Steven Ho: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian
Tell jokes that are personal to you. If you can tell a great joke that makes people laugh and no one else can repeat it because it is so specific to you and you only, then that’s a great joke.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Steven Ho. What began as a job in the ER for Steven Ho has evolved into a full-time role as a comedian, sharing honest, gritty, funny and over-the-top realities of the ER with fans all over the world. Known online as Steveioe, Steven Ho is a first-generation Vietnamese-American who started sharing comedic yet brutally honest ER skits online, eventually becoming known as “that ER guy” and launching his own brand tied to that sentiment — MuFKR. Now, with over 13 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, Steven creates funny, real, and informative (with a hint of profanity) content related to the ER, providing transparency and comedic relief around a place people often dread. Everything he shares with his audience is through the lens of honest ER experiences, letting them in on the joke no matter how ridiculous, traumatic, or silly.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a townhouse, barely an apartment, that held eight people. Me and my three siblings, grandparents, and parents. I grew up as the only boy among three sisters which wasn’t the easiest and to be honest, I was quite the troublesome kid. My parents immigrated here from Vietnam and they tried out a few different ventures to make money in the states. I spent a lot of time hanging out as a kid where they worked which included a clothing store and Vietnamese pho restaurant in San Jose.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path as a comedian?
In 2014, I was working as an ER Tech and deciding what the next step in my medical career would be. I decided to take some theater classes at a community college while deciding. In my first show, I was a “carry potato sacks across stage” guy. I thought I was signing up for some stage time and little acting, but what I gained was an entire community full of culture, traditions, and procedures. The feeling of being on stage? There was nothing else like it for me. That was the turning point when I knew being on stage or in entertainment was where I belonged.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It would be hard to ignore social media as the most interesting and surprising thing that has happened to me. I had a lot of pent-up frustration from the ER, combined with lack of a consistent creative outlet. When I started TikTok, my first video was about the importance of hydration and how many times people can avoid the ER by just drinking more water. After I realized the virality and impact of my videos, I started to dig in deeper and talk about things like COVID, hospital wait times and urine samples. I had no idea how interesting tips and stories from the ER would be to the world.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My youngest sister quit her job in tech to help manage my now crazy life. She saw what was happening to me on social media and said “Steven, you are now a product. Let me market you.” Thanks to her taking over a lot of my social media tasks, I was able to focus more energy into stand-up comedy.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I have failed, been rejected, and been ridiculed on and on again for choosing this career path. It’s taken a big toll on my mental health, but it ebbs and flows. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. Failure is something that will always happen. My advice would just be do not give a f*ck about what other people think about you. The sooner you figure out what you like, the sooner you get to live the life you’re supposed to live. Nothing else matters.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I have a video I’m working on that is a little different from my normal content. It’s bigger budget, higher quality and involves a whole production crew. It’s pushing me out of my comfort zone since most videos I create are filmed and edited by me in my apartment. I’m super excited to see how that turns out. I’m also working on launching a hospital grip sock line called Dr. Socko. My goal is to create colorful and unique hospital socks to cheer people up in the hospital! I know being in there isn’t very fun, so I wanted to do something different vs the standard flowers and teddy bears that people usually give. I am very interested in seeing where else I can take my journey beyond social media. I would love to get back into acting if the right opportunity comes up. If any production company wants to pick up my ER skits for a TV show, I am all ears!
What do you do to get material to write your jokes? What is that creative process like?
I have so many stories from my actual experience. I’ve provided care to a man who lost a cucumber up his rectum because he “fell on it,” diffused the temper of a woman who couldn’t understand why her stubbed toe was any less urgent than a man with a potential heart attack, and demystified a patient’s concerns surrounding COVID. “No sir, you cannot catch COVID from your camera because it was ‘Made in China’.” I also read a lot of the comments on my videos about patient stories which trigger personal interactions I’ve since forgotten about or help me come up with new stories to talk about. I have a backlog of ideas and stories that seem to be endless.
Super. Here is our main question. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Professional Comedian” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Tell jokes that are personal to you. If you can tell a great joke that makes people laugh and no one else can repeat it because it is so specific to you and you only, then that’s a great joke.
- You can steal a joke and not even know it. I love watching comedians and I do it as much as possible, but I accidentally stole a joke from someone I was watching the day before. It happened when I was riffing with the crowd. I didn’t even notice myself doing it in the moment. It wasn’t until after I said it that I went, “Oh wait, I heard this yesterday from someone else. Whoops.”
- Don’t be afraid to call out awkward moments. I was on stage once and totally blanked. The silence was deafening and the tension got a little thick. So I just said out loud exactly what was happening. “I totally forgot what I was supposed to say.” It usually gets a good laugh and relaxes everyone.
- Getting people to come watch you is HARD. It is not easy to get people to buy tickets to a comedy show so whenever you can get in front of an audience, TAKE IT. Performing in front of an audience and performing in front of a bunch of comedians is very different. I once drove 35 min to a comedy show where no tickets were sold but all the comedians showed up. It was pretty sad.
- Dick jokes are great to start with but challenge yourself to go beyond that. I told a lot of dick jokes when I started because it’s an easy way to get laughs. But I think the audience wants to learn something personal about you. The more personal the joke the better.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” It’s been a relevant quote to me ever since I decided to pursue a career in comedy and social media. I still struggle with it sometimes because it’s hard for me to look at some people and not think, “Oh they’re doing so much better than me. I should do exactly what they’re doing to be successful too.” But then I think back to when I started the “Tips from the ER” series and I remember how different my content was from everyone else. I was educationally cursing at people and if I listened to those who told me to stop because it was rude and would never work, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So be yourself and create what you enjoy.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I’d love to give back to the healthcare community. I have an audience that is so interested in hearing tips from the emergency room, but I also know that the healthcare community is constantly struggling physically and mentally. Overwhelming workloads and the stress of providing care, especially during the pandemic have been extremely tough. I hear of people leaving all the time because additional resources and support are not being given. One of the best feedback I get from my videos are from nurses who share that seeing my videos is the first realistic portrayal of what it’s actually like in the ER.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Ali Wong. She’s such a badass and I love everything about her. She’s definitely someone I look up to.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Definitely. I’m on TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook. You can search for me @steveioe or find all the links here https://linktr.ee/steveioe
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
