Meet Matt Gourley | Podcaster, Actor, and Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Gourley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, how do you think about risk?
I approach risk in a peculiar way, and that is: baby steps. Or perhaps better put, I think I take a lot of what I’ll very adorably call ‘micro-risks.’ I’m far too pragmatic to compromise certain standards in my life to take large, paradigm-shifting risks, but at the same time, I’ve found I like to challenge and surprise myself in some absurd ways during occasional low-stakes experiences. It might be in a work meeting, a podcast recording, or the worst of all encounters: small talk. It might come in the form of a non-sequitur, a strange joke with a purpose, or a zig when a zag won’t even noticed I zigged.

Does any of this make sense? No. But do you see how I’ve taken an otherwise earnest interview question and twisted it into showcasing my very stupid concept? That’s a Gourley micro-risk. And what have I lost? Nothing. Your respect maybe, but what do I care, I’m 51, married with child, and as long as I do nothing to risk my standing with my well-being and my family, I can keep taking as many dumb little risks as I like — in my life, in my career, and in my interview questions.

I’ve often found that when one strange little interjection pays off in the moment, it can lead to a chain of subsequently more stupid interjections that might fundamentally alter what the experience was otherwise going to be. Maybe that will mean nothing, and maybe in some rare cases, it could lead to an unforeseen and even significant change in my life; the only difference being I didn’t have to lay everything on the line and could easily walk away the first instance any one of my patented — and since its last mention, trademarked — micro-risks didn’t pay off. At best I follow a gradual chain to something new and fun and at worst I lose a little battle, but never the war.

But what I’m really doing here, and quite bravely I think, is taking the micro-risk of redefining the word ‘risk’ itself. Asking the question ‘can you really risk something if it’s too insignificant to worry about losing?’ I say you can. You can micro-risk™ it.

Try it, you have very little to lose.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Luckily, my career and creative pursuits overlap just enough to make work fun, but not so much that it makes my fun into work. Without boring the reader, I move within a bunch of different creative fields: illustration, music, design and carpentry, acting, etc. — all to varying degrees of success, but somewhere along the way, I’ve been able to call each one of these pursuits my career.

The only wisdom I can ever impart about a path like this, and it may actually be bad advice, but there’s no point in pursuing the arts if you’re not driven to do it for love of the game. You can make money at it, but not if that’s what you’re in it for. That’s a sure-fire creativity killer. So, if you are cool doing what you love on a pauper’s wage, do it. Then, the gravy of it all is that maybe it’ll work out and you’ll do what you love and live like a prince!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Pasadena, so as any Eastsider will tell you ‘I’m not going even an inch to the west, you absolute psychopath.’

All of my favorite haunts exist here! Let’s start our day at the Huntington Library. We’ll see Gainsborough’s Blue Boy, some of Shakespeare’s folios, and the most amazing Japanese gardens you’ll set foot in outside of well, Japan. We’ll also eat lunch at their delicious indoor/outdoor cafe. Do you have kids? They have a wonderful little water play area there as well.

Next, let’s take a nap, it’s usually hot here so the more we can avoid the afternoon sun, the better. We have a back house, you can sleep on the couch.

Wake up, we’re going to Cacao mexicatessen for dinner. Their bean and cheese burrito is tops. We can have one agave-based margarita with our meal but save room for drinks at The Raymond. The restaurant is in a craftsman house built in 1886 and their craft cocktails, atmosphere, and service are the best. Ask for Cliff, he’s the greatest.

After that, you have to go home, I shouldn’t be up this late.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My friend Adam Sachs. He’s also my boss on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, but he’s too friendly himself to be labeled just a ‘boss.’ He and I have worked hand-in-hand on some of the most fun projects I’ve done in the podcasting industry. He brings me along for a lot of things and knows just how much to divulge about a job before scaring me off due to my career commitment issues. He’s that rare combination of savvy and nice and I owe him a lot. Thanks Adam!

Website: https://www.mattgourley.com

Instagram: @mattgourley

Twitter: @mattgourley

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUiL6bd8JysqoQ6PdLrnBw

Other: https://linktr.ee/mattgourley

Image Credits
The main photo and the other photo of me are by Luke Fontana.