Title:
Rolling in Laughter | Comedian Adam Keys

Subtitle:
From the Front Lines to the Funny Lines | Rewriting the Narrative with Humor and Grit

Transcript:

Alycia Anderson: Welcome to Pushing Forward with Alycia, a podcast that gives disability a voice. Each week we will explore topics like confidence, ambition, resilience, and finding success against all odds. We are creating a collective community that believes that all things are possible for all people. Open hearts, clear paths.

Let’s go.

Welcome back to Pushing Forward with Alycia. Today, we’re gonna be laughing our “you know whats” off? We have a comedian in the house, and we were just talking about it. I think this might be the first comedian that has ever been on the show.

And if there was another one, forgive me, it’s just my 50-year-old brain. It’s not that you’re forgettable. Today, we have Adam Keys. He is a Army veteran, an Afghan survivor, a comedian, a public speaker who isn’t afraid of standing up to broken systems, including the VA.

We met at an event last year called WAWABILITY, and I got to see him perform. We made friends. And of course, I have been stalking him until he said yes to come on the show. He’s gone from armed services, arts partnerships on stage, to audiences literally across the country. You’re gonna have to follow him.

He’s hilarious. Adam uses his humor to frankly share the truth one punchline at a time. Adam, welcome to the show. Thank you for coming on. It’s good to see you.

Adam Keys: Thanks for having me. Fun to be here.

Alycia Anderson: Oh my gosh, it’s so fun. I wanna get down and deep, and learn all about your story. But I thought to start off light, we could start with some rapid fire questions to see your vibe.

Clean set or unfiltered set.

Adam Keys: Unfiltered.

Alycia Anderson: I knew that was gonna be the answer for sure. Best reaction you’ve ever gotten from an audience member.

Adam Keys: This is gonna be a weird one actually, but I was talking to a friend just the other day. A woman just really wanted to be around me after a set, and it was her birthday. She was like 77, and she just really wanted to kiss me. It wouldn’t matter if I said no or not, she was gonna kiss me.

So that’s what happened.

Alycia Anderson: And was that a grandma kiss from a 77-year-old or was that another kind of kiss?

Adam Keys: It was like she was 16 years old again.

Alycia Anderson: Oh, that’s cute actually.

Adam Keys: It was very interesting. Very interesting night. That’s for sure.

Alycia Anderson: Okay. One thing people always get wrong about disability.

Adam Keys: One thing everybody always gets wrong about disability. Everybody does assume that wherever we’re gonna go is wheelchair accessible.

Alycia Anderson: Oh, that’s a good one. That is a good assumption. I agree with you, actually. Comedy before therapy or therapy before comedy.

Adam Keys: Comedy is therapy.

Alycia Anderson: Oh, I like it. Intertwined.

Adam Keys: Yeah. Intertwined for sure.

Alycia Anderson: Okay, one last question. One word that describes your life right now, in this moment.

Adam Keys: In this moment, fun. I’m having fun on the podcast.

Alycia Anderson: There you go. Fun, and on stages.

Adam Keys: Yeah.

Alycia Anderson: Okay. So, thank you for doing that.

That’s always fun to see the answers from my guests. Can we start with your story? Let’s look back a little bit. I’m sure that you’ve told your story a million times, but can you give us a synopsis of your background, maybe Adam before comedy, in the Army, and just the progression to where you are.

Adam Keys: Sure. Yeah. I know you’re a public speaker as well. That’s how I got into this world in the first place, because everybody wanted to know the story. When I was first injured, which was back in July 14th, 2010, so over 15 years ago now. And for everybody who doesn’t know who I am and can’t really see me, I lost both my legs and my left arm overseas in Afghanistan. I was in the Army, so that’s what put me in the wheelchair. That’s how I ended up in the hospital. I’ll get into that a little bit if you like, but when that happened, everybody wanted to know. And Facebook was there, I was on it, but it was coming up. Twitter was coming up.

Nobody was really doing that in 2010 like they are today. That’s for sure. The local news, the national news, local newspapers would wanna come and chat. Eventually someone’s like, “You can make money off of this. You’re giving it away, essentially.” Which is cool. Giving it away is okay.

I understand why everybody wants to know, but at some point in time it’s like, “All right, now I gotta make some money here.” And that’s what I ended up doing, because everybody does wanna know when they look at me. I’m out there in public. I’m not one of these guys. Unfortunately, a lot of guys stay home because it’s a new reality when you get thrown in the wheelchair. Especially missing some limbs and stuff, you stick out. You’ve been doing this a long time, so you understand just the wheelchair itself, you stick out. People always wanna know what’s going on. They feel like they could ask you, too, which is also very weird.

You know what I mean? So got thrown into it. And that led me when I did public speaking. I would tell my story, but people would, oftentimes, just tear up. It’s a terrible story how I got here, but I’m here. So that’s the good part.

But I wanted to focus on the good parts more. And if I snuck a joke in here and there, it seemed to lighten up the room a little bit. I was having more fun, because seeing people cry is not my goal here. So that’s what pushed me. At the end I was like, “You know what? I always wanted to do stand-up. So let me just at least put on pause.” There’s public speaking. You’re up there for 30 to 45 minutes a lot of time. I don’t know how much you do. Just telling your story and people at the end. And I’ll do Q&A, ’cause they have questions. So that pushed me into something I always wanna do, which was stand-up. That’s why I found our Armed Services Arts Partnership, and they would give a free set of classes to veterans and military folks. So I just got roped in that way. The first time I did comedy to graduate this free course. I was living in DC. At a big club there called the DC Improv, you get five minutes in front of total strangers and just see how it goes. And five minutes at the time was a very long time for me. Luckily, everything went to plan. I got all the laughs I wanted to and more, so you get addicted to that. And I’ve been doing it the last eight years of my life.

Alycia Anderson: I love that speaking brought you into that. Maybe you can gimme some tips. But sometimes I’m on stage and I try to add little moments of humor for sure, but I’m not a comedian. And that’s obviously an art that you’re doing it for your career very successfully.

I do think even in keynotes and on speaking stages, it’s important to allow your audience to have a break and laugh and not feel so heavy. I think it’s also important to put disability in that light. It doesn’t need to be this heavy, dark thing. Your story is incredible. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice, because you have had a major one. Will you share a little bit of that?

I think it’s important for our audience to just hear a little bit of it.

Adam Keys: Sure, that’s no problem. You might have saw on my Instagram where I was just in Phoenix talking about this exact same thing two, three weeks ago. So I still do public speaking, just not as much as I used to. And it usually pays better, too, anyway. I was in the United States Army. I deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Was supposed to be a 12 month deployment, and it was for the rest of my platoon and company. But for me, I got injured seven months in. So just over halfway. War is crazy. Things happen there. That’s what war is all about, really. It’s very unfortunate and a terrible thing.

My situation, I got hit with an IED. The four guys that were with me, and I’ll say their names, Sergeant Zachary Fisher. Sergeant Chase Stanley, who’s actually from California. Specialist Matthew Johnson. And my high school friend, which is very random that we got in the same place at the same time, Jesse Reed. Unfortunately, they were in the same attack that I was, and all four of them did not make it. Although I came out the other side luckily alive, and missing a bunch of limbs and everything else that’s going on. Yada yada. I am the lucky one and I recognize that. It was also important for me to go out there and tell that story when people wanted to hear it, and always say their names as much as I can. Those guys are never forgotten. I think they’d be proud of me at the moment. Everyone’s funny in the military, in the army anyway. You have to be on these long deployments and these long training exercises, ’cause that’s all you really have. You had to laugh at everything. I know we did a lot of laughing overseas, on our deployment, and training and the whole bit. But going to the next level, doing stand-up, and getting paid by the club is a whole nother thing. And I think they’d be proud of that. Yeah.

Alycia Anderson: I think they’d be really proud of it. The work that you’re doing for the military community, also for the disabled community, and far beyond that is very impactful. Post-injury, how did this reshape your sense of identity immediately, and then over time as you settled in?

Adam Keys: It’s a brand new reality. As you well know, the disability community is one that anybody could join at any time. You know what I mean? Some people are born into it, some people are thrown into it. That’s what happened to me, thrown into it. Now I’ve always known disabled people in my lifetime.

You know what I mean? So it wasn’t an awkward thing. But yeah, if you’re 26 years old and one day you’re running and training, and do all this stuff. And then one day, you don’t have any legs, and you’re missing a left arm, and you’re fighting to keep the right arm at the time. I was also in a coma for the first two months. When I woke up, yeah, total shock.

It was total shock. I’d say immediate, but pretty early on for certain. What do I do now? I have to figure out some things right now because I’m not gonna be one of these guys. Unfortunately, it happens, but I’m not gonna be one of these guys. I’m not gonna stay home because I’m afraid of the world now.

I was never that way. I’m an outdoor cat, you know what I mean? I like to be out. I like to see things and do things. And I love to laugh and have a good time. So, I had to find a way. I went to a lot of hospitals there in the beginning, but mainly I was at Walter Reed. And everyone knows that pretty much, ’cause that’s where the presidents go. It’s on a lot of movies and whatnot. I was there for five years. We’re coming five years and 13 days, exactly. Yeah. So it’s a long time. But they have a lot of resources, a lot of people to learn from because I’m not the first amputee from the wars. And I won’t be the last either, unfortunately, the way these things go.

There was a lot of people that were there before me, during the same time I was there, and after. There’s a lot of resources that they offer. You don’t have to take ’em, but I took many of them and learned something from them. Especially the wheelchair people that knew what they were doing, because that’s a brand new thing.

I’m sitting here right now in a power wheelchair at home, so it’s a little bit easier. But when you saw me and whenever I travel and go anywhere in public, I’m in my manual chair just to keep my arms going. That’s a little bit of cardio. It’s just like walking around the block, if you’re doing that, I would say. But at home, the doctors say, “You gotta cherish your one arm, so you should use the power chair and take a break when you can.” So that’s typically what I do.

Alycia Anderson: I need to take that for a lesson.

Adam Keys: It’s hard to do.

Alycia Anderson: I know. I have a lot of people going, “Why don’t you just get a power chair?” I fight it. But I do feel myself starting to get achy. Just use and all that. That’s actually smart to have both. That’s the tip of the day for me.

Adam Keys: Especially if you’re at home, you should be comfortable at home. I’m okay with it. In the very beginning, I didn’t want to either. I’m like, “It’s smart in the long run.” I’ll be 42 in March, so I’m not getting any younger, as they say.

Alycia Anderson: I love what you just said, too, about after you woke up and you learned your new reality. You were still who you were, and you wanted to still conquer the world, and do the things that you loved. And you intentionally reached out to community, and resources, and education to find your way and the path.

I think that’s also a really useful tip just for our community, too. And beyond that, our bodies change no matter what over time. I think that’s really a great lesson. You’re really good on stage, right? You are hilarious, and you tackle topics that a lot of people, number one, shy away from. When I first was sitting in front of you, it was like, “Oh whoa, thisguy is going for it.” And number two, you talk about not only the tough stuff in our society right now, military, and VA, and all those things, but also disability. A lot of those things make people uncomfortable.

At first, when you start navigating it, how did you get there? Did you ever fear that? Were you scared of being vulnerable and big? Did it take time? Can you talk about that a little bit? ‘Cause you’re very bold. And I notice that, for me sometimes, if I say something very vulnerable about my disability, even if it’s not in a funny way, people look at me like they’re really uncomfortable.

I have invaded their space, and now they are uncomfortable. Did you experience that? How did you get to the point?

Adam Keys: Yeah. I even haveextended family members that it still makes them uncomfortable when I joke about being an amputee. There’s so many things. In the beginning, I thought I’d run outta jokes because I’m like, “How far could I go with this?” It’s with everything, even with public speaking, the more you write, the more you find, and the more that comes out.

And there’s just so many common phrases. I’m running around today. That’s like a common phrase, but I’m not running around. So if I say it, now it’s a weird thing. Yeah. It make people uncomfortable? For sure. Yeah. Mostly, I’ll get a laugh out of it. To try to get back to your question, I’m not afraid to say not only the truth, but my truth. My truth is a phrase that’s out there these days. That’s what’s true to me. Get on board or I’ll see you around.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah. There’s a lot of bravery in what you do. Boldness. Those are things that I want to have more within myself. Even my speaking, I’ve gotten much more bold with my advocacy, but it’s taken me years. At first, I was very afraid I was gonna say the wrong thing. It was interesting to get up and really hear you just go all in boldly, and just be you, which is really awesome, honestly. And something that we all strive for, to push awaysocietal perceptions that we might fear. So it’s just interesting.

Adam Keys: But it is true. No matter what you do, especially in the comedy world, the speaking world, whatever you do, you can’t please everybody. You’re gonna make somebody upset or feel uncomfortable, and that’s just the way it has to be.

But if you’re going out there and doing what you know to be right and hopefully funny, I say just go for it.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah. Yeah. What are some of the important themes that you’re trying to teach or advocate for on stage? Talk about some of that, ’cause you tackle some of the tough stuff.

Adam Keys: It’s funny to hear you say teach. I understand why you would say that. I never thought I’m teaching people. I’m more just really telling them.

I guess it is a lesson at the end of the day, really, when you think about it. But I’m just telling them, who has never seen somebody in a wheelchair. There’s levels of wheelchair, too. Some people are in a wheelchair, but they could stand up to go to the restroom or something. I don’t know everything about you, but I understand you’re fully in a wheelchair. I’m fully in a wheelchair. So if it’s not wheelchair accessible, we got a real problem. I try to teach that or just make that known, because I’ll call ahead. If I’m going on a date with somebody or going out with some friends for the first time to a new place and I’ve never been there, I’ll call ahead and they’re like, “It’s wheelchair accessible. I saw the sign on thing.”

Yeah, but I’ve been to so many places that the bathroom is one step up or down. I used to live on the East Coast. I think I mentioned that to you. Most recently in the Annapolis slash DC area.

A lot of basements. It’s on the water, so a lot of things have a couple of steps. They say wheelchair accessible because the bathroom itself has a handicap stall, but how do you get in there? That’s the real thing here. There’s laws about it, but those are very loose. You know what I mean? Whoever’s saying you’re in compliance also doesn’t know how to be in a wheelchair.

This is one of the biggest ones for me, hotels that say they have a roll-in shower. A lot of time, it’s maybe technically a roll-in shower because there’s not a step there, but you can’t go in and hop on the seat that’s on the wall. What do I do now and how do I bring this to their attention? I have to because I have to take a shower. Although very frustrating throughout the day and through my life, a lot of it turned into jokes because it’s like, “How could I get this out to the masses where they’re gonna get it?” If I say it pretty bluntly, people are gonna remember that. And every so often, somebody works in a situation where like, “I wish I had known that ahead of time.” That happened at the airport. I had jokes about getting on the aisle chair to get on a plane, and how completely unsafe it was.

Completely. ‘Cause people had no idea what to do. In least in my case, I’ve made jokes about it. But the lady that’s in charge of those people, this was at Logan Airport in Boston, had me come back and paid me to basically talk to her staff for about 30 minutes. It was crazy, but I’m like, “Yeah, I’ll do it. Let’s go.” It’s also open doors.

Alycia Anderson: That’s a great way to get more deals. I love it. I was just traveling for an event and I was at a hotel. And my biggest pet peeve at a hotel is the roll-in shower thing, but also, I can never see myself in the mirror. There’s not always full-length mirrors in hotels.

For me, I cannot go on stage without being able to see my body, head-to-toe. I can’t even see my face because everything’s higher. So I always go end up buying a cheap mirror at Walmart or something, a full-length, and I leave it and then I go to the manager and I’m like, “I’m donating this. Please don’t toss it. Leave it for the wheelchair user.” The same thing just happened to me. They gave me the card to their CEO. She was like, “I’ve never thought about that before.” I think the education piece that you are bringing is awesome. And the way that you deliver it through comedy is just a great way for information to be received. It’s really great.

Adam Keys: If you don’t mind, I’m gonna pick up on that just a little bit. You bought a mirror when you were there to use it, and you donated to the room, and that’s great. I’ve never donated something to anywhere, but I can tell you this. I travel with certain things in my backpack for the reasons that have happened in the past.

And one of those major things, I’m sure you’re gonna relate to this one. Especially when I fly anywhere, I travel with extra brakes in my carry-on, because my brakes have been broken so many times on flights. And I get to the other end, there’s zero brakes. It’s insane. “We’re gonna fix it.”

I’m like, “Yeah, but I have no brakes and I can’t stand up, so I can’t transfer anywhere safely now. And you said you’re gonna get me brakes within four to five days.” I’m like, “So what in the meantime?” They’re usually upset. They usually gimme a free ticket, yada, yada, yada. But that doesn’t solve the problem.

So I just travel with brakes everywhere I go.

Alycia Anderson: That’s interesting. I don’t have any brakes on my wheelchair. Isn’t that weird?

Adam Keys: That drives me nuts. You’ve been doing this a long time.

Yeah, I have. My wheelchair did show up one time with the front wheel missing, and I had to pop a wheelie for three days at a girl’s weekend. That’s tough. See.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah, especially when you’re drinking margaritas. It’s not easy thing to do. Not at all.

Adam Keys: That’s tough.

Alycia Anderson: It was bad.

Adam Keys: Those things happen. So all those turned into jokes for me, but also in the moment, very frustrating.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah. Yeah. I love it. You just mentioned dating, what’s the dating status like? How is it dating post-injury? Can you give us a little 411 on that?

Adam Keys: Well, I’m single at the moment, ladies, that’s for sure. I’ve had two serious relationships since my injury. I was married, too, but she had taken off, so that I had to go through.

But dating wise, I’ve been on plenty of dates. Not all of ’em stick, but I do warn ’em. Especially now we’re meeting on Bumble and stuff. I don’t like it, but that’s the way the world. I’d much rather meet a woman out in public and see what happens.

And that still does happen. But oftentimes, we meet online. I’ll say, “That’s not a fake picture. When I show up, I’m gonna be in a wheelchair and I don’t have any legs. I try to make it as clear as possible, because I don’t wanna freak ’em out. And I’m also not catfishing anybody. That’s a weird dynamic that I have to ensure that they understand what they’re getting into here.

Alycia Anderson: Do you show your wheelchair and your body on your profile?

Adam Keys: Yeah.

Alycia Anderson: And people still think it might be fake?

Adam Keys: They never outright said that, but I just make sure that they are aware of it.

Alycia Anderson: Double checking?

Adam Keys: Sometimes I get the feeling. It’s better safe than sorry. I’m not trying to hide anything from anybody. You know what I mean? I just get right to the point.

Alycia Anderson: I’m pretty fascinated by that way of dating. I was not single by the time all that dating stuff came out. I often wonder, I’m just so curious as disabled.

Adam Keys: Terrible. Horrible.

Alycia Anderson: Terrible. Terrible.

Adam Keys: It’s a horrible way to meet anybody. Even for a friendship, it’s a horrible way. You’re supposed to meet in public and things are supposed to happen. Then you gotta talk. I appreciate some of these women. They’ll say outright, “We’re not texting forever. Take me on a date.” Yes, let’s get to the point here. Go meet in public. So we could see if there’s something going on here or not. ‘Cause right now, this is all fake to me. You know what I mean? On Bumble, right? That’s how I feel about it. I have quite a few jokes about that, too, for sure.

Alycia Anderson: So speaking of jokes, who do you like to perform in front of more? The military community, veterans, disabled, or just general public? And what’s the difference?

Adam Keys: I love to perform in front of everybody, that’s for sure. In the beginning when I first started comedy, I had a really good five minutes and then 10 minutes. A lot of these military galas would have me on because, “He’s a military guy. He’s funny.” And that was good.

But I didn’t wanna be stuck in that world where I could only do military and only do those certain things. I wanna be a stand-up that’s versatile, does actual comedy clubs. That all happened this past year and a half, where I got passed at a club, where I’m getting paid by the club, which is fantastic.

I’ll perform for anybody at any time, but there are differences from the military, especially active duty military, to just a civilian population. I could probably get away with a lot more in front of the military crowd because they train and do all this stuff all day long. And like I said before, all you have is each other and you make each other laugh.

That’s a natural thing. A lot of it, you would never say in public ’cause it’s just too much. Civilians would not appreciate it most times. A lot of ’em will. So I could get away with a lot more with them. I’ve been told they could relate to me.

‘Cause a lot of people were this close to missing their legs and in a wheelchair. You don’t get to pick. So, a lot of people can relate to me. They know exactly what I’m saying, and I do enjoy that. Also, I’ve done a few tours. I think you met, or at least you saw Josh Blue. He was the headliner there. I’ve been on tour with him three or four times, for weeks at a time to go to military bases, to entertain the troops. I’ve done Armed Forces Entertainment on a tour with some other guys from LA up to Alaska. Some of these very remote places where they don’t get any entertainment at all. Half the time, the phones and TV doesn’t work. They’re way out there. It’s pretty crazy. So that’s really a fun thing for me to do, to try to get back to the military community and stay in touch. But the same time, I could joke about my life. Now the civilian world, I’d say most people that come to a comedy club are ready to laugh. Why else would you show up at a comedy club? If you don’t know who you’re seeing or you don’t know the people are on, and you’re coming anyway, that means you’re ready to hear whatever’s gonna be said. There’s some people, they travel or they go to a comedy club. And they only wanna see certain people ’cause they just really like that person, or they relate to whatever reason. You know what I mean? And that’s cool. But if you’re showing up to comics that you don’t know who they are and you’re going anyway, that means you’re an open book, which is pretty cool. Doesn’t mean every joke’s gonna work, and sometimes you bomb and it really does hurt. That’s the hard part about being a comedy. You gotta keep going.

Alycia Anderson: Talk about bombing for a minute. I’m always afraid I’m gonna bomb on stage, too. And it’s extra when it’s comedy, I’m sure.

Adam Keys: I’m still nervous when I do shows, no matter what. I think that’s a good thing. And my heart’s usually going pretty good. I sweat quite a bit, but that’s not really ’cause I’m nervous. It’s ’cause I got 30 pounds of prosthetics hanging off my body. It’s a hard workout for me up there, too.

I’m usually doing 15 to 20 minutes as a host slash feature. But yeah, sometimes you’re trying new jokes. You always have to come up with new stuff and topical stuff. And you don’t wanna rely on the stuff that you know works. Sometimes you get tired of it for a little while, so you shelf it for a bit and let it come back around if it ever does. But you try new things and sometimes it just doesn’t deliver the way you want it to, or people are just not into it. Everything plays into it at that point. You try to make a joke about what just happened then, ’cause that didn’t work out at all.

Alycia Anderson: You’re right.

Adam Keys: So you just try to find a way out of it, and then get back to some stuff that you can win ’em back. It’s all about have them on your side and everyone’s laughing together. It’s the whole goal here.

Alycia Anderson: I love it. Yeah, there’s those moments on stage where, every once in a while, you’re like, is that guy sleeping? You’re like, “I gotta shift something. What is going on here?”

The sleeping guy is your not laughing guy.

Adam Keys: Not laughing slash a heckler, too.

Alycia Anderson: Oh. What’s the worst heckle you’ve ever had?

Adam Keys: I have to say, I’ve never had something too crazy, like someone’s yelling at me about a joke. I got heckled. Every comic I was with on Saturday night got heckled because the person at the front row, funny chick, she was laughing and all this stuff. But she wanted her opinion to be said almost after every joke.

Every one of us had to address it. “Hey, if you wanna do comedy, here’s an open mic down the street right now. You gotta let everybody else that has a paid ticket hear what we’re saying right now.” So she’s heckling without attacking me. That’s her personality. Maybe she’s never been to a comedy club before. But that’s a heckle, ’cause it throws the comic off. Now I have to get off-track and address this, because everyone could hear it. Everyone is saying “shh” to her. It’s something new every day. That’s another thing about the comedy world. You never know what you’re gonna get, so you have to be ready for it, all of it.

Alycia Anderson: There is the thing, getting off-track from an audience member. Especially when you’re going through jokes, that has to be difficult. I hate it when I get off-track and I’m speaking. Wow.

Adam Keys: Yeah. It does suck. Does it happen all the time, though? Usually everything’s fine. You know what I mean? The jokes work and everyone’s laughing along, so that’s good. A lot of times, you get comments afterwards, ’cause you usually go out and try to sell merch, or give out stickers, so you get some new people coming around to see you.

Lot of people can relate to whatever reason, they’ll bring it up. They just wanna get to know you, which is cool. That’s one of the best things about comedy. You get to meet so many different people, outside of the comedy world. Just the people that come to watch comedy that always wanted to do it, but are too nervous to do it. But you also go to different places, even around this Sacramento greater area. I went to a new restaurant this past Saturday night I was talking about that was selling tickets. They sold out, 75 tickets to see three comics. I was one of them. First off, it’s not far for me. It’s an Arden Arcade, which is great. We’re getting paid good. The food and the staff, fantastic. I’ll go back just for the food. So you get to see new places, meet new people. I love it.

Alycia Anderson: Do you think that it’s been harder, or the same, or easier, for you to book as a disabled comic opposed to an able-bodied person? That whole representation in the media and acting. Do you see those same issues translate in your work?

Adam Keys: Yeah, I would say, especially, I felt this up until about two years ago, that some people and some clubs were nervous to have me on. Because if they don’t have a ramp to the stage, it’s usually two to three steps. Then me getting on stage that way proves that they’re not wheelchair accessible. It makes them look not good. It was never said to me that way, but that’s the way I felt about it. But I just said, “I have to keep going. I have to keep showing up, and I have to be funny. And eventually someone’s gonna gimme a chance.” Some people did. And then once it catches on, at least in my case, people forget about that portion.

“He’s good no matter what. Bring him out here. He’s funny.” So that’s where I’m at.Every other state, or comedy club, or other city I go to, I just have to prove myself again. Yeah, that’s how I feel about that. I would say in my case, it was tougher until recently. I think it was more on their end, ’cause they didn’t wanna be sewn. It’s wheelchair accessible to get in and the bathroom’s wheelchair accessible, but nobody thinks, “Is it wheelchair accessible for another comedian to go on?” There’s very few places that have a ramp, even hidden. It doesn’t matter if it’s hidden or not, have a ramp to get up there. There are some right here in Sacramento. But not all of ’em, that’s for sure.

Alycia Anderson: Definitely when I first started speaking, I didn’t think that I needed to double check if there would be a ramp, and I got caught a couple times. And it is not only uncomfortable for you, but it is definitely uncomfortable for your client going, “Oh wow, I just hired her to talk about accessibility, and now somebody’s literally carrying her up on the stage. Like that is not a good look.

Adam Keys: What does that actually mean to bring somebody in a wheelchair here? I guess it’s fair, in a way, if they’ve never been somebody in a wheelchair.

Alycia Anderson: Totally.

Adam Keys: If you’re booking somebody in a wheelchair, let’s think a little bit.

Alycia Anderson: Okay, so what’s North Star? Where are you going? How do people hire you? How do we see you? Have a belly laugh with you, all those things.

Adam Keys: If you’re here in Sacramento, you can check my website no matter what. Adamkeyscomedy.com has links to my socials, where everything will be posted, where I’m gonna be and when. If you’re in Sacramento, I’m a regular at Laughs Unlimited in Old Town Sacramento, so I’m there often. But you can catch me all around the city, a lot of breweries, and restaurants, and whatnot. Adamkeyscomedy.com to see it all. I have two nights in March. Actually, you’ll like this. I think you’ll like it, at least. It’s in Montana. It’s with a group called Comedians with Disabilities Act. It’s a play on Americans with Disabilities Act. This started in 2010, long before I came around, even to Sacramento. But it started right here in Sacramento. These comedians all have a disability, seen and unseen. We tour around quite a bit. The next tour we’re gonna do is in Montana. The first night is March 20th at Missoula, Montana, at Zoo Town Arts Community Center.

Alycia Anderson: Nice.

And then, March 21st at the Covellite in Butte, Montana. Every comedian’s gonna have a disability of some sort. We’ll be out there rocking. So if you’re in Montana, come check us out. That’s so cool. I just had an event in Butte. I’m just missing you guys. Bummer.

Adam Keys: I’ve been to Montana, but not Butte. I hear it’s beautiful out there.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah, it was cool. We’re gonna leave all of your information in the show notes so everybody can click, book, follow, hire him to speak, hire him to make your teams laugh, go to all of the funny comedy things I’m going to, too.

Adam, it’s been so good for you to share your story. It’s really incredible. I’m so happy that ourlife paths have crossed. Maybe one day we’ll share a stage, too. Who knows?

Adam Keys: I would love to.

Alycia Anderson: Okay. Pushing forward moment. I warned you. You got a little motivating tip to give away to our community?

Adam Keys: A motivating tip. I would say to motivate anybody. Whatever your fight may be, just keep fighting, but don’t be weird.

Alycia Anderson: I like it. Fight and don’t be weird. Thanks for everything you’re doing and for brightening our world, in a time where we really need to laugh.

Adam Keys: Totally agree.

Alycia Anderson: Thank you so much, Adam.

Adam Keys: Thanks for having me.

Alycia Anderson: Yeah, it was great to see you. Thanks to our community for showing up this week. Share this so everybody can meet Adam and have a laugh, and we will see you next week.

This has been Pushing Forward with Alycia and Adam Keys, and that is how we roll on this podcast. We will see you next time.