In an era of "alpha male" influencers and aggressive internet posturing, Rogier Bak is offering a different kind of rescue. Speaking on the latest episode of the Dam Yankee podcast with host Zack Newmark, the Amsterdam-based comedian dissected the friction between modern masculinity and his own upbringing. Bak, known for his viral takes on cultural identity, noted that his skepticism of the "manosphere" isn't just a bit; it’s a tribute to the woman who raised him, he said in the episode, now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many more services. "We don't do romance in the Netherlands. We do paperwork," Bak joked early in the session, but the conversation quickly pivoted from cultural quirks to deep personal history. Bak revealed that his father passed away when he was just 12, leaving him to be raised by a mother who was then, and remains an incredibly important person to the comedian. On the other hand, he says his father "essentially was pretty good at blaming everybody else for his own issues, rather than taking any accountability for his own failures, shortcomings, and just realizing [missteps are] human. So me having grown up with a mom who was the breadwinner, who was the stable element in my house and who was the most reliable person in my life, I've never grown up with the influence of men telling me that women should be a certain way. or that women should be submissive to a man or that women should play a household role." [Hear Bak explain the ‘Alpha’ trap at 53:41] The path to his current success was anything but linear. After spending a decade in the United States, first at a high school in central Illinois, then to pursue basketball in Michigan, and design in New York, Bak was forced to return to the Netherlands when his work visa was not renewed. Leaving his American dream behind was a professional and personal gut-punch. "I was visiting my mom and I got off the train here in Amsterdam," Bak recalls. "It sounds weird, but I remember watching a group of Dutch people get out of the train. I was like, 'I have nothing in common with you guys. Nothing. I don't identify with this group. And I don't know why." [Watch him describe the train ride that changed everything at 19:54] If an identity crisis wasn't enough, Bak shared the story of the ultimate "rock bottom" moment. In 2020, as his comedy career finally began to gain traction, his personal life imploded. He and his wife decided to separate on the "day of the first announcement of the first lockdown in the Netherlands". Believing the restrictions would only last a couple of weeks, like "everyone" was being told at the time. the couple decided to "weather that storm" together. What followed was a months-long living situation that Bak describes as "absolutely the most tumultuous time," trapped in an apartment with an ex while the world outside, his career, and his livelihood, all remained shut down. [See how Bak survived a lockdown with his ex-wife at 25:30] To hear the full story of how Rogier Bak turned a visa rejection, a grieving household, and a claustrophobic divorce into a global comedy brand, watch this full episode of Dam Yankee and YouTube, or listen to Dam Yankee on all major podcast platforms. Rogier Bak is performing all over the place, including in Amsterdam on Thursday night, then in Ghent and Brussels over the weekend, before returning to Rotterdam and a special Amsterdam set with Nadine Froughi. He then has tour dates in Prague, Bratislava, Berlin, London, Lisbon, Athens, and all over the Netherlands. Follow him on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook for updates.
