Brooks Wheelan has seen his share of spiders. That’s not his job, but it’s one of his calling cards. He’s also run literal circles around the Los Angeles comedy scene. Running is not his job, either. I mean, it kind of was, but not anymore.
He’s a comedian. And since he was born in Cedar Rapids, grew up in Manchester and is an alum of the University of Iowa, he’s our comedian.
Wheelan has filmed comedy specials in Alaska and been a cast member on SNL. He performs for packed houses and is still part of a monthly residency at the NYC Beacon Theatre with Seth Meyers and John Oliver that has lasted for three years. Little Village reached out to Wheelan to get his take on shoe deals, wrestling shame and the perils of being in Spider League.
How are the shows with Seth Meyers and John Oliver going?
They’re the best. I lucked into the coolest gig imaginable opening for two friends and comedians that I really look up to. I also will head out on the road to open for each one of them individually, so me and Seth have been road-tripping around America lately. When I was on Saturday Night Live he was my boss, and now he’s just my super great friend. Turns out he’s a great boss to have and it’s rad to just be on the road with a pal.
You cut your teeth doing stand-up in Chicago. There were other comics from Iowa then, right? Kumail Najiani moved there after he went to Grinnell.
Right after I got there, I did an open mic at this place called Kitty Moon, and Kumail went up and I was like, “What?!” The scene was the best. Kyle Kinane had just left, Hannibal Buress was becoming the funniest guy who’s ever been alive. There were so many guys that were perfect to look up to, guys six years older than you. They were doing late night sets, which was so much more attainable than a full hour special. So when I saw them, I thought, “This is possible,” and knew that it would just take a lot of work. It was an encouraging place to be.
Mike Bridenstine, also from Iowa, was part of that scene.
I know him through Mike Holmes, who had a Wednesday night show at the Summit in Iowa City way back. So then when I moved to Los Angeles, Brido and Holmes were the first friends I made, these guys from Muscatine and Waterloo.
Some of the Iowa connections are wild.
They really are! I just met Rob Sand in the basement of the Beacon Theater. He had come to a show and John Oliver actually introduced us, “Brooks, this dude’s running for governor of Iowa,” but he said it all British.
I just had Rob on my podcast. He’s in a toss-up to be the next governor of Iowa. He’s from Decorah, and just a few years older than me, so we have so much in common. And he’s also just a good person, which is pretty unique for a politician.
It’s crazy that he’s not the clear frontrunner.
I know. The Iowa that you and I grew up in, it isn’t like it was. The last time I visited Iowa, it felt like, “When did we become the South?”
There’s a North Texas kinda thing going on right now.
We weren’t a “flags” state when I grew up. You never saw anyone flying a Bill Clinton or George Bush flag. It’s lame.
Speaking of running from home: you had an endorsement with Asics shoes. Are you still doing marathons?
I’m a two-and-done with marathons. I ran one during COVID as a joke, to prove that they weren’t hard and that people make too much out of them. I ended up really hurting my knee, because they are hard.
So the real thing came along after you got hurt?
They reached out to me about training appropriately, running a marathon after 12 weeks of that and then writing about it. I got really fast, it was awesome. And halfway through the second marathon I slammed a Mountain Dew to try to parlay it into a Mountain Dew sponsorship by saying, “Mountain Dew’s good for you, look how fast I am,” and my body immediately stopped working. Right away. Everything just tightened and spasmed. I had to lay on the ground for like a half hour. I ended up running that second marathon slower than the first.
Why did you go with Asics instead of Brooks shoes? Brooks would have been a natural fit.
Hey, Asics reached out. If Brooks had called me first? Sure.
Seems like sports have always been there in some form. You were wrestling in Dubuque in high school. Any Mountain Dew moments back then?
I was a state qualifier, which means I could beat most kids, but not the top dudes. One time I was wrestling against Iowa City West, I was wrestling at 140 pounds, and I was up against a guy I could beat. But the guy who was wrestling at 135 for Iowa City West was this guy Mitch Mueller who ended up being an All-American at Iowa State. He was unstoppable. I was warming up, and my friend was gonna wrestle in that weight class, so I went over to watch Mitch Mueller murder him and then [Mueller] didn’t go out to wrestle. And I realized that he was bumping up to wrestle me. And I just went, “Oh… oh, no.” He was KWWL’s Athlete of the Week, so there was a highlight reel from the match where Mueller was just double-legging me through the bleachers. My brother was my coach and laid into me when it came on the news, “Look at your flat feet! That’s why it’s happening!”
Sounds like it could be both the best and the worst, having your brother for a coach.
No, it was the worst and even more worse.
Can we talk about Spider League?
Yeah, we can talk about Spider League. I mean, Spider League will get mad at me for talking about it, but they don’t own me!
Are you still in last place?
There’s no standings. It’s pretty loose.
Has your most recent suspension been lifted?
I was out for six weeks recently. I was out for a two-week suspension, then I came back a day early because I did the math wrong. Actually, Seth [Meyers] wore spiders at the Met Gala on his suit. He’s taken some of the heat off me. I told him it’s nice to not be the biggest problem in the League anymore.
Wait, so Seth Meyers is in Spider League now?
He’s not! He’s just wearing the spiders. But he didn’t run it by Spider League.
Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin have declared themselves the commissioners of Spider League. Do you think this power dynamic is fair?
I’ll be honest, I’m nervous to talk about Spider League in print. [Laughs] Like, when I talk about it with Seth on TV? We all know him. This could be misinterpreted, and that could lead to another suspension. This is literal bulletin board material for the League, this interview. It could turn into “Brooks won’t stop talking about Spider League.”
Tim and Zach have called Seth Meyers an “enemy of the league,” but you keep doing live shows with him.
You can quote me: As far as Spider League goes, I’m just gonna put my head down and play the game. And… wait, [fellow Leaguer] John Solomon also said that, so I’m totally gonna get in trouble now.
Entry Level with Brooks Wheelan can be heard on Spotify, Apple platforms and wherever fine podcasts are found.
