Adam Carolla:
Podcast King
“My life philosophy is pretty straight forward,” Adam
Carolla said in a recent phone interview. “Grit is better than I.Q., intestinal
fortitude is better than any degree, and always blame yourself.”
Given the success that 49-year-old Carolla has enjoyed in
radio, television, and film, there might be something to his commandments.
A child of divorced parents who came of age in North Hollywood , Carolla spent his 20s working as a
carpet cleaner, a custom closet installer, an earthquake rehab contractor, and
a boxing trainer. It was that last gig that led Carolla to Jimmy Kimmel, then
known as “Jimmy The Sports Guy” on L.A.
radio station at KROQ. Carolla coached Kimmel for a boxing match in 1994 and
the two became fast friends.
Carolla soon rose to notoriety on Loveline, a raunchy
sex advice show he co-hosted with the straight-laced Dr. Drew Pinski. Over ten
years, the odd couple answered questions about everything from genital herpes
to “I want to be with a man and a woman and a donkey at the same time—and
what’s so wrong with that?” Carolla recounted with a chuckle. The show also
featured appearances from bands like No Doubt and interviews with celebrities
like the cast of 1999’s Being John Malkovich.
Carolla went on to create The Man Show with Kimmel
for Comedy Central, author two New York Times bestsellers (In Fifty Years
We’ll All Be Chicks and Not Taco Bell Material), and launch a line
of ready-to-drink cocktails called Mangria. His current podcast The Adam Carolla
Show set the Guinness World Record for the most downloaded podcast ever.
Over the years, Carolla amassed a loyal fan base that he rallied this summer to
raise over $1.4 million for his forthcoming directorial debut, Road Hard.
“I spent over a decade doing mindless donkey work. Now I’m
overcompensating and trying to make up for all that lost time,” Carolla said of
his unrelenting ambition.
Considering Carolla’s impressive media empire, could there
be anything left on his bucket list?
“I’d like to start a bucket company—no, a line of signature,
high-end buckets. Beautiful oak buckets with beautiful rope handles,” Carolla answered,
deadpan. Given the breadth of his talents, it doesn’t seem that far out of the
realm of possibility. The man once taught himself to ride a unicycle, after
all.
As many of his fans are college-aged, Carolla offers this
advice to those newly entering the workforce: Use setbacks as learning
experiences and be realistic about your abilities. Just because you have your
heart set on a certain profession doesn’t mean you’re qualified to do it.
“There’s a lot of people who are untalented hacks,” Carolla
said regarding those aspiring to work in show biz. “They want to produce, they
want to direct, they want to write. Well, you know what? They’re not any good.
And thus, they’re going to have a very hard time making a living because they
suck.”
While Carolla uses his no-holds-barred humor to address
polarizing topics like affirmative action, police presence, and gay marriage,
he made it clear that he doesn’t see his comedy as a vehicle for social change.
“I don’t really break it down along those lines,” he said.
“I don’t even think ‘What’s funny?’ ‘What’s not funny?’ I just think about
‘What do I want to do? What do I want to convey?’ and I do it.”
And though most of Carolla’s podcast episodes skew
pessimistic and focus on his pet peeves, the married father of twins doesn’t
really hate everything on Earth.
“The focus on the stuff that drives you nuts is comedy,”
Carolla said. “As long as we got iTunes, iPhones, and professional football,
I’ll be happy.”
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2013.
Originally published on Vita.mn in Sept. 2013.
