Max Ryvkin For me standup comedy is just a hobby. That is my official stance. My wife checks in with me periodically asks me - Please tell me this is still a hobby, so I confirm and reasure her it is. I tried standup 8 years ago, but had no time and had to stop. Now recently, at the age of 40 I decided to give it another try. Since aluminum siding does not sell well these days, I work in IT as my day job to pay the bills. I am the most junior least experienced comedian on the lineup, and I am OK with that. I generally like to meet all my goals by setting the bar low. This is no exception, I have very little expectations and at this age it's probably too late to hope for any real success from this. On top of all that, I really do not seem to get much respect lately, but taking it a day at a time. My biggest comedic influence is Rodney Dangerfield, and so far my path is similar to his, except for that last part where I make it big and get to go on the Ed Sullivan Show.