Comedy as Relief from the Corporate Grind

From a young age Phil Griffiths loved comedy. But it wasn't until later in life he realized he might regret not pursuing his dream.

Phil Griffiths was never the class clown or life of the party. Rather, he said growing up he was more unobtrusive and quietly funny; the guy who would have you dying laughing in the corner of the room. Obsessed with comedy since childhood, Phil, now 50, said he used to walk to Blockbuster and rent all of the standup specials he could—Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy.

“I’d always wanted to do stand up,” he said. “I just thought I was too shy and scared.” 

When he was a senior in high school, Phil’s dad nearly opened a comedy club in the in northern California, and Phil and his brother, older by eight years, thought, oh, shit, now we’re going to have to do this. But when the city council did not approve the comedy venture, the club’s plans were shelved, and so was Phil’s dream of pursuing standup.

A true creative, Phil went on to earn an associates degree in graphic design, then slipped into a career in web design and production in the Bay Area, the epicenter of the tech industry in the late 90s, just as web design was taking off. He rose through the ranks as a designer and strategist, eventually becoming a creative director. By then, he was also married and raising two daughters. With agency and in-house success under his belt, Phil eventually struck out on his own as a creative consultant and designer, servicing small businesses and startups. By all accounts, he had built a successful career and life.

Then two conversations with family members led him to seriously reconsider his dream of doing standup once again. 

In 2011, Phil’s brother grew very sick and was hospitalized for more than a year. Hospital visits afforded the two opportunities to talk about the purpose and meaning of life.

“One day we were talking, and I asked my brother, ‘What do you regret? What do you regret not doing?’’ Phil said. “His answer was, ‘I regret that we never tried comedy.’”

Phil had to admit that standup still mattered to him, too. So, at age 39, he prepared his first five minute set and went to an open mic at a local comedy club. That night, he got laughs and encouragement from another comic. He’d caught the bug. It happened that the club where he performed his first set was hosting a new talent competition, and Phil signed up. He made it through the first round, through the semifinals and to the finals, ultimately placing in the top eight out of 100 comics.

Phil kept writing and performing. He was still working as a web designer, often driving two-hours round trip to perform five-minute sets at night, which was admittedly tough on his family. After the new talent competition, his wife was like, “so … you’re done?” 

“I’d want to go to a shitty open mic at, you know, 10 at night, and stay out until one in the morning, come home and go to work again,” he said. “But as a married person, a part of a couple, you obviously need to nurture that as well.” 

Pursuing his dream meant the family had to work out a new schedule and new compromises, which they were ultimately able to do, and Phil pursued standup for about five years as a side hustle.

Then he had another pivotal conversation, this time with his daughter, now a teenager and a competitive swimmer. He had always encouraged his daughters to pursue their dreams, to set goals and aim high. One day in the car, she turned the spotlight on him: “what’s your dream, dad?” 

It was the tipping point that pushed him into comedy full time. 

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Today, Phil has a full calendar of booked shows. He has opened for a long list of comics, including Kyle Kinane, Greg Fitzsimmons, Beth Stelling, Jackie Kashian, Jermaine Fowler, and more. He also produces and hosts Comedy Sharks, a comedy showcase in the Bay Area.

“I think I got decently good pretty fast because of my age. I'd lived a life. I’d had some experience, and I didn’t care as much. I could go up on stage, get no laughs, and know that I still had my wife and kids and career behind me—” he said, “—but that does also hinder your pursuit. When everything's on the line, you’ve got to push it. With a decent cushion behind you, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.”

He’s still learning the business of comedy, and the dream is evolving.

“If you would have told me 11 years ago that I would get to headline at the San Francisco Punchline, I'd have been like, wow, I must have totally made it because I couldn't even imagine that when I was doing five minutes and struggling at a shitty bar in Santa Clara or something.

I just love comedy,” he said. “The fact that I get paid even a small amount to do it is great. You don't have to be Kevin Hart to enjoy it, and make that a part of your life. But you do have to do it. If I’d have tried comedy earlier, who knows what I could have achieved? But I'm also very happy with where I am now.”

Learn more: Phil Griffiths Comedy

Interested in pursuing your own business dream? Join Generation Next and sister publication Cento at Second Act Community, a virtual community for professionals, including coaches and creatives, who are pivoting from the corporate world to build businesses they love. We’d love to see you there: Second Act Community