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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Boyboss

Daniel McKeon

YouTube · 2026

A mock self-help seminar on failing upwards in London.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Released , on YouTube.

Daniel McKeon turns his debut hour into a mock self-help seminar on how to fail upwards, which mostly serves as an excuse to recount long stretches of unemployment and an eight-year long-distance relationship conducted through Tumblr. Rather than pretending he has life figured out, he leans into the gap between motivational phrasing and his actual resume, defining a boyboss through examples like Bruno Mars dancing in a Las Vegas residency to pay off debts or Robbie Williams releasing a $20 million CGI monkey biopic.

Filmed at London’s Canal Cafe Theatre and released on YouTube in March 2026, the special captures the stage hour McKeon built out of his 2025 Edinburgh Fringe run. By that point he was a regular on the London circuit, producing commercial podcasts and his own show That’s Rich! alongside appearances on BBC Radio Norfolk’s BBC New Comedy Show.

On stage, McKeon notes that sitting on a bar stool makes him look like a ventriloquist dummy rather than a wise stand-up, and that self-awareness carries through stories about laughing behind a mask as a COVID swab tester when older men chomped down on the stick, working in one-star pubs, and capping the night with his old headshots.

Edinburgh reviews gave the live version a warm nod, with The Student awarding four out of five stars and A Young(ish) Perspective giving it three-and-a-half while calling it a “charming and confident debut”.

Notable bits & set list

4 bits

  1. Disastrous headshots scam

    Presenting visual aids of terrible headshots he was tricked into buying, leading into friendly crowd interactions comparing bad headshots.

  2. Unemployment and smoking weed with his dad

    Detailing the dilemma of being unemployed alongside his father and asking crowd members if they would smoke weed with their fathers.

  3. Using the toilet like Spider-Man

    Physical act-out on a bar stool regarding squatting superheroes and awkward bathroom mechanics.

  4. Long-distance Tumblr relationship

    Discussing the perils of online trickery, catfishing, and using 'boyboss training' to navigate romance.

How it plays

Tone
Warm, silly, playful, and charmingly self-deprecating.
On stage
Friendly, charming, slightly awkward, comic-cheeky, and self-deprecating without being self-loathing.
Pace
Easy-going and gentle energy reminiscent of catching up with a friend in a pub, characterized by warmth, wryness, and understated momentum.
About
turning failure into a lifestyle brand, becoming a boyboss, long-distance relationships and Tumblr, working in one-star pubs, headshot scams, unemployment and family

What the critics said

Praised across reviews as a confident, charming, and tightly written debut hour that turns embarrassing revelations and self-help parody into warm, crowd-pleasing comedy.

In the room: Warm and responsive, generating steady streams of giggles and screeches of laughter, particularly during presentation visual aids and crowd exchanges.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: linkedin.com, freefestival.co.uk, comedy.co.uk, edinburghfestival.datathistle.com, bingefringe.com, ayoungishperspective.co.uk, thestudentnews.co.uk, youngcomedianspod.com, dancushnie.substack.com.

Backstory

Framed as a seminar and multi-level marketing instructional method teaching audience members how to embrace failure and become a 'Boyboss' (defined as a gender-neutral state of mind).

Details

Released
Where
YouTube
Director
Josh Righton
Honors
Five stars from Binge Fringe Magazine
Topics

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