David Jolly Credit: Hugo Juice Gonzalez

David Jolly built his name in Orlando comedy clubs long before he created DeAndre, the chaotic sketch character at the center of his viral videos. Now based in Austin, the comic has become a regular in one of the country’s hottest stand-up scenes, touring nationally while developing a pilot project centered on DeAndre. Through fake workplace orientations, customer-service meltdowns and exaggerated everyday scenarios, the character has helped transform Jolly from a local favorite into a comic with a fast-growing national audience.

The videos place DeAndre in exaggerated versions of familiar situations, including workplace training sessions, mechanic shops, service counters and other everyday environments that spiral into absurdity. Jolly and his collaborators release the sketches at a rapid pace, often pulling inspiration from recognizable personalities, regional quirks and relatably uncomfortable social interactions. The result feels intentionally unpolished, fast-moving and unpredictable, which has helped the character gain a massive audience online while introducing a new wave of fans to Jolly’s stand-up career.

Jolly returns to Orlando this week to perform at Funny Bone on Thursday for a performance that doubles as something of a full-circle moment. Before Austin, before sold-out road dates, before strangers at airports hollered “DeAndre!” at him across the terminal, Jolly was grinding through Central Florida open mics, building material night after night in front of local audiences.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Orlando Weekly, Jolly reflects on the evolution of Orlando’s comedy scene, the discipline required to survive in stand-up, and why he believes comedians have to be “delusional” enough to fully commit to the craft.

You have relocated to Austin. What’s been the biggest adjustment compared to coming up in Orlando?

Before, I understood comedy is a business, but now, I’m a part of the business. You think you’re in the business when you’re in Florida, but you’re really not. In Austin, there are just so many clubs. You can get up so many times. So many big comics live here, and the opportunities are just different.

Even after moving away, you still seem really connected to Orlando’s comedy scene.

There’s so many great shows in Orlando right now, especially around Milk District. You got Iron Cow, Bull & Bush, the beer garden shows. That’s the thing about Orlando. Orlando comics not gonna sit around waiting for somebody to let them get on stage. People make their own shows. Shit Sandwich been going on for like 15 years and the whole city know about it.

A lot of people are discovering you through DeAndre videos online now. Has that changed the crowds coming out to see you?

Most of the people who come to my shows now are DeAndre fans. And the funny thing is, they don’t know I do stand-up. I’ll see people posting after the show like, “Man, I didn’t know he could actually do stand-up.’”And I’m like, “I get up like 15 times a week. This is what I do.” The sketches are fun, but that’s just to get people to notice I’m here. Stand-up is my first love.

How did the DeAndre character even start?

The first idea was a fake Waffle House orientation video. I told Jake Ricca, who shoots and edits the videos, “What if I’m the guy on the training tape telling people crazy stuff?” Then the second one was the DeAndre mechanic shop. That one went crazy. It got millions of views in like two or three days. After that, me, Jake and Jeff Dolezal knew we had to put these out every week.

Your videos often lean into uncomfortable social dynamics and cultural stereotypes. What makes that kind of humor work for you?

Nobody trying to hurt nobody feelings. We taking stereotypes people recognize and making jokes out of them. Once I did the Chinese restaurant one, and people were hitting me up saying it was hilarious, I was like, all right, people get it. If you coming to comedy looking to be offended, then comedy probably ain’t for you.

What does it feel like coming back to the Funny Bone specifically?

It’s great coming back to the crib, man. That’s my original home club. I’ll always look at it like that. You see people you went to school with, people from the Real Radio days, people who used to come every week to watch open mics. Orlando comedy fans really support comedy. That club means a lot to me.

You’ve talked a lot about discipline and sacrifice. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned over the last decade doing stand-up?

You gotta be delusional. I’m gonna say that again and again. You have to be delusional. You can’t look at what everybody else thinks reality is. You gotta shape your own reality. There ain’t no Plan B. If you got a Plan B, this probably won’t work. You gotta sell out completely to this.

You hit 10 years in comedy this month. Did you take a second to celebrate that?

Nah. You know how I celebrate stuff? I go work harder.

7 p.m. Thursday, June 11, Funny Bone Comedy Club, 9101 International Drive, orlando.funnybone.com, $27-$57.

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