Justin Hicks: Driven to His Goals

We at Com­e­dy Wham find unend­ing delight in hear­ing how some­one per­son­i­fies their rela­tion­ship to com­e­dy. This week’s Austin come­di­an, Justin Hicks, knew from a young age that per­for­mance was an itch he hoped to scratch. But, it wasn’t always clear what direc­tion it would take him. When he real­ized he had ​“some­thing he want­ed to talk about” – some­thing so sim­ple, yet so per­son­al and full of con­vic­tion– things took a turn, and that alone should be an inspi­ra­tion to all aspir­ing comics. 

Raised in a small town in Con­necti­cut, Hicks focused ear­ly on in sports at school while absorb­ing com­e­dy cul­ture with his fam­i­ly through shows like SNL, MadTV, and In Liv­ing Col­or.

Lis­ten­ing to the sooth­ing tones of his laid back voice, it’s hard to believe that a young Hicks was also the fre­net­ic, ram­bunc­tious class clown. Shades of the future, indeed. 

After grad­u­at­ing from uni­ver­si­ty with a Sports Man­age­ment degree, Hicks took the oppor­tu­ni­ty to bolt down (lit­er­al­ly pick­ing up and mov­ing over a week­end) to Texas for a role with the Austin Toros (now the Spurs). Lis­ten­ers will be famil­iar with how the sto­ry goes from here: after an intro­duc­tion to the Austin open-mic scene, it wasn’t long before Hicks found he had a tale of his own to tell. 

In 2015, he turned that moti­va­tion into a delib­er­ate process of find­ing his voice and style: crest­ing peaks and val­leys, bomb­ing and learn­ing. It’s a jour­ney in progress, he’ll read­i­ly prof­fer, but it seems to be working. 

Hicks is a vet­er­an of the renowned Bridgetown Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val, and per­formed at the recent Out of Bounds Com­e­dy Fes­ti­val 2017 and Fun­ni­est Per­son in Austin. He makes an effort get to out of town shows and fes­ti­vals when­ev­er pos­si­ble, and is a reg­u­lar at shows and open mics around Austin.

Catch Justin Hicks Octo­ber 5^th in a night of dou­ble shows:

• Alamo Laugh House, at Alamo Draft­house Village
• Spite Club, the roast-bat­tle style com­e­dy-show-for-comics, with Com­e­dy Wham friend Devon Walk­er, at The Velvee­ta Room

He’s also a co-host with alums Michael Good and Dan­ny Good­win of Sor­ry Closed for Com­e­dy, the 3^rd Fri­day of every month, at Shed Bar­ber Shop. Be sure to fol­low him and keep an eye on his Twit­ter and Face­book for upcom­ing shows.