Nurse Blake’s life changed as a frontline worker in Houston. Now a viral comedy sensation, the former trauma center nurse is returning to a city that helped start him down the road to comedy with the Shock Advised Tour making a stop at the Smart Financial Centre on Saturday, November 18.
“I remember 2017, I was driving home from work while I worked in Houston, and I had my very first panic attack I’ve ever had in my whole life,” Blake Lynch recalls. “I have been a nurse for nine years now, I graduated in 2014. I was working mostly in trauma centers. [That night], I was tired, I was burnt out, and I just needed an outlet to share my story and have fun. So I came out with my very first video. It was simple and I put it online for my friends and family. That quickly went viral. I quickly realized that nurses and nursing students all over the world kinda connect on the same level and laugh at the same shit.”
“It was like, oh,” he continues. “So I just kept making more videos and more videos, then I realized that nurses don’t just want to connect online. They want to meet and hang out in person. So I started doing little live events, then started doing my own shows – small little ones in 2019. I would rent theaters or go to nursing schools or college campuses. And those sold out. So I did more. This year, I have 104 [shows] that I am doing.”
The conversion process from craft material for online consumption to designing a show meant to be heard in a live performance hall alongside hundreds of other fans was a learning process, Lynch explains. “My stories I tell online, I do write them for the stage. But its all new content that you typically haven’t seen online for me. It’s a little more edgy. When I do videos online, that goes out to the general public. So that’s a wide variety of people who look at your stuff, and judge your stuff based on different aspects.
‘Since it’s online, it’s a little more family friendly. My show in person is a little more raw, edgy. It is called the Shock Advised Tour, because a lot of people leave the show shocked at some of things I say. So it is 18 and up. It is fun to, you know, share my story in different ways and have it translated from online to in person.”
“My shows are so loud and so wild, there are nurses of all different ages and backgrounds. It’s so cool to see the diversity in the crowd and also how we all related to one another. It’s really unique, especially in the comedy world. We have people come in groups of 30, people will come in party buses and the whole nursing unit will be there. So it is so cool to see nurses get together outside of work to have fun.”
But never fear never-nurses, you are welcome at the event too. “100 percent you do not have to be in profession to get the show,” Lynch assures, adding: “In fact, sometimes I prefer it because then I can make fun of you the whole night.”
Obviously, the life of a nurse was never more front of mind then during the time of Coronavirus. “Being a nurse is stressful and challenging, especially with the staffing issues that nurses have faced, even before the pandemic,” Lynch says. “And it was very hard to find humor at the start of COVID. I really had to step back. I was not inspired to make content. I was just worried for my friends, my family, nurses and patients.
“I took a break from content for a while. Then I kinda got into a groove, because we need this. Nurses need this. Nurses need this now more than ever. So I challenged myself to kind of find the funny and humor in the darkness. I definitely learned a lot. Even now, going through the tour, being able to find humor in dark things and dark topics. But as nurses I think we often use dark humor and inappropriate humor to get through our wild 12 and 13 hour shifts that we face.”
“Unfortunately,” Lynch continues, on a serious note, “a lot of the problems in health care that were highlighted during the pandemic never got better. So now we are seeing nurses across the country strike in historic numbers, and it’s really inspiring to see. Nurses are now sticking up for each other more than ever. We are now being the face of change when we can’t count of hospital administrators or legislators to advocate for us, or our patients. Its really cool to see nurses come together on this aspect.“
Never content to merely conquer one medium, Lynch has also branched into perhaps less expect: the world of children’s publishing. “What’s so cool about my fans, my followers,” he says. “The adults can come to my comedy show, but also buy my children’s book so they can take it back home and read it to their kids. So now their kids can related and have an understanding of their jobs. It’s so cool to be a piece of that relationship, because it’s very hard for nurses to explain what they do. So I am able to show that through the book also using humor and educating kids on important safety tips.”
“My first book that came out I Want To Be A Nurse When I Grow Up, talks about what to do if you see someone injured. My second book that just came out on Amazon, Santa Sent To The ER, so we educate kids on food allergies and allergy awareness. So while it is funny and cute, it is important to have that safety stuff in there for kids. I love signing those books, seeing parents get it for their kids. It’s really special to see.”
Finally, after working hard on their burgeoning media empire, Lynch enjoys the chance to relax. But unlike so many of us, even their vacation is a chance to give back. “The last project [I’d like to mention] is Nurse Con at Sea,” he says as we wind up our phone chat. “In nursing school, I realized a lot of nurses just aren’t supported by different agencies and I knew I wanted to shake up the conference space for nurses.
“So now I do nursing conferences on cruise ships! We do parties and drag shows, but more importantly professional education and development for nurses. It will take place in April 2024, and we’ll have over 3,000 nurses. Even in my humor, I am a nurse but also a human. So where do those two mix? I have been able to find that balance and help others find that balance too.”
Nurse Blake’s performance is schedule for 8 p.m. on November 18 at the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. For information, call 800-745-3000 or visit smartfinancialcentre.net. $50-104
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
