16
Alexis Gay
The Professional Unprofessional
A career in tech is like a the craft of a performer - how do you take the expectations, the anxiety, the nerves, and alchemize it all into something indistinguishable from magic?
My guest today is Alexis Gay. While on the rise in her career in tech, Alexis took to the internet to lampoon her own industry as her social alter ego, @yayalexisgay. With razor sharp comedic instincts and magnetic screen presence, she pokes fun at the absurdity of a new professional class that’s trying to put a dent in the universe while navigating petty personal problems.
After 25 million video views, countless industry conference keynotes, and over a hundred episodes of her podcast Non-Technical, Alexis has left her desk job and incessant slack notifications behind. She’s now started a new chapter as an entertainer, trading annual performance reviews for nightly standing ovations.
After debuting her one woman show Unprofessional at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, she’s taking it on an eight city tour across the United States. We sat down a day before her performance in Los Angeles to talk about her travels in the creator economy and her craft of self-parody.
Please enjoy my conversation with the consummate unprofessional professional, Alexis Gay.
Listen : Spotify | Apple | YouTube
“Almost everything I make comes from a place of wanting to know if I’m the only one.
What am I really asking? Am I alone?”
Show Index
- 05:32 - Thoughts on the Creator Economy
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10:11 - Can you parody Los Angeles?
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13:09 - Alexis’s Signature Style
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18:43 - When Alexis Went Viral
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30:15 - Where does Alexis get stuck?
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35:50 - Importance of Deadlines
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44:30 - Does Alexis get scared?
- 50:50 - At Large And Off The Cuff
Show Notes
- Alexis’ Website
- Alexis’ Instagram
- Unprofessional tour dates and tickets
- The War of Art book
- The Body Keeps the Score book
- Box Breathing
- Cat Cohen
- Alex Edelman
- The Artist’s Way book
The Unprofessional Professional
Idea Virus Patient Zero
Chasing Liquid Gold
Making MSCHF
Internet Funnyman
Building a Digital Hearth
No Mud, No Lotus
You Can’t Just Switch It Off
Purpose & Play
Creative Courage and Talking Stuffed Animals
Silencing the Discursive Mind
Striking Internet Gold
Givers Are Getters
Hosting a Rave for the Intellect
The Hunt for Big Ideas
Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal
Not investment advice. Read important disclosures.