Jarryd Goundrey

FROM SERVICE TO STAND-UP

TELL US ABOUT YOUR MILITARY BACKGROUND:

I enlisted in 2006 when I was 18 and living in Perth, but I kind of joined by coincidence.  

I was meeting my Mum for lunch in the city, and I was standing about 50m from the ADF recruitment center when she phoned to say she was running an hour late. Out of curiosity, I went inside recruitment and picked up a pamphlet. About 20 seconds after I picked up the pamphlet, I was roped into watching a promotional video about the ADF. The serving member who showed me the video said that I would be a great fit for the ADF, and I thought “WOW, this guy really believes in me!”, so I started the process to enlist. I was working at McDonald’s at the time and had no idea what I was doing with my life... Within 3 months, I was off to Kapooka!  

I rocked up to my enlistment day with a peroxide blonde mullet and I was extra laid back. I remember getting off the plane at Melbourne airport on my way to Kapooka, and there was a SGT waiting for me, so I strolled over, grabbed his hand and shook it. I followed up with “G’day mate, it’s lovely to meet you” and he replied with no emotion whatsoever; “I’m not your mate” - it’s hilarious to think that this was my first interaction with my new life in the Army. After initial training, I spent the majority of my six year career in Mortars at 2nd Battalion in Townsville. I deployed to East Timor in 2007, and I transitioned from the ADF in 2012 as a Lance Corporal. 

I honestly saw my ADF career as an adventure. I thought that everyone getting yelled at during Kapooka was the funniest thing in the world, and I was the morale guy. I got caught impersonating a Recruit Instructor who was standing right behind me, so I spent a bit of time on the ‘admin line’ for that, but it was totally worth every minute.  

My grandfather also served in Gallipoli. He is one of the Diggers from the 11th Battalion in the famous photo sitting on the pyramid in Giza, Egypt.     

WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE MILITARY THAT YOU STILL USE REGULARLY?

The best skill I learned is to have a base level of how much life can suck, and to be ok with it. After leaving defence, I was stuck in Melbourne during Covid with no life savings. I didn’t have enough money to live anywhere or travel around, but I was happy to go back to living like a ‘grunt’ in a swag. I knew I had to make some pretty crazy sacrifices to gain some momentum as an entertainer, and it worked. I sold everything I had to save $20,000 for my first tour - it was the best thing I ever did.  

And, I am terrified of timings! If my friend says they’re having a BBQ at 1300hrs, I’m rocking up 15 minutes beforehand at 1245hrs ready to party, with food in hand, but no one is ever ready - I can’t understand that nothing bad happens if things don’t run on time. Civilians just don’t care enough about it... 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM THE MILITARY?

I miss blowing things up so much - I loved the thrill of actually firing live ammunition... They need to make a veterans retreat where we can just throw grenades. 

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDIAN?

Rowan Atkinson - Mr Bean was the number 1 comedy show in 80 countries, because there were no language barriers. To be knighted for doing something funny, that is the ultimate life. He had really good career prospects before creating Mr Bean, however he decided to follow his dream, which made him highly successful, and I respect that level of bravery.  

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN?

I like making people happy. I get 200 messages every day on my social media with lots of messages about mental illness and helping people to feel better, which is a really positive bi-product of providing something to the ‘happiness economy’. Being a Comedian is a terrible job on paper and a wild ride, but it’s enjoyable when you think of a funny scenario and turn it into something that people thoroughly enjoy.  

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF BEING A COMEDIAN?

If you want to do any comedy festivals, you have to pay your own way. You pay to enter the program, hire the venue, travel and promote ticket sales. I spent $12,000 on Facebook Ads last year to promote my shows... 

Growing as a Comedian from the bottom up has been part of the fun, and it needs to be hard to get started and gain momentum. Comedy is also full of renegades, and you really can’t fake being funny – it requires a lot of stomach. There is a lot of failure and rejection, and it can destroy people. I was lucky that I was ok with failing and learning from it, so it’s helped me to keep going. Not having a boss with a career pathway is also challenging, regardless of what industry you are in.  

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE GIG?

The first time I performed at a really big Comedy Club, there were 160 people in the venue, including my Mum! I noticed before the show that my Mum crying in the audience and I instantly thought “oh no... I’ve upset my Mum”... I asked her why she was crying and she was astounded that all of those people were there to see me - she was crying with pride. Then she was telling everyone around her that she was my Mum and she was getting photos with them all! 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR JARRYD?

I have 90,000 followers across my social media platforms, so I am touring New Zealand for comedy later this year with some tickets already sold – that's pretty cool! I am also working on a trip to the Edinburgh Festival next year, which is a really exciting adventure!   

Check out Jarryd's social media for tour dates and updates:

Instagram: @jarrydgoundrey

TikTok: @jarryd_goundrey 

Facebook: JarrydGoundreyComedian

The Top Ender team wishes to sincerely thank Jarryd for his time to chat with us during his busy show schedule! 

Interviewed by Deb Herring

Committee Member

The Top Ender Magazine