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Des Bishop has built one of comedy’s most unlikely careers — a native New Yorker who became a household name in Ireland, then learned Mandarin well enough to headline stand-up shows in China, and later moved back to the U.S. to start over from scratch. His new special, “Bridge and Tunnel,” is streaming now on Hulu and YouTube. Des joined us on How Success Happens to talk about his wild career and share his advice with anyone trying to chase their dream — we’ve broken down 5 highlights of his insights to help fuel your own success.
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1. Throw Yourself Into the Deep End
Des’s very first stand-up set wasn’t a five-minute open mic — it was a 20-minute opening slot in Cork City, because the club “was so cheap, they decided to not book an opener.” His only experience was doing some bits at a joke competition two weeks earlier. “I mean, I’m sure there was a decent four or five minutes in there. A lot of it was rubbish. But I didn’t die, you know?” he says. “My only memory from that was I couldn’t wait to do it again.”
2. Force Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone
After becoming famous in Ireland and building a following performing in Mandarin in China, Des made a deliberate choice in 2018 to rebuild his career from zero in the U.S. “I set myself a goal. I said, ‘I’m not gonna live off any money that I make outside of the United States,'” he says. He played “tiny crowds in cities” where “people had no idea who I was” — on purpose. “It was a great exercise, but it was not easy. And it did make me a way better stand-up comedian.”
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