Ridge Hershberger a stand up comedian and farmer, joins to tell the story behind The Comedy Farm, his traveling small town comedy club, working rooms in Altoona, State College, and beyond. We talk early days (WVU, stump game lore), why he hides an older special on his site, and how he’s building a scene where one didn’t exist by producing shows and grinding stage time. Ridge shares a wild injury story that pushed him home from Austin, the budgeting/reality of booking Fridays/Saturdays, and his simple starter kit for new comics: write 25 facts about yourself and get on stage. The convo drifts into purpose, discipline, and keeping it light—“say less, do more,” track your material, and aim for a tight 45 to headline. Its blue collar hustle meets comedy craft, with plenty of small town chaos and laughs along the way. 🕐 Full Episode Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Episode 4 who is Ridge (farmer/stand-up) 01:07 – What is “The Comedy Farm”? towns, VFWs, small-town circuit 02:10 – “Sold out… we didn’t need you” (Everett show banter) 03:34 – Bloody Run & private club chatter 05:08 – Touring with Christina Mariani; early travel plans 06:57 – Stage persona vs real life 07:19 – Ridge’s secret/hidden special & website rabbit hole 08:30 – Why he’s not heavy on social media (yet) 09:08 – Podcasting cadence vs sports/news timing 10:08 – Dahmer glasses story (college) 15:10 – The neck story begins: Nickelback → bars → the fence 18:41 – “We should go to the hospital” → ER chaos 20:07 – MRI, morphine drip, and “am I going to live?” 21:41 – Wanting to be alone, LOTR book request, the flash 🤦♂️ 22:11 – Stitches, calling mom, moving home, $7k bill 23:35 – Insurance, debt collectors, and (bad) bill-pay “advice” talk 24:46 – Host’s shin-stitches gym story (resident redo) 29:34 – Track meet tangent; false starts, records 31:25 – How Ridge got into stand-up (Rogan → first mics) 32:56 – Dropping petroleum engineering; acting class era 34:00 – The stump drinking game explained 35:57 – Keeping 600+ life stories for material (Google Drive) 36:55 – Farming + stand-up: what he actually loves 38:11 – Moving/life experiments; Charleston mention 41:31 – On leaving the “flaws” in the podcast; authenticity 44:10 – The real dream schedule & show economics 47:36 – Starting a “club” in Altoona; why monthly makes sense 48:38 – Who he’s booked; realities of bringing “big names” 50:01 – “Holy Cow” taping night and why he hides older work 50:47 – Purpose, discipline, reading/LOTR/Bible talk 55:31 – Finishing a first book; “Winning” (MJ/Kobe trainer) 1:00:07 – Life lesson: “Say less. Do more.” 1:03:11 – Performance energy; overdose mid-show story 1:05:00 – How to start comedy: open mics & writing 25 facts 1:06:05 – Kill Tony memories; handshake vs hug bit 1:07:07 – Secret Show explained; Netflix special impressions 1:11:11 – Future plans: stack Fri/Sat (Thurs is the hard one) 1:12:57 – Book/quote/advice: LOTR, Steve Martin’s memoir, “Just do it” 1:20:03 – Wrap-up: plugs (IG, ComedyFarm.com), pricing chat & mobile show kit
