someone to stop me.
SPEAKER_02I'll give you one piece of advice. You have to, when you say things, you say it's it, you can tell that it's something you've said a million times. You gotta work on making sure when you say something, make it like it's the first time you've said it. Like this camp you went to, and then you had whatever you said after the camp. That was the first time I said that in that way. What's it called? Yeah, trails in. Trails in, and then you said afterwards, my b-pa. Right. So you gotta make it like da-da-da. Instead of but I've got to go. I'll switch, I'll switch on my games for you. I'll switch on my games. Yeah, make it. I mean, tell you something. The biggest, the the biggest compliment I ever got in my life was from an acting teacher named Bob Krakower, who came quietly to see three different sets of mine without telling me. And he told me you did the same three sets. It felt like you wrote it in the cab on the way to the set. And that's and that you you have you can't be like, this is his line for this, this is his line for that. I'm a line guy. Make it a little more like off the cuff. Something like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Something like that. Something like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But it's great that this exists. I didn't know this existed. This whole thing that you have to make a career out of speaking and and doing stuff out of from from your videos. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_01It's uh it's always changing. It's always changing. The show that I was doing last week isn't the show that I was doing two months ago, isn't the show I'll be doing in two months. It it always grows and changes. We'll see. It's paying the bills for now. I love doing it. Good. But like you said, you know, you can only say the same line so many times. So hopefully I I do get to that place of someone with money trusting me with my ideas and kind of giving me the means necessary to make it onto the other side of the camera in some way, in some form.
SPEAKER_03In shallow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So where can they find you at Max Cohen?
SPEAKER_01Uh besides not at Max Cohen. Um at Murray Hillboy on everything YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, uh, TikTok, you want came grinder hinge. Who? You on Cameo? So I did I did cameos on my own for a while. They got out of control. I I was getting way too many requests, and I was charging already what I thought was more than fair, and it got to a place where I'd have to charge even more just to lower the amount of requests, and I just gave up on the whole thing.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01I was I used to be the I used I made so much money from cameo I had to stop. I I'm not even joking when I say that.
SPEAKER_03No, yours like perfect for it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I do a lot of like permits for entrance videos after they pay me for it. Well, that's that's the most premium package that I offer. I'm good with it. I green screen their house behind me. I'm like, that's good. What's up? That's good, mate. Lexi from Starlight and Roslyn's about to pull up, so I want you to make some noise. And yeah, no one can afford to have me come in person, but they'll they'll get me in a video.
SPEAKER_02That's good. That's great. Now now I'm getting more now. I'm now beginning to understand what this is. I'm an entrepreneur before I'm gonna do it. It took you 45 minutes to explain to me what it is.
SPEAKER_01I can't do it around gay guys. I'm an entrepreneur before I'm anything else.
SPEAKER_02On that note, a shark tank, sharks, sharks, sharks. I come to you. Uh listen, this was fun. This was, I really I didn't know this existed, and I'm so happy to know that there is. And I wish you a lot of success. Your mouth to God's ears. He doesn't listen to me. Focus on your main thing just to make people happy. Everything else will fall into its place. Right. It took us a while to get there. That's we have to focus on make people happy. That's it. That's your main goal. That's it. Yeah, it's make people happy. That's it. That's it. Oh my god, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not exactly sure when this is airing, but it's probably after your first.
SPEAKER_01Put out in June. Call it a pride episode. It'll have the opposite effect. Hate crimes shooting through the roof after Max Cohen's on Modi's podcast. Here to comment Leo who made it all happen.
SPEAKER_03Um I was not wrong.
Where To Find Him And Closing Plugs
SPEAKER_03That guy was gonna be like, oh my god. He just imitated you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it wasn't bad.
SPEAKER_03I've gotten worse, honestly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right. Okay, so we are uh we are we're taping this on the week of the first uh Radio City music hall show. And um, I'm not sure when this is gonna air, but we have that happening, and then we just had this little breath of of of light that came in, named Max Cohen. Uh and um that's it. And there is a lot more happening besides Radio City. We are on tour. We are um there's gonna be all the new material now that's coming out. We have shows in Atlantic City, we have shows in Help Me Out.
SPEAKER_03That's it. But by the time this airs, your London shows will be announced, probably. London. Oh, so we're coming back. And uh check out ModiLive.com. And if you don't see your city, you can fill out the form and you can get notified if we're if we add a show near you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but there are shows uh online and uh and there's a lot more being announced, and it's gonna be amazing, and it's gonna be new stuff that I cannot wait to start doing. And um, what else is there? Uh oh my god.
SPEAKER_01That was a lot.
SPEAKER_02No, there's merch to this. I feel like we should be plugging stuff. Um I don't know, just uh that's it. Um thank you for coming on the podcast.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for having me. Thanks for making it through.
SPEAKER_02MobyLive.com. Be the friend that brings the friends to the comedy show. Find out where I am and where your friends are and make that happen. It is the best way to create Mashir Khanerji is to make somebody laugh, find a way to bring them to a comedy show, and uh, we'll see you all there. Thank you all very, very much. Bye. Bye.