Meet Joe Welkie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Welkie.

Joe, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got started doing stand-up comedy in college as a freshman. It was right around when Dane Cook was huge and I thought he was hilarious. One day in my Sociology 101 class, a kid got up in the front of the class and told everyone that there was going to be a student comedy competition in our student union and if anyone wanted more information about the event and how to sign up, talk to him after class. The rest of class I didn’t pay attention at all and focused on writing as many jokes as I could. I talked to him after class, signed up for the show, told my sister that I was doing it (we went to the same college at the same time briefly), and later that night I was performing. My sister came with a bunch of her sorority sisters and she told them to laugh even if I wasn’t funny. After the show, she told me that they didn’t need to fake laugh because I actually did pretty well. Thankfully, they didn’t see the next year or so of me bombing at pretty much every open mic in the Baltimore/D.C. area.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, it definitely has not been a smooth road. I performed all throughout college and didn’t really have a grasp on the whole “networking” side of things, so I wasn’t very well liked. I burnt some bridges and messed up some opportunities because I was young and stupid and didn’t know how to navigate those waters at the time. After I graduated from college, I moved to New York City for five years and had a little more of that. So much of the comedy world is being seen by the right people and knocking it out of the park when the opportunity arises. Well, I’ve been on the wrong side of that for quite a bit, I feel. A lot of it has been my fault, but some things are just out of your hands and there isn’t anything you can do about it. As much as you don’t want to attribute success to “luck,” I believe it comes into play sometimes. I feel I haven’t been lucky too often.

What else should our readers know?
I’m a stand-up comedian. I tell jokes to people. What sets me apart is my wit and unique perspective on things. I like to try and make people change their minds on certain topics, give them a different point of view.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Ever year, my family would go to Disney World in Florida. Those are some of the best memories. Being with my family and experiencing the magic of Disney. I know that’s “corny” or whatever, Disney World (and to a lesser extent, Disney Land) is such an amazing place. Even as an adult, you learn to appreciate it for completely new reasons.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joewelkie.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @joewelkie
• Twitter: @welkiejoe

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