Comedian Christina Pazsitzky—identified professionally as Christina P—isn’t any stranger to the time administration sport. Once we join by telephone, she’s juggling her obligations to her husband (fellow comic, Tom Segura), her children, the canine, and her profession—all of which require time, power, and a focus. Wanting some “mother” time, her son interrupts the start of the dialog, and Pazsitzky politely explains, “I’ve to do that interview. I’ll come speak to you, give me a half an hour.”
The interplay is only one instance of how the co-host of the massively profitable podcast Your Mom’s House—which she hosts with Segura—is ready to put on many hats and deal with quite a lot of completely different tasks, all which could be managed with time. “The whole lot is deliberate, every part is on schedule, and also you give every part time. You give marriage time. You give your kids time, you give [your career] time. And then you definately give your self time.”
Along with her new Netflix one-hour particular Mom Genes which launched on Could 8, Pazsitzky is especially enthused to be talking with Excessive Occasions—having grown up in Los Angeles, the place the journal performed an enormous position growing San Fernando Valley tradition. Over the course of our dialog, Pazsitzky reveals her methods for sustaining steadiness between work and residential life, her back-in-the-day affinity for White Widow, and why true happiness is linked to not giving a fuck and carving your individual path.
Christina Pazsitzky: Can I simply say for the document how stoked I’m to be giving an interview to Excessive Occasions? One of many first boys I used to be obsessive about in highschool had a difficulty of Excessive Occasions in his room and I assumed he was absolutely the coolest. He additionally had a VHS tape of Howard Stern’s Butt Bongo Fiesta. I used to be in love.
Excessive Occasions: A man having Excessive Occasions journal gave him loads of avenue cred in your eyes at the moment.
In fact. Additionally, [he] was forbidden fruit as a result of it was my good friend’s older brother. And you already know, you possibly can’t make out along with your good friend’s older brother—and we by no means did—however again then, this was the early ’90s when weed wasn’t authorized. I keep in mind pondering, “This man is an actual renegade. Photos of weed? What?” It sort of blew my thoughts.
Amidst having fun with the corporate of your good friend’s older brother—in a PG manner—did you ever assume the comedic path was one thing you’d embark upon?
I by no means thought in my wildest desires I might have the profession that I do now, largely as a result of the web and podcasting by no means existed—although I knew I wished to make a dwelling someway being myself. I additionally knew I cherished jokes.
My dad and mom had been Hungarian, and each Sunday my dad would have these barbeque events and the entire outdated Hungarians would come round. Guys who had been lacking knuckles on their fingers—carpenters and hardcore blue-collar Japanese Europeans who would stand round and sling jokes. As slightly woman, I used to be like, “Dude, there’s one thing magical in telling a joke.” These had been heavy dudes who escaped a communist nation, but one thing highly effective with humor was taking place.
There have been these joke books after I was a child known as Really Tasteless Jokes, and I might memorize lifeless child jokes, blonde jokes, Jew jokes—they had been all categorized by race and had been horribly inappropriate by as we speak’s requirements—and I might repeat these jokes at college in third grade. I didn’t even know what the racial stuff was—I needed to ask my dad later—however I cherished the timing and the facility of understanding one thing that the grownups knew.
Therefore my love for Howard Stern very early. I began listening to Howard as a result of I labored at my dad’s store—he was a forklift mechanic—and I began listening after I was 13 years outdated through the summer time. To listen to soiled humor—it was a secret of what the adults had been speaking about. Then whenever you get to an age whenever you begin to perceive it, it’s like, “I do know the code, dude!”
It sounds such as you had a fascination, curiosity, and understanding of comedy and the way comedy is usually a filament between you and the grownup world.
I used to be additionally sort of a weirdo rising up. Throughout recess, the youngsters could be enjoying and I might be laying throughout the monkey bars simply sort of excited about stuff. I feel there was all the time an delinquent factor to me—I used to be by no means a cheerleader, I used to be a goth—so I cherished being on the surface. I simply had to determine find out how to put that into one thing inventive.
Was there a second that served as a jumping-off level the place you realized comedy was one thing you could possibly pursue quite than merely take part in?
What occurred was, as a substitute of getting humorous in highschool and in faculty, I turned goth, and I acquired actual darkish. However with comedy, it’s tragedy plus time, proper? So I used to be horribly tragic. From the time I used to be 13 to 21, I wore black and stayed out of the solar. I used to be so fucking depressed.
I had a level in philosophy after I graduated from college, which was so fucking ineffective, and after I was 22, I went to go work for this pretty man named Chris Abrego. Chris goes, “Christina, you’re the worst worker I’ve ever had, however you’re additionally the funniest. Have you considered doing comedy? Go to The Groundlings.” So I began at The Groundlings and was innately first rate at comedy, however then thought to myself that I didn’t need to fake to be in a fucking donut store. All of these years of brooding, I had one thing to say. I began stand-up at 23 or 26 after which I by no means seemed again.
What gave you the arrogance and the notice to lean into your self, not give a fuck, and do what you needed to do to have the profession you’ve had?
Something price doing is terrible. Terrible and superb. Simply know that whenever you select to create a path otherwise you select a path that your dad and mom gained’t approve of and other people will speak shit to you—simply know that that path shall be tougher. But it surely’s so worthwhile. It’s so a lot better in the long term, and that’s mastery. It’s 10 years. It’s 10,000 hours. It’s The Beatles going to Hamburg and enjoying in a dump till they get good. And that’s the enjoyable half.
Even whenever you’re profitable in stand-up, it’s important to hold at it. The whole lot requires work, so it’s important to work out what you need to dedicate your power to. Simply be sure you actually take pleasure in it. You’re going to fail, you’re going to succeed, you’re going to fail—so that you would possibly as effectively decide one thing that fires you up. Wanting again, I sort of unconsciously sabotaged myself. I failed so arduous at every part else.
I acquired into legislation college after which dropped out after two weeks. I acquired into graduate college for philosophy after which I stop after a semester. I had 22 jobs in 4 years in each area I’d been remotely serious about and had both been fired or stop. So I attempted every part after which disillusioned my dad and mom and fucked my life up a lot that there was no going again. There have been no exits. So it was both [comedy] or nothing.
Thank God I married Tom Segura as a result of Tommy actually pushed me and saved me on the trail, and we each did it on the identical time. I’m so grateful for him and he and I going by it collectively. Having a associate to be poor with—we had been so poor once we acquired married, we had $200. We had been each broke-ass comics, however we had been like, “Fuck it, we’re going to do it. We’re going to do that, dude, failure shouldn’t be an choice.” When your again’s towards the wall, homie, you do it.
And thank God for pot, by the way in which. I do know individuals don’t name it “pot” anymore, however severely, shout-out to White Widow in 2009 [laughs]. That bitch saved me inventive after I was so full of tension. If I didn’t have weed in ’08 or ’09, the place would I be as we speak?
Third grade was the primary time I acquired excessive really. I ate pot brownies by chance at a pool social gathering. It was opening day on the ‘84 Olympics and I fell asleep, and after I awakened, my mother had made me all of those barbeque rooster wings. I used to be like, “These are the most effective wings ever, thanks!”
Did individuals know you had been excessive?
This chick in our residence advanced introduced pot brownies to the swimming pool social gathering that everyone was at. I ate one and jumped within the pool. I ate two and jumped within the pool. I ate three—and by the third one, this girl was like, “Oh, it’s best to inform your child to cease consuming these.” It was the ’80s, bro, it was the ’80s. So my mother simply took me residence. I keep in mind laying on the sofa, I watched the opening ceremony to the ’84 Olympics after which I assume I fell asleep. It wasn’t traumatic in any respect. I assume it will need to have been an indica.
Is there any pressure that presently helps you along with your creativity or inventive course of?
I take CBD at night time to calm me down—I like CBD. For weed, I’ll take tinctures, and I’ll get so excessive as a result of I’m very impatient. I’ll take a drop and be like, “Dude, nothing is occurring.” Then 4 hours later, I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m having a stroke!”
Somebody at The Comedy Retailer gave me some tremendous highly effective liquid and I assumed it was simply CBD with out something in it. I used to be like drippity drop, right here’s one other dose, and awakened at three within the morning like, “Tom, I’m having a stroke!” [Laughs] He’s like, “Effectively, did you’re taking something?” And I used to be like, “Simply this CBD I acquired from The Comedy Retailer.” And he’s like, “Babe, that’s essentially the most highly effective stuff.” So I are likely to take CBD with out THC in it, and that basically, actually helps.
Talking of Tom, what was the system for efficiently sustaining your relationship with him and placing within the needed time and power into your profession?
For the profession, I studied individuals I admired and I studied their path. I used to be obsessive about Phyllis Diller, I used to be obsessive about this e book known as “The Magic of Believing,” I used to be obsessive about Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra—you title it, I learn it.
For Tom and I—and it sounds so obnoxious—it was by no means work for us. It’s by no means been work. We’re very suitable. I feel comedy saved us collectively, a love for a similar pursuit. The factor that saved us bonded was Your Mother’s Home as a result of we had been each on the street grinding the weeks out, however then as soon as every week, we needed to meet and do the [podcast]. In that factor that we did collectively, we’d recap one another’s week and we discovered the lane that we each existed on, which was Your Mother’s Home. Perhaps that’s the factor—the glue. [Tom] and I are simply wired equally.
I feel that’s the key to a very good relationship—discover any person whose priorities are related and their wiring is analogous. Like we’re psychotic, dude. We’ll do by any means essential to get right here, and we did.
It sounds such as you guys perceive and respect one another so you possibly can assist the opposite lean into who they’re and who they must be.
One-hundred %. I’ve all the time been somebody who’s pushed and credit score to Tom—I used to be with boys earlier than who had been such fucking losers that they’d be like, “I can’t be with you since you’re this or that.” I studied at Oxford and had a boyfriend who was like, “I can’t be with you since you’re too sensible.” I used to be like, “Fuck you, dude.”
Tom is so particular in that he’s all the time wished me to realize and he’s all the time helped and been behind that. That’s a very safe human being.
It’s humorous, I do know what makes Tommy chuckle—he loves dicks. His humor is dick and balls stuff. However my humor is pooping. We’re simply kids. It’s such a terrific escape from being accountable adults.
How do you steadiness elevating children with having your profession?
You actually should be deliberate along with your time. If you’re younger, time— you simply have it. You’ll be able to sit round and browse Excessive Occasions and watch Butt Bongo Fiesta. And then you definately get married, you could have children and careers, and also you simply have to actually, actually guard your time.
Motherhood is heavy, I’m not going to lie. It’s a lot duty, particularly for me as a result of my household life [growing up] was so wackadoodle. My mother was mentally sick and my dad and mom divorced, so there’s been loads of stuff I’ve needed to work by in remedy for a decade earlier than I had children. So like, yeah canine, it’s heavy. Motherhood and parenthood is heavy and it needs to be a duty that you simply take severely, and it’s actually necessary to not let it get you down.
In Mother Genes, my [latest] one-hour Netflix particular, I wished to make one thing to get out of the worldwide heaviness of COVID and even now with Russia blowing up Ukraine. Like, it’s essential to battle the battle and it’s essential to resist what the world needs you to assume and really feel. I feel with social media, we’re so bombarded by detrimental shit proper now that we have to discover locations to chuckle and be juvenile. Sing and dance and be silly and be foolish—that is your life.
Mother Genes isn’t nearly motherhood and stuff, it’s meant to be foolish and enjoyable and an escape for individuals. I dressed very glamorously for this particular for a motive—I wished to be transcendent. I would like individuals to observe and really feel reduction from this world for an hour.
So Mother Genes is supposed to offer individuals some gas to endure and protect.
I discuss how I like the ’80s as a result of they had been about resilience. I imagine in resilience. Emotions are necessary, sure, and it’s good that we’re honoring all people’s emotions, however now what? I feel it’s such an necessary factor as I elevate my children to be like, “Yeah dude, life is that this, life can suck, issues are arduous. However guess what, motherfucker? You’re gonna rise up and also you’re gonna do it once more!”
It’s what I realized doing stand-up. You’re gonna fail, issues are arduous, sure the world is bleak, however get the fuck up and do it once more and get higher and get stronger. Simply hold going. Don’t let this world get you down. Don’t let anyone dictate the way you go about on this world.
Pilot your individual ship.
Yeah, bro! That’s it, that’s the key.
Like I stated, I’m comfortable individuals are discovering narratives which might be false. I’ll use girls, as an example, as a result of I’m one. The entire thing on fat-shaming or girls are oppressed and this and that… After I began stand-up, no one wished to listen to girls. It’s guys with their arms folded within the entrance row, and I may have been like, “Woe is me, that is horrible,” however I used to be like, “Fuck you, I’m going to make this work.” Simply sing your individual tune and allow them to come alongside, bro. Don’t allow them to inform you who you might be. You inform them.