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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Ryan Sickler

Live & Alive

Ryan Sickler

YouTube · 2025 · 60 min

A storyteller’s loose, conversational hour about surviving a medical crisis.

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Ryan Sickler nearly died of a massive pulmonary embolism, and instead of keeping his medical trauma private, he turned his three-week hospital stay into a comedy set about incompetent nurses, heavy prescription drugs, and a fellow patient undergoing maggot therapy. On stage, he uses his signature wheezy laugh and highly conversational storytelling to transition from the brink of death to the absurdity of modern parenting.\n\nFilmed at Comedy on State in Madison, Wisconsin, and self-produced for a YouTube release in 2025, the hour finds Sickler leaning heavily into the blue-collar, story-driven style that built his podcasting fanbase on The HoneyDew. At this point in his career, he was juggling multiple hit podcasts and a steady touring schedule, and the material reflects that road-worn ease. He recounts calling Tom Segura from his hospital bed to say goodbye, only to survive and have to explain the drama later.\n\nAside from the medical crisis, Sickler spends time contrasting his blue-collar Maryland childhood with his daughter’s life in Los Angeles. Notable routines include his outright refusal to accept that Pluto is no longer a planet during pandemic-era homeschooling, a chaotic childhood game of capture-the-flag that went wildly wrong, and a brief, awkward backstage interaction with Brad Pitt.

The set list

3 bits

  1. Back surgery complications and surviving massive pulmonary embolisms

    Recounts entering the hospital for minor back surgery, warning staff about his Factor V Leiden clotting disorder, being forced to lay still for seven days, and waking up with massive pulmonary embolisms and poor hospital bedside manner.

  2. Calling Tom Segura with dying wishes

    Contrasts modern phone dependency with remembering landline numbers, desperately recalling Tom Segura's number to ask him to host his special on YMH to financially provide for his daughter if he died, only to survive and get demonetized on his own channel.

  3. Crowd work asking audience members about dying and coming back

    Asks the audience about near-death experiences and engages with an attendee named Rachel, who survived being run over and dragged in the wheel well of a neighbor's station wagon at age five.

How it plays

Tone
Raw, celebratory, vulnerable, and inspirational.
On stage
Vulnerable, raw storyteller characterized by Baltimore charm and blue-collar sensibility.
About
Near-death experience, Medical trauma and hospital care, Factor V Leiden blood disorder, Aging and technological dependence, Single fatherhood, Survival and resilience

What the critics said

Praised as a moving, authentic, and hilarious reflection on resilience and survival that balances personal heartache with punchline precision.

In the room: Sold-out, highly engaged crowd with deep candor during interactive segments.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: deadline.com, weownthelaughs.com, standupd.com, vanyaland.com, latimes.com, foxla.com, ryansickler.com.

Backstory

Created following a severe 2023 medical crisis where routine back surgery and his Factor V Leiden blood disorder resulted in massive pulmonary embolisms and a near-death experience, set against his drive as a single father to survive for his daughter.

Details

Released
Taped
Comedy on State, Madison
Runtime
60 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Sam Vollen
Topics
Before
Lefty's Son (2023)

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