The Sport of Life: Chats w/ Comedians, Filmmakers, Sports Figures, Musicians, & Intellectuals

Filmmaker Billy Corben chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his panel discussion at the ATX TV Festival. Topics include: Austin (0:39) Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat (2:27) The key to telling a good story (7:06) The common quality in the stories Billy tells (9:57) Billy’s “Because Miami” podcast (11:51) Florida Man (14:01) Florida’s iguana problem (19:26) The University of Miami pushing NIL boundaries (20:11)

Professional bullriders Chase Outlaw and Zeke Mitchell chat with Trey Elling, ahead of the ATX Television Fest premiere of THE RIDE, a new Amazon Prime docuseries that follows the lives of several riders competing in the inaugural season of the PBR's team series. What does it take to get atop one-ton animal that is angrily trying to get buck any rider off his back? If not riding bulls, what do you fear? The guys answer these questions and more. Chase Outlaw (0:35) Zeke Mitchell (22:28)

Comedian and podcaster Greg Fitzsimmons chats with Trey Elling, ahead of hi headlining shows at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership. Topics include: The perfect club for comedians (0:35) Disposing of comedy club hecklers (5:04) Greg and his wife nearing empty nester status (7:10) Parents losing to their offspring (8:56) Sports as a way for men to safely express emotion (17:19) Baseball's ridiculousness (18:39) Trading fight stories (22:49) Whether Greg would ever write another book (28:17) Helping spread the word on Tom O'Neil's CHAOS (30:17) The current health of the standup business (33:45)

Comedian Ehsan Ahmad chats with Trey Elling. Ehsan's Solid Comedy Show, co-hosted with Deric Poston, can be seen most Wednesdays at the Comedy Mothership and this Saturday (May 27th) at Vulcan Gas Company. Topics include: Why he decided to move to Austin in 2021 (0:46) Finding success in comedy before moving to Texas (2:28) Hosting the Solid Comedy Show with Deric Poston (3:44) Hanging around Dave Chappelle (6:35) Applying cognitive neuroscience in his standup (7:25) What he loves and dislikes about Austin (9:50) A love for Bay Area pro sports teams (12:19) The Warriors (14:37) The 49ers (17:12) The toughest act he's had to follow in standup (22:24)

The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik chats with Trey Elling about THE REAL WORK: ON THE MYSTERY OF MASTERY. Topics include: The book’s goal (0:38) The importance of learning new skills (3:26) Defining ‘mastery’ (6:12) The mystery of performance (8:19) Jamy Ian Swiss and the real work (13:15) “The method is not the trick” (16:33) Learning about mastery from David Blaine (19:11) The mystery of identity and intention (23:53) The challenge of Adam learning to drive a car in his 50s (29:07) How learning to drive in NYC changed his perception of the city (32:38) Courtesy waves (34:54) The mystery of interiority (36:24) The mystery of meaning (40:17) The mystery of late style (46:22) Overcoming a shy bladder (49:32) Whether learning how to draw altered Adam’s perception as an art critic (55:13)

Actor Everett Osborne chats with Trey Elling about starring as the title character in SWEETWATER, a movie about Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, aka the Jackie Robinson of the NBA. The film is now available to stream. Topics include: The key to unlocking Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (1:51) Starring in this film, despite being fairly new to acting (4:00) Learning from an impressive supporting cast (5:20) Sharing a scene with Gary Clark Jr. (6:27) Serving as president for all student athletes at UTRGV (9:12) A favorite highlight from playing college hoops (11:10) Playing professional basketball in Australia (12:43) Everett's love for psychology (15:24) Everett's greatest failure, and the lesson he learned from it (19:02) Starring in a Nike short film with LeBron and Durant (21:00)

Standup comedian and podcast/radio host Robert Kelly chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his headlining shows at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership. Topics include: Robert's initial impression from performing at the Comedy Mothership (0:37) Comparing Austin's comedy scene to Boston from decades back (3:48) Standup as a destiny (9:01) Performing in arenas vs comedy clubs (14:40) Boston sports hitting the skids over the past few weeks (18:08) Robert's brilliant disarming of fans at Yankee Stadium when rooting for the Red Sox (19:48) Robert's son betraying him by rooting for Tampa (21:32) Soccer as a second-rate sport (23:49)

Actor, travel writer, director, and bestselling author Andrew McCarthy chats with Trey Elling about WALKING WITH SAM: A FATHER, A SON, AND FIVE HUNDRED MILES ACROSS SPAIN. Topics include: A brief explanation of the Camino de Santiago (1:19) Andrew's first journey on the Camino (2:44) Why leaving a city is more agreeable to the nervous system than walking into one (7:56) When his son's attitude changed during the journey (10:02) The importance of teaching your kids to be present (12:09) Whether Andrew handled the Meseta better the second time around (14:28) Bicyclists on the Camino (16:06) Andrew's revelation on the impact his films had on 1980s kids (17:10) The key to telling a good story (20:30) Experience being relative to the individual (22:28) The problem with sunflowers (25:20) How the Camino provided for Andrew and his son (25:59) The mental re-adjustment of getting back to daily life after the Camino (27:26)

Standup comedian and podcaster (Soccer Comic Rant) Ian Edwards chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his headlining shows at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership club. Topics include: Austin's standup transformation (0:25) The ebbs and flows of LA's standup scene since covid (1:32) How Ian crafts jokes from scratch (4:13) Getting passed by Mitzi Shore at The Comedy Store (7:08) The toughest act he's had to follow (10:32) The importance of failure (13:11) Weirdest place he performed standup (14:41) His current soccer passion (18:56) The MLS improving in quality (24:06) US Men's Soccer taking steps forward (26:47) Whether soccer should change the offsides rule (29:40)

Comedian, and radio/podcast host Big Jay Oakerson chats with Trey Elling. Jay’s new comedy special, Dog Belly, is available now on his YouTube channel. Topics include: Getting love for the new comedy special (0:36) Ari Shaffir helping out (2:17) Learning from Dave Attell (3:54) How Jay crafts new jokes (5:34) Comedy audiences (7:58) Austin’s burgeoning comedy scene (12:05) P. Terry’s as a late-night powder keg in Austin (16:52) The Philadelphia Eagles (17:49) Jay’s best and worst moments with his fellow Philly fans (23:45)