Celebrity
Comedian and TikTok Star
Matt Rife's
Road To Success
By TREVA BOWDOIN
The following story contains a brief mention of suicide.
Content Warning
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
Comedian Matt Rife, according to his Instagram fans, is a combination of "Oppenheimer" star Cillian Murphy and Handsome Squidward from "SpongeBob SquarePants."
He knows his appearance is part of his appeal, but before his big glow-up, Rife was just a kid from a small town in the Buckeye State with few creative outlets.
Childhood
While North Lewisburg, Ohio, was a carefree place to grow up, it was not without tragedy. Rife was just a year old when his dad committed suicide.
His mom remarried a man with three daughters, and he and his stepdad were not close. However, he adored his wickedly funny grandfather, whom he credits for his sense of humor.
Influences
Rife was a born entertainer, and he told KCAL News his classmates voted him "class clown, most likely to join the circus, and most likely to go to jail."
His interest in stand up began when he started watching TV’s "Comedy Central Presents,” but it wasn’t until his mom took him to see Dane Cook that he knew he wanted to be a comic.
STAND-UP
His first stand-up gig was in his seventh-grade talent show, and by age 15, he was performing at open mic nights.
From there, he opened for D.L. Hughley, and a Twitter exchange with Hughley led to a recurring gig at an Atlanta comedy club before he’d even finished high school.
Ralphie May
May offered Rife a guest spot after the young comedian messaged him on Twitter but later backed out, thinking Rife was too green. "I was f***ing devastated," Rife said.
A year later, May gave Rife another shot but advised Rife not to rush into moving to Los Angeles. Rife did it, anyway, and May later invited him to join one of his tours.
HIS BIG BREAK
It’s a good thing he ignored May’s advice as it only took six months to get his big break becoming the youngest member of the MTV sketch comedy show "Wild 'N Out."