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We are in the early planning stages of a podcast about my experience with testicular cancer and testicles in general. My illness is the gift that keeps on giving. This afternoon I met a man on zoom who we are paying to research testicles. I hope his parents are proud of him. They should be. It seems like he is a very good researcher.
One of the benefits of having accidentally created a media empire (ie got some badge and advert money as a result of doing some stupid podcasts that I assumed would never bring in cash) is that we are starting to be able to make other content with our surplus revenue. So I am hoping we can do a good job of making a funny and informative documentary series. But uniquely (in my experience at least) the company paying to make the show is not in the least bit concerned about making a profit. It doesn’t even care if it doesn’t make its money back. We have basically bypassed capitalism to get to a point where we are making money and then use that money to put into stuff that we think might be good. With no other motivation.
I mean sure, if it makes some money from adverts or someone deciding to buy it from us, then that’s OK. We’ll put that money into making something else. But the point is that the people giving us the money (admittedly it’s us doing that) don’t care about money and only care about us (and them, because they are us) making something that we/they can be proud of.
In our BBC Academy interview Isy asked what advice I’d give to my younger self or what I’d change about the way things had gone. But as much as many mistakes were made and that things did not always go the way that I wanted and my aspirations largely didn’t come to fruition, I have ended up here.
Employing a man to research testicles for me.
What an incredibly fortunate position to have accidentally lucked myself into.
I am hoping we can also branch out into making (initially) audio sitcoms and doing more sketches and short films and then maybe some long films too. It’s been a long journey getting here and I may be running out of runway to make this all happen for me, but if I can squeeze in another 20 years and you keep listening to the adverts on RHLSTP/
paying for badges, then who knows?
But I never gave up (as much as I wanted to at times) and when nobody else was that interested, I just got on and did it myself.
As I write this, I’ve just had a tweet from a mother whose son is being bullied at school and who then watched series 10 of Taskmaster and felt cheered up. She thanked me, Johnny Vegas, Mawaan Rizwan and Alex Horne (because we’re the ones on Twitter) and I pointed out that there was probably no better group of men to prove that Beta Males can win in the end. Which doesn’t do much to make up for that intense pain of being bullied for being different at school, but I hope gives him some hope. The stuff the bullies hate (the non-conformity which makes them feel stupid for conforming) is the stuff that can make your life amazing.
Eventually.
I’ve had to wait a very long time to feel any kind of contentment, but that’s mainly because I am a dick.
Anyway, you can try and pick what I’m attempting to say out of all of this.
I’m paying a man to research testicles and that man is being paid for researching testicles. We have both come out of this like fucking champions.
The bonus final live RHLSTP at the Phoenix Cavendish Square on 29th November now has one guest confirmed. It’s the king of the clowns, circuit legend and a man who has had more fireworks up his arse than you’ve had hot dinners, Chris Lynam. This is going to be a superb one to see live,
so buy a ticket it you can.
