Unveiling the Plant-Based Laughter with Glenn Tickle: A Comedy Journey

Welcome to the world of plant-based entrepreneurship and comedic genius! In the latest episode of "Plant Based On Fire," Bryan sits down with the hilarious Glenn Tickle to explore his journey through the comedy scene while navigating the plant-based lifestyle. Glenn, a comedian based in New Jersey, has a unique knack for weaving his vegetarian and vegan experiences into his comedic routines, sparking both laughs and intriguing conversations about plant-based living.

Glenn's comedic journey has taken him across a multitude of platforms, from Dry Bar Comedy to the Travel Channel, Cozy TV, and even SeriousXM. What truly sets Glenn apart is his uncanny ability to make his audience laugh with him, not at him. His material revolves around his own experiences, touching on various aspects of life, including parenting, travel, and of course, his plant-based choices.

The hilarity doesn't stop at his delivery; Glenn's journey into plant-based living is just as captivating. It all started with reading Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" during high school, which prompted him to give up meat. Although he briefly returned to consuming meat due to practical constraints, Glenn's true plant-based journey began about a decade ago when he decided to eliminate meat entirely from his diet. His commitment and experience demonstrate that thriving on a plant-based diet is not only achievable but can also lead to unexpected comedic inspiration.

Glenn's comedy is a testament to the power of sharing personal experiences in a relatable, humorous manner. As he travels the country for shows, he aims to connect with his audience, allowing them to see the lighter side of plant-based living. His material isn't about persuasion, but rather sharing his lived experiences with a dose of comedy, which can, in turn, help others find their own comfort zones within the plant-based lifestyle.

With a new comedy special on the horizon, Glenn is poised to spread his brand of humor even further. You can catch his upcoming special, "Glenn Tickle Against the World," on his YouTube channel. As an avid user of platforms like TikTok and Blue Sky, Glenn's comedic prowess is easily accessible and relatable, making him a fantastic advocate for the plant-based community.

In a world where laughter knows no boundaries, Glenn Tickle shines as an inspiring figure for plant-based business enthusiasts and comedy lovers alike. His ability to blend his personal experiences with humor opens doors to conversations, challenges stereotypes, and provides an inviting space for those curious about the plant-based lifestyle. As we eagerly anticipate his new special, let's join Glenn in spreading laughter, awareness, and understanding on the path of plant-based entrepreneurship.

>Podcast Episode Transcription

Bryan (00:01.398)

Hello everyone and welcome to Plant Based on Fire. I'm your host Brian, where we are going to continue talking about plant based businesses and their inspiring stories to thrive in the industry. I have an amazing guest joining us today. It's Glenn Tickle and Glenn is a comedian. How are you today?

Glen Tickle (00:18.475)

Hello there.

I'm doing well, thanks for having me.

Bryan (00:24.418)

I got a little bit of research on you and I've been following you on TikTok and a few other channels. So, Glenn, you're based in New Jersey, right? Yeah.

Glen Tickle (00:32.802)

correct yeah a lot of people think pennsylvania for some reason but new jersey my entire life

Bryan (00:39.379)

Nice and you've been on Dry Bar Comedy, the Travel Channel, Cozy TV and even SeriousXM, right?

Glen Tickle (00:47.518)

Yes. Do you have, do you get CozyTV? That's the one that people don't usually know.

Bryan (00:54.335)

I get it, but I know I'm a streaming nerd kind of a thing. So, but yeah, but everybody.

Glen Tickle (00:57.246)

Yeah. They did a contest years ago that I won. And it's like, if you're, if for, if listeners aren't familiar with it, they show like Andy Griffith reruns all day. And then I won this contest. So they filmed a set of mine at a comedy festival. So it would be like, here's an Andy Griffith rerun. Here's this guy telling jokes for 20 minutes. We're not going to explain why. And then another Andy Griffith rerun.

And a friend of mine was working there at the time. He's like, we would get so many emails from people about your set. I'm like, were they saying nice things? He's like, they were mostly confused why it was happening. I'm like, yeah, I also was confused.

Bryan (01:21.198)

That's hilarious.

Bryan (01:32.222)

That's funny.

Well, you have millions of views on TikTok. And my favorite fact that I looked up is you're a competitive Mario player. So which Mario? Like break it down for me. Okay. All right, Dr. Mario.

Glen Tickle (01:43.978)

Dr. Mario specifically. So yeah, it came out a long time ago. It's the one that people compare to Tetris, yeah, where you're dropping pills down on viruses. It is just a thing I'm randomly very good at and it's not a skill that's ever translated. Like it doesn't come up in my day-to-day life where my ability to stack pills by color like impacts my day-to-day, which is a shame because I'm really quite good at it.

Bryan (01:51.458)

The Tetris one, right? Yeah.

Bryan (02:04.029)

Hehehehe

Bryan (02:10.638)

Nice.

Bryan (02:14.022)

And there isn't a Dr. Mario competition worldwide where you can clear out like a hundred grand or...

Glen Tickle (02:17.506)

There's a, there's, well I forget, there is one with prize money. It's not a lot. It was like maybe I think 500 bucks if I won. I've competed in it twice and like qualified for like the final rounds. Or not like the finals. It was, you play, you like play to qualify. I'm not a sports guy so I don't know like the terms of how tournaments work. You play a couple people early in the day and then the best people from that get put in like the bracket.

Bryan (02:26.024)

Okay.

Bryan (02:31.404)

Nice.

Bryan (02:40.061)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (02:46.562)

to compete and I've been in that bracket twice. I didn't get to do it, I was gonna do it again last year and I didn't get the chance, so hopefully this year.

Bryan (02:49.978)

Very cool, congrats.

Bryan (02:55.642)

Awesome. Well, so tell us a little bit about your background, your journey here, and how did you stumble into the plant-based lifestyle?

Glen Tickle (03:04.334)

Sure. In high school I read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and thought it was gross and then didn't want to eat meat anymore. But I went to high school in the late 90s so it was harder if you are 14, have no income or ability to get to the store yourself to really do a big lifestyle change. So I did.

Bryan (03:23.31)

Hehehehe

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (03:32.074)

go back after a while just kind of out of not really knowing how to keep feeding myself as slightly older than a child because I was I'm one of five kids we didn't have a ton of money growing up and I didn't feel like I was never the kind of kid who's going to present my parents with like a grocery list and be like you need to purchase these items for me it was just you know I tried to keep my head down you know whatever's around I'll try to make the best out of.

Bryan (03:40.766)

Yeah

Bryan (03:53.6)

Yes.

Glen Tickle (04:01.358)

And then it was around the time my older daughter was born 10 years ago where at that point I wasn't eating a lot of meat anyway and it's like, well let's just see how long I can go without eating any of it. And it's been over a decade. And it's easier now. Like there's so many more options. I have friends who will be vegan.

Bryan (04:01.516)

Yeah.

Bryan (04:19.513)

Cool.

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (04:26.374)

at home and then when they're touring around, friends who are comedians specifically, they'll be a vegetarian on the road just because sometimes you're in a remote town in Nebraska and there's not a ton of choices for you. So they'll be a little more flexible.

Bryan (04:41.986)

Yep. Yeah.

I agree. I mean, I think that's the best path. I mean, do it where you can, but corporate world and the travel world has not caught up to us yet. But hopefully we'll continue to be the advocates of change there. So tie it together for me. How did you get into the comedy side of things? What inspired you your career there?

Glen Tickle (05:04.43)

Sure. I went to school for film because I wanted to write and direct. And I made a move in my last year of college, which is really hard. It's a lot of work to, to write a script, get a crew together, film it, edit it, get it in festivals. Like it can be years before you find out if an audience likes your idea with standup, it's like immediate and that's hard to beat. So when I couldn't get hired,

to like write or direct things, I noticed, well, my standups are getting hired for these jobs that I want. I don't mind standing in front of people and talking. And all my movies were comedies. I'm like, I know how jokes work. Like I'll just go do that until I get a writing job. And it worked. I mean, I did eventually get writing jobs, but also I'm like, well, this is actually better, I think. Like this is, it's, you know, I say easier, but I think I just mean for me specifically. I don't know that one's necessarily objectively easier than the other.

Bryan (05:54.403)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (06:03.106)

They're both they both have challenges but Yes, Dan just standing there. I don't have like equipment to pack I don't need to coordinate 20 people schedules for a weekend. It's it's hard to beat

Bryan (06:03.354)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (06:12.546)

Hehehe

Bryan (06:16.246)

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, it's, it's one of those things, like I always aspired to like have the boldness to get up on stage and stuff and do that. So I, I'm envious of you on that front. You've sent me, you've sent me a couple of videos and then I definitely saw a couple of yours on Tik Tok and stuff. I love how you just interweave some of the plant based stuff into your routine and stuff. What, what's been the, like, how have you developed that content, I guess, and how

Glen Tickle (06:34.484)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (06:45.006)

Sure.

Bryan (06:45.306)

how has the audience responded to it? I love it.

Glen Tickle (06:48.49)

I do I there's a joke on my Dry Bar special where I talk about how I don't eat meat And that upset a lady at a barbecue And it was I've heard it in comments on like social media if I talk about it Or you know other accounts that I follow though like you get the same probably five to ten comments

where they're like, oh, well, if you don't eat meat, why do you wanna eat something that looks like meat? I'm like, meat doesn't look like hamburgers. Like meat's not a cylinder. That's not how it comes. Like this is, your whole argument is based on nothing. But it's also, that was the first joke I think I did where I talked about how I don't eat meat. And I noticed if I do it in New York or, you know, here in Jersey,

Bryan (07:10.574)

Mm-hmm.

Glen Tickle (07:39.194)

usually doesn't get that big of a reaction. I mean people laugh at it. It's a great joke. But I mean like nobody really pushes back on the idea that I don't eat meat. But then I went out to Nebraska years ago for like my first Midwest shows and I did that joke and like immediately it like they turned on me like they were mad just at the idea that I didn't eat meat. And so for a while it's like all right well I guess I won't do this joke in the Midwest. But then

Bryan (07:45.006)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (07:48.846)

Great.

Bryan (07:53.966)

I can imagine.

Glen Tickle (08:07.762)

I started thinking of other jokes where I talk about it. I did it on Drybar because that platform, the only thing they care about is that it is clean. That's the goal for the entire platform. So I had to look at all the material I had. I'm like, all right, what's the absolute cleanest stuff I had? That was on there. And I got, you can kind of hear it on the recording. Some people kind of push back a little bit. But Drybar also releases compilations sometimes.

Bryan (08:17.462)

Right. Yeah.

Bryan (08:26.126)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (08:31.555)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (08:37.458)

So they did one where it was people making jokes about vegetarians and they included my joke about being a vegetarian. But all the other comics were like, don't you guys hate vegetarians? And they titled it the real reason people don't like vegetarians. And I'm like, are you saying it's me? Because it feels like the way you cut this together, it feels like you're saying I'm the reason. And I'm like, I always try to make the point. I'm like, I'm not pushing you about it. I'm not here to try to convert anybody.

Bryan (09:00.993)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (09:06.274)

It is just like anything else I talk about in comedy I'm like this is my lived experience and as a result of that a thing happened that I think is interesting So I'm gonna tell you about that thing It's I think I say the line on the dry bar special. Yeah, I'm like, I'm not gonna give you pamphlets after the show I just this is just one of many stories. I'm gonna tell we'll move on if you don't like it but then it kind of felt like a fun challenge of

Bryan (09:20.139)

and make you laugh, yeah.

Glen Tickle (09:33.802)

You know, I was doing a show in Wisconsin a couple months ago, and it's like, I'm going to do a lot of jokes about this in Wisconsin. I want to see, like, if I can get them on board. Because I usually work clean, not out of, like, a moral stance. It is just like as a guy who gets asked to work a lot of corporate and college shows where they ask me to work clean, it's like, well, I don't want to write two sets. Like, I don't want to have the dirty set and a clean. I'd rather just write.

Bryan (09:43.625)

the envelope.

Glen Tickle (10:01.89)

jokes that I can do pretty much anywhere and those happen to be clean and the ones where it's like, yeah, the most controversial thing I tend to bring up is that I don't eat meat. That's like the thing that gets the biggest reaction out of people. And it's like, well, let me see if I can make this work in the Midwest. Like I want to make these people laugh at, you know, me drinking oat milk or whatever and not in like a mean way. I don't want, I'm not going to be the butt of the joke at them laughing, you know.

I don't want them laughing at me, I want them laughing with me kind of thing. So on the news, I think I sent you a clip from my new special coming out where I talked about the vegan deli that was in my town. But there's more where I talk about how I found out I'm lactose intolerant. So I'm just kind of by default now, like one step closer to just being vegan because cheese upsets my tummy. And it's like, all right. Well, I...

Bryan (10:33.112)

Yeah.

Bryan (10:42.554)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (10:47.706)

Mm-hmm.

Glen Tickle (10:58.734)

I had a guy, I went to buy oat milk one day, and this guy, I feel like I look like, this guy saw me coming and he's like, this guy will love this. And he like complained about all the plant milks in the aisle. Like I was gonna be like, oh yeah, ha ha. But that's what I was there to buy. So I was like, no, get out. And I just grabbed my oat milk and walked away after yelling at him. And yeah, I'm like, I want, I feel like most of the people coming to see me if I'm doing a show in Kansas City or something would probably.

Bryan (11:16.152)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (11:28.03)

agree with that guy over me, but I'm the one they're there to see. So I'm like, can I make them, can I get them on my side enough to laugh at this? Not necessarily like they're going to give up dairy and start drinking oat milk, but it also gets, it's, it's been weird. Like I said, doing it in different places and seeing how they react because sometimes people get genuinely angry, which

Bryan (11:42.403)

Yeah.

Bryan (11:52.514)

They do. It's yeah, it's such a and that's where like how like I just have so many questions for you. Like how are you handling that? I mean, there's stereotypes, misconceptions. People are just not educated. And like I think you can make a killing by just hitting the veg fest circuit across America. I mean, 12 percent of us in the United States are plant based, vegan, vegetarian, whatever that norm is that we're driving towards. Like if you just get the word out, I bet you could jam pack.

Glen Tickle (12:03.316)

Yeah.

Bryan (12:21.814)

every place you go to or to by just hitting the Facebook group for that city and just saying look, it's such a rare thing to come across somebody who's plant-based and is going to hit some comedy thing. So I think you're hitting a niche.

Glen Tickle (12:23.246)

I'm on board.

Glen Tickle (12:32.894)

Yeah, there's a co I know I don't want to introduce like too much competition, but there's a couple like It's particularly vegan comedies like Mike Kaplan Is a comedian I've worked with And around the time I stopped eating meat I was working with him and he's been vegan for I don't know how long But I was asking him like how do you like find food on the road and he's like, you know most places will steam a carrot for you if you ask and it's like

Bryan (12:44.623)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (13:02.468)

Right.

Glen Tickle (13:03.038)

Yeah, I guess that's fair, but I mean, the real answer is you go to a grocery store instead of a restaurant. Like that's, that's if, if there's any other plant based curious traveling comedians, yeah, you just go to the, go to the grocery store, get some stuff for the hotel room. That's usually what I do.

Bryan (13:19.094)

That's right. I hit Chipotle usually. So what's the so are you gonna like the other thing that I'm thinking is like when are you going to just get you know the 10 vegan comedians all together and hit the circuit and do the do the vegan the vegan tour? Yeah. So

Glen Tickle (13:22.517)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (13:34.478)

We'll just go on tour. I would be down because the one like Mike and some of the other ones that I know like are some of my favorite comics to watch. I'm blanking on his name. I've not I didn't know about him very long. I heard him on the vegan hacks podcast a couple weeks ago and he is like on. He's sort of similar to like what I said like oh can I get audiences to laugh at this whether they agree with me or not. He is like actively talking about

Bryan (13:58.819)

Right.

Glen Tickle (14:03.802)

being a vegan with that kind of goal in mind and I'm blanking on his name so I apologize to this young man in Los Angeles.

Bryan (14:10.986)

No, that's okay. Like you made me, you're, I'm just trying to think of like how to your point, like, how do you not polarize it? Cause it is such a, you know, a challenging topic for most people to have a discussion around, but like, where is that like George Carlin or Robin Williams, like rant that you can just go off on and convince people to do it in a comedy, funny kind of way. Like, I don't know, there's lots to unpack there.

Glen Tickle (14:36.286)

Yeah. I mean, again, I wish I could remember this guy's name, but he was talking about, he's like, he wants to do that. He wants to like kind of use comedy in like an evangelical way for the plant based lifestyle. I'm like, more power to you. I don't want to do that. Like I, I don't, uh, I'm teaching a standup class right now. And one of the things, uh, that I was, I was talking about

this past week was how like you can absolutely use comedy to get a message across. But I think when that's the goal, I think the comedy is like a little worse. I think if you start out with your main goal of I'm gonna make a point, then you can do that while making jokes, absolutely. But if your main goal is I wanna make a joke, I want these people to laugh.

Bryan (15:07.854)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (15:13.706)

Yeah, I agree.

Glen Tickle (15:28.058)

and your point of view can come across and you can absolutely still use that and make a point. I don't bring up politics a lot on stage, mainly because as a guy who travels around, I'm frequently performing for people who probably vehemently disagree with me on a lot of political matters. So I always look at it as like, well, I'm being invited to this place by these people to do this show. If they invited me to dinner, I wouldn't like.

Bryan (15:28.225)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (15:38.733)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (15:46.884)

Mm-hmm.

Glen Tickle (15:56.322)

kick the door and be like, hey, who'd you idiots vote for? And let me tell you why you're wrong. Like, it just seems rude. So I don't wanna, I want people to have a good time is like the basics of it all.

Bryan (15:59.566)

Right, right. Yeah.

Bryan (16:07.906)

Well, and there's like everything in life, it's getting more and more specialized, right? Like Trevor Noah, John Stewart can do that political. They have the following and the drive to interweave the comedy with the news. Yeah, exactly.

Glen Tickle (16:20.702)

Right, because people will go see them specifically. Like people are going to go see John Stewart because they know and like John Stewart. Kind of where I'm at in my career is people are going to go see me because there's a comedian in town. Or like I said frequently, because they're at a work thing and their boss thought it would be a good idea to bring me in. So they're not starting on my side necessarily. And I don't, you know, I don't want to agitate anybody.

Bryan (16:28.003)

Right.

Bryan (16:39.683)

Right, right.

Glen Tickle (16:49.194)

I mean, online, like if you follow me on social media, like I'm political there because if you're coming to my social media pages, you've made that choice. Like you're free to come and go as you want. But with this, it's like, well, I don't eat meat and I don't eat meat for reasons and I wanna talk about, you know, my life. My comedy is mostly about my kids because they're...

Bryan (17:00.75)

Mm-hmm.

Bryan (17:11.962)

That's right.

Glen Tickle (17:16.018)

a huge part of my life, obviously. I spend most of my day taking care of them. I'm around them more than anybody else. And then the other big parts of my life, that's what I wanna talk about on stage. But the same way, when I talk about my kids, I'm not there to convince people to have kids. It is just, here's a fact of my life that I'm gonna talk about. I have kids and they're weird. And just like, a fact of my life is I don't eat meat. And when I travel around the country, sometimes,

Bryan (17:18.379)

Absolutely, yeah.

Bryan (17:29.05)

for sure.

Glen Tickle (17:46.194)

that causes weird reactions from people that I think are funny to bring up. But it is usually, it's like I have to start it by saying, I don't eat meat. And that is the part that people just shut down sometimes. And then it's, you know, well, I'm going to win them back because I know these jokes are pretty good. And it's, I don't think I've ever said, I don't eat meat. And you shouldn't either, even though like, I think that like, you should probably not do it.

Bryan (18:09.878)

Right, yeah. But you do have to get them, but you do plant that seed, you know? So that's where I'm so glad you came on the Plant Based on Fire. So I hope everybody who's listening takes a minute to share this episode out and make sure everybody knows Glenn Tickle's name in our community here and you all go and support him as he's traveling across the United States. So I guess what kind of impact do you hope to have through your comedy and...

Glen Tickle (18:27.998)

Thank you.

Bryan (18:37.533)

a little bit here and there where you can for the plant-based life.

Glen Tickle (18:42.034)

Um, I mean, I, I like, a train. Yeah. No, a train was going by and I've ADD and it derailed. Hit me with that question one more time. I'm sorry.

Bryan (18:49.622)

I put you on the spot.

Bryan (18:57.47)

I guess what kind of impact are you hoping to have? I know you don't point it out, you shouldn't eat meat kind of a thing, but I do think there's that little absurdities of things, like you're killing the animals or just those little, there's so many jokes I think plant-basers have internally that we point out to our friends and family when they ask us the silly protein question.

Glen Tickle (19:08.502)

Yeah.

Glen Tickle (19:20.618)

Yeah, I think in terms of impact, I think it is helpful. Like maybe there's young people out there who like comedy and are kind of on the fence about whether they want to stop eating meat or whatever. And then if they see their buddy Glenn on the internet, making jokes about how he doesn't eat meat, and then they're more comfortable with it. Like I have queer friends who talk about it on stage kind of with the same intent. They're like, I'm not trying to make anyone queer. It's just if...

a young person sees me just existing in the world, then it like shows them that it's okay. And I guess, I mean, I understand that it's two different things, but if you know, people see, oh yeah, like you can, you can not eat meat for a decade and still be pretty well overweight. And like it is, I'm not struggling for protein. I'm surviving. I'm, I'm thriving as much as, as I'm gonna. And I think, cause there are like

Bryan (19:54.746)

Mm-hmm. Great.

Bryan (20:10.906)

Hehehehe

Bryan (20:18.115)

That's right.

Glen Tickle (20:19.618)

There are people who genuinely think like, oh yeah, no, you need to eat meat or you'll die. You won't actually, it's fine. You can get by on chickpeas with like, pretty much little else for a good couple of days there.

Bryan (20:33.902)

That's right, that's right. Yeah, and it's surprising to people when you say a good majority of the planet doesn't eat meat too and they don't realize that. So, Glenn, it has just been so fun to get to know you a little bit more here and help unpack your comedy business. What collaborations and stuff do you have coming up and how do people reach you and get in touch and figure out where they can see you in person?

Glen Tickle (20:47.19)

you as well. Thank you for having me.

Glen Tickle (20:57.95)

Yeah, I'm just at Glenn Tickle, Glenn with one end the correct way, as I'm sure Merzer will tell you on whatever social media platforms. I just joined Blue Sky, if you're familiar with that one, I'm on there now at Glenn Tickle. TikTok is the one I probably use the most, and I have a new special coming out later this year on my YouTube channel called Glenn Tickle Against the World

Bryan (21:04.526)

Ha ha ha!

Bryan (21:13.362)

No, that's a new one. Okay.

Glen Tickle (21:27.622)

August or September, I think. I don't have a date yet. But probably will by the time this comes out. It might actually be out by the time this comes out. We'll see.

Bryan (21:31.107)

Very cool.

Bryan (21:36.386)

That is awesome. Well, we look forward to seeing how we can help support you and help grow your budding comedy business for sure. And hopefully we'll get to see you on Saturday Night Live or some even bigger, cooler thing in the future here. Right.

Glen Tickle (21:49.757)

Yeah, I appreciate it.

Bryan (21:51.83)

What else can we do as a community to help you? Is there anything else you want to add?

Glen Tickle (22:00.224)

I mean if you want to help me. Yeah. You say if you want to specifically help me you can go to my YouTube channel because that's the I'm releasing the new special there in an attempt to grow that. So if people want to head to Glenn tickle over on YouTube and you can watch my driver specials there. There's a poorly shot video of my first album recording. There's content you can enjoy.

Bryan (22:00.702)

Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Bryan (22:10.81)

Cool, cool, cool.

Bryan (22:23.442)

Awesome. So download that, put it on your phones, people. Thank you so much Glenn for being here. And that is really all the time we have for Plant Based on Fire today. And thanks again, Jen for sharing Glenn for sharing some of your insights and experiences with us until next time, everyone keep that fire burning.

Glen Tickle (22:28.694)

Thank you for having me.