Kavin Jay – Comedians, Malaysia’s REAL Journalists

2023-11-01

Kavin Jay – Comedians, Malaysia’s REAL Journalists Kavin Jay is one of Malaysia’s funniest men, recognised as such by the Netflix special he was invited to record in 2018, titled ‘Everybody Calm Down’. He is also one of Malaysia’s most original and ‘real’ comedians, driven to his art by a very unique set of circumstances. Here, he talks to Chuang about his journey to comedy, evolving along the way to become a true storyteller, much akin to a journalist, though often braver – and definitely funnier. (M...

Kavin Jay is one of Malaysia’s funniest men, recognised as such by the Netflix special he was invited to record in 2018, titled ‘Everybody Calm Down’.

He is also one of Malaysia’s most original and ‘real’ comedians, driven to his art by a very unique set of circumstances.

Here, he talks to Chuang about his journey to comedy, evolving along the way to become a true storyteller, much akin to a journalist, though often braver – and definitely funnier.

(Many thanks to the Asia School of Business for their collaboration with The Do More Podcast, in whose studio this conversation was recorded. The Asia School of Business is a partnership between MIT Sloan School of Management and Bank Negara Malaysia).

CONTENTS
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:10 - How Kavin Started in Comedy
00:07:25 - Inspiration from Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Bill Burr, Ronnie Chieng and others
00:12:55 - Comedy is Universal
00:18:18 - And Then Netflix Came Calling ..
00:26:29 - What Netflix Looks For
00:29:25 - Kavin’s Process
00:35:00 - I’m Sorry I Shouted - Dimensions to Comedy
00:43:10 - Uncle Roger is Funnier Than Nigel Ng
00:47:07 - The Problem with Social Media
00:52:35 - Making Money From Comedy
00:54:45 - Russell Peters and Asian Comedy
01:00:00 - The Crack House Disaster
01:07:40 - ADHD and Social Awkwardness
01:10:38 - Comedians, Depression, Anxiety … and Dopamine
01:14:00 - The Problem with Gym Bros
01:23:14 - Beating ADHD
01:25:21 - The Next Step
01:26:57 - Radio’s Real-Ness; Fly Guy and ‘Lil Kev
01:28:11 - Comedians Can’t Do Live Radio
01:32:44 - What’s Next for Kavin