Taking a Pay Cut to Go Mainstream

Start investing safely with Public: https://public.com/calum

Today's guest is a legend of comedy, @AliSiddiqComedy

Follow Us!

https://www.instagram.com/calumjohnson1/

https://x.com/calum_johnson9

https://www.instagram.com/alisiddiq/?hl=en

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

03:12 A Mother’s warning….(“The streets are undefeated…”)

15:54 “I was 19 years old with $230,000 from the streets”

22:41 The one mistake that landed Ali in prison (Trust Your Gut!)

30:58 The phone call that shattered him….(EMOTIONAL)

39:45 Ali’s biggest regret….(“I will never forgive myself”)

50:02 How he turned rage into a career that shocked the comedy industry

1:03:17 Ali’s first night doing comedy

1:21:46 “I have never shared this publically”

1:28:52 The moment Ali rejected the industry’s “fake gold”

1:33:19 “I said no to Netflix”

1:38:10 Three Comedians unlocked Ali’s next level (Gregory, Cosby, Pryor)

1:42:12 “Physically free but mentally chained” — the truth Ali hid for years

1:44:36 How to rebuild your life from Nothing

Ali Siddiq is one of the most respected storytellers alive, with over 40 million views on his Domino Effect series and praise from the New York Times as comedy’s best storyteller. In this raw and emotional conversation, Ali opens up about the streets, prison, regret, redemption, and the identity shift that made him a one-of-one artist.

Disclosures
Paid endorsement. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC. Zero Hash LLC is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by NYDFS and is not a registered broker-dealer or a FINRA member. Crypto is highly speculative and involves significant risk, including loss of principal. Cryptocurrencies are not protected by FDIC or SIPC. See disclosures for more details: https://docs.zerohash.com/page/us-licenses-and-disclosures. Alpha is an experimental AI tool powered by GPT-4. Its output may be inaccurate and is not investment advice. Public makes no guarantees about its accuracy or reliability—verify independently before use. *3.6% as of 11/14/25. APY. Rate may change. See terms of ACATS & IRA Match Program here: public.com/disclosures/ira-match. Matched funds must remain in the account for at least 5 years to avoid an early removal fee. Match rate and other terms of the Match Program are subject to change at any time.