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Nick Youssef
Onstage in Los Angeles
Born
Beirut, Lebanon
EducationColumbia University
Occupation(s)Comedian, writer, podcaster, actor
Years active2000s–present
Websitenickyoussef.com

Nick Youssef (born May 3, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, podcaster and actor based in New York City. He began his comedy career in Los Angeles, California, and is known for his sharp observational humor and insightful cultural commentary.

Early life and background

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Youssef was born in Beirut, Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, his family, who are Christian, immigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles. He began performing stand-up comedy at the age of 18, with The Comedy Store serving as his home club.

As told to Vulture senior writer Jesse David Fox, recounts Youssef's experiences as an 18 year old comedian in Los Angeles following the September 11 attacks and how a racist heckler influenced his approach to comedy. As he describes in the article, the incident had a long-lasting impact on his material, influencing his ability to tackle sensitive topics with wit and vulnerability.[1]

Comedy Career

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Youssef has appeared on various national and international comedy platforms. In 2005, he was a featured performer on the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, organized by comedians Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani and Aron Kader. The tour, which began on November 11, 2005, aimed to challenge stereotypes and address post-9/11 perceptions of Middle Easterners through comedy.[2]

Youssef has released five full-length comedy albums. His debut album, Stop Not Owning This, was released in August 2014 through All Things Records and reached the top five on the iTunes comedy charts.[3]

His followup, 1982, was released in 2016. In a review for Paste Magazine, journalist and media critic Garrett Martin commends Youssef's conversational comedic style, noting his "distinct and insistent rhythm." Martin observes that Youssef's material delves into the contrasts between the pre-digital age and today's technology-saturated society, highlighting the challenges of constant connectivity. He appreciates Youssef's ability to blend personal nostalgia with sharp social commentary, resulting in humor that is both reflective and incisive.[4]

In February 2023, Youssef released his first stand-up special, Take Care, a fully crowd-funded project made available for free on his YouTube channel.[5][6]

In January 2020, Youssef and comedian Rory Scovel created and embarked on a unique comedy tour titled The Comedians Following Tool on Tour: The Tour. The show accompanied the rock band Tool during their Fear Inoculum tour, with performances in cities such as San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, and Memphis.[7]

Podcasting and media

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Youssef hosts the podcast According to Nick Youssef (ATNY), where he discusses a broad range of topics such as music, fashion, comedy, mental health, and lifestyle. Notable guests have included comedians Duncan Trussell and Nikki Glaser and media personality Charles Adams.[8]

He has also been featured and interviewed about his life and comedy on many prominent podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience[9], two appearances on WTF with Marc Maron[10], Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank[11], Punch Drunk Sports[12], The Duncan Trussell Family Hour[13], Your Mom's House Podcast with Tom Segura and Christina P[14] and Bertcast with Bert Kreischer[15].

As a notable LA native, he was interviewed by BuzzFeed for a retrospective on the 20th anniversary of a major Los Angeles earthquake.[16]

In 2015, Esquire magazine named him the "Most Stylish Comedian."[17]

On television, Youssef appeared in Season 14, Episode 25 of Last Call with Carson Daly, which aired on November 10, 2014.[18] He also appeared on the Comedy Central show @midnight in an episode that aired March 14, 2016, alongside comedians Whitney Cummings and Josh McDermitt.[19].

In 2017, Youssef appeared on the Viceland docu-series Funny How, hosted by comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff. The series explores the craft, process, and humanity of stand-up comedy through interviews with both veteran and emerging comedians.[20]

Voiceover work

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Youssef was also the voice of "Crimson Coupe" on Disney's Stuck in the Middle.[21]

Youssef's voice and digital likeness is also featured in the video game L.A. Noire, where he portrays the character Rex Buckland.[22]

Writing

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He has contributed writing on subjects such as fashion, music, politics and culture to publications including Brooklyn Magazine, Esquire, and Paste Magazine.[23][24][25]

In 2015, for Paste Magazine, Youssef wrote about Live Nation's monopoly on live music and the high costs that concertgoers endure as a result. [26]

In 2021, Youssef profiled and interviewed Maynard James Keenan from Tool for Esquire Magazine.[27]

Personal life

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Youssef relocated to New York City in 2018. He continues to perform regularly across the United States, with frequent appearances in both New York and Los Angeles.[10]

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References

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  1. ^ Youssef, Nick (September 9, 2021). "How a Post-9/11 Heckle Shaped My Comedy for Years". Vulture. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  2. ^ https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5169855
  3. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stop-not-owning-this/id911165019
  4. ^ Martin, Garrett (June 30, 2016). "Nick Youssef Tackles Modern Life on 1982". Paste Magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  5. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  6. ^ Kroeger, Jake (March 6, 2023). "Nick Youssef Beautifully Shows the Uselessness of Toxic Masculinity on "Take Care"". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  7. ^ "The Comedians Following Tool on Tour at 1884 Lounge". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  8. ^ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/according-to-nick-youssef/id1566408570
  9. ^ "The Joe Rogan Experience #497 - Nick Youssef". Spotify. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Episode 1420 - Nick Youssef". WTF with Marc Maron. February 27, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  11. ^ "Nick Youssef on Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank". Ari Shaffir. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  12. ^ "Nick Youssef on Punch Drunk Sports". Punch Drunk Sports. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  13. ^ "The Duncan Trussell Family Hour: Nick Youssef". The Duncan Trussell Family Hour. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  14. ^ "Your Mom's House Podcast – Nick Youssef". IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  15. ^ "Bertcast Podcast – Nick Youssef". IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  16. ^ https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jtes/the-northridge-earthquake-20-years-later
  17. ^ Luecke, Andrew D. (January 8, 2015). "Comedian Nick Youssef Has Some Crucial Style Tips For You". Esquire. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  18. ^ "Bikins in Chicago". IMDb.
  19. ^ "Comedy Central: @midnight". IMDb.
  20. ^ "Funny How (TV Series 2017) – Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  21. ^ "Stuck in the Middle". IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  22. ^ "L.A. Noire (Video Game 2011) – Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  23. ^ https://www.bkmag.com/author/nickyoussef/
  24. ^ https://www.esquire.com/author/22687/nick-youssef/
  25. ^ "Search".
  26. ^ Youssef, Nick (June 11, 2015). "Inconvenience Charges: Live Nation's Concert Cons". Paste Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  27. ^ Youssef, Nick (September 1, 2021). "The Ever-Expanding Universe of Tool's Maynard James Keenan". Esquire. Retrieved April 24, 2025.