“I know I can’t be the only person in this room striving for something that seems impossible.”

In front of a packed house at the Comedy Zone in Charlotte, comedian Matt Rife will make Netflix history by recording the platform’s first comedy special that puts audience work at the heart of the show. Unlike most comedy specials, which require comedians to prepare their material and tour before filming, Rife will improvise everything.

That is, his special, that is Clear and premieres on Netflix on August 13, actually has a theme: It’s about dreams and doing the impossible, and Rife seems to have a knack for that.

After all, not only is he one of the few artists to crash Ticketmaster’s servers after selling 600,000 tickets in 48 hours, but he is also the youngest person to sell out the 17,016 seats at the Hollywood Bowl, surpassing legends like Adele, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

“I’m from the middle of nowhere, from Ohio. I shouldn’t be in the position I’m in,” Rife told me. “It’s like all the odds are against me, and somehow I’m lucky to be in this position.”

I had the chance to speak with Matt Rife about how he got started, building a social media following of millions, his upcoming crowdwork special, and why he might soon become a household name, if he isn’t already.

Rife’s “overnight success” required a decade of preparation

Rife’s career as a comedian began at 15, when he got guest roles in the sketch and improvisation show Wild and out and appeared in 16 episodes.

“I have Wild and out and that was a phenomenal launching pad for my career. But it’s not what I wanted to do forever, so I left the show.”

The finances were anything but exhilarating: around a thousand dollars per episode before taxes and fees, which made it difficult to maintain a career.

After his work as Wild and outRife continued booking television appearances and opening for comedians to build a name for himself as a headliner, earning a few hundred dollars a show and paying for his own flights while sensing he was capable of much more.

“Nobody wants to pay attention to me. How am I supposed to get in front of people if nobody wants to give me a chance? I’m not asking you to do anything drastic, just give you the opportunity to get in front of people.”

This frustration reached a turning point when a friend suggested he take matters into his own hands.

“My friend said, ‘Why don’t you just do it yourself? You sit here and complain that nobody gives you a chance. Why don’t you create a chance for yourself, man? You’ve got a small following and comedians are starting to put their stuff on YouTube. Why don’t you just do it?'”

Going his own way: Rife finances first special via crowdfunding

“Why don’t you create a chance for yourself, man?” was the advice that led to his first YouTube special. Only fansThe name was a playful response to his fans’ frequent questions about whether he had an OnlyFans page.

“People kept asking if I had an OnlyFans page and I kept getting tweets asking about it. That was when the adult platform was exploding and I thought if I did the special Only fansit would be a Google number one”.

The special offer was funded through a GoFundMe campaign and raised nearly $30,000 – exceeding his expectations.

“I think $15,000 or $20,000 was what I was really praying for, and for some reason people were so supportive. They really believed in me and wanted this product.”

Although only 40 people were present at the recording, Only fans has now 13 million views on YouTube. His second YouTube special, Matthew Steven Rifehas 21 million views, while his third, Wandering red flaghas 13 million.

“If you want to do something, you have to do it alone,” Rife said in the opening of his YouTube special. And it turns out Rife was right. In January 2023, he began touring comedy clubs and his shows were always sold out.

“We spent all weekends in clubs and to me it was like you guys had made it. Now you just have to find a way to keep it going. If you could just keep it going, you’d be happy.”

But it didn’t stop there. In June 2023, Rife launched his ProbleMATTic Tour with over 100 dates in North America, Europe and Australia. When he announced it, 260 dates sold out within 48 hours and more shows have been added since then. Demand for the tour was so high that it was one of the few tours, along with Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, to crash Ticketmaster’s website.

“I remember lying in bed when tickets went on sale and my phone rang with a message from my agent saying, ‘Sold out! Sold out!’ I was like, ‘Didn’t they just go on sale five minutes ago?’ It blew my mind.”

Breaking Through on Netflix

On November 15, 2023, Rife released his first Netflix special, Natural selectionwhich garnered 10 million views in its first two weeks.

Natural selection is Rife’s first comedy special on Netflix after gaining millions of followers with his self-funded specials, tours, and videos posted on social media.

The special sparked controversy with a joke about domestic violence, but Rife stayed true to his material.

“I have a very dark sense of humor that is not for everyone. But millions of people love this special, including the tens of thousands of people I showed this set to in preparation for this special,” he said. “It helped me find an audience that will stick with me over a longer period of time.”

The numbers speak for themselves: Rife’s Natural selection was viewed for over 13.5 million hours and became one of Netflix’s top specials last year, but Rife admitted that he wished he had been able to involve viewers in the filming process.

“The only thing I regret about my last special is that I didn’t do any audience work. And that was intentional. I didn’t want to do any of that because audience work is what I’ve become known for, which is fantastic, but it can also pigeonhole you.”

When Netflix contacted him about more specials, Rife suggested a crowd-work special, something that had never been done before on the platform.

“The concept made them a little nervous, but they were excited to try something new.”

For Rife, working with audiences was a win-win. It’s part of his specialty, but it also meant fans wouldn’t see any of what they’d seen online.

“What I love about working with the audience is that nothing is too much trouble and every show offers something new. I find that exciting. And I’m very proud of that because so many comedians don’t change their set at all.”

For Rife, working with the crowd is a way to build a deeper connection with his audience, exploring their lives and stories in real time.

“I really enjoyed these crowdwork moments and getting to know people because you learn a lot about humanity. You learn about their past and where they come from.”

In his upcoming special Clearwhich premieres on Tuesday, August 13, Rife explores people’s dreams, from their longings and nightmares to young comedians who aspire to follow in Rife’s footsteps.

“Here was this 22-year-old guy who wanted to do comedy, and it wasn’t a funny interaction, but it felt so good. It was a nice feeling to inspire someone. It was a nice feeling to give them honest advice and tell them that it’s going to suck for a very long time. That you have to love that.”

It’s clear that Rife is not only entertaining the next generation, but inspiring them with the work he put in to get here.

“You have to enjoy working your ass off, not making any money, failing for years, traveling alone and taking Greyhound buses to shows. You have to enjoy the process. You have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations.”

With upcoming projects at Netflix, his acting credits (including That ’90s Show), his upcoming book, and many more in the pipeline, it should come as no surprise that Rife continues to push boundaries.

“My passion is film and television, acting and development, and that’s what I want to do with my career. There might be a day when I only work in films and don’t have time for stand-up comedy, or at least not be able to tour as much as I do now. Touring has been my life for 13 years, and that’s all I’ve ever done. But it might not always be that way.”

Who knows where Rife’s career will take him in 13 years. But for now, it is clear that the word “impossible” is not in Rife’s vocabulary. Thanks to his latest specialty Clear, He no longer just pursues his dreams, he now lives them – and inspires millions in the process.