Beyond the Punchline: Mastering Business & Life from Bruce Bruce

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1:11Bruce Bruce:You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush, and trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today I've got a goat. I've got a guy who helped get me through some of the toughest times of my life just by making me laugh so I could forget about it. He is none other than the incomparable, the unstoppable, the iconic, the GOAT, Mr.

1:54Bruce Bruce. Man, I'm good, man. How you doing? I'm doing great now that I'm with you, man. My man. I like that, brother. Hey, so I'm just going to go straight into this Netflix special, bro. Okay. I had a watch party at my house, so I have like 27 first cousins. We were all at the crib. We were at a comedy club with popcorn, maybe some adult beverages. Yes, sir. We were laughing our butts off. That's good. I like that. I like to hear that. Yes, sir. So tell us about how that show came to be, man. Well, it's like this, man. I had did a special like that in 15 years, actually 16. And man, let me tell you, man.

2:34Everybody said, why you wait so long? Well, see, the first time, the first time I did it, my mother passed. Right. On that Monday, right? Yeah, I buried her that Monday, and I had to do this show that Friday, the same week. and I dedicated everything to her, which I dedicated this one to her. But I thought about it. I said, what would my mother want me to do? You know what I'm saying? And she want me to keep going, keep moving, doing my thing. So that's what I did. But I will not wait this long again. I promise you, I won't leave you 15 years no more. And I'm going to do another. I'm going to try to do one next year.

3:03But what I want to, I perfected this show. You know, when I was working on it, I was working on it. I was adding stuff, moving stuff, adding stuff, moving stuff. and I picked the best out of the best because I wanted to be funny from the beginning to the end. And see, most comedians, they'll give you a rollercoaster ride. You know, they'd be up and down. You know, it's funny. Then they go down. You go, oh, that's funny. You go, uh, I didn't want that. I want to be like, look, I'm about to throw up. This dude is about to make me throw up. So that's what I wanted. And I think that's what I got. You know what I mean?

3:36Not I think, brother. You deliver because genuinely that's what everybody said because Bruce Bruce said it, so I don't have to say it. A lot of comics in their specials, the first seven minutes, they get you. Man, you're laying in the floor. You're laying in the floor. Then you go like, what happened? Then you got 15 to 20 minutes. How much longer is that? And see, they ended all right. And one thing about me, like when I look at stuff on social media, and if it don't grab me right then, I'll go to something else. You got to grab them. I heard James Brown. You know I'm a James Brown fanatic. You probably don't know that, but I love James Brown.

4:11I got the memoir. Yeah, and I love James Brown. And I heard him say one time, he was doing an interview, he said, why don't you grab him? He said, you got him. So I come out and grab you. I'm going to grab you. I'm going to tell you that right now. I'm going to grab you and I just wanted to be the best man. And I have had bad shows but didn't nobody know it but me. You know, I'd be on my team and I'd be like, I said, it could have been better. They're like, what? I said, it could have been better. I'll say, the next show, I got to turn it up and watch. And that's what I do. I try to perfect it, man.

4:39And people kind of say, you got to love what you do. You got to love what you do. If you like stripping, strip. If you like stealing cars, steal them. But you got to love what you do. And like I tell all these new comedians that on social media, they work at social media because it's great. Give the people more than the five minutes that they see on social media. You know, you got five minutes. It's great. But when people come to see you, something for them to go home and talk about. You know what I mean? Just go ahead and look five minutes. Hey, thank you. And then you get all the money. Because me, I've been doing it for 36 years.

5:13So I've been getting repeated, repeated. I can go every club every year and do a show and sell out every year. And I bring them something new every time. And that's what I'm going to give you your flowers on now. Because when I believe in giving people their flowers and when they can actually see them and smell them. I've seen Bruce Bruce at five shows in the past two years. And you are relevant in every show. And I'm trying. single show because here's the thing society's changing and evolving and again i'm gonna say this so bruce bruce doesn't have to say it there are comedians that the jokes they were telling 10 years ago are the same jokes they're telling hey you know what and don't get me wrong it's nothing wrong with that because sometimes i have a good joke is a good joke yeah that's hey do that joke about the bus driver do that joke about i have to do it you know but you get you got to stay on top of your game like people always ask me why i don't talk about donald trump it's just one thing I don't like about Donald Trump, and that's his hair.

6:08I don't care about nothing else, but nobody should be 80 years old with a shag and a bang. Did you hear me, Player? That means he got a shebang. Did you hear what I said? And, you know, we all see people, you're playing crazy. Donald Trump told you from the beginning what he was going to do. No surprises. I mean, no surprises. So one thing I can say, he didn't lie. He didn't lie about that. And he do the same. So what you get is what you got. So he told you from the beginning. There it is. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I love it. So let's talk about this longevity you have, man, because in your world, you get comics that are here today, gone tomorrow.

6:47You got the social media comics that it's cute to be funny and silly, but then you got to be real. Like you got to be able to take that and then go live or go corporate or have real conversations. You're one of a very few people, and I'm just going to say it, that also look like us that's just been here for a long time, brother. Like, what has been your secret? I shouldn't even say secret because I don't like that. Okay. Because you put in the work, and I know that that's part of it. You put in the work to stay relevant. But also, bro, the other part of that is you still look like Bruce. Bruce is 27, 28 years old, too, bro.

7:23Hey, man, let me tell you. Like I say this again, I used to be a chef. I know how to cook. I used to work for Frito-Lay Potato Chip. And one thing about Frito-Lay Potato Chip, driving that truck, going from store to store, that taught me how to run a business. It taught me how to run a business, run my own business. And I let these communities know, even the guys that work for me, hey, man, we go out here, we have fun. You know, we eat at the best places. We have fun, but it's still a business. And you got to treat it like a business. You know, even though we out here, you know, these guys talking to every woman they can see and all that, It's not about that with me.

8:01It's about me coming in, doing my jokes, doing it for the love, staying consistent, and come back and do it again next year. I got a wife. I don't need no other woman. I cannot handle this nut. I got it now. You understand what I'm saying? I'm trying to get rid of her, but she won't leave because I'm too good to her. You know what I'm saying? But, you know, handle it as a business. This is a business. It's like if you go and work at, you can work at McDonald's. You know, no matter, you might have fun, but it's a business. and you got to respect people and you got to have good customer service.

8:31And that's one thing I like. I got customer service. I'm nice to everybody. My granddaddy taught me something when I was young. He said, the only thing free in life is being nice. It don't cost nothing. So you ain't got to be mean to people. See, when you arrogant and conceited and stuck up, that's too much energy for me, man. I can be doing something. I can be eating some Popeye chicken. You know what I'm saying? I ain't got to be out here. I can eat some Popeyes and give me an apple pie, you know, like a 36-piece. You know something like that with a diet coat. You know what I'm talking about.

8:59Gotta have the diet coat. You know what I'm saying. Gotta have the diet coat. Don't want to gain no weight. But the thing is, just treat it like a business, but have fun while you do it. I got my nephew working for me. I got one of my grandkids working for me. My baby boy is my road manager. And man, they do a good job. They're really good on the computer. So they keep me on top of the game. My son told me, I remember when social media came out, he said, Hey, pops, if you don't change, man, you're going to be behind. And I thought about it. And I say, you know what? He's right. And if I had social media 36, 37 years ago, man, I would be bigger than Richard Fry, Red Fox, Bill Cosby, Wilton Burrell, George Carp, put together.

9:38The social media is a good, good avenue to take, but use it right. Don't do nothing crazy. Don't be on there slapping your girl and shooting people. No, use it for your platform. Just like they didn't gave me a TV show yet. I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to put a TV show on social media. I'm going to do my own TV show. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to use that platform. And I'm going to be the first subscriber you have. Hey, man, it's going to be good, man. It's going to be good. I am there for it. I am there for it. I want to go, because I want people to hear this and understand this, because I've heard you talk about it quite a bit.

10:13But I'm going to ask it in a different way. Your comedic career, that journey, going back to when you got into the game, you has been authentically Bruce Bruce. What I want people to understand is this. When Bruce Bruce got into the game, the game was call people out of their name, use any kind of language, right? Be loud, be different, attack the crowd. Like, go do that. Bruce Bruce was different. He was always him every day. Talk through that journey, brother. I see the thing is people, they ask sometimes, how is he at home? She said, just like he is on stage. He's the same person. It's not a difference.

10:50I'm not putting out a front you know, I'm the same person on and off stage, even when I was a kid I was funny, I was a neighborhood clown, church clown, school clown I just had fun, I never did anything to hurt anybody I didn't want to hurt their feelings, except one girl with that ponytail, if you saw it that little bitty ponytail, you know I picked a hundred days, then she made me be her boyfriend she said, you're going to be my boyfriend, so the thing is, hey man, you know you don't take all that to to make people laugh. I can sit now and talk to somebody and let's just say I'm in the bank and it's taking a long time.

11:25I say, well, they working on Turtle today. I said, they pretty slow today and they bust out laughing. You know what I'm saying? Like I'm at the airport one time, TSA, going through everything I got. I said, my man, are you trying to make lieutenant? I said, because what you looking for, it's on the x-ray what I got in my bag. You see what's in my bag, but you want to check everything. You're trying to make lieutenant. I believe that he busts out laughing. He realized, he said, man, go on, man. Go on, go on, man. Just go on through. You know what I'm saying? So sometimes we go too far. You know, we go too far with things.

11:56And we just need to just keep it at a minimum, man. Do your job. Keep it moving. I go to the airport every week. I fly every week. Everybody in Atlanta airport know me. Everybody except ISIS. They got ISIS down there. And I don't know what they're doing, man. They just stand there looking crazy. Like I had a police one time pull me over. And I got a big doula. You got the drugs in the car? I said, I don't have the drugs. I said, now, I do have some sandwiches in the back. I said, now, I got about 74 Subways. I said, now, if that's a crime, you might as well put the handcuffs on me now. I said, but right now, I don't care.

12:28He brought the dogs out. Man, dog run around the truck. I look up the dog, went back to the police car, just sat down. You know what I'm saying? I said, so he didn't smell that, dude. I said, he smelled that roast beef and that bastrami sandwich I had in the back. He probably wanted that. But, you know, man, you're going to run into all kinds of stuff. It's a way to handle everything. You know, even with women, even your relationship, you got to communicate, man. Communicate. My wife will shut down sometimes. I said, well, I'll wait till she gets through having her silent moment. And then you can come talk to me.

12:58You know what I'm saying? And one day she got mad at me. I don't know what she got mad about. And I told her, I said, whenever you want to talk, I said, you come sit by me in the bedroom in this chair, put your big girl panties on and sit down and tell Big Daddy what's the problem. And we saw the problem in three seconds. You see what I'm saying? I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, You know, I'm that type. I'm calm. I'm not a violent man. You know, my uncle told my uncle raised me, he said, don't ever hit no woman. Don't ever leave, walk out the door, run.

13:24He said, if you can't run out the door, he said, but you're going to be all right. And I live by that. You know, I live by that. And I teach my kids, you know, don't hit no woman. No, no, no, no, no. Because when you get a divorce, my brother, I don't know what it is. I don't know who made this rule up, but the man always got to start from the bottom. I just don't understand that. Why do we have to start from the bottom? We done built all this up. And then they just take it away. You know, I don't get that. I need to talk to some judges. I need to tell judges, y 'all need to work it out. But, man, we can split something.

13:56Come on. We was in this thing together, player. You know what I'm saying? But, you know, it's just life. You know, it's life. And that's how the law is. That's how it's set up. And I encourage every young man to have children. Take care of your kids, no matter what. You know, when I got a divorce with my first wife, man, And I was hoping she had a new dude. I was praying to God. I said, Father God, in the name of Jesus, please let me have a new dude. Please, God, please answer my prayer. If you're real, answer me. And she did. But, you know, some things you got to let go. Because I was told you'd never make it.

14:31You'll never make it. You fat. People are going to laugh at you because you're fat. And I said, well, I'll tell you what. I see you on TV. And here I am right here 36 years later, man. Still doing it. Still loving it. And people always say you have 15 minutes of fame. I always tell people I hadn't even started on my 15 minutes yet. I'm still having fun doing stand up. Real talk. I'm always on the move. Always jumping on some airport Wi-Fi or hotel network without thinking twice. Then it hit me how exposed my passwords and banking information really were. And that is when I started using NordVPN.

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15:48So, Bruce, one of the questions I usually ask all my guests at the very beginning, and I want to wait right here to ask you, is what is your because? Right? Like, we hear start with why and what's your why? And I think your why is superficial, right? Like, your why is probably your kids, your wife, or whatever. There's a reason that they're your why. and I call that your because. So if I were to say, Bruce, Bruce, man, it is 2026. You could have stopped a long time ago, right? But you still got it. You still keep going. What's your because? What's your purpose? Why do you keep doing what you do?

16:21Well, I can remember when I first started to answer your question in so many ways. I remember when I first started it was a comedian that didn't like me and he would never put me up. Never put me up. I could have easily walked away. You know, I could have easily said, you know what, man? Forget this, man. I ain't gonna put up with this dude. But I didn't because I, I just, it was something there. Some kept telling me, keep pushing, keep pushing. And I've always been taught, I've always been taught to press your weight. So, you know, I do it because I love it. I love what I do. When I went on stage the first time, I knew.

16:52I didn't know, but I knew that's where I should have been my whole entire life. I knew it. Like, I have comedians, and I go to them, I say, hey, man, got a show for you, man. I want you to do it with me. First thing they say, how much you're paying? I say, hold it, player. Hold on, hold up. You even been seeing walking by TV, much less on TV. And you asking me how much they pay. I say, when I ask you or tell you about a show, I'm going to make sure that you get paid. I said, but the key thing is, don't do it for the money. Do it for the love. Let me tell you something. Don't ever run at money.

17:24Let the money run at you. And it's just that simple. Yes, sir. But that's why, man, I got three. I'm an older guy, man. I got older. My kids are old. My baby girl is 40. My baby boy is 42. my oldest son 45 when I tell people that they don't believe it but I was laying it down back in the day I wasn't there you'd have been proud of the player you know what I'm saying you'd be proud of I wasn't laying it down man like a player but but my kids now I like the best thing in the world to me and my grandkids are even better you know I love kids so I got 10 grandkids man and and my grandkids are like my heart you know and they're so pure and so innocent and and they're cool.

18:01They come talk to me about everything. I'm talking about everything. I got grown grandkids and they talked to me about everything. And I just lay it on them right. Like my uncle did me. My uncle used to tell me, he said, look, I'm going to give you the good and the bad and the ugly. He said, you got sense enough to pick the good and bad and ugly, right? I said, yes, sir. He said, all right, I'm going to let you make that decision. That's how he was, you know? So, you know, he give you a chance to make the right decision. Now you go left. He's like, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

18:24Come here. Come here. Let me talk to you. You ain't thinking now. Thinking about what you think about what you're doing before you make this crazy decision. So So that's where I did my kids. And, man, like I said, my baby boy, 42, he went to Fairville State University in Fairville, North Carolina. He was Mr. Fairville State. You know, he got three degrees. Hey, man, I mean, I went to college, you know, dropped my cousin off. But look, but, you know, that's just how it is. But you just got to communicate in every aspect of life, man. Like my manager and I, we go back and forth on stuff sometimes.

18:58I get hot. He's like, Bruce, I understand. I understand what you're saying, Bruce. I understand, but listen, I get hot and I get to hollering and hooping and did here try to give me a different point of view. And I go, I say, well, let me think about that for a minute. So sometimes you need that. You don't need a brother cheering you on all the time. You need somebody to pull your rope and say, hey, man, hold up. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Before you do that, think about what you're doing because it'll cost you in the long run. So that's what it's all about. Yeah, I love it. I love it. And here you talk about your kids, man.

19:27Takes me back to the joke on the special about your daughter. and tell her. Oh, yeah. And you know what? You know what? I'm going to tell you something now. This is what I'm going to say. I didn't like that joke you told about your daughter. I said, well, my daughter's 40. She's been married 18 years, going on 19 years. She got married when she was 21. I say, and I counseled her and her husband. I counseled her from the beginning. When he asked me for her hand in marriage, I told her he could get her, but he can't bring her back. I said, you cannot bring her back. And when they say, who give this woman?

19:54I pushed her. You know, you like to say, I pushed her up there. I said, look, but if a lot of fathers and mothers stop talking at their kids and talk to your kids, you can get your point across. And a lot of divorces wouldn't happen. See, you're late. I don't like that joke you did about your daughter. So if your dad would talk, you probably wouldn't have had three husbands right now. Right. And then she looked at me. Well, it was funny, you know, but I just don't think you should have said that to your daughter. Well, I'm going to tell her and I'm going to communicate with her because they cannot move back in my house.

20:26Did you hear what I said? They cannot move back in my house. I'm sorry. I called the police. I said, I know them, but they need to leave the premises right now. Yes, sir. Hey, you got it rolling, man. And I know how busy you are, so I don't want to keep you long, man. But I just, again, I wanted to tell you thank you. You talk about fatherhood a lot. You talk about your family a lot. And that inspired me. I mean, I would say, even with my kids now, we're at a point where I'm no longer dad. I mean, I'm still going to be dad. Right. But we are friends. Right. And we can have a conversation as friends.

20:59And just like you, when they come to me for dad, it's more like the counseling, the advice. And outside of that, like we are friends. And I got that from you, man, like hearing all the things that you do, following you for as long as I have to be a present father, I think is the most important skill that all fathers can have. And one thing we got to understand, kids grow up and they become adults. So you got to talk to them like adults. Now, I can tell you, man, every day, every single day when my ex-wife and I got divorced, I call my kids every single day. I mean, every single day, not a day miss.

21:32I call them, hey, daddy, and when they answer the phone, you thought I've been gone for 30 years. Hey, how you doing? They're so happy to hear from me. But my uncle told me, I said, look here, he say, you're getting a divorce. He said, I understand that. He say, but somebody in this relationship got to have some sense. And he said, don't seem like she got none. He said, so it's going to have to be you to make sense and make things right. He said, I don't care who you see her with, what she say or what she do. He says, your job as a man to take care of them kids. He said, now, if you do what I tell you, you're going to come out on top.

22:05I never get to say this. He said, I might not be here to see it. He said, I might be dead and gone. He said, but when it happens, you're going to think about me. And he was exactly right. I kept my kids every weekend, not every other week, every weekend, because I was in love with my kids. I was in love with them, man. And we had so much fun. And I was almost like their brother because I played with them constantly over and over constantly. And they knew me. They would tell me anything. Even as a child, they would tell me everything, anything. And that's the kind of relationship you've got to have with your children, man.