I grew up watching a ton of comedies. I always wondered what it's really like getting up on stage and trying to make a room full of strangers laugh. I sit down with local stand-up comedians Ian Mu and David Truong to chat about them getting into the Sydney comedy scene from open mics, weird jokes, their jokes that landed or bombed, and what it takes to keep coming back to the mic (even after a rough set).

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Guests: David Truong & Ian Mu

David's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_davidtruong__/

Ian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianstagramu/

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Items mentioned

Hiring actors NOT to laugh at a comedy show by Misfit Minds

I Brought Silent Mimes To A Comedy Show! by 4fun

yeahmadtv - https://www.youtube.com/@yeahmadtv

The Cheatcoders Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/thecheatcoders

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Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

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Chapters

0:00 Intro

3:00 How do David and Ian know each other? First gigs?

7:00 Was this a COVID project? How did it all start?

11:17 How hard it is to get on stage to begin with

15:34 Running your own show, difficulty selling tickets

20:10 Improv is not the same as stand-up, dealing with hecklers

23:55 Focusing on this full time

29:29 Role models

35:34 What is the average set length? Set etiquette

42:30 Worst bombs

52:19 Staying motivated, coming up with jokes

1:01:07 Comics helping other comics… If you know them. Clean vs dirty jokes

1:07:28 Taboo, low hanging fruit jokes

1:12:18 Representing the area

1:13:42 Advice for aspiring comedians

1:19:09 Outro

Dying is a natural part of life, but what about the admin work that comes after it? Who deals with it? Can you even deal with it? Another type of lawyer, Bao Nguyen, is joining us to share about the morbid side of death and importance of having a Will. We also get to know Bao's journey to law, with a side of political advisory.

To get you thinking about own life admin if the unexpected ever happens, Arver Law is offering a $150 discount exclusively to Rice n Mics listeners for drafting of your Will, valid until 31 December 2025. Please email bnguyen@arverlaw.com.au for more information.

Arver Law: https://www.arverlaw.com.au/

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:52 SWEH Expo, Arver Law

5:31 The law journey, too sane to work as a youth officer

8:57 Applying for a Cabra law firm, learning Viet, YES I AM SICK

12:28 Work at the Cabra law firm, differences with a larger firm

15:17 Toxic work culture, emails at 2AM?!

18:57 Hitting a dark spot, changes in work

21:08 More about the Cabra law firm, Maccas

24:35 The clarkeship/graduate experience, Shanghai exchange

32:30 VSA (Vietnamese Students Association)

35:35 Community events, working with Dai Le origin story

40:58 Working as a Policy Advisor for Dai

42:35 What's it like working in a politician's office?

45:25 Election time, who prints posters? Putting posters up?

48:57 Political drama

52:18 Young advisory committee, changes with Gen Z voters

54:16 BRAINROT political campaigns

55:44 The importance of wills, younger clients?

1:00:51 Issues when you don't have a will

1:04:30 Signing off my family member's wishes after death

1:08:02 Living wills vs dead wills

1:11:11 Why can't AI just write it? A DISCOUNT CODE??

1:15:57 Outro

The founder of Saigon Brew, Dylan, joins us to talk about his Aussie-owned Vietnamese coffee brand. A journey some might find familiar of trying to find something more fulfilling than the 9-5 corporate life, we talk about his passion for his Vietnamese roots which led him to craft a beverage which resonates with his cultural heritage.

Items mentioned:

Top 100 coffee shops: https://bit.ly/3RDC4m9

Saigon Brew socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saigonbrew/

Website: https://saigonbrew.com.au/

Our listeners get 15% off with the code 'RICENMICS15'

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com

⁠⁠Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:20 The inception of Saigon Brew, Covid times

6:09 Finding a warehouse, inspiration

8:20 Why coffee? Japan moment with cans

10:46 Introducing Viet coffee

11:47 Do cafes make more money in summer vs winter?

12:59 New trend for coffee in Vietnam

14:34 Australia has the best coffee in the world?

15:49 Top 10 coffee shops in the world

16:52 I am a fruit enjoyer

20:23 How do you intro new coffee to people, pairing with durries

22:25 The three flavours of Saigon Brew

25:18 Where are people buying from? Northern Territory?!

28:20 Challenges of starting the business, finding partners

32:52 Tips if you wanna start a F&B business

35:03 Alcohol and durries being taxed high

38:23 The corporate life journey

42:50 Call centre environments suck, empathy fatigue

44:37 Defined benefits, the worst working environment

50:39 Process analyst

52:44 Process improvement at Virgin Money

55:05 The last corporate role

57:05 Investing more into Saigon Brew but staying in corporate

59:02 The first grocery store

59:54 G7/Trung Nguyen coffee goss

1:03:07 Contacting grocers, aggressive ads

1:11:36 Woolies metro type stores would do well?

1:15:53 Costco's rule for buying products

1:20:23 Balancing 2 jobs

1:24:23 Achievements/Milestones

1:25:13 How long did it take from idea to product?

1:26:34 New flavours? The rise of Asian flavours

1:31:04 How important is community?

1:33:56 Inspiration? Role models?

1:38:33 Future plans? How do you get nutritional info?

1:41:00 The development lifecycle

1:43:38 Social plugs