Meet Tim Drake | Writer, Producer, and Podcaster

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

Hi Tim, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Because I make poor life decisions. All joking aside, there is nothing that brings me more joy than creating something and watching audiences enjoy it. I’ve worked other non-creative jobs in my life and I was miserable at them. I learned a lot from them, but it wasn’t for me. I realized early on that creating entertainment was the only thing that truly made me happy. It takes so much tireless, thankless work, that you often are not getting paid for when you start, but when you get to see people enjoy your work it makes it all worth it. And then when you finally do get paid for it, it seems surreal to get paid to do what you love. The first time sitting in a theater with an audience for a feature film I produced and hearing people laugh and cheer along with the film was incredible. I’ll never forget when a short film I wrote, producer, and directed was being screened at the Directors Guild after winning a festival. We had shot the entire film in one continuous shot. We spent so much time rehearsing every camera movement to make sure it moved and was paced well. These are things a general audience doesn’t necessarily know goes into making a film. The craftsmanship behind the scenes is ignored, despite our crews being the lifeblood of the set. But while we sat at the screening I overheard somebody whisper to their friend, “Holy shit, is this all one shot?” Those moments are priceless.

On the podcast side of things, I have always been fascinated by the stories of how the people I admired achieved their success and overcame the struggles to get there. I always loved reading biographies and autobiographies, not just of entertainers, but historical figures and impactful members of our world. While On the Mic with Tim Drake is focused on entertainment and comedy interviews, it’s all about telling people’s stories and sharing their incredible talent with everybody. When we started doing live shows at San Diego Comic-Con, it was exciting to see how welcoming everybody was to the show. It took us a bit to grow an audience there and at WonderCon, but I’ve remained persistent on the goal of just putting on a great show and having fun with our guests and sharing their stories.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m fortunate to have two sides to my career – the filmmaking, and the podcasting.

Building to where I am at now has been anything but easy, and I’m still at the bottom of the list, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’m thrilled with what I have built and where I am going, but recognize I still have a long, long ways to go. As cheesy as it may sound, the thing I’m looking forward to most is finding out how I get there. There is no blueprint to any of this. It’s a lot of guess work, knowing who you can and can’t trust, and making sure you’re ready so when the “luck” finds you, you can move forward with it.

On the filmmaking side, I started out making short films. Just like everybody does whether going through film school or learning how to make movies with friends. I also really dove into writing in hope to write for TV. (Any reps reading this, I’m still looking for those opportunities. Let’t chat!) I created a web series with some friends that we had some fun with, got nominated for some small awards, but that was a far as it really went. I started taking writing classes at The Second City and it really broadened my scope of writing. I was writing sketches and shorts nonstop, and fell in love with writing satire. I was getting a fair amount of writing published, but still wasn’t feeling entirely fulfilled. I finally challenged myself to just sit down and write a feature screenplay. It didn’t have to be good, I just needed to get it on paper. I spent about a month just focused on getting that idea done. I knew it wasn’t anywhere close to being good, but I had done it. I did some re-writes, and then moved onto the next thing. But I had taught myself that it was not only possible from me to write a feature film, but that I had taught myself ways to outline the script and get my idea on paper to make it easier for the next time around. The hardest part of writing is getting those first words written, and then never stopping. This helps fuel my creative energy. This is what helps myself and my producing partners keep going. It’s what led to me now producing on feature films, which is a continual learning process, but it’s all about taking the first step. You can’t be afraid to fail, because the truth is, you’re going to. You’re going to fall flat on your face, but it’s how you get back up and continue that matters. We went from Kickstarting our first feature, to finding investors for our second, to now having a major entertainment company helping finance our third. You just have to believe in yourself and put in the work. It’s so cliche to hear everybody in Hollywood always talk about “putting in your 10,000 hours”, but it’s real and it will make you ready. I’m so insanely proud of where we are and where we’re going next.

Podcasting was the same kind of thing. When I first launched my show I reached out to friends building their own careers to start to get my feet wet, and figuring out how to podcast… and then I landed Tracy Morgan on the show. I had no idea how to interview somebody like Tracy Morgan, but I just ran with it. I couldn’t say NO to that kind of an opportunity. It went great! A few episodes later Pete Holmes agreed to come on the show and it began to grow from there. While I launched the podcast, I was working at a radio station in Salt Lake City, we had Chris Hardwick come through the show promoting some standup dates. I was a huge fan of Nerdist and had met Chris before, but now he was actually on the show I was interning and producing segments on. During a break I asked him for advice on how to make my episodes feel more natural. He gave me the advice that changed the way I did everything. He told me, “Try to not make it so interview-y and just have a conversation with people”. That really stuck with me. I still build a base of what I want to cover with guests, but I let it be a lot more of a free flowing conversation and it helps the authenticity come through. Almost 250 episodes later, this has truly taught me that it’s okay to ask questions. Nobody really knows what they’re doing in this crazy industry. But as long as you are willing to learn and ask questions, you can build something out of nothing a lot easier than you would expect.

As far as what I want to world to know about me and my brand/story, is to never let the world push you down. I haven’t and it’s pushed me down A LOT. This may sound all new age, kumbaya bullshit, but it’s true. I go through depressive episodes where I just feel like an absolute failure because I’m not where I want to be yet. But that’s okay. You’re going to hit that wall over and over again. I’ve picked myself up and so can anybody else trying to do this. I’ve learned to hardest thing to do is be happy with yourself and actually love yourself. It’s so much easier said then done. I hope that people take away from anything I make, whether it be a film, a satire article, a podcast, is that every day I’m hoping that through the products I make, I can lift people up, make them laugh, make them feel something. Hopefully whatever people feel from it leaves things better than I left them. You’ll have people that aren’t going to support you, a lot of them. But I remind myself of a 311 lyric from their song “All Mixed Up”. I don’t know if I can swear here, but the lyric is: “Fuck the naysayers cause they don’t mean a thing, cause this is what style we bring.” That lyric is as true as it can be. Be 100% authentically you. That is the best lesson I have taken away from all of this.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is honestly a question I love being asked. Los Angeles is such an incredible city that I love so much that has so many incredible places. Some of my favorite spots to eat Monty’s Good Burger, Veggie Grill, Crossroads Kitchen, Cruzer Pizza, Doomies, Plant Powered Fast Food, if you’re catching onto a theme, yes I stick to a plant based diet. I also can’t rave enough about the Frankenstand cart that frequents the Mystic Museum/Blast from the Past a few times a month. Their plant based hot dogs have such incredible flavor and are delicious. “The Scarecrow” dog is probably my all-time favorite. BUT for my meat eater friends I have still found spots where I can order plant based items that are delicious. Smoke House in Burbank is a classic, and an amazing part of old Hollywood. 25 Degrees over at The Roosevelt in Hollywood is fantastic as well. Sadly we’ve lost a lot of dining spots that I’ve loved over the years like Cafe 101 and Taco Vega.

I love taking friends to the Mystic Museum in Burbank (plus if it’s the right day a Frankenstand dog in the same visit). Working in the horror world this place is so much fun to me and always has fun exhibits throughout. For my collector friends we literally will head right across the street to Blast from the Past and see what new things they have. Honestly walking up and down Magnolia is always a great time. Another spot I always take people to is the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Call me macabre, but I love cemeteries. There’s just something so incredibly peaceful about them. Hollywood Forever tells such a unique story of the early settlement of Hollywoodland and I love sharing that part of our city with friends. Golden Apple Comics is another stop that I have to make while we’re in Hollywood. They always have such a great selection and great events. Plus, you never know who you might run into while shopping for comics. If they want to venture downtown, The Last Book Store is always a spot I love. I have found some of the best one-off books during my stops there.

The Griffith Observatory, while very touristy, is still a place I love to take people. But we don’t just leave it at the observatory. Griffith Park is a special place to me. It always has been since I moved to Los Angeles. On days when I have had to move my car for street cleaning, the park is a place I love to go. I find it inspiring, especially over by the old merri-go-round where Walt Disney came up with the concept of Disneyland. Such a simple moment in time at the park spawned a theme park that literally changed the world. And it all began at that little spot in the park. The history of the park is crazy, but so fascinating.

Aside from driving friends around the city and sharing all of the different spots, a lot of people always want that real Hollywood experience and to see what these big movie studios are like. I always suggest people to take tours and Warner Brothers or Paramount. Both studios have such legendary history and so many cool things to show visitors from all of their favorite shows. I remember the first time I visited Paramount when I was just getting into all of this. One show that was a huge inspiration to me was “Community”. The tour took us into their set at the time. I was able to touch the study room table. (Abed was right it had powers). But these little moments these tours try and offer are awe inspiring. Plus, they’re actual working studios. So it makes it a truly unique experience.

As you can tell, I love my history of the city. Comics, horror, movies, and history. That’s my typical way I show friends around the city. Of course, we visit the beaches, but I have to have some places I keep to myself!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost my wife Vanella. When I made the decision to focus solely on a career in entertainment and comedy, she never doubted me. She always has been my biggest supporter. At one point I decided I needed to reduce hours at the full time job I had so I could focus on building my career. We didn’t have a lot of money, so this was a big risk. But she had faith in me and knew that I wouldn’t let us fail. Sure, things got tight. But while she was working full time, she knew I would figure out a way to monetize what I was doing on top of my part-time income. I couldn’t have built my career and continue to build my career without her unwavering love and support. Vanella is the only way that I have been able to achieve even the smallest amount of success.

My cat Little One. The sweetest little tuxedo cat of them all! She turns 15 this year and every one of those years she has been by my side through everything I’ve ever written, every rejection, every success. She always has known how to make a bad day better… as long as I am not a minute late feeding her.

I also want to shoutout my producing partners, Alexander Watson, Terrence Kiriokos, and Clyde Ratliff at J-WAT Productions. Alex and I got to know each other in the Utah film community years ago. We were always cheering each other on and supportive of each other when we moved to Los Angeles almost a decade ago. If it wasn’t for Alex’s belief in me, we wouldn’t have made our first feature film together and continued to build our film careers together. Terrence and Clyde have also always been so supportive and made our team an incredible team to be a part of.

Last, but certainly not least, my core group of friends (outside of my producing partners) that have always been cheering me on: Ayne Laveaga, Mark Andrews, Amanda Yslas, Christina Johnson, Scott Sala, Austin Grant, Jesse Knight, Alissa Padilla, Kris Robinson, Christopher Boise, Becky Haynie, and Adriel Berber. This group of friends has always made me confident in what I’m doing and knowing I always have a support system whenever I need it.

I’ve had some great mentors who still provide me with education and support from writer Rob Kutner, to Lily LaRocco and Bruce Lomet at Warner Brothers. As well as Kerry, Bill, Gina, and Richie T at X96’s Radio From Hell who really helped boot my confidence when I was first starting out. I also consider the Duplass Brothers book “Like Brothers” to be a mentor in a way. While the book cover topics I already knew, it approached them in ways I hadn’t thought of and opened my eyes to ways I could improve my own approach. Most importantly learning, the cavalry isn’t going to come. You have to learn how to make things happen for yourself. Anybody just starting out, I encourage you to read their book.

Website: www.onthemicpodcast.com, www.timdrakecomedy.com, www.deadboyproductions.com, www.j-watproductions.com

Instagram: @timdrake42

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timdrake42

Twitter: @timdrake