Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Rafi Bastos helped invent standup in Brazil, going from confused bar crowds and BDSM bathrooms to becoming known as the "Jon Stewart of Brazil" before walking away to start over in English. In this episode he breaks down teaching a whole country what standup is, surviving lawsuits and backlash without losing his voice, and why leaving TV fame for late-night spots in New York made him fall in love with comedy again. We dig into writing every word, making it feel improvised, escaping the immigrant-comic box, and how chasing new languages and new scenes can keep your act alive for decades.
What you’ll learn
- How Rafi accidentally became the face of Brazilian standup while people thought he was doing a "Jewish character"
- The early grind: BDSM bar shows, pre-YouTube viral clips, and Comedy Central CDs as homework
- Why the controversies and lawsuits in Brazil made success stop being fun
- What he felt doing standup in English for the first time and why it brought the excitement back
- LA vs New York for comics and how the Comedy Cellar became his creative home base
- His writing method: scripting every word, memorizing in a second language, then performing like it is all in the moment
- Tiny joke edits that take a bit from "a 4 to a 7" and why comics almost never give each other real notes
- Moving beyond fish-out-of-water immigrant jokes into more personal material about family, tech, and life stages
- Closing advice for international comics who want to try America, plus why he is now chasing a full hour in Spanish
Follow Rafi Bastos
- Watch Rafi Bastos’ special and see current tour dates: rafibastos.com
~~~~~~~~~~
Subscribe for more comedy interviews and tips: youtube.com/c/HotBreathPod?sub_confirmation=1
Join our email list: hotbreathpodcast.com/vip
Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/HotBreathComedyNetwork
Patreon: patreon.com/hotbreathpod
Classes and workshops: hotbreathmedia.com
0:00 – 3:30 Rafi Intro
3:31 – 7:30 Discovering Standup
7:31 – 11:30 Teaching Brazil Standup
11:31 – 15:30 BDSM Bar Beginnings
15:31 – 19:30 Early Influences
19:31 – 24:00 Fame, Backlash, Lawsuits
24:01 – 28:30 Moving to America
28:31 – 32:30 LA Start, New York Choice
32:31 – 36:30 Writing Every Word
36:31 – 40:30 Notes and Camaraderie
40:31 – 44:30 Immigrant Box vs Personal
44:31 – 48:30 Storytellers vs Observational
48:31 – End Challenge to Comics
Subscribe for more tips here: youtube.com/c/HotBreathPod?sub_confirmation=1
Rafi Bastos helped invent standup in Brazil, going from confused bar crowds and BDSM bathrooms to becoming known as the "Jon Stewart of Brazil" before walking away to start over in English. In this episode he breaks down teaching a whole country what standup is, surviving lawsuits and backlash without losing his voice, and why leaving TV fame for late-night spots in New York made him fall in love with comedy again. We dig into writing every word, making it feel improvised, escaping the immigrant-comic box, and how chasing new languages and new scenes can keep your act alive for decades.
What you’ll learn
- How Rafi accidentally became the face of Brazilian standup while people thought he was doing a "Jewish character"
- The early grind: BDSM bar shows, pre-YouTube viral clips, and Comedy Central CDs as homework
- Why the controversies and lawsuits in Brazil made success stop being fun
- What he felt doing standup in English for the first time and why it brought the excitement back
- LA vs New York for comics and how the Comedy Cellar became his creative home base
- His writing method: scripting every word, memorizing in a second language, then performing like it is all in the moment
- Tiny joke edits that take a bit from "a 4 to a 7" and why comics almost never give each other real notes
- Moving beyond fish-out-of-water immigrant jokes into more personal material about family, tech, and life stages
- Closing advice for international comics who want to try America, plus why he is now chasing a full hour in Spanish
Follow Rafi Bastos
- Watch Rafi Bastos’ special and see current tour dates: rafibastos.com
~~~~~~~~~~
Subscribe for more comedy interviews and tips: youtube.com/c/HotBreathPod?sub_confirmation=1
Join our email list: hotbreathpodcast.com/vip
Join our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/HotBreathComedyNetwork
Patreon: patreon.com/hotbreathpod
Classes and workshops: hotbreathmedia.com
0:00 – 3:30 Rafi Intro
3:31 – 7:30 Discovering Standup
7:31 – 11:30 Teaching Brazil Standup
11:31 – 15:30 BDSM Bar Beginnings
15:31 – 19:30 Early Influences
19:31 – 24:00 Fame, Backlash, Lawsuits
24:01 – 28:30 Moving to America
28:31 – 32:30 LA Start, New York Choice
32:31 – 36:30 Writing Every Word
36:31 – 40:30 Notes and Camaraderie
40:31 – 44:30 Immigrant Box vs Personal
44:31 – 48:30 Storytellers vs Observational
48:31 – End Challenge to Comics
