SCOUT COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT - Meet Mitchell Coombs

In this month’s community highlight, we met with Mitchell Coombs who is one of our regular Pilates student here at Scout. He might sound familiar to you as he’s also a comedian and podcast host who made his debuts on social media with his “Bogan Gate Tour” video which went viral! Keep on reading to discover more about him.

Hi Mitch, can you share a little bit of your background and what brought you to becoming a comedian?

In 2015 I posted my first ever YouTube video called “Bogan Gate Tour” which was me giving a tour of my tiny hometown in regional NSW. For some reason that “Bogan Gate Video” went viral - I guess there was something comical about a camp kid living in the middle of nowhere. So I kept making videos which opened a lot of doors for me… Now here we are! I used to daydream about doing my own stand-up shows as a kid. But I’ve always been pretty shy and I hate public speaking, so I thought it’d never happen. Then my management kinda pushed me into it, which I’m glad they did, because I’m loving it!

Can you tell us more about your job looks like as a comedian, and what a typical day in your life looks like?

I used to work as a producer at KIIS-FM, then in my spare time I’d create stuff for my own social media… Then that took off, so I’m doing my own thing full-time now! Aside from stand-up, I host a Podcast called ‘Is It Just Me?’ and I also post silly little videos on TikTok/Instagram… And other bits and pieces along the way, every day is a bit different.

What do you most love about comedy?

The best part is connecting with the audience - whether it be in the flesh, chatting to the gorgeous people that came along to one of my shows, or connecting online. It’s so fun finding likeminded people with the same sense of humour as me!

Where do you mainly get your inspiration from?

Being around other people… Which, as an introvert who works from home, means I have to force myself to get out and about! You’d be glad to know I haven’t gotten any material from Pilates class - you’re all safe… For now.

What advice would you give to someone who has a hidden acting talent and is dying to get started sharing with the world but might get a lot of self-doubt?

I still struggle with self-doubt, but I just do it anyway. Which is easier said than done, I know, but I’ve learnt that you can’t be too much of a perfectionist and become comfy with trial-and-error. Every comedy show I do is different from the last because I’m constantly chopping and changing things, learning and improving… But once you start, that’s the hardest part done!

When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your free time?

Pilates, obviously! I can’t stand going to the gym, so I started trying different classes. I did pole dancing for a while which was a hoot. Then in 2019 I decided to try Pilates and fell in love with it. Of course, in 2020-2021 a certain something came along which shut down the studio I was going to… I moved to Erskineville a few months ago and discovered Scout studios so I decided to get back into it. I’m a bit out of practice, but getting better! What other exercise is there where you get to lay down in the air con & don’t have to wear running shoes? Heaven.

Finally, where can we find you?

My Podcast is called ‘Is It Just Me?’ - search it on Spotify, Apple, whatever podcast app you like really!

And I’m doing my Sydney shows mid-May at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville (walking distance from the new Scout studio, I suspect!) tickets at moretalent.com.au/mitchellcoombs.