# Episode 72 - GenX Speaks Series: Dan Regan - Dan Regan Comedy

- Podcast: GenX Adulting Podcast
- Published: 2026-07-19T23:00:00.000Z
- Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2398379/episodes/19516597-episode-72-genx-speaks-series-dan-regan-dan-regan-comedy.mp3
- Page: https://genxadultingpodcast.com/transcripts/podcasts/genx-adulting-podcast/episodes/episode-72
- Source: https://genxadultingpodcast.com/episodes/genxadultingpodcastepisode72.html
- People: Dan Regan (guest), Brian Barker (host), Nicole Barker (host)
- Topics: GenX Speaks

## Summary

In Episode 72 of the GenX Adulting Podcast, Dan Regan, known as Dan Regan Comedy, shares his experiences growing up in New Jersey, his journey into comedy, and his struggles with mental health, particularly panic disorder. The conversation explores the impact of generational expectations on emotional expression and the importance of open communication in relationships.

## Key takeaways

- Dan Regan was born in 1971 in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in Hamilton.
- He experienced a quintessential Gen X childhood, including unique hairstyles like the 'Hamilton cut' and a love for heavy metal music.
- Regan's first experience with comedy was at age 10 when he performed stand-up at a family event, mimicking Joan Rivers.
- He faced challenges with panic disorder, which he was diagnosed with in the mid-90s, and learned techniques to manage it.
- Regan emphasizes the importance of acknowledging feelings in relationships, stating that invalidating someone's feelings can be harmful.
- He met his wife online and credits her with helping him grow emotionally and navigate his mental health challenges.
- Regan uses his platform to discuss mental health, aiming to help others while also making them laugh.

## FAQ

### What year was Dan Regan born?

Dan Regan was born in 1971.

### What is Dan Regan's approach to managing panic disorder?

Dan Regan manages his panic disorder by acknowledging it when it arises, using techniques like writing down his feelings and embracing the panic instead of resisting it.

### How did Dan Regan get into comedy?

Dan Regan's first experience with comedy was at age 10 when he performed stand-up at a family event, which sparked his love for making people laugh.

### What does Dan Regan say about emotional expression in men?

Dan Regan believes that men should feel free to express their emotions and that it's important to validate others' feelings in relationships.

### How did Dan Regan meet his wife?

Dan Regan met his wife online after going through his second divorce, and they quickly formed a strong connection.


## Referenced links

- [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6YnwflA3dM)
- [Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-72-genx-speaks-series-dan-regan-dan-regan-comedy/id1764838823?i=1000777477804)
- [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3LAQu10f9y3B5WWDT3Jlz7)
- [Listen on Buzzsprout](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2398379/episodes/19516597-episode-72-genx-speaks-series-dan-regan-dan-regan-comedy)

## Transcript

GenX Adulting Podcast: Welcome to GenX Adulting. And today we have Dan Regan, also known as Dan Regan Comedy on social media. Welcome, Dan.
Dan Regan: Thank you for having me. How are you guys?
GenX Adulting Podcast: we're thrilled to have you here. our first question is always what year were you born?
Dan Regan: I was born in nineteen seventy one.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So were we. There you go. That's a great year. You know what I think about those of us that were born in 70, 71, 72? I think we are the quintessential Gen Xers that really experienced the Gen X childhood. Like we are right in the middle. We're not Jen Jones near that end. And we're not the Xennial. We're like, I think we're the heart of it. Maybe seventy three. I don't know. I just I feel like we experience the whole thing.
Dan Regan: We w we're the cream in the Oreo Gen X cookie. Exactly.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's funny. I love that. Exactly. Exactly. Now, where were you born?
Dan Regan: I was born in Trenton, New Jersey in nineteen seventy one.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. And where did you grow up?
Dan Regan: I grew up in Hamilton, which is central Jersey, and yes, Central Jersey does exist to all the haters out there. it does exist and ha and it's funny because growing up I did I have pictures that I've posted before of me with a mullet. And back then the word mullet didn't exist, at least not to us. So we called it the Hamilton the Hamilton cut is what we called it. and then the mullet came along, that became universal.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's funny. So di were all your peers, did you all have the mullet, all the guys?
Dan Regan: for the most part, yeah, f for the most part the thing was I I started growing up, I did a lot of sports, so I was friends with a lot of jocks. But my neighborhood friends who I, you know, went you know, walked to the bus stop with and hung out with on the weekends, they became what you would call burnouts, the heavy metal guys, the rock guys. So of course they all had the long hair, the metal, and that's where I got my love for heavy metal early on. hang around with those guys. So yeah, so the guys I I my close friends had had the long hair.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. But like the jocks were more like mullet or h the Hamilton cut?
Dan Regan: Yeah, not even mullets. They we they called it, you know, the feathered look where they they just like feathered their hair. They had like the kind of like the preppy it was like more of like a prep kind of look, like the short hair. and I didn't cut my hair I mean I would cut my hair once in a while 'cause I had to because my grandparents made me, but I didn't chop my hair off I didn't chop the mullet off until my senior year in high school because I was I I I went out and I did the high school play and It was South Pacific, which is all about Navy in the nineteen forties and they say you gotta cut your hair. It's like, all right, so I finally cut my hair after like probably ten years of growing and bone.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Man, that's dedication to your craft right there from an early age that you were willing to cut your hair for the high school play. That's pretty impressive. You know, so back then though in Jersey, did you have like black leather jacket? Was that kind of the style? Yeah.
Dan Regan: Yes. I had the black leather jacket, the acid wash jeans that were way too tight and maybe it's a reason why I I don't have kids to this day. because those things were those things were tight everywhere. yeah, so we did the leather jacket, the you know, the acid wash jeans, the high top sneaks with the tongues out, untied, all that stuff. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I Yeah, yeah. Okay. But let me ask you this. D I don't think you you guys had tight pants, but not like us. We would have to lay down on our bed and get pliers to zip up the zipper. That's how tight our pants were. And then have our friends hold our hands and heave us back off the bed. And then you didn't sit. Like anywhere you went, you were standing, any party, anything. So I don't know if you guys had to like lay on a bed to get your pants on. I don't know.
Dan Regan: No, we we didn't have to do that. I don't know if you're a Seinfeld fan, I'm a huge Seinfeld fan. And there's an episode where Kramer where puts on these old jeans that he hasn't worn in years and they reminded me what you said, he fell over, he was he couldn't bend his legs, he couldn't sit. So that kinda gave me the visual of what you were saying.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes. That's that's what it was. And we did that barely breathed. I think we would be lightheaded through most of the party and then throw in alcohol. It was like a whole experience. But okay, so with Hamilton, how far back do the generations go? Like from your family, was it your great grandparents that ended up there? Like, why Hamilton for your family?
Dan Regan: well, Trenton back in the day, 'cause my mem I remember my grandmother telling me she lived she grew up in Trenton and she said the reason why Trenton became the capital of New Jersey, it isn't the Trenton that is today. it was very historic, ver it it had the homes were you know, were brand new. she went to Trenton High, which was a I think the biggest high school I think at the time in I'm maybe the state. And so they lived in Trenton and Hamilton is not far from Trenton. So when her and my grandfather met, they they settled in Hamilton because they wanted to build a new house and so they settled in Hamilton, but it wasn't far from from Trenton at all. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes at the most. So but yeah, but the roots are definitely from Trenton. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Now, do you do you know how they met?
Dan Regan: I in school I know I know in school my grandfather was in the was in the war. He was a navy veteran. he went fought in World War Two. So I they met young to the point where when he went away, I think my grandmother was eighteen or nineteen when he went away to to fight in the war. and but I know they met in school. I just don't know their exact like if they met through friends or something like that. I don't I should know that. It's been told to me before, but that's one of the stories that lost out of his brain. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Do you know when they got married? Like how old they were?
Dan Regan: Well, my grandmother was born in nineteen twenty nine and I believe she was twenty, so I'm gonna say they got married in nineteen forty nine, I wanna think, like right after the war ended, a few years after the war ended, yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. And then what about your grandfather?
Dan Regan: He he was he he he was born in nineteen twenty seven. He was two years older than my grandmother. he did not he passed early when I was a senior in high school, suddenly. It was unexpected. and but he was he was I mean he was a great guy. I mean I mean I just I could talk about him for hours about the the man he was and is is still with me today.
GenX Adulting Podcast: He's pretty young. So he would have been l like twenty two then probably, right? If she was twenty when they got married?
Dan Regan: Yeah, twenty two. He went off to the war. I think when he turned eighteen or nineteen he went right I think he was I don't know if he dra I don't know if he was drafted or he volunteered, but he went off to the war right right out of school.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Okay. And do you know, did your grandmother work like while he was in the war? Do you know what she did?
Dan Regan: She did not work when he was in the war. She actually when he came home they started a family. She went back to work when all of her kids were grown. and then she worked for twenty seven years before she retired and then a year and a half less than two years later she passed after she retired. which you know, I always tell people that like, you know, retirement it's it's uncanny how many people just
GenX Adulting Podcast: well.
Dan Regan: check out after or you know, pretty quickly after retirement. It's almost like you need something to keep doing after you retire. Some kind of you know not that she didn't deuce, but she didn't have that job to go to every day. And she tried to keep active but she just she started having some health issues and yeah unfortunately she didn't enjoy her retirement at least she should have.
GenX Adulting Podcast: You it's funny you say that. That happened to Brian's dad. Yeah. He retired at seventy and less than a year later passed away. And he was ready to travel the country. Yeah. And it it's the weirdest thing. And that's it's not the first time I've heard that. It it's especially from the those that generation. He was a little younger, but they're working for that moment and then that moment comes and it's like Yeah. It's it's
Dan Regan: Yeah, that's a shame. No.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Strange. It really is. Whereas I think with our generation, you know, we're working full-time jobs, but also doing, especially midlife, we're kind of doing the thing maybe we always wanted to do or we're going for it finally because we can or whatever. So we're doing other things in addition to our full-time jobs. And so as we age, even if we retire, I feel like we're still going to have that other thing we're doing, if that makes sense. for example, we're doing this podcast, right? And I see us continuing to do this, hopefully. you do comedy. So it but I don't know if that generation had that other thing. I think it worked in church. It was their job. Yeah. And then that when that ended, there really wasn't anything else.
Dan Regan: Yeah. They did we we are fortunate like you said to have outlets to to do stuff like our passions, our interests. Whereas they worked just to put a roof over our heads to give us, you know, food, clothes. they didn't have the opportunities that we have. yeah, it's a shame because I know my grandparents would have enjoyed retirement, they would have loved just traveling, maybe just going down Atlantic City, playing you know, going to the casino. What would they enjoy to do? go they love going to the beach, what we call going to the sh down shore in Jersey. they would have loved all that and they were robbed of that. And a lot of my friends, like you know, like their parents, obviously were younger than my grandparents, so they had when I see like my friend's parents enjoying themselves, I'm so happy for But also makes me sad that my grandparents couldn't have done that as well.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. No, it's definitely such a regret for for those of us who have relatives that didn't get to have that experience. Now, your last name's Regan. but I I feel like you're aren't you Italian? Is w does that come from your grandparents' side?
Dan Regan: Yeah, I'm I'm mostly Italian. the the Irish the Irish in me is my is my grandmother. I had a grandmother who was Irish and my grandfather who married her actually changed his last name to Regan. He had an Italian last name, but he said at the time he felt like back then it was easier for an Irish an Irishman to get a job in this country than an Italian. So and
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: That's why he switched it to Regan, and I've been a Regan since I was born. So I should have it, I should have an Italian last name, though, but I should have an Italian last
GenX Adulting Podcast: It's it's so interesting how You're missing your vowel. Maybe you could throw a vowel on there at some point. What what was it? Regano. I was kidding. Whoa. Pretty good. Regano. you had me. Racine. Okay, that to me, that Racine, like R-A-C-I-N-E.
Dan Regan: Delta. Exactly. Regano. It was Racine. It was Racine. No, it was it was Racine actually. R E C I N
GenX Adulting Podcast: See, I don't even know if I would equate that to Italian if I saw that. So that's interesting. I think so. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Yeah yeah it Yeah, it it's not like it's Regatoni where it's like, Well, okay, that all right, yeah, that's Italian. You know, it is kinda like maybe it's Italian adjacent, but but you know, so when I tell people Regan they say that, they're like, You look Italian, you don't even look Irish and I say, Well, I have I definitely have Irish blood in me.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder though, like I have I'm from New Jersey, obviously, and and we we talked about that real quick, but my uncle, my cousin married an Italian first guy, and my uncle was against it. He's Irish and she was Irish and she met an Italian man and they got married, but he was pissed. Like at first he didn't embrace it at all. Yeah, the back then it wasn't It's a Jersey thing. Yeah. Wasn't accepted.
Dan Regan: Yep. Yep. Not accepted at all. So yeah, like I didn't I didn't understand it growing up and as I got older and I started hearing stories I'm like, okay, now I kinda understand why why you would do that. So yeah, so
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well you have you have a Italian vibe, there's no question. So even it's Regan, you like everyone would say you you seem Italian. So okay, so you're born in Trenton, grew up in Hamilton, and did your grandparents raise you?
Dan Regan: Yeah. Yes. Yes, my grandparents raised me from I was about a year old when they took me in and I they were I always called them grandma and grandpa, but I never said mom and dad, but they were my parents. They were the ones who, you know, took me to my s you know, my baseball games, my basketball games, all my school functions. So, back to school, me and my gr me and grandma would go back to school shopping. So yeah, they they were my parents growing up for sure.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Now you said she s was basically a stay at home mom until her kids were raised. Does that include you? Did she not go to work until she was done raising you?
Dan Regan: No, she went back to work when when when I was a baby. So, when I was when I was y you know, I wasn't old enough to go school yet, she would have like people family members watch watch me. I was fortunate though 'cause I was the first born in my family. The first born the first grandkid. So up until I was thirteen years old, I had all my grandparents alive and all of my great grandparents still alive until I was thirteen, which is yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: wow. That's cool.
Dan Regan: That was I always like brag on that because it's then after that unfortunately it seemed like every year we were losing one after that, but so I had she had a lot of help with watching me and be sitting.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, you were lucky. That's cool. That's such an amazingly unique experience. That is really that's a flex. And you say you made it you were thirteen, the first thirteen years you had it like that?
Dan Regan: I was almost thirteen, like so I'm trying to think. My my great grand my great grandmother was the first one to pass out of out of the grandparents, great grandparents. She passed in eighty yeah, eighty two, so I was right around twelve. Right yes. Twelve or thirteen. Right.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. You're old enough to remember that. Yeah, that's cool. That is that's amazing. Okay. So does that mean you d never had the latch key kit experience?
Dan Regan: I did and I didn't. like so when I was old enough to where I could stay on my own, they gave me a key. And you know, they they gave me a key to the house, but they they went to work and we were off in like two different counties for the whole day for as far as they knew. They didn't know where we were, to be honest with you. and so we you know
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: And that's the way it always was. They didn't think nothing of it. That's why one of the one of the first jokes way back that on social media that kind of went viral was the joke I do where it says, parents today, text me when you get there, text me the names of the kids who are there, text me when they're coming home. Parents in the eighties, bye. And that's what it was. And e and you're lucky if you got and you're lucky if you got it by. Some people didn't even get a buy.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. It was that it was. Yep. Yep. Now did you have to be home though, that traditional like when the street lights came on, or was there a certain time? Were you tracked at least as far as when you needed to be in?
Dan Regan: Well, dinner dinner usually was around five, five thirty, so I had to be home for dinner every night. But then I was able to go back out, especially in the summer. But yeah, like I forget what age it was. Up until a certain age street lights come on, you need to get home. Absolutely.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. Right. Right. Right. Right. So it like once you hit school and in elementary school, did you have any interest, like sports or clubs or art or theater, choir, anything during those young formative years?
Dan Regan: In elementary school I started playing baseball and basketball when I was five in in leagues. when I got to high school I played basketball for the freshman team. I stopped baseball for I don't know what reason. I I really wanted to play basketball. By the way, the Knicks hat I love that is the best right above you.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I just got that actually. Our older son got that for him. It's for Father's Day. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I he's like, what do you want? I was like, I want a hat. Cause honestly, and you can probably relate to this, I have I wouldn't wear Nick's gear for the last 30 years. Some they've been somewhat embarrassing, right? So they finally won, which is something I never could you have imagined, you know. I I gave up. Yeah.
Dan Regan: That's the best. That's that's a great Father's Day gift, go next. No. Yeah, yeah, unfortunately. Yeah. It's it's that's why it felt so good when they won, 'cause it was such a long time. I was two when they won their last championship in seventy three. So I I I don't remember that. it was it was awesome. but yeah, so I played baseball and basketball, played basketball in high school, and then my in tenth grade, I don't know if you you probably know if
GenX Adulting Podcast: So to finally have I don't know where I had. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: being in from Jersey. They had this thing in high school called Votech, Vocational School, where it'd be a technical school. As a junior senior, you're able to go to another school, the college by us, and you could do air conditioning, refrigeration, automotive. It'll it trains you to, you know, after you graduate. Well, they just started re s like right maybe a few years before a performing arts school for BoTech. And I always wanted to be an actor.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So I did that for my junior and senior year. I'd go to school half a day, then I'd go to the college and study theater and my my my two years there. So that's what I wanted to do and out of high school. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's awesome. That's cool. Okay, so you so you're basically a baseball kid, elementary through middle school, and then you hit high school, switch over to basketball, and then switched over to theater.
Dan Regan: Yeah, because basketball a problem happened in freshman. I was I wasn't growing much more. I was not I didn't have the height and was and I wasn't not that I was horrible, I was never gonna make it, and I knew that. So that's when I started hanging out with my buddies, just starting, you know, going to concerts a lot, just kinda not really having a having like like 'cause people would say, What are you gonna do after high school? I had no idea. But then I'm like, I wanna go to acting and then when this performing arts thing came I was focused. I'm like, that's all I wanna do. When I graduated high school, my grandfather, I remember, he passed my senior middle middle of my senior year, he passed. And I remember he sat me down, he says, When you graduate, we don't we know we may not be able to do it right out of high school, but he was gonna enroll me in the performing in the performing arts school in Penn in Philadelphia, which is kinda like the famed school in New York. and I was but after he passed, unfortunately my grandmother just quit though.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: So I kinda put that on hold. I didn't so then I just started working retail out out of high school and just did, you know, whatever just to pay the bills kind of thing.
GenX Adulting Podcast: How did he pass?
Dan Regan: He was he was in Philadelphia during Christmas. He was in the car with our cousin who is younger than him, but they were like best friends. They would do everything together. And he was at a red light and my grandfather had high blood pressure and he really didn't talk to the family when he would go to the doctor. Like he would never tell us when something was wrong. but he stopped at a red light, was right in the middle of conversation, just slumped over. he had an aneurysm. And that was it. So he I remember I remember when the day before or that day, I was at I was in the kitchen eating lunch 'cause I was I was on my break from school in Go Tech before I went to Go Tech and I was eating my lunch and he was home and he took a half day or whatever he was still working, but he took a half the day or whatever he did. And he always said, See ya later. That was his instead of saying goodbye, you go see ya later. And when he said that, it just
GenX Adulting Podcast: my goodness. Yeah.
Dan Regan: I don't know, maybe it's just may it it sounded a little bit more it was different. You know, maybe I maybe in my head I made I made it feel different after after the fact. And then went to bed that night and then woke up to my whole family came over to tell my grandmother because I guess somebody my cousin who was with him, got in touch with my aunt to let her know first and then she called the family, then they all came over together to be supported for my grandmother 'cause it was it wasn't like he was sick.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: Wasn't like we had any indication. He just went out Christmas shopping and didn't.
GenX Adulting Podcast: my goodness. So, how how old was he?
Dan Regan: So he was so he was born in twenty seven, this was eighty eight, so he was fifty nine.
GenX Adulting Podcast: my goodness, he was young. And so your grandmother was fifty-seven. she was young.
Dan Regan: Yep. And it's it's He he when he passed and this is something I always think about, he's four years older than me now. I'm four years away from when my grandfather passed. So that's something I'd always think about. you know, I know people I know I do a lot of the Hey Gen X and I give you bad news and like have a nice day, how old we are. but it's it's stuff that, you know it's stuff that I think about and I try to make a a comedic spin on it, at least I try to. And I know it's sometimes it's bad news, it's like, my god, I wanna hear that but You know, it's it's stuff I think about all the time, you know s you know, like we're not getting younger and we might as well embrace it. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. One hundred percent. It's funny that you say that because I had mentioned to Beth Stevens Bennett Peach, who we had on last week, that we were having you on. And she's like, he ruins my day. He reminds me of how old I'm getting. But then she's like, I love him. It's true though, it's true. you know, like and you I I I had just and we'll get to the social media, but
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. Yeah, she's well that's great. That's great. I'm so yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: You are kind of a jump scare, I will say, because I'll just be scrolling along, la di da di-da. And then like you show up and I'm like, what am I gonna get? That's hilarious. Yeah, you never know. Or I don't know, he's coming. Like it'll be just a video, and then his face shows up. I'm like, here we go. That's been my experience. I was you put something up with some girl, she said the most stupid thing, and I'm like, what the
Dan Regan: We're going to
GenX Adulting Podcast: And then you pop up and you know it almost like, my god, okay I love it. I love it. 'Cause you almost have our back. Like we are all collectively going, What the F and then you show up like, Okay, he's got this. So but
Dan Regan: Was it the one that I just did? What what real quick, was it the one where she said girls don't want a nice guy? That's the one I just recently did.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. That was the one I saw. I saw one a couple of weeks ago. I don't know I can't remember. I meant to look it up, but yeah. you know what one I saw this morning was the one about tattooed women.
Dan Regan: Okay, it was a couple weeks ago. yeah. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: The guy saying that men don't like like tattooed women. You handled that one really well. I love that one. God.
Dan Regan: Yeah, that's that was that was actually a video I did a year ago and a lot of the times what I'll do is if I I did a video, sometimes I'll have more to add and when I did it last year I I only said the quick thing about the Lamborghini, you know, and the bumper stickers. I'm like I got a lot more to talk about now because you know, it everyone's entitled to their opinion. I get it. And it's a preference. But you know, and I don't have to defend my wife. She could defend herself, but Like I said, she has tattoos and I wanna let you know, like, hey, not everyone feels like you, you know, and whatever you know, whatever issues you're going through or whatever you got going on in you know, I was wanna let you know there's another side of people that appreciate people just for who they are, whether they have tattoos or not. So, you know,
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I just gonna say I think it's good because some of these people say it with their full chest. I mean, almost like gospel. And to you like to your point, everyone's entitled to their own preference, their own opinion, but it's when you come out kind of stating it as this is how it should be. And I think that you're a good counter to that. It's like, okay, calm down. Like you need to calm down a little bit. Let a Gen X or like set you straight a little bit. So I think that's kind of how I interpret it.
Dan Regan: Yeah, that's the one thing I've always even in life I never I will never say like you need blah blah blah to do. You know, it's it's not my place to tell you what you need to do. If you wanna do that and you're not hurting anyone, it's not illegal, go for it. That's fine. I'm gonna agree with it. But the people that I think are the most irksome are the ones that will say like, This is the way it needs to be. This is what they you should be. No, that's not no because that's doesn't go over well. It doesn't go over well with a lot of people, so
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, no, I agree. And I like how you summed up your wife as a Lamborghini, a custom Lamborghini. I like, That's I love that. That's awesome. So I thought you handled that one just right. But I was gonna ask you, what did your grandfather do for a living?
Dan Regan: Yeah. He was an engineer. he he drew drew up plans. he actually we got a deck put on in our our backyard. We just had a little concrete porch, you know, like most houses back then. And he designed this wood deck that that was I wish I I w if I find a picture I'll send it to you. But he did this awesome and and and even like the even on the post he did this like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Okay.
Dan Regan: this like design with the wood, the way it would come to a point to the p to the to the point where the guys building it asked him, they're like, Do you want to design some decks for us? And he's like, Nah I'm too busy. Yeah. Yeah. So that could have been his side gig, but he really he only did it for our house. Like he drew up the plans. He's like, nah, thank you, I appreciate it. But, you know, he he he was so good with drawing. Like he drew this picture of my grandmother or I'm sorry, he drew a picture for my grandmother, when he was in the war.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. cool.
Dan Regan: her nickname, he called her Slim. and that's what I call my wife. That's my my nickname for my wife, as honor him and her. And he drew a picture of Humphrey Bogart for my grandmother. And I don't know where it's at now, but it's just unbelievable. Like freehand. Just you know, he was in the war just like and he mailed it to her. The guy was just so talented with we know with drawing, so
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm. Amazing. Now, did you inherit that talent? Are you artistic in that way?
Dan Regan: I am not at all. I I my stick figures I think need therapy. So no.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Listen, that's our whole family. We have I'm the only one with decent handwriting. Yeah, and you skate by, but our whole even our kids, no one. It's it's the joke that there's no one in our family that can draw for it's the sick figures. It's you know that we all write if like like a third grade level. I might be fourth or fifth grade. Yeah, I think I think you're fifth. You're fifth grade. So what did your grandmother do for a living when she went back to work?
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. She she went to work for the state. She did accident records, so when there was an accident on the highways and the state police or the cops filed a report, she her office would get it and they would I I guess file it, you know, send it off to the other she'd have to call, sometimes she'd have to call state police just to kind of get some background information, but it had to be on record 'cause it was on our highways. If it was on a highway, we had the the New Jersey Department of Transportation would have to have a record. So that's what she did. She was a supervisor. She ended up going, she started just I think as a clerk and she worked her way up to a supervisor before she retired. So yeah, she she yeah, twenty-seven years. You know, And then when she retired, we had a dog that I had to put the dog we had to put the dog in after I mean dog was dog was pretty I think our dog tripper was six
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's a good job.
Dan Regan: sixteen, seven sixteen years old. so when my grandmother retired, she wanted a certain dog. And so I remember me and her went out and I bought her this little puppy and she loved it. And it was her dog for a year and a half unfortunately, then she she passed after that. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Did you take the dog?
Dan Regan: I did not because at the time I was trying to figure I was trying to figure I was going through I was going through a divorce. I I got divorced like a year prior. So I I within a year and a half I got divorced. I had to put my dog down and then I lost my mother. Well within about a year and a half. So I my head was spinning. I yeah, so I couldn't
GenX Adulting Podcast: my goodness. my goodness. Yeah, yeah. That makes that makes sense. That makes sense. Okay, so I got one I want to go back to. Okay. I'm curious what you think of this. The reference to the concrete steps with the deck. I'm curious if that's a Gen X thing or a Jersey thing, because I had the same thing and I can think of at least three situations where my parents' house, we had that and they built the deck. My and then two of my cousins. You think that's a j 'cause they all the homes back then in at least in Jersey, they had the little entry in the back and then everybody put decks on. It was like an after the fact. Yeah, I'm trying to think in Oregon. I don't I don't I feel like there were already decks on a lot of those houses. I don't that might be a jersey. That might be a Jersey thing where you where you start with the patent. Yeah. I don't know.
Dan Regan: It could have been. That could have been like you said, because maybe when they were building the houses that was just your prototype, which is front porch, back porch, concrete little porch. And then I know the decks started becoming popular in the mid eight early to mid eighties is when the decks started you see them popping up but in the backyards and yeah. So and it it was also 'cause then we we were able to put a you know table up there, chairs we would go lay out in the summer. It was just it was you know it was it was one of the best things he you know he did for the house, you know, for the home.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like my parents, you've been on their deck. Yeah, yeah. My dad was so proud of that deck. He was right. And it was a big deal. It was like we're gonna go out and sit on the yeah my uncle built that one then. Yeah, I I bet you that was like 'cause I feel like where I grew I don't know. I'll have to think about that. when you were in the school play, South Pacific, was that your first time performing in front of anyone?
Dan Regan: No, the first time it's the first time I was on I did a I because when it my junior and senior year when I was in that vocational school we would put on plays, we would put on skits. so I was I don't say I was, you know, used to it, but I did do plays before that. The first ever performance, I've talked about this in the past. The first ever time I did stand up, I was ten, eleven years old.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: First time I did stand up. Yeah, it was impromptu. I wasn't. Okay, so my great-grandfather, this was probably I was 10, so you're talking 1981. He belonged to this club in Trenton called the Kent Club. and it was it was just a like a you know, a guy's club. They come, they play cards, play horseshoes, you know, you hang out, you drink, whatever. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: wow. Where?
Dan Regan: They were honoring him for I don't even know what it was for. They honored him for something. It was like a the big dinner they had for him and they had a live band. So the band took a break, and I'm looking at this stage with a microphone. Nobody's up.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: I don't know what possessed me. It wasn't like I did this before. I jumped up on stage, grabbed the mic, and I started telling jokes. Now back then, you know, I was ten. The only kind of jokes I knew, my uncle had a Joan Rivers album. I I memorized it from from beginning to end. So I ended up doing a Joan Rivers cover of all of her jokes.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No. That's awesome. Were they clean jokes? No. No. Yeah, I think so. No.
Dan Regan: Joan's not the cleanest Well, I should say Joan's not the cleanest comic in the world. No. Like for instance, one one joke in particular I said, and I didn't even know what this meant. I said, my my grandmother is so dumb, she studies for her PAP test. I haven't I didn't know what a pat test was. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: No. That's great coming from a ten year old. I don't even think sixteen year old boys back then knew what that was. my god, that's funny.
Dan Regan: yeah. Like so now I got laughs. My grandmother wasn't laughing. My grandfather at that point, that's when he pulled me off the stage. But that's when I got the taste of making people laugh. And I became addicted to it. So when I was in acting school, I would always write comedy skits. My thing was comedy. I always wanted to do comedy. I mean I wanted to be an actor, but obviously that didn't pan out. So then and then we could talk about like how I got into comedy later on, but that's
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: That was the first so South Pacific was the first big play to answer your question. I'm sorry I went off on a tangent. That was the first big play that I did. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No. Okay, so as far as wanting to be an actor, did that happen on that stage? Is that when you first were like, Okay, I want to perform or was that even earlier or did the acting bug come after?
Dan Regan: I think that night is when, like I said, I I got addicted to people laughing, so I would start telling jokes to people. But I that might have been the same night where I'm like, Hey, this performing thing is something that I enjoy because I was I wanna say I was the cliche quiet kid. but I I was I'm actually gonna do a video about this soon too, is I used to have a stuttering issue. I used to stutter when I was a kid. So I went to therapy and so when the you know, kids back then, like I said, I would have made fun of me if I was stuttering. I mean kids were they were ruthless back then. so yeah. So I didn't talk that much back then when I stuttered. I would just kind of observe people, just watch, and that helped me now later on. Just I guess that you know, I was able to like turn something ba I I talked about stuttering when I got older, I made jokes about it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, brutal. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So that's when I think that night on that stage is when I first kind of broke out, I guess you could say, and that's when I realized, yeah, this is something I like. This is something I really like. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: How long did the stutter until you got therapy, how long were you living quietly with the stutter?
Dan Regan: It wasn't long, thankfully even after therapy it would still come back because my thing was I would start talking before my brain was registering what I was trying to say and that's so once I got going, like I would stutter just to start a sentence. Like for instance I would go a a i but then once I got going, I was fine. So maybe it maybe bad for like a year or two. And then after that it kind of I improved it just from the therapy, like making sure I think before you talk and it kind of on its own not went away but I was able to like learn how to just not, you know, get overly excited.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So when you went up on stage, had you already dealt with that? Had you gone through therapy and already had your tools on how to cope with it?
Dan Regan: So I would I was ten. That's a good question 'cause I never thought about how what time what the timeline was. I I was ten, so that would put me at about that might have been right around the time because I think I did I did the I did the I did the therapy in like fourth or fifth grade and I think ten, eleven is is fourth or f fourth or fifth grade, I think. Yeah, so I think I was right around there.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Around there, yeah. Yeah, it is.
Dan Regan: And but it definitely helped my confidence for sure because I did not have a lot of self confidence, honestly, because of that definitely helped.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Understandable, but it must have because next thing you know, you're up on stage. Did you so talk about going from quietly observing to I'm performing now? And how cool, and I'm sorry, I just gotta finish this thought. How how cool that your your what your grandma, your grandpa, your great grandpa, grandfather were there to see your first time doing comedy. That's really cool. Very
Dan Regan: Yeah. Yeah. Yep. A lot of my family was there too. Like like a lot of my great like great aunts, great uncles ev you know, they were there. you know, a lot of people were there to see my my breakout performance and me like just dogging out my grandmother basically in the in the jokes. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. I I think that's awesome. I'm sorry. What were you gonna say? No, I gonna I'm curious, with all that family around, were you ever did you ever perform for them like at the family picnic or whatever on a Sunday afternoon or whatever? Right? 'Cause you were younger. You're the oldest, probably I think you mentioned. And they're all you have such a big family where they like little Danny, perform for us, whatever it might be.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. It's funny you said Danny, 'cause they're the only people that call me Danny. Like if you notice my name Dan, I don't Yep. And no, I n you know it's funny, they never we had in our family, like my great grandfather who was being honored, he sang barbershop. He was a great barbershop singer. yeah, so he Yeah, he would sing at all the gatherings. I was never asked to perform. I don't know if I would have. Probably I would have.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, I'm sure. wow, very cool.
Dan Regan: But no, I was never they never like, hey, you know, put on a little you know, put on a little show or something like that. So you know, but I did I did a like in like it's like I don't know, fifth, no, sixth or seventh grade I did a a backyard play with a friend of mine who lived nearby. We did we put on grease. We did like we just lip synced the the you know, we didn't act, we just lip synced all the s I was Danny, she was Sandy, you know, we did that, you know, stuff like that. But I never really performed just for my family.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think that's a core Gen X performance because I also did that as well. I I think a lot of us were doing Grease performances in our childhood for sure. our daughter did it. Yeah, even our daughter did, and she's 25, but when she was little, that that's just timeless. But Grease was my first album. I remember I got a record player in second grade and Grease was my first album. And I I still have it. I but I played that thing. my god, constant. Constant. And I remember going to
Dan Regan: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: theater and seeing the movie. I vividly remember going and I that was a life changing moment, that movie, I think.
Dan Regan: Yep. Yep. I saw too in the theater. I don't I can't forget yeah, I'll never forget it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: It was it was Yeah. It was awesome. So okay, you do South Pacific. Did you sing?
Dan Regan: No, that's I can't draw and I can't sing. And that's the two things I always wish I could do in life, like even a little bit, like where I'm not like you know, the paint's not c you know, curling off the wall when I sing. Like just just carry a tune. I couldn't. So so it so my my my senior year, I went to school in my class, he was in my high school, he was in my acting class, his name is Jason Grew. He actually
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: went out to Hollywood and be he was a writer for the show Hannibal that was on a few years ago. That was from Silent He know Jason really he's an accomplished he did a lot of Broadway, a lot of off Broadway, very accomplished writer. it's funny in our high school yearbook, we didn't even we didn't know we were doing this. You know, you can put whatever you want in your high school yearbook, you could talk to so I put C in the movies J and then he wrote back Dan O C on Broadway. So we didn't even know we were doing this with each other.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So Jay was the one who told me about South Pacific. He's like, you know, I'm going out for it, why don't you come out for it? I'm like, I can't sing. He says, Well just so I went out for it and they gave me one of the leads, which was Captain Bracket. And I don't know if you're familiar with the play, but Captain Bracket is the the one lead that doesn't sing at all.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Well, there you go. Perfect. It was meant to be. It was meant to be. So then when you graduated from high school, I know your grandfather had this plan for you, but that didn't come to fruition. So what what did you do after you graduated? Did you do any college or did you start working or what were your steps?
Dan Regan: It was it was meant to be. It was meant to be. Yep. Yeah, I started out of high school, I started working at this mortgage company that I was able somebody in the family was able to get me into. unfortunately, you know I was it was a eight it was a nine nine to five Monday through Friday, so I had weekends off, but at the time they were New Jersey was doing this big like I don't they're doing like a mortgage finance, like like a whole like reset. So they were holding seminars all over the state. So my job was to stuff the envelope or stuff the packets that you would come and sit down to be in. That was my job eight hours a day. And it was a job, but I was bored. I'd see my my friends were going to college. They were going to parties. I couldn't go to a party because I'd have to be up at eight o'clock in the morning to go work. they were going to school, they would you know, they would start the classes at eleven noon.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So after about a year, I said to my grandmother, I'm like, I want to go back to school. And she's like, Well, what are you gonna do though? And I said, I wanna I so I took communications. I said, All right, that's a very broad thing. It kinda ties into what I wanna do. Then when I went back to school, I realized I hate school. I've always hated school. not and not to brag, I was never dumb. I'm sure if I applied myself I could have had good grades. I never made the honor roll.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: If I got a D, I was happy because I passed. And I know that's, you know, that's not the best attitude to have. when I got a C, it was like getting an A in school.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: It was just I mean, if I could if I could do it over again I would definitely would have applied myself a little bit more, but I didn't. So after about a year and a half I quit school. That's why in some of my videos I'll say, Yeah, I had some college. which I did. I had some but I didn't graduate. I went to Mercer County Community College in West Windsor.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Where did you go? Okay. And so you studied communications there for how how long?
Dan Regan: Year and a half year and a half I did a but the the problem was like, you know, you had to take all the other crap, algebra, you know, you had to do an algebra, you to you know, you know, like like but then you know, then you did some some great classes which were like media issues, which is one class I loved, journalism. I enjoyed that. I'm like and then people were telling me why why don't you try doing a you know, being a DJ on the radio. You got you got a radio voice. So I thought about doing that, but I'm like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Dan Regan: I wanna be in front of the camera though. Like that's that was my thing. I wanna be out there. So but yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So when when you were going to school, were you still working that nine to five job or did you quit that to do school?
Dan Regan: Now I quit that job but I still had I mean I had a car payment so I would have to pay for gas. Back then I'm smoking so I would pay for my cigarettes. So I would I would get I would work at the mall. I'd have mall jobs. I'm trying to think what else I did. Yeah, back then when I was going through school, I worked at Tom McCann in Quakerbridge Mall.
GenX Adulting Podcast: wow. Yeah. Did you have Tom McKenzie? We did. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Those gas shoes. yeah. I remember G A S S. Yeah. Yeah. You'd scrap off the G, so it just said S. Yeah. You know what you guys had that we didn't is you guys had KB Toys. I worked at KB Toys. Yeah, we didn't have We also had Blimpy. Yeah, we didn't have Blimpy. No. I wasn't on the West Coast.
Dan Regan: Can. That's a blast from the past. yeah, yeah. Yep, the gas shoes. Mm. Blimpy. Yeah, Blimpy. I miss Bloompy. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So you were working in the traditional eighties more What other stores did you work at? Tom McCann's a legend.
Dan Regan: Well yeah, so I worked at Quaker Quaker Bridge Mall was the big mall back then for us. so I worked at Tom McC this is all now I'll just tell you the stores I worked at at Quaker Bridge Mall. I had a few. Tom McCann. I did Walden Books. I don't know if you're familiar with Walden Books. I'm trying to think what else. I I did there was an there was in one other store I can't think of the name, but the last mall job I had
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, totally.
Dan Regan: I worked at Chess K.
GenX Adulting Podcast: What is it?
Dan Regan: Chess King.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Chess King? I don't know if I remember that. What store was that? No, I don't
Dan Regan: Like like yeah, like plain it's it was it was a clothing store for you know all the latest fashions, so Ugh. I that's where I bought not one, two pairs of overall shorts.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wait a minute. You gotta do a video with those on one time. In Jersey were buying overalls. That's awesome. I had those. We're talking nineteen eighties. I had those, but they were Guess and I'm a girl. I've got three pairs of overalls. Not shorts. No, not shorts. I want to turn them into shorts, but you guys won't let me. No, no. I mean I just yeah, I just can't even picture. I don't remember guys having I do.
Dan Regan: I I ha there's a picture of me and him.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Overall, really maybe that not on the maybe not on the west coast then. We were way closer. Maybe it was Jersey.
Dan Regan: But here's the thing. Guys shouldn't have had overall shorts. That's the thing. They shouldn't have been allowed.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No. No. I But you had two pairs, you said? Two pairs. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: At least two. I'm not saying I didn't have I I remember two.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Dying. Have you ever shared page those pictures on social media yet?
Dan Regan: No, I I've shared I did one recently of my hairstyles throughout the years, starting young and I had the bowl cut, then you know when I got to the mullet. So maybe maybe I gotta do my fashion maybe I'll do my fashion throughout the years if I can dig that I'll dig up those pictures.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. I think you should. I you know, I think we all had the bowl cut. I had the bowl cut too as a girl. Like I think now at that time I we lived in Northern California, but so don't know if that was a thing, but the girls had bowl cuts too, just like you guys. Yeah, I know that's like our kindergarten picture. We all with the bowl, straight line. Horrible. Yeah. Just horrible garden first grade, the whole time. Did you guys have combs in the back of your pockets? Absolutely. No? No.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. always. Always. Yep. Always. Yep. Always always had to make sure.
GenX Adulting Podcast: he's yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember that with the guy. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: And then and then you and then you had the comb then you had the comb with with the big handle, like where it would stick out of your back pocket. Yeah, I had I even had that one as well. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. I actually have a question. Music. What you're you grew up closer to the boss, Bruce Springsteen, right, than I did, but there was also Bon Jovi, was a central Jersey guy kinda right. He's from that Princeton area. were you into those guys at all? What was your music? what what kind of music were you into?
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. My Well, you said that Grease was your first album that you bought. I know my uncle had Grease. He would buy the Grease albums and stuff. The first ever album that I asked for for Christmas was Pink Floyd's The Wall back in seventy nine. That's and I played that thing till I think I wore it out. so I liked see I like all kinds of music. to this day. Like I could listen if I'm in the mood I'll listen to R and B. I R and B, Motown.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yeah.
Dan Regan: classic rock. But if I had to pick if they said you can only pick one genre of music the rest of your life, heavy metal.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm. Yeah.
Dan Regan: That's that's that's what I grew up on.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Did you go to a lot of music? 'Cause y you know, for I I was in northwestern Jersey. We could we had music come to New Jersey all the time. Like we're down in Florida now and it's slim pickings for us. No one's there's acts that come down here, but not like up that whole New York, New Jersey metro area was phenomenal growing up for live music.
Dan Regan: Yeah, where I grew up, I grew up in like I said, Central Jersey, so you had you had Philadelphia, you have New York, but we always went to Philadelphia Spectrum. I must have seen fifty, sixty concerts there growing up at the spectrum. and I saw all like all acts. I saw Ozzy with Metallica for the when I when Metallica opened for Ozzy, I saw Genesis, C Z Top, Motley Crue.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Well no.
Dan Regan: I saw boy. You think you think the overalls bad strap in for this one? I saw Michael Bolton at the spectrum. I don't know if I was still at the spectrum then.
GenX Adulting Podcast: wow. Did you see the grateful Did you see the Grateful Dead there?
Dan Regan: I n I I didn't. I was not I'm not a deadhead. my wife my wife is my wife is a huge deadhead. to the point where she followed them around the early nineties down down the east coast. She would go her and her friends, they would just pop in a car and they would sell grilled cheese sandwiches and that's how they would pay for their tickets and pay for their hotels. Yep. My wife
GenX Adulting Podcast: Is she really? Well nice. Okay, so we're deadheads. That's what you could show her these shapes. Those are all bootlegs, but we're we're har yeah. We've seen It's the only show I saw at the spectrum is was the Grateful Dead in the at the Spectrum. What year was that? man, it was either eighty nine or ninety. It was I was going to school in Oregon. Yeah. And it was like, all right, I'm going down to the spectrum. We bought tickets.
Dan Regan: Okay. I will. Okay.
GenX Adulting Podcast: We paid sixty five dollars. And at the time I was like, We're getting ripped off, but we got in. And then I left for Oregon like the next day. Okay. Yeah. That's it was awesome though. The place was shaking. Like the they opened a second set. Your wife can appreciate this, but it's garlic begonias into a fire on the mountain. And the whole frickin' place was going nuts to and it was shaking. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Yeah. Wow. And how long did they play for?
GenX Adulting Podcast: The there at that show or it probably two to three hours. Three hours. Three hours at least. Yeah. It's it's a whole show. It's it's a whole thing. it's eighteen to probably twenty, twenty two songs. Okay. You need to tell your wife about Billy Strings.
Dan Regan: Yeah. Just like in general, like a ch normal wow.
GenX Adulting Podcast: She may know. If she's still into the dead, she probably likes fish, maybe. But no, but it's not fish. No, no. Billy Strings is like the new scene. It's like there's so many dead we go see Billy Strings. There's so it's like a dead scene. Like teller, there's like the parking lot scene before the show. And he's he's like he's like bluegrass. He sh shows his sticker. it's like bluegrass jam band, but that's also rock. But the whole vibe inside the show.
Dan Regan: Billy Strah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Is the closest you're gonna get to a dead show now, you guys should go. She We gotta cut this out. It's it's blowing the scene up. I know every and we always mention it, but I'm telling you, she would love it. If she's a deadhead, she would love it. So make
Dan Regan: No, that's yeah, she it's funny, my wife just left, but I'll make sure to tell her because that's one of the things like I just I mean I give it my wife is you think my wife is probably just as sarcastic as me, that's why we get along so good. So purposely I'll you know, when we first started dating I said there will be no debt in this car when I'm driving. If you're driving, you control the radio, you can listen to whatever and I I mean I don't care, but I just did that to kinda like, you know, turn the screws on or stuff.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Ha ha.
Dan Regan: that so I think she would she would I guarantee she would probably know what's his name, Billy.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Billy Strings. So think of think of think of like the strings on a guitar, because he's a guitarist. Billy Strings. But yeah, she would she would love that. So okay, so did you have any other music questions? No, no, it's cool. I the Spectrum's an awesome place. I I went more to like the garden and the meadowlands being on the northern side, but And then the what's it the Jersey what what's that place on the the
Dan Regan: Billy Strength. I guarantee I gotta ask her what she Okay. Yeah. Sure. Yeah the
GenX Adulting Podcast: What the hell is it? The turnpike or the parkway? New Jersey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We saw we saw Tom Petty there. Tom Petty. There Tom Petty's good. Did you ever see him?
Dan Regan: PNC Bank. It's PNC it used to be it used to be Garden State Arts Center. I I wish I did. He's there's a few there's a few bands that I wish he's definitely one of them I wish I saw for sure.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, he put on quite a show. He was awesome. Okay, so you're so you did the the junior college and you're working at the mall. You end you stopped going to school. Did you keep working those jobs or did you switch into something else?
Dan Regan: I got bored with jobs, kinda like school, so I didn't stay at a job long until the f like I like I l like I said, I went to Chess King was the last store I worked at at the mall. Then I worked at a place in Princeton Market Fair called Bravo, which is Mexican food. But it was like all fresh. It wasn't like Taco Bell. It was, you know, family owned it. They only had two locations. One was in Quakerbridge Mall, the other one was in Princeton Market Fair where I worked. I did that for about a a little over probably about a year and a half and I I enjoyed it, but they the company folded. so then I then I I'm trying to think where I went from there. Then I worked at a store it's a electronic store. I don't know if it was around around the country. You being from Jersey you might know Silo. Back in the day it was an electronic store.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Think so, yeah. S I L O, right?
Dan Regan: S I L O. It was it was Circuit City before Circuit City, basically.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. okay, okay, okay. Okay.
Dan Regan: I worked there and I got fired because they were sh it was commission based and if you didn't hit your numbers you got let go and I wasn't hitting my numbers because I was an aggressive salesman. I was I would tell people sometimes, you know, don't buy that t don't buy the expensive T V, you know, for your needs you need this one and that's not a good salesman. so yeah. But then I did work at the Whiz. I worked at Nobody Beats the Wiz for a while, then I then I got a job
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. yeah, yeah.
Dan Regan: Nobody beats the wiz, remember that? then my longest job after that I worked for almost five years at Walmart.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Okay. So what what'd you do at Walmart? Were you like a cashier?
Dan Regan: I did well, since I was working at the Wiz I left the Wiz to work at Walmart. I didn't get fired from the Wiz. Walmart was hiring and they were hiring for a little bit more money. So they made me department manager of electronics. That's what I s I was in nine that was in the spring spring of ninety five I started at Walmart.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. All right. And then electronics. And how long did you work there? Five years?
Dan Regan: yeah, 'til about two thousand. Yep, about five years. 'cause I know I left Walmart to go work for Coca Cola because the Coca Cola rep was, you know, telling me about it and it was more I always left for more money. That's I never that was usually why I would leave a job for a better opportunity. So I worked for Coca-Cola for a while. I ended up I ended up getting fired from Coca-Cola. I was what they called an account manager. So I would go into the stores, I would stock the shelves, and I would write the order. So if it was like a weekend, I would say, Okay, you guys need three pallets of Coke, a pallet of Diet Coke, I'd write the order, call it in, and it was commission based as well, but it was also a flat salary.
GenX Adulting Podcast: What were you doing in Coca Cola?
Dan Regan: And it wasn't a bad job. I mean I stayed in shape 'cause I was lugging coke and pallets and all that stuff. I lost my job because there was a problem with there was a day off that our boss said it's not mandatory for us to come in as long your as long as your stores are okay with it. And I checked with all my stores and they were okay with it, so I didn't go in. And then happened to be somebody in the store, like a big wig came in, so my boss called me, he's like, Hey, can you get over there? And I was down in South Jersey, I No. can I'm off. HR got involved and I got fired for insupportination 'cause I said no. So that's how I lost a job at Coke. Yeah. Yep. So if anybody from Coca-Cola is watching, you know, it's not it's not slander, that's exactly what happened. So come at me if you need
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. my gosh. That's crazy. Well that probably was back when things weren't like in emails and texts. So it's not like you could have said, Look, he said this. It was all probably just told you. You guys don't have to come in if you're right. So you had no way to prove that they said that to you.
Dan Regan: It was it was pagers, we had pagers. and well, like how we ordered the the product, this is this will tell you how long it was. We would have like let's say I'd write an order, let's say I had five you know, five powds of Coke, a pound of diet coke, powder to spray. I'd have to go to the payphone in the store, call an automated number for Coca-Cola and punch in the numbers. So that's how long ago it was.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. Wow. That's why wild. I was I thought you were gonna say you faxed it in. But but what you're describing's even a little further out there. Hayphone. Wow. So so that's like during the nineties basically. During that time did you do any s comedy or performing, or did you kind of just put that on the back burner while you were working?
Dan Regan: Yep. Hey phone. No, that was all on the backbone. I didn't I didn't even think about comedy. I was that's when also and I I've talked about this openly and I'll talk about it, you know, whenever. my mental health started to decline. around nineteen ninety five I developed I mean, I always had it growing up. It was just never prominent. But in nineteen ninety five, I almost remember the day, the day for Thanksgiving, nineteen ninety five, I've suffered my first full on panic attack. and you know that was I had no idea what it was and I didn't talk about it for you know for a while because you don't talk about that stuff back then. I just dealt I just dealt with it. So when I you know when I was going through that I finally got therapy. I started, you know, really you know opening up about it. So that was when I was working at Walmart and no disrespect to Walmart, that's not exactly the best company to work for when you're going through a panic disorder because it's it the job itself wasn't horrible, but it it it just it wasn't it didn't help, put it that way, working there. So now, fast forward to Coca Cola, when I when I you know, when I got fired from Coca Cola, I was just kinda spinning. I didn't know what to do.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: I was also going through a divorce. That was when my grandmother like I I was still working for Coca Cola when my grandmother passed in one. She passed in two thousand one. I lost my job with Coca Cola that fall. So I was coming off the divorce, coming off my grandmother and then I also lost my job at at at Coke. so and that's when I had to just kinda
GenX Adulting Podcast: Let's just Let's throw in 9 11 just for fun. Right? That's all around that same time. Yeah. So that's that's
Dan Regan: Exactly. Yep. W which really affect that that affected me as well.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Of course. I mean, 'cause you had three things going on, the perfect storm and then nine eleven's like the cherry on top, 'cause that affected all of us. We were living in Jersey at the time too. But that affected all of us. And I know for Brian being from Jersey, it it hit him even more different 'cause New York the city's your guys' backyard basic. Like you guys are connected to the city in a different way than the rest of the country. So he was pissed. Like that it was yeah, it was very personal. But so the mental health of
Dan Regan: Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: E it affected everyone. And then but you had these three major things going on. Do you know, because you said you think you had like was it would when you're saying you think you had this when you had this when you were young, are you saying basically anxiety?
Dan Regan: It was it was diagnosed as as anxiety when I was first talking about it in the nineties. But what I had and I finally found probably the last when did we mean? What's now twenty twenty six? Probably about nine years ago, I met the therapist that I was I would go to the you know, to the end of the earth for. This man was the best. My first meeting with him, 'cause I've been through a few therapists, some were some were good, some weren't. one in particular. I would go in and it's funny now. I mean, I s I I mean you can laugh if you want. Like I would go in and he'd say, Do you have any shows recently? And I said, Yeah, you should do any material. I'm like, Yeah, let me hear it. And I'm thinking, Okay, maybe he wants to see you know, why I wrote that and we'll we'll dig into that. So I would tell him and he'd start laughing and he's like, Okay, what else you got? And after a few times I'm like Am I just performing for this guy? And that's kind of how I felt. Like, you're not really helping me. You're not telling me, like, okay, well, let's let's talk about why you wrote that. You know, like, you know, like, but so I felt like I was I'm like, this guy's getting a free show here. So I had he was a nice guy, but I'm like, yeah, you know, you're not helping me. So, so so the guy, my therapist who I had you know, like I said nine years ago, my first meeting with him,
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Right. Yeah. Right.
Dan Regan: I s I sat down, I started talking to him and he said after talk because I he did like a brief interview with me on the phone before we met, so he had some basic information on me. But then when we sat down, about halfway through, he says, Let me ask you something. Your brain never shuts off, does it? And I said, No. He said, do you think about writing jokes at night? You think about writing I said, always my brain doesn't sh he is that's why you're you know you don't have anxiety, you have panic. disorder because your brain is your best friend for what you do, but it's also your worst enemy. Because you can't just shut it down. You can't just lock it down and relax. You know, you're always it's always it's open basically. It's like a highway. He does it's like, you know, cars are constantly going through. He says and what we're gonna do is we're gonna work on shutting that brain down for you to focus. He diagnosed me within Thirty minutes that it took me twenty years that nobody ever caught. And that was like a breakthrough, like wow, you know what he's ready. Yeah. And he was great after that. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. No kidding. And so I always see, I thought that I've never heard that described like that and that it's panic disorder. Cause when you said your brain doesn't stop, I would have jumped to ADHD. That's what I was thinking. Yeah. But that's a sign of panic disorder. There must be an overlap there. Right? Because I know people that have ADHD. and their brains also don't shut off. but but he's never had a panic.
Dan Regan: By the guy behind you.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. So so I'm wondering i is there crossover you know, do you did he bring up ADHD two or was it was it just panic disorder?
Dan Regan: Well, with me because what when you know, 'cause this was new to me. Like I I I think another therapist said you might have panic as well, but I always said I had anxiety. So when he said you have panic disorder, I said, So it's not depression because he goes, Well d he goes, Did you ever did you ever f feel like you want to harm yourself? I said, No. I go I've had days where I was didn't want to get out of bed. He goes, Well that's tied into panic because he goes, Tell me why well tell me what you were feeling during that and What I described to him was he goes, that's classic. He goes, you look it up, you can Google it, it's panic disorder. I would like I try to explain to people what panic disorder is. Think of your biggest fear, whether it's you know, going on a roller coaster, talking in front of people, whatever it is. Picture you're about to do that every minute of your day. That feeling right before, but it's constant. That's what panic disorder is. You're just afraid to be. You don't even know why you're afraid. You're just afraid. Like you're like it gives you that fight or flight response and it's it's it's really it's debilitating. and for a long time I would just I lost a lot of weight. I was only positive about that. but, you know, it it really it really when he diagnosed me like that, it really it opened up my my my my eyes to like, yeah, that's that's what's going on. You know, it's not depression, it's not it's anxiety.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That that is right. And and I'm pictur I know what you're talking about, 'cause I also don't like roller coasters and I know what you're saying. That's that feeling in your stomach, that fluttering, that ing that that feeling, like that and it can kind of go at least for me I should say, is like it's that feeling in the pit of my stomach and then it can flutter all the way up and it it is like a fight or flight thing. And I can get like clammy hands and almost break out in a cold sweat. But I don't have a panic attack where I feel like I'm s I'm I'm frozen. Like I can still function, but inside I'm freaking out over that. And it's but if so if I were to go do it, like Brian loves roller coasters and I know it's been hard for him to s understand. If you just do it, you'll have a good time. And I have tried to do it and I've gotten on the roller coaster and I'm not having depending on the roller coaster. But if it's a big one, I'm not having a good time. I'm freaking out I am freaking out the whole time.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: like this, waiting for I can't wait for it to be done. And so it never goes away. And you're saying it's like that pan panic disorders, you always are kind of feeling that way just going through your normal daily life.
Dan Regan: Yeah, so with with me it was especially like I go back to Walmart, that's when I first it really this is when it first really affected me. so I would be at work and one would and the wave would c I call it the wave. The wave would come over and the only thing you wanted at least for me, I needed to get out. Like I needed to walk, so I would walk. And that would help me for a second. That would be like a a a a brief relief. But then it would like okay, like what if I get another one now where I'm walking? It's these it's just these negative thoughts that like he said is the highway of just going through. to a point where I said, you know what, one day I was at work, I was having a really bad one. I I gotta go home, I'm not feeling good. Take I'm gonna go home, I'll be good, I'm at my home base, that's my anchor. I got home and it one hit me even harder than when I was at work. Because just because you're home, that doesn't go away. Maybe for some it did, for me it did.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Right.
Dan Regan: So the you know and and and the person I was with at the time was not very sympathetic to my situation. I'm not gonna, you know, bash anyone, you know, just leave it at that that she she you know was not very helpful. She actually made it worse. And but again, people that don't understand, that didn't go through it that you know, like how many times I heard snap out of it. And I just snap out of it. Think good thoughts. You know, go take a sh I heard go take a shower. I heard go exercise. I heard eat better foods, go to church. I've heard of I've heard it nothing maybe that'll help other people and that's great if it does. Whatever it takes for you, that was not helping me. And when I met my wife, this is I met my wife in June of twenty thirteen and her birthday was is in September, so and she was turning forty. So, you know, we really hit it off. I knew this I just haven't like you know, I told people like this is the one and we we were we just clicked. So for her fortieth birthday I was gonna fly her down to Clearwater for a couple days just for her and I to get away, Clearwater, Florida. now to this to this point I was on an airplane once before before this from my first from my honeymoon to the my my first marriage. And I had such a panic disorder when we got there that we had to come home early. Like we were there only a day or two and I had to come home early. So I'm thinking, okay, well it's a long time ago. I'll be able to do this. And I didn't tell my wife what I was going through. I didn't tell her I had panic disorder. Nothing like that. Yeah, we you know I think I might have told her I had I like I took, you know, like I took therapy and stuff like that, but I didn't tell her my fear of planes or So we stayed at the airport. We're flying out of JFK in in New York. We got a hotel room that night right by the airport. We go to the airport. I'm feeling a full blown coming on it. I'm like, what am I gonna do? I mean, we're you know. So JFK has these these tram cars that take you from JFK is huge. So we get on the tram car to go to our gate. And it got so bad that when we weren't even at our stop, we had a different stop.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: I go, I gotta get off. And I jumped off the tram. She's and she's she has her suitcase. Like, what what what do you so she luckily she grabbed her suitcase and she got off the thing. She goes, What is I'm I'm in I'm in a cold sweat and I said, I can't do this. I said, I'm sorry and I explained to her, she's like she was come here, let's sit down, relax, let's just We talked it through and I said, She's and then sh this is why she's the best. She goes, Would have been nice if you told me sooner, you know, like you know, like that she's busting my balls.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: Which kinda like kinda broke the tension. She's like, How about you tell me, you know, next time you give me a warning or something? So I ended up getting on the plane. We flew to Clearwater. Had the best time. Didn't have one panic attack. Because at first I f I finally felt grounded with someone, someone that gets me, because she has mental health issues as well. That she so we were able to kind of bounce it off each other a bit.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Since then, that's twenty thirteen, I've flown probably twenty two times since then. I've been to I've been to Ireland, been to Florida three times, been to Vegas twice, you know, like now. If when I still get on the plane, I get that little like, you know, I have my Xanax with me just in case. But for the last ten trips, I don't haven't even taken a Xanax, you know. And and that's all
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Mm-hmm. How do you deal with the landing? 'Cause that's
Dan Regan: Landing I don't like. Takeoffs I'm fine. I know p everybody's different. Some people don't like takeoffs and I don't like the landings. The landings give me give me a little but I I I get sweaty. I I grip. But yeah. Landings a little little yeah. But that's
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah. Now has she been with you for all those since since twenty thirteen on those twenty two flights? Has she been with you?
Dan Regan: She's my travel partner. Sh I've been everywhere I go is with her. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So she's your anchor.
Dan Regan: Without a doubt. I like I always one year, I forgot what it was, I gave her I gave her a rock and I said, I go, This is because you are. You're my rock. And you know, like I know it sounds silly, but she's you know, sh like she's taught me so much just to be a better person. she called me on things that I never even realized I was doing, just in general in life. And
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. No.
Dan Regan: She made me be more present. Like when we first met, I was always on my phone with social media and stuff. And one time we're out to eat. And she goes, Is that more important than me? I said, No. She goes, then why are you on it? And she didn't say it like confrontational people like, no. The way she put it, she was right. So to this day, I will say to her, like, you to figure out my phone real quick? She's like, No. And you know, but that's out of respect for her. And she was right. We're not we would love to we would love to believe we're always royal about stuff. I'm I'm never wrong. That's not that's not if if if you're a narcissist, you know, you yeah, you're never wrong if you're a narcissist. But we're we're all wrong. We we all yeah, she's tell she's told me when I've called her on things, she's Thank you, she'll thank me, like thank her. You know, that's what that's what growing is. That's why I know I'm with I'm with my person, I'm with the person I was supposed to be.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Can relate to that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. 'Cause you're growing. I mean, accountability's huge and you know, I guess it's I can say definitely for our generation, Gen X boys received no attention in general for their emotional development. You know, you guys were expected to not show emotion except anger. that was acceptable and aggression. But I mean, you know, and not that Gen X girls got a lot of attention with it either, but at least like if we cried Depending. We weren't totally ridiculed. but I would say I think a lot of Gen X men then grew up as avoidance and they just didn't know how to they get overwhelmed dealing with accountability and within relationships. So the fact that you are with someone and you guys have that mutual respect and you're able to be open and hear her what she's saying and not be immediately defensive. And maybe you were t not that it's perfect, but that you were able to be self aware enough to say, okay, you know, I need to hear what she's saying without immediately feeling like I need to defend myself. That's huge, I think. You know, for a relationship to grow and be strong, how did you guys meet?
Dan Regan: Absolutely. Yep. We met online. Honestly. we Yeah. I I was never and I talk about this in my videos, I was never a club guy. I don't like when I said I don't like going out, I mean I like going out to dinner, concerts. I like I was never a club guy. I didn't I was I'm not a good dancer. I enjoyed the music, but you know, so when I when I got divorced, actually
GenX Adulting Podcast: did you?
Dan Regan: I've been divorced twice. This is my my wife is my third wife. I'd never revealed that on social media before. So this is the first time I'm saying that. And people might look at me like, What is wrong with him? And I'd be the first one like, Yeah, with three times. my wife's family, they thought the same thing.
GenX Adulting Podcast: My mom listen real quick. My mom has been married and divorced three times, so no judgment. We do give her shit though. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Okay. No that's great. that and that's fine because I would be right along like if I was only married once, I'd be one of those people like, What is wrong with you? That three times, really? my wife's family admitted to me, you know, at first, they're like, Yeah, when she first told us, you know, I said, I get it, you know, like listen, listen. That's that's a normal reaction to that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes.
Dan Regan: I'm not gonna defend like I'm not gonna say it wasn't my fault those two times. I was at fault, so were they. Things didn't work out, there was some cheating on not on my end, so things happen. So but I told her, I'm glad that happened, otherwise we never would have met. So I'm glad I had to go through all that crap. so yeah, we so when I when I got when I went through my second divorce, I was in my buddy's wedding and he was marrying a woman who they met almost. They're telling me you gotta do this online stuff. And I was with my second wife over eight, nine years. So this online dating developed one, you know, way you know, right after way after I was. I mean, I'm not doing this. And I tried it my first night, I almost got scammed. It was a scam. so I was like, Yeah, this online stuff's great. so
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Yeah, great. So for about a year I was often on no the dating sites and I came across my my wife's profile. I read it, I like, Wow, you know, she sounds you know so I sent her a message and it's and we always we wish we would have screenshot our messages because whatever she sent back to me, I was like, Wow, that's it was different. It was she gave me snark 'cause I gave her some snark on on my message back. And then we went out we went out the next night. Which she's told me that's rare for her. I didn't like doing that either. I I s I like going out. I I liked maybe meeting up soon, but this was like the next night. And and I yeah. And I think after that I think we saw each other for like eleven days straight after that. then we took a break. We were like, Well, we gotta take break. So we took like a night break and then that was it. Within
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, that's early.
Dan Regan: a year she moved in with me and then we got married the following year. I just knew this was y I'm like, why am I gonna wait? I knew that this you know, this is what I've been waiting for.
GenX Adulting Podcast: When you know you know. And you know, those just as you said, those past experiences probably also helped you recognize the value in her. You know, you know, when you go through stuff and then you encounter someone, like you s you can see, okay, the it clears the way for when you can recognize the person that's for you and the attributes that matter in a person.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: When you're young, it's sometimes hard to figure that out. But so yeah, definitely you had to go through all that to find her. So that's awesome. I love that you guys spent eleven days together. Yeah. Took one little break to test it out. We're like, nah, we gotta be together.
Dan Regan: No, it I think it was eleven. I I I I gotta ask her. I I think it was eleven. It w it was but it was it was definitely definitely more than a week. It was probably week and a half. I'm saying it probably was eleven, where and then finally we're like, let's just take a break and then I think we called each other that night and she's like, I wanna see you like, yeah, we'll see. Like it like, Yeah, this isn't I don't like this. Yeah, it was and one of the things that I always
GenX Adulting Podcast: that's awesome.
Dan Regan: The big I mean she's taught me a lot, but one of the biggest things that I always try to put myself like when you're in an argument or disagreement or anything, I would try to put myself in another person's situation because it's so easy to know my point of view. That's easy. But you try to put yourself in their perspective. Like how are they seeing you? And like and that helps me, but something I never did that my wife really helped me develop. when she would say to me, you know, you upset me would. you said. I would say no I didn't. And she goes, Don't say no you didn't, you did. Maybe you didn't, but it affected me. So don't say no you didn't. I'm not you don't have to say you're sorry, but just because you didn't think you did doesn't mean it didn't happen. I never thought of it. Like that was something that I'm like, you know what, you're right. Like, if I tell somebody, you know, that bothered me. come on, no it didn't. come on joking. Alright, you might have been joking, but it still bothered me. You like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: That's the kind of stuff that she just opened my eyes to that just made me a better person, you know. And yeah, like I said, I could I could make a laundry list of things that she saw me work, but that was the one that really sticks out with
GenX Adulting Podcast: It's it's so important too because when someone comes to you ex expressing how they feel, you can't tell someone they're not feeling that way. That's their experience. I mean, first of all, that's totally gaslighting. But you you you you can try to understand why do you feel that way and let's hash this out and then let's see where the misunderstanding was or whatever, but you can't invalidate they're feeling that way. They're their own person. And so to But I think some of that's our generation. I was about to say that. Because nobody validated when we were feeling anything. It was I mean, I don't know about your experience. Your grandparents might have I mean, they sound like amazing people, but no one whenever we tried to do we were either being too dramatic or especially I mean, for girls I can tell you we we were told that we're being too dramatic. everything was belittled. And so you stopped expressing to people how you were feeling.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So I do think some of that and then we and then we marry each other and we're expected to have these relationships when so we're almost learning together and it's no wonder that there has been divorces because no one prepared us, you know?
Dan Regan: Exactly. You're right. No, hundred hundred percent right. The you know, the the whole and I've done a video about this. I I do know I do videos about mental illness, but I also say about you know, men aren't supposed to cry. It's bullshit. Complete bullshit. that's what I was raised. My grandfather, like I said, you know, Navy veteran, tough guy. I saw him cry once. Ever. And that's because He lost a chain with the medallion that meant it was sentimental. I think his his somebody's I know if his mom gave it to him, but he lost it. And I remember my they bought it they bought him a new one for Christmas. Same exact like a carbon copy of it. And when he opened it up, he kinda paused, took a deep breath, and he started sobbing. I didn't know how to react to that. So never this is the man who and he never said he never said to me, Men don't in his defense, he never said you don't cry, that means you won't wimp. He didn't say that to me. It's just the way he presented himself. So to see this man cry that I'd never saw cry before, I didn't know what to do. Like I was sitting there like I felt so uncomfortable. And I don't mean that in a bad way towards him. I just I didn't know how to react. You know, that's why I tell I tell men, listen. If you need to cry, get it out. Talk to somebody. Talk to your f I said, and you know what? How about we normalize telling our guy friends we love and our and our guy family members we love There's there's nothing that well that's that's not manly. What is manly? Please explain to me what manly is. Because to me, telling somebody you love is not about being a man, it's just about being a human. You know, and that's so I tried to make it and I have trouble with this still.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes.
Dan Regan: Because like you said, how we were all brought up where it's it's awkward telling a man I love you. You know, but if it's somebody that's in your life and you cherish them, you I'd rather tell you now feel awkward than one day not have the opportunity to tell you. That's how I love it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: One hundred percent. No, I agree. I think I think for a lot of guys in our generation, as they've hit midlife, they're all they're either going through this, I'm not I don't know if it's a healing journey or just like an a growth journey or whatever and experiencing things that they were entitled to experience when they were young, but never given the space for it. and I think there's a section of Gen X men that are doing that and are probably as a result able to still maintain and have successful relationships with their partner. And then I think there's another section of Gen X men that are like, I drank from the water hose, we're tough, we don't need anything, and are not progressing in any way, but their partner is because a lot of Gen X women are grow going through a lot right now. And I think Those relationships are on the rocks. I'm s that's what I'm seeing. And so I think it just depends on how you guys are approaching because I know how we're approaching midlife. I could write a book about it at this point. How you guys are approaching it is very interesting to me. And I think there's two different well factions of that. And just to add to that, when did you have that realization, would you say? Because I can relate to what you're saying and that I've told her no, you don't feel that way. I don't
Dan Regan: Yep, you're right.
GenX Adulting Podcast: do that as much anymore. I'm sure I know I'm not batting a hundred there or a thousand, but I'm gotten better, right? And I've gotten better with age. And I'm curious if you've experienced the same and if that happened at a certain age. I I felt like it's like once you at forty I lost my eyesight. At fifty I felt like I got some perspective. And I'm curious if you can relate to that or that timeline.
Dan Regan: The first time that she really called me out on the whole, you know, don't tell me no you're not was about five, six years ago. I remember the conversation we were in the kitchen and I said something to her and she was, you know, that hurt me. And it was nothing like like I didn't say your cooking sucks or nothing like that. It was nothing like you know, like it was it was something that to her meant something. To me I didn't see it as a big deal. I was wrong. And and and she told Yeah, and and she told me, she's like I go, No, I didn't I said, What do you talk about? Like I I I didn't even mean it. Like she says, Well don't tell me it doesn't or don't tell me like no it did because I wouldn't tell you I'm bothered by it unless unless it bothered me. So and I sh she might have even said she I know she said in the past, she might have said that day, don't invalidate my feelings.
GenX Adulting Podcast: The worst. I've been there.
Dan Regan: You know, and and I went, you know what? You're right. And I walked out of the kitchen, I want to give her space 'cause I know she was upset. I came back and I said, I'm sorry. I said, You're right. I will try not to say that again. If I don't agree with what you're saying, we could talk about it, but by saying no I didn't, that shuts it down. That puts up my defenses and that's gonna put up your defenses and that's we're not gonna get nothing accomplished that way.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: So that was about five, six years ago. Like I said, I still remember we were in the kitchen when that happened. And it was, you know, listen, I'm not a relationship expert. I've made a lot of mistakes. you know, but this is one of the things that I think really was that that like that pivotal moment where I'm like, Okay, I I grew I just grew up right there in this relationship, you know, and it took her to kind of op open my eyes.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. think it's such a valid p perspective and point of just because and I do think it's something at least women tr do try to get clear to their partners is just because you don't see it as a big deal doesn't mean it isn't it is to me and it's that you need to understand this matters to me. And and I that just getting that my gosh. Then you can continue to have conversations. Also you said You left to give her space, but you came back. So avoidance will leave and not come back. They'll just be quiet and ho until things return to normal, not knowing well the resentment's just building. The the worst thing that can happen is a woman a woman goes quiet. When she doesn't want to talk to you about it anymore, you're screwed. She's done. She's done. But I mean, I think again, you both of you are and you and you said you grew up in that relationship.
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm. yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Like at that moment in that area of your emotional development. I mean, just even talking about it is such a sign that you guys are on a growth journey. Well, it's learned behavior for us, I think, because it's not natural. It wasn't necessarily modeled. And even if it was, we might have been too just in our own world to recognize it. Right. So it something clicks for us if we're on the right track, I think. We something clicks and you do You pause, you hear, and you try to come back around. I know that conversation you're describing, we've had and I fucked it up the first hundred times. And I pr I don't know if I get it right every time still. But you're a lot better. But I'm I know I'm better. Right. And it's it's an interesting dynamic and thing. No, I think it's it's a it's it's it's a it's a journey. It's definitely a journey, but I think also
Dan Regan: Yeah, absolutely. I agree.
GenX Adulting Podcast: We hit a point as women where we're like, we're not putting up with certain things anymore. Like we hit this and we're I'm not going into the next part of my life do dealing with the same crap. So you either get it together or we're gonna have a problem. So I think it's a it's both parties figuring it out together. But then when you do, my God, the relationship is so awesome and so strong and has leveled up into a level that you didn't even know existed, and you truly are. a a team a team, you know, as you're going into this next phase of life together. So I love that you even talk about mental health with men, and think and address so many things that aren't spoken about when it comes to men. Cause there's a wealth of things about for women on social media. But there it's a drought for men, at least midlife, on what's going on with you guys. So the fact that you even broach it
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: is is really it's awesome that you're using your platform for that.
Dan Regan: Thank you. and I know like now we're gonna talk about on social media for a second. So, you know, if you look at all these experts on social media that say this is how you're gonna grow your account, you gotta stick within your niche. You don't go out of your niche. So if that's the case that I do So technically I shouldn't be talking about mental health. I should not be talking about anything serious. And I don't for the most part. For the most part, I would say ninety eight percent of my material is trying to make people laugh. But like June was men's mental health month. Every year I talk about it. Because it's important. And it listen, that stunts me from getting followers or whatever. I'm more I'm more focused on just if it helps one person, I know it sounds like a cliche, but
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: I've had messages, I've had people I had recently I had a letter mail 'cause I have a PO box set up where people could send me, you know, if you want to send me something. but I got a letter about three weeks ago from a gentleman and he was going through a tough time and he told me flat out, you know, you talking about it, it's helped me and I've had messages like that. That to me means just as much as somebody saying you're hilarious or you're funny. Maybe more, because jokes help us get through life. I'm convinced without comedy we're doomed. But it's the people that that tell me what you said about mental health, about men, that's really helped me. That might mean a little bit more to me because to me you've gotta have peace, you gotta have inner peace. Not to get it, you know, philosophical, but you gotta have inner peace. And if I'm helping you get there, so be it. You know, 'cause people have helped me get there. So I'm trying to pay it forward with that as well. So that's that's why I I have to talk about
GenX Adulting Podcast: I've got a question on that because I do think your answer to this will probably help people, but when you f were first diagnosed with the the therapist who said this is panic, what was what was the treatment? What did you do? What would what did what was the guidance from him?
Dan Regan: He gave me, and I wish I knew what it was called, but he gave me like a chart, like a blank piece of paper with boxes. And now I'm gonna forget it because it's been so long. But what I would do is he'd say, Okay, when you're feeling a panic attack, where are you? And I would write it down. And by writing it by the way, by just writing in general, you're focusing your brain off all your thoughts, concentrating it to just even writing. So that helps. But it'd say where are you? what's your fear? Okay, then I write out my fear. What do you think the consequences of this if it happened would be that I write that so it's a series of questions, and then it goes to the next column and it would say, How on a scale one to ten do you think likely this is gonna happen? Now by the end, first thing would say is on a scale one to ten, how much panic are you having? That's the first question. So I'd write eight or nine, ten. The last question at the last column at the end was, How's your panic now? And by then sometimes it's a four, a three, because it brought me through a a journey of see? It's not it's not constant, it's in your head. And that's okay. But Your like he said, your brain is your best friend, it could also be your worst enemy. And and that's what I tell people too. Exactly, channel the focus. And that's why and I tell people these these tips that help me, not saying they're gonna help you. If they don't, I said I'm not a therapist. This has helped me over the years. the hardest thing that I had to do is when I had a panic attack coming on is
GenX Adulting Podcast: She almost channels the folk. Go ahead.
Dan Regan: embrace it. Instead of because right away you get one you're like, nope, nope, I don't want it. Nope, I'm not having a panic attack. So worst thing you can do, you're feeding it. I literally now when I c I haven't had I haven't had one in a long time where I had to do this, but I was driving the last time it happened. I've done it in bed, but the last time I was driving and one was coming on and I literally out loud I was by myself and I said, My old friend, you came back to visit, come on, give me a hug.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Right.
Dan Regan: Come on, bring it in. Bring it in. I'm acknowledging it. By doing that, you're taking away its power. Because you're acknowledging, hey, it's there. I'm not ignoring you. Come on in, give me a hug. It's amazing how much how fast it gets knocked down when you do that. It's it's scary. It is so scary. It is so hard to do. That's why I tell people if you don't if you fail in your first try or second try, don't get discouraged.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Because believe me, I know it's it's that's scary to do. But once you do that, it's gonna be easier to do. It might not always work, but it will work more than it doesn't. And I've had people message me, I tried your technique. First time in years, I knocked down my panic attack a lot quicker than I did in the past. Thank you so much. And listen, I didn't develop this. It's just something that was taught to me. That's all. And I'm just happy that people were able to
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow.
Dan Regan: Do it as well. Another thing I do, I now this is something that I came up with. I know it sounds I told my therapist this. He goes, You mind if I use that? I'm like, go for it. Go, you know, tell your patients. He goes, That's really good. It's a good way to look at it. He said, so at the time, I I think I was like, I think I've had it at the time for like twenty five, almost twenty five years, and I first developed World Bad Panic when I was about twenty-five. And in my head I went, You know what? I've lived twenty-five years without you. I'll live twenty-five years with you because you know what? At the end of the day, I'm a hundred and seventy-three and against the pan the panic attack has never beat me and it never will. It might knock me down, it's never gonna beat me. I I don't know how I worded it to him, but he goes, That makes a lot of sense. It says, Because you know what? You might have a panic attack, but if you wake up the next day, you beat it. So look at it that way. It's gonna be a hard time, but you're undefeated. It's never beaten. So that's how you gotta look at it as well.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. It's awesome that you're sharing this, that you share these this information because they're such valuable tools. And so many people haven't been given those tools and they're just suffering needlessly. So just to even have a few of these coping tools, like you know, you've you've received messages. It's life-changing for people. And I love how you talked about just embracing it and you're taking away like that energy that feeds it, right? That
Dan Regan: Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Fear, that fear is such a powerful energy. Whereas if you're embracing it's almost like light. And and that's more powerful than fear. You know, that beats fear. So you're winning by taking away the the the the power of the fear and c and replacing it with a light almost, which is so much stronger. I can completely visualize what you're saying. that's amazing. That's amazing. Like I've never even heard of that before. When you had 'Cause you said this happened when you were younger when you were a child, but was it not as strong, the panic attacks? Was it more just anxiety based, or did you go through these when to that degree when you were a child? I do want to add on to her question real quick. As you were in the ther in therapy, did you try to go down the path of getting to the root?
Dan Regan: Yeah, I did.
GenX Adulting Podcast: And is it's kind of in line with where she's going. Yeah,
Dan Regan: Yeah, so what what happened is I just talked about this the other day that about being homesick and I said I've always was homesick and I made a joke out of it but it's true. like if we went we I remember we went in sixth grade we went on this school trip to Stokes Forest up in North Jersey. you might re Stokes, yeah. And we go you go f you go for three days and I remember I was miserable I
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Whatever. I cried. I missed my grandmother. I just wanted to go home. You know? And so early on, even when we took a bus trip for a day, I got like, no, what's gonna you know, I don't I where you know, like so yeah, so even as a kid I had it. but it didn't it didn't manifest until that day at Walmart where it came it just exploded. I think what
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: my union my therapist were talking about is I have abandonment issues obviously because of being raised by my grandparents. like even when I had friends that would go on vacation just to go away for a week, I'd be like, I'm gonna miss them. But I'm not even have seen them in that week anyway. But just knowing that they're not there. It's like little things like that. so I it's it's definitely
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: It's definitely been with me my whole life and I think it's like I said, it's just the whole like it's loss. It's just the fear of loss. especially relationships. you know, because you know, when you don't when you don't have that dynamic, that family dynamic of mother, father, some people some people doesn't affect, but me it did. And that's where I think the panic came in and
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: And people could also say maybe that's why I do what I do now for, you know, of living. I do comedy because I want that validation from people. Because I d I love performing. I enjoy it. I feel awkward though sometimes when I like when I get compliments. So it's not like I'm like I'm seeking the admiration because you know, when somebody gives me a compliment I don't know how to act. you know, I It's nice to hear, obviously, I appreciate it, but it's just I'll never get used to it a hundred percent, you know. but but but yeah, it's been around since I I've had this this disorder's been with me my whole life, I'm sure it has.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That that what you described isn't that the plight of the comic? You you enjoy the laughs but it you don't I don't know, totally celebrate it or something, right? The ador the adoration. It makes you uncomfortable.
Dan Regan: It does. It it always has. like even now, like I feel even we're talking about this, but it just goes into what you said. people now request my autograph. It it's that is so like the first time it happened, I remember I said to my wife, I'm like, What is this? Like, they want my autograph. And it's I'll never I'll never get used to that. I'm so thankful and I know I've wanted people's autographs so you know, and I'm appreciative, but I will never ever be used to somebody saying, Hey, can I get your autograph? Because it I I'm just a I'm just a I'm just a dork. You know, like why do you want my autograph for
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. That's awesome. But it's it's how you make them feel and it's how y you affect their life, you know. So it's it's beyond you in a way, if that makes sense. Like what you're putting out there and then how they're receiving it. it's that that relationship, you know. So but I I understand what you mean. It's it's and I wonder if it goes back to a self worth thing. Like, am I worthy of this? Like what
Dan Regan: Okay.
GenX Adulting Podcast: And I think so many of us have that for so many different reasons. I the abandonment thing I can relate to big time. and I and I've had imposter syndrome, you know, and I think a lot of us have gone through that in different I don't know about you, but in different times of their lives. sometimes you could use some like maybe a little bit more imposter syndrome. Well you talk. I'm just kidding. He grew up different. He grew up he he grew up
Dan Regan: This catch. He's catching shrapnel over there.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I know, I know. I I'm re I'm going back on my I don't care if you felt it or not. I'm sticking with my You're you're reverting back. No, but it's That hurts my emotion. Yeah. He grew up different because he grew up in a very traditional stable household, but yet you know Mom, Dad, sister, dog, back porch.
Dan Regan: Here we go. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: But the emotional development wasn't there. And that's that generational thing. It's not that it was intentionally done to him, but it's still there was no space for that. So there's you know but he also was like you know, the the star quarterback and the star pitcher. So I think for you, at least getting attention, you were he was used to that growing up. I had no shortage of attention, but and wasn't always good and I'm not a big fan of it. You know, I can relate to what you're saying in terms of I don't accept compliments well. I don't I'd rather just keep moving. And it's a weird thing. Well, backfired on you because you would be he gets he got so much attention in sports that people started judging him and putting expectations on him, like the town. And it zaps the fun. You go from kid having fun to teen with expectations that are where where did this come from?
Dan Regan: Yeah. So it's a lot it's a lot of pressure. It's lot of pressure on a kid.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. So you like rejected it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is. But I mean that but that whole for you and where you're at in your life and I you know, I think it's again about how you make people feel and you're almost serving, if that makes sense. You're what you bring to them, it's bringing them happiness, bringing them joy, bringing them distraction for whatever's going on in their life. You know, so that's then that's why they have that feeling back where they want your autograph or they just want that. something to connect with you because of how you make them feel. Which I'm sure you know. But you know, but I'm sure it's still awkward.
Dan Regan: Yeah. Yeah, no no no. No no, you're right. You're a hundred percent right. And yeah, it it's again, I'm very appreciative. I I would never like I've been the you know, I've been recognized, you know, in public and people say, Can I get a picture with you? And it's so Yeah, I'm not used to that. I I will never get used to that. You know, and I remember I remember what I first told my wife when we were when we first started dating, I said to my wife, Don't ever tell someone I do comedy. She's like, Why? I said, just don't. I said, If I volunteer, then you can talk. If I bring it up, then you could elaborate whatever you want to do. Don't tell people I do comedy. Okay. So fast forward we're at our friend's beach house and she had some people over and this Our friend goes, Hey, yeah, yeah, Dan does comedy. But fine. So this woman who she had a couple. She goes, really? Are you f are you funny?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Ha.
Dan Regan: And I went, it depends on who you ask. You know, I've got that, you know I I have stopped answers to that. I said, depends on who you ask and depends on the day. So a little while later she's like, Well, tell us a joke, Mr. Funny Man. Like she was getting a little aggressive. And I said, Well, I said, you know, a monkey performs for a quarter, give me a quarter. Like, you know, I was just trying to diffuse it. but but my wife, she's Jersey, got that Jersey blood in her.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: She was shooting daggers at this woman and I could feel it. And so I went inside, my wife followed me, and she's like, all right, enough. So I said, relax. She's just a heckler. I've dealt with I've dealt with hecklers doing stand-up. I could I could handle it. So I went back out and I were talking about salads or something. And she made a remark, an off-color remark about me liking I don't like carrots in my salad, and she said something.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay.
Dan Regan: And I went I go, and you're single? That's that's amazing. Like I just said something and I but she laughed. She's like, Yeah, imagine that or something like that and she laughed. By the end of the night, she's like, Can we come see you one time? This and that I Yeah, yeah, we'll let you know, but whatever. On the drive home, my wife goes, Now I get it. Now I understand why you said that to me. I said, Yeah, it's It's not that I don't want to I it's not that I'm not proud of it, but sometimes when pe it's almost like when you tell someone, Hey, I do this. This is comedy's the only thing where people will challenge you on it. Like if someone goes, Hey, I I'm a wood maker. All right, well build me a deck. You're not gonna say that. You know what I mean? But in comedy, they're like, All right, well tell me a joke. Are you funny? It's almost like I'm gonna I'll see if you're funny. And that's why I you know I've said that I say that too.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes. That makes that makes such sense. I've never thought about that before, but it's the only thing that you see That's the dynamic, yeah. And people will feel comfortable challenging you. Cause even if you said I sing, I'd I think people wouldn't come at it aggressively. Like, well, then sing something. They'd be like, could you sing us a song? And it would be nice. But with comedy, you're right. People are like, Yes, yes, exactly. Well, to go back, so after you
Dan Regan: It would be a nice request, yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: got fired from Coca Cola. Is that when you started your comedy journey, your comedic journey? Or did you take another traditional job or what did you do next?
Dan Regan: Yeah, I I I took I took another I I just took some jobs where I could just, you know, pay the bills, whatever. and while I was doing that, like I said, I w I went through my second divorce. no, I'm sorry, my first divorce, my first divorce, not my second. Went through my first so many I forget. but there was after I went through my first divorce, I was playing I would always play rec softball. friends because you know I was always play baseball. So we would play rec softball and afterwards we'd all sit around at in the park line having a beer, just BSing. And that's when just naturally just talk it. I would tell stories or whatever. And I make the guys laugh sometimes. Sometimes I threw out some duds. Whatever. And my one close my my one of my best friends was like, why don't you just get up on a stage and do this already? Just just go start telling people jokes. You want to do it, do it. So this was two thousand three, March of two thousand three. I went down to the Laugh House in Philadelphia. They had an open mic night on Wednesday night. I signed up. I had my family showed up, a couple of my friends. I wrote a five minute set. They said you get between three to five minutes. I wrote five minutes. I did it in front of the mirror. went up on stage. People were laughing, thankfully. And I get off the stage and this comedian comes up to me and he said, hey man, that was really good. How long have you been doing comedy? And I said, This is my first night on stage. He goes, You're kidding. I go, No. I was still green as hell though. Don't think like I was this like cool, you know. I but he goes, Well, I run this show every Friday night. I'd like you to come out. And so I got booked to my first paid gig the first night. Which yeah. It was it was it was gas money, but I was just grateful just to even be asked. Whatever. I would have done it for free. You know.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. That's great. No, it's amazing. Yeah. Now, before you went on stage for the first time, did you have any inklings of a panic attack? Like did you ha have did you kind of have to balance? Were you nervous? Like stage fright. That was gonna hit you, that the stage fright might trigger a panic attack?
Dan Regan: I've been asked this by therapists and people and I it's a cliche for some performers. I feel the most at home on the stage. Like I could if somebody said to me right now, hey, we need you to get down to Madison Square Garden, Bon Jovi right now's at Madison Square Garden, if somebody said, Can you do ten minutes open for Bon Jovi? Let's go. No, no, no hesitation. I could talk and perform in front of anybody. I've never had a panic attack or even a tinge. It's I get n I call it anticipation energy.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So interesting.
Dan Regan: When I go on stage, I to do well, I want to get my energy, but I never once said I can't do this. I can't go on stage because of my panic. It's it's the opposite actually. That's what makes me feel at home.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's amazing. That's amazing. Have you have you or do you study comics? Like the two that come to mind for me would be like Artie Lange and Chappelle. Right? Chappelle was at the top of the world and he had to just get away. And and Artie, such a tragedy. Artie's funny as hell, but he had such a drug addiction and couldn't really deal with the success. so I'm curious if you studied the comics and I'm sure you're familiar with their stories. And what do you think you think they're in the same boat where they're like, I'm on stage, this is great, but now that I'm off and people want my autograph and all this, you know, accolades is where they're imploding. Like real life is where they're struggling.
Dan Regan: Yeah. well I grew up a huge Howard Stern.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: started listening to him in high school when he was on WYSP here in Philadelphia. he was on K Rock in New York. so when Artie came on, I mean I who didn't love Artie when he joined the show. He was he I I bought his D V D, it's the Whiskey Talking. I saw him perform in the State Theater in New Brunswick.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: I think Artie Artie is such a natural wit that if somebody's to say what's comedic talent, Artie, Chappelle, those guys are just where comedians aspire to be. but like you asked I Artie had a lot of issues if you read his because I I I bought his book. his dad dying really is what messed him messed him up mentally, which got him involved with drugs. So I don't think Artie was ever comfortable in his own skin before I mean I'm just speculating. Chappelle but Chappelle
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Dan Regan: Hell's a different like nobody understood why he left at the time because comedians were like, You finally got your this is what every comedian wants fifty million dollars from Comedy Central. But now that you're hearing his stories of how like how he was losing who he was, they didn't want him to be somebody else. And the pressure, I get it. I know people like, I'll I'll never understand that. Well, but you're not if you're not a
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah.
Dan Regan: Comedian performer, you might not understand where it will it will play on your mind like maybe I don't even deserve this. And that was I think a big part with Chappelle as well, I think. So but yeah, the it's two of the best. And Chappelle has a comeback now. I mean I'm I'm so glad to see where he's at now. already I'm rooting for, you know, by the grace of God, he's still with us. you know, but I'm just hoping that he's clean. That's all.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Are there Are there any com co comedians who who are like your not like your muse, but that who motivate you or inspire you, like who who you kind of might go to to study or watch or just use for motivation?
Dan Regan: my idol, it's it's it it's it's hard because I I said growing up I had two idols. Well three. George Carlin. Jordan Rivers, obviously. That was, you know, near and dear to my and and Eddie Murphy. They were like my you know, as as I got older I became a huge Don Rickles fan.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: But Geor for me, George Carlin, especially when I started doing comedy, people the things that I could appreciate as a comedian that people might not, the man did a new hour every year. It takes comedians, at least for me, to write an hour, years. That people don't realize how much material that is to do. And not only did he write it, it was killer every year. It wasn't just like, I'll throw a hundred, you know, sixty minutes of material out there. And when he did it, it it was like he's been talking about it for twenty years. He just memorized it. It was just what the man did was just incredible. And
GenX Adulting Podcast: It is amazing. Yeah.
Dan Regan: One of the biggest one of one of the highlights of of of doing comedy when I was on Twitter this after George passed. they started doing this thing with I think it was AI, where they did a complete George Carlin stand up with AI. And the comedian Will Sasso did George's voice. That no it wasn't AI, it was Will Sasso did George's voice. Of like a hour set of like what they would think George would talk about. I didn't like that. I was not a fan of that. Now, if you want to do an impersonation, that's fine, but I think they did more of like this is what I think they might have ran into an AI generator. So I made a tweet on Twitter and I said, you know, this this is is not George's soul, it's not his brain, this isn't George Carlin. This is like a knockoff. His daughter reached out. His daughter retweeted it and thanked me and then messaged me. She says, Thank you so much. You know. My Oil's daughter reach I don't I I no, I don't I don't wanna maybe I messaged her after she said after she re I don't know how it went. I may have messaged her. Either way, we had she broke back thank you. Just to have that connection with him. That was huge. yeah, so that's that was one of that was a huge highlight for me to to just have that some kind of connection with George like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Awesome.
GenX Adulting Podcast: And you can't think better one. Well, he was brilliant. A hundred percent. Like the man was so freaking smart. All comedians are though, and I think that's the central theme. Like I even threw in, I love Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, obviously, Red Fox. I used to have an eight my parents had a an eight track of Red Fox, and I'd listen to it as a you know gen extra. He'd tell his dirty jokes and I'd be downstairs laughing. I didn't totally know it, but it was some perverted stuff. And but
Dan Regan: Yes. Yep. Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: All comedians are smart. Yeah. And they're all in touch with another side. Like the right, you've you've you're in touch with another side. You've you've gone through some stuff, right? And you've kind of you so you guys are all coming at this from a perspective that I it's I find it fascinating. I love comedians like more the researching them a little bit to see what makes them tick type of thing. Because they're you guys are all insightful and smart. It's it's phenomenal.
Dan Regan: Yeah, th th there was the thing that was like was like a I wanna say realization for me. You know, I used to I'm not gonna lie, I used to bother me when somebody would say, you're not funny, but they commented. It bothered me a bit. Then one day I was like I think it was on YouTube. I was looking I was looking at George Carlin or something. Yeah, it had to be George. I was looking at one of his old bits and I see at the time just when YouTube had the down. on that they still do that. And there was like 200 thumbs down on his video. And I'm thinking this is probably one of the greatest comedians of all time. If 200 people don't like him, who the hell am I to be like, you don't think I'm funny? If they don't think George Carlin is funny. So take it with a grain of salt. After that day, it's made me a lot like people like you're not funny. Okay.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Whatever. Thank you. Move on. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Haters are gonna hate. Yeah. Well, I found trolls, it's typically about they're just projecting their own crap. It really has none nothing to do with you. I always say it's none of my business. We laugh when we get com like comments. I'll screenshot it and say we I find it because it's really has nothing to do with us. It's just them projecting whatever is going on with them. So it's like if you want to expose yourself. To the masses, that's fine, go for it. But that's all that's happening here. You know, I'm certainly not going to acknowledge it in any way. So, you know, okay, so you so they hire you. Go ahead, I'm sorry.
Dan Regan: Mm. Yep. Yeah. Which is the best way to pick? No, say that's the best way to be, like you said. That's that's a you problem. That's not a me.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Absolutely. And and I think that's as much as we may all go through self-worth issues or imposter syndrome and a lot of it's tied to our upbringing. We are Gen X. So even if we're struggling with a little imposter syndrome, we will still put you in your place. And we still don't care what you think. Like like there might be a moment, but overall, we don't care. We'll rationalize our way through it. Yeah, we'll just we we we have had to learn how to not care for Since we were born. So we'll we'll be okay. We might have a moment, but we're gonna get through this. This isn't knocking us down, you know. So I think, you know, you don't understand our generation. Okay, so they hire you. and now you're working every Friday night at this comedy club, basically.
Dan Regan: Okay. It was it wasn't even a comedy club. It was just it it was a place that we set up for comedy and I I did I did that for a few weeks and then other opportunities started coming up. I I I went to I worked for a company where we would write jokes for clients. clients like it could be a college professor that wanted to pump up his you know, his his you know, his class, what did he call that, the lab. So if he had like a like you know, like like a whole sheet of what he wants to talk about, but he wanted to make it a little bit more interesting, he gave it to us and we would write jokes, and if they picked our joke we would get paid, we'd get commissioned.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow, that's interesting.
Dan Regan: Yeah, we did that I did that for a little while. It's a cool it was a cool job. We did like like radio hosts. this I think El was it Elvis Duran, I think, was one of our clients. he's you know, we would submit jokes to him and then my first big I wanna say break was laughing taffy contact.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm.
Dan Regan: back when I was on Twitter and they said we're doing a campaign because I don't know if you're Laffy Taffy does a lot of dad jokes. All their jokes are basically dad jokes. And they said we're com you know, we're asking a bunch of different comedians to get together or to to compete in this it was during the f N C double A tournament to do like a N C double A style dad joke tournament and people would vote. You submit a joke, people would vote on it and you get to the next round. So I I won the first round. I beat this guy who he had a good dad joke too. The second round and it's it's a lot it's just based on votes. So the guy that they got went up against, he he was good. Don't get me wrong, he was good, but he was also ready for Hollywood and he had some like he had a following whereas I didn't have not saying I would have beat him anyway. So it it was I had fun, got compensated for it, had a blast. They act they got in touch with me the next year and they basically just wanted me to promote it this time and they compensated me for that. So I was like, Okay, this this is this is cool. So fast forward.
GenX Adulting Podcast: How did you promote Laffy Taffy Like what did you do?
Dan Regan: So so what I did was on they asked me to do like three tweets on Twitter. so what I would do is I would say, Hey, remember last year when I wrote this joke? Well it's coming around again this year, so make sure you you know, basically just you know, make sure you on this date, check Twitter, look up look out for Laffy Taffy for the dad joke contest, make sure you vote, you know, stuff like that. but they wanted me to promote it since I was
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. Okay. Did you Just curious, did you deliver the joke like on video or did you just write it and they kind of read it off type of thing?
Dan Regan: I just wrote it. I just wrote it. That w that's all they that's all they they they needed just they needed the first year when I was in the contest, they needed three jokes. So I submitted three jokes and I had a Zoom call with the company that was representing Laffy Tapitus Media, this PR company, and it was like it was me and three other people and they said well, you know, give us what you would
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay.
Dan Regan: want for compensation. And I had a number in my head. And they said, okay, well we're and I didn't tell what it was. And they came back with almost triple what I had in my head. So for for s for three jokes. And I went, excuse me? And she they said, Yeah. I said, Yeah, I think that'll work. Meanwhile I'm doing you know, I'm I'm doing, you know, backflips in my head. so that so that that was that was cool to get
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Yeah. Ha ha.
Dan Regan: That was my first actual check from a company. I I saved it, you know, Laffy Taffy out to me. It was it was cool. And when I made the when I passed the first round they sent me they sent me a picture and a frame of and they actually put my joke on a Laffy Taffy wrapper. So my joke was on the Laffy Taffy wrapper, which is cool. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's nice. That's awesome. That's cool. Do you have that framed? That wrapper with the joke?
Dan Regan: Yeah. So that The joke is I'll read it. What do you call a spice with some experience? Seasoned salt.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I love that. I love it. And I love it that you have that frame. That's awesome. Yeah, that's true. I love that. What year was that?
Dan Regan: Yeah, so that's s yeah, there it is. I probably this was this was right after COVID because we had the Zoom calls. So I would say probably twenty maybe twenty-two, twenty twenty one, twenty-two, something like that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So you'd been doing comedy how long by that point?
Dan Regan: that was about eight, nine years at that point. 'Cause I started two thousand three. No wait no no I'm sorry, nine years, nineteen years.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay.
Dan Regan: I told you I was not good I was not good at school.
GenX Adulting Podcast: How do you What what's your process to write a joke? That feels hard to me. Like, you know, a lot of the nighttime guys, whatever, or whoever Howard has a staff of of joke writers, right? Kimmel, I think, all these guys do. What's that like? That just sit down and try to be funny on paper?
Dan Regan: Well that also I want the that I'm gonna answer that because you said about do I get inspiration. I don't like to watch a lot of comedians because I don't want their material seeping into my brain. Because I don't I used to be a big advocate on joke theft back 'cause I used to have my jokes stolen from me on Twitter. I had actually I had a joke stolen from me from, you know, celebrities that on their Facebook pages and stuff like that. And then I realized, listen, like this whole like I did a joke today about the this this this viral infection that's going around the country with the vegetables, fruit vegetables. Listen, it's it's gonna be it's gonna be parallel thinking, we call it. You're gonna jump on somebody else's joke, you're gonna have the same thought. I was a little overboard with that, a little too sensitive back in the day, and I get it. But if you're gonna take my joke word for word, that's when I have an issue with. And like I see like now I have people on TikTok that make up whole accounts with just my videos now. You know, they just post my videos. And I try I hope you know, I got in touch with TikTok. We don't see nothing wrong with that. Listen, that's part of being, you know, putting yourself out there, I get it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I don't get that. I don't get why they don't ever resolve those issues because it's completely stealing content and impersonating some
Dan Regan: Yeah. Like it's one thing if if let's say I tell a joke that sounds similar to somebody else's, again, it happens. But when you're just literally taking my video with my face, with my words, and putting it on your account, how how how is that allowed? I don't that I don't understand. You know, but like but like say as like what you said about how do I write, it's just my brain never shuts off, so whatever situation I'm in
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Crazy.
Dan Regan: I could be at a like at a wedding. I hate to say it. I've been at funerals and I'd be like, how could I make this make people laugh? And you know, it's that's I const and then back in the day before social media or before smartphones, I would just write down if I had an idea like on back of a napkin, on an envelope, whatever I could write. So I would have just sh stuff lined around the house with like ideas. And then I would like you know, write a joke and then I would try to put that into a bit to do on stage. And a lot of it bombed, some of it stuck and worked. It all depends. So but I've been like even back before I started doing stand up, I was what I didn't even realize I'd thinking about writing jokes, like just trying to trying to be phony. Just trying to find the funny in things, that's all.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Were you doing stand up during those whole night like once you s got on the stage the first time, even when you were working for the company writing jokes for other people and all that, were you still doing regular stand up through that whole period?
Dan Regan: Yeah. And which was cool was w we used to have contests for that company and I think whoever got the most jokes commissioned one they they had a choice to what you would like. Like it could be a like you know, like a gift card or something. One of the ch and I won I won the contest and excuse me, and one of the choices was to do have a stand up set at stand up New York. I'm like I want I want that done. So it was a Monday night. Me and my wife went up to the city and I did ten minutes in front of a in front of a crowded stand up New York, which was huge. Yep. Yeah. So I've been
GenX Adulting Podcast: Awesome. Ten's a long time though, right? Is ten does ten kind of whip through for you or
Dan Regan: Well, I've done head I've headline shows. The longest I've ever done was I think I did about thirty-five, forty minutes once. and to me it is, but but your comed your working comedians that friends of mine that I have that should have their own Netflix special in my opinion that just aren't seen, they pump out an hour, hour and fifteen like it's nothing. It's it's it's amazing.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. It's a long time.
Dan Regan: see these there's so many there there's so many talented men and women out there doing comedy that just need that just that one person to be like I'm gonna I'm gonna put you on in front of more eyes and it's a shame that they're not seen. I've worked with so many talented people, it's amazing.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Really. Wow. Now you've talked about Twitter a lot. Did your social media journey start first with Twitter before Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube? Are you on YouTube too?
Dan Regan: Yes. Yep. I'm on YouTube as well.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So be before the those four. Okay. So before those four, was it just Twitter or did you start off on everything?
Dan Regan: Well back in the day when I started on Twitter, was like twenty eleven. I star I signed up for Twitter. there was only Twitter and Facebook. There was no Instagram, there was no TikTok. YouTube wasn't really doing reels. I mean you could do like I did YouTube videos, but I didn't know what I was doing. so you know, I I you know, I cut my teeth really with Twitter be and which was great about it was not only was I posting jokes on Twitter, it became a database.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: Because they would keep all my stuff. So every year I have jokes for Christmas, for Halloween, New Year's Eve. They're kind of the stock jokes I do every year, even if for my videos now. So what I would do is I'd go on Twitter, I would type my name in, I would just write Halloween. And all my Halloween jokes would come up. And I would just pick which ones I'm gonna use for that day or whatever. Which was great. So they something happened in the algorithm where Twitter's not doing that anymore. It's really frustrating me because I've written I think the last the last time I checked, I think I had and granted I've repeated a lot of jokes, but it said I wrote wrote over twenty thousand jokes, I think, on Twitter. again, one joke I might have written ten times, so that counts as ten. So I'm not saying but but as far as fresh f as far as fresh jokes, a few thousand for sure. so I would use Twitter as my basis, like all right
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Right. So still.
Dan Regan: you know, like let's say like for this like this this this this parasite that's out now with with the vegetables, I would type in food poisoning. And I'm like, Did I ever write a joke about food poisoning? And sure enough, some I did. Like I forgot about it. So I would see it and if it sucked, which most likely it did, I would say, Okay, but I've got a basis for something, let me work on it and I would turn it into hopefully a a decent joke. So that's So Twitter was definitely very essential with me developing into the social media that we're doing now.
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's amazing. It's it's like you were creating a body of work all those years and well that you could go back, like you're saying, and tap into unknowingly. What you you were creating something for the future. So then when did you start making the vi the types of videos that you do now? When was this born?
Dan Regan: So this happened. Twenty twenty-one, right around right before Laffy Taffy, I'll never forget this. I was at a show, it was a small show, small, small venue, and a female comic friend of mine was on a show with me, and she's like, You gotta get on TikTok. I'm like, I'm not I'm not dancing. Like at the time that's what I thought TikTok was. Like she was like, Dan Dan, she was like, this is the way the future.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: I'm telling you. I didn't listen to her. And boy do I regret it. Because actually, it might have been before COVID. I'm sorry. Might have been before COVID. Because, yeah, because during COVID, that's when a lot of your big TikTok stars blew up because everybody was home. Everybody was just on their phones. Now, I don't know what would have happened if I would have done it during COVID. Who knows? But she was right, because When I started doing the TikToks, I was I was starting to learn how to do a video, how to edit. And that turned into Instagram. Because I was I use Instagram just like everybody else did. I'll we go out to dinner, I'll take a picture of my food and me and my wife and throw it on Instagram, which was fine. But then I but then I saw like Instagram I read something where Instagram is starting to want they want to compete with TikTok with reels. I said, Okay, well
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Dan Regan: That's when I started taking my TikToks and posting them to Instagram. And then TikTok started, you know, moneti you can start monetizing your your content. It has to be a minute long. And that's where Twitter came back because I'm like, well, I mean I got bits I do on stage, but I don't have like twit tweets are like if you say a tweet, it's three seconds. What am I gonna do? So what I did was I said, Okay, for instance, I'm gonna do a I'm gonna do a whole one out one minute or one
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: One minute 30 second video on Amazon and my wife. I go to Twitter and I typed in my name, Amazon. And I had probably 20-30 jokes about Amazon, mostly about my wife with her shop. I just grabbed about ten, eleven jokes and I just made a minute long video on TikTok and I said and I I titled it The Relationship Between My Wife and Amazon. And I just rattled off my tweets that I wrote over the years. It was a minute and I got paid for it. I'm like, okay, this can work. And that's what I started doing. Christmas time came, all my Christmas jokes. I did a minute long Christmas video. Boom. I started, you know, getting monetized. And I started putting it towards Instagram. And then the big break on Instagram I didn't have a lot of followers on Instagram. this this guy, Paul, he ran an eighties page. Eighties eighties forever. It's an Instagram page. he posted one of my jokes as a meme that somebody took and he posted it. And back then I was calling people out for doing that. So I messaged him. I said, I said, Hey man, you know, that was my joke. Would you mind giving me credit?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm. huh.
Dan Regan: Sometimes I wasn't nice, depends on the mood I was in, but luckily I was I said, Hey, just mind just give me credit, you know, help me out 'cause at the time he had like twenty four thousand followers. I had less than a thousand. And he goes, No problem, you know, I'm sorry, I appreciate it. And he and he and and you know, he credited me and he goes, It was a funny joke. I'm sorry, I did that. And I said, You know what? You're one of the few people that's actually not only responded and didn't block me, you made it right. Well, fast forward, me and him are now friends, like to the point where he sent me a Christmas gift last year, we talk on the phone. but he goes and then he started promoting me. He's like, Listen If you like 80s stuff, you gotta you gotta follow this guy, Dan. You know, this guy's too good, not that you know, whatever. He he pumped me up. He goes, Well, I'm gonna get you to ten thousand followers. And by the by with his help, I got to ten thousand. Then I had a couple reels start went viral and it just kind of snowballed from there. And then the TikTok thing just the everclear is what catapulted me into you know with TikTok. Like I was doing good. when I started doing those Everclear videos, and it's nothing I started. There were Gen X creators on there that did them a year or two before me that would react to people drinking Everclear. It wasn't mine today. But my jokes were my jokes, their jokes were theirs. So at least I did my own jokes. And that's what really catapulted me with tick.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. And then what about what when did you come up with the idea of Hey Gen X?
Dan Regan: I think the first time was on Twitter and it was the the Kurt Loder. At the time he was only seventy six. That's how long I've been doing that joke. He's eighty-one now. I've been doing it for five years. But the w because when I saw that, I was like you guys I was like probably I'm like, What? He's seventy six? Holy shit. So I went I
GenX Adulting Podcast: Wow. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Right. I still am shocked. Every every every year I get reminded of his age and I it's like the first time someone's told me. I'm like, what? But I know that, but I'm still shocked. Do you do you know who we're talking about? I don't know. Okay, so on MTV, Kurt Loader did the news. the guy with the the fro? Like the white girl. That was Goodwin. That was Matt Good Matt Goodwin, right? I think. Right? Mark Goodwin. Mark Goodwin. Mark Goodwin. yeah, Goodwin, yeah. But
Dan Regan: Yeah. I think it was Mac yeah, yeah, I think it was no no Mark Goodman. Mark Goodman.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No, Kurt Loder like come in and they'd have that like the news, you know, that old fashioned news da. And then he would just give he would be the serious one and he would read the news like Kurt Cobain died today. Stuff like that. He had kind of like a not feathered hair, but Was it black feathered hair in a way? No, it was like brown hair. I don't know who the hell I'm talking about. Dark hair, but no, but you you should look him up. But but no, d then he's old he's I'm I'm I'm fifty five. I shouldn't say he's old.
Dan Regan: It was like pr like like dark area.
GenX Adulting Podcast: But he I never thought he was that much older than us. Even when I was in fifth grade watching T V, he didn't seem that much older. But then the person who showed me that he was that much older was you. And it was shocking.
Dan Regan: Yeah, like when I saw that, I jumped on Twitter and I and I don't know if I'm the one who came up with hey Gen X. That's just something that I said. But I want to like I want to go Hey Gen X like like hey, my people. Kurt Lutter's seventy six years old. Have a nice day. Like and that was my you know, it's like like other words, I came in, I gut punched ya and I and I left kind of thing. You know.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yeah. Yes. He was born in nineteen forty five. I looked him up. I know who you're talking about. That's crazy. Yeah, right. He look he's the he's a young looking dude. He looked young when we were young. That's I mean, yeah. Yeah, you're right. You it's the gut punch. That's what that Hey Gen X thing is. Sometimes I s I like I li I see you and I like it, but I'm not in the mood, so I keep scrolling. I'm like, I'll I always give you the like, but I'm like, I'm not in the mood today, Dan.
Dan Regan: I I appreciate it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I'll die for feedback. But I'm being honest, but then sometimes I'll I'll hang in there and be like, What? What do you have to tell me today, Dan? So, but that was your first one. Was Kurt Loader, that's funny.
Dan Regan: Well it's Well it's funny it it well it Was Kurt Loader and then Then the big one that got me that my first viral video, I think my first viral video on TikTok was if you s and I did this on Twitter and this this was big on Twitter. if you see someone over forty out past nine PM, they definitely took a nap earlier in the day. That was the big joke that that kind of got me some followers. But the second big one after Kurt Loader, which is I think even more shocking, was the Wolf Brindley one from Cocoon.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Cause he was like w what was in Cocoon? Like forty six, forty nine. Yes.
Dan Regan: Forty nine. Forty nine when he started filming Cocoon. And
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Do you know you know who we're talking I love Wilford Germany? But but you're saying I would have I thought he was ninety nine when we were right ten. But when he was filming Cocoon, that movie Cocoon, if you remember, he was forty nine. That's crazy. Yeah. Do you ever do bits then? Like you know, you see those memes of the Golden Girls or like Alice Brady or or not fr Alice from the Brady bunch where they're like thirty five, but they look like they're you've talked about that. I feel like you've talked about the golden girls.
Dan Regan: I've never talked about the Golden Girls. That's the one I never touched on yet. I I should there's if you go on my TikTok, I have a playlist, a a Hey Gen X playlist. I've got like forty forty videos. and it's some of them some of them are like, I'll say to my wife, I'm like, Hey, is this one shocking? 'Cause I bounce everything off her. And like the one it's like, Hey, the baby that Madonna Captain Papa don't preach is gonna be forty years old this year. Have a nice day. You know, it's like
GenX Adulting Podcast: okay. Okay. All right.
Dan Regan: It's like, wow. You know. The baby ones always the baby ones always get people. Like the baby look who's talking is going to be he's gonna be forty at the game a year. You know, stuff like that. It's like the babies who always gets us.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yes. Well like even Michael Jackson's daughter, I think it is, right? I know where yeah, she's like in she's like Kaize. Have you ever done the Friends baby, the Ross and Rachel's baby? 'Cause I saw that recently.
Dan Regan: I did I yeah, I think he graduated college. I think that was that it? Like they gra the baby and her friends graduated college. Or was that even ho yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Something. She Yeah, something like that. She's like an adult now. And she's yeah, she's it w it was 'cause nineteen ninety four when Friends premiered, I still think like thirty years ago was like I don't know. Yeah, it's still I ca it so nineteen ninety four doesn't seem that long ago to me. It's like, well that was just nine that was just like what, ten years ago? Well the the picture Nathan sent us, right? The is that Harry Potter cast?
Dan Regan: Yeah. Exactly.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No, that was Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings, all right. Our son is a big our older son's a big Lord of the Rings fan. And so there's a a meme where it's the hobbit the actors as hobbits when Lord of the Rings was made. They're kids. and yeah, they're young. They're not kids, but they're young. And then now and they're like they look like us. Like they look older people, you know, and it was wow, have you seen it?
Dan Regan: Yeah. I think I've seen I think I know what you're talking about. I think I've seen something s about that what I remember Lord of the Rings. Yeah. That's yeah, it's you know, it's it's one of those things where it's like you don't want to hear it, but at the same time I'm hop I'm I'm hoping it's entertaining, but it's like, 'cause people I've had people say, When I see your face pop up with H N X, I just wanna punch you you know, but in a g in like in a in a friendly way. I'm like hopeful I don't know how you can punch somebody in a friendly way, but
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Dan Regan: But, you know, and that's what I'm saying. Like I don't want see for when I was doing the Everclear videos for a while, that's all people wanted. Like to this day, you know, people like, Hey, you're the Everclear guy. Well, I still want to be known as the Everclear guy because I feel like I could offer I can give you more than that. You know, I appreciate it. You know, like that's why I said I got a bulk of my followers from Everclear, so Everclear's treating me good. But
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. Yes.
Dan Regan: I just I just hope I don't ever get to a million because I already said if I ever get to a million followers I would call Drink Everclear on video.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I think you're going to. So when was the last time you drank Ever Claire?
Dan Regan: Nineteen eighty six or eighty seven. It's been a while.
GenX Adulting Podcast: So what was that like tenth? Tenth grade? Was that tenth or eleventh grade for us? Because we're all the same age. That would have been We graduated. Tenth grade. Because we graduated eighty nine. Yeah. So so tenth grade. You've not done like jello shots with Everclear since then?
Dan Regan: Eighty seven eighty seven I was sixteen. I might have been tenth grade. Yep. Yeah. won't touch it. Because I had yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Lucky man. I hate to I hate to break to you, you will be drinking ever, clear It's gonna happen. You know that. Hit it soon be so you can handle it. he will. I don't I don't doubt that for a minute.
Dan Regan: Yeah. Well Well, the thing is I my drink of choice is I I like my Jameson. I'm a Jameson drinker, which I understand it listen it's not ever clear. But I and I even thought about this. I'm like, I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to do it. So should I train for it basically and drink something stronger than Jameson? J I'm like, no, you know what? No. I'm not gonna I'm just gonna give everybody all I already said I will do one shot. No chaser. And I will make sure I crack the bottle. There will be no cuts of the video, so nobody can accuse me that it's water. I will hold it, crack it, pour it all in one. I'll use you know use one of my shot glasses and I'll down it. And I'm gonna tell everybody, don't expect no reaction. There's gonna be a reaction. There's gonna be a reaction to it. I already told my doctor, my doctor already said, I'm gonna go to my doctor first, and I'm gonna say, Can I drink this and will I survive?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: I want to get his opinion on it. So I want to do that soon actually. He said I said to him like I don't I don't have to include you in it, but he's he's great. He goes, Nah, I'll be in your video. So but yeah, I want to do one shot.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. I think that's good. So funny having him there it is. Yeah, no kidding. Have him in the So wait, the question though is is your wife gonna be there to say there it is? Who's gonna say there it is? I think your wife should say there it is.
Dan Regan: Yeah. Well, she'll probably do it, but my plan is that I'm gonna do a reaction video on my video afterwards. So that's so that's what I'm do. I'm gonna do a reaction on my
GenX Adulting Podcast: brilliant. Brilliant. Okay. Can you can you shoot? Can we? You mean like can Yeah, wonder it feels like it'd put a hole in your stomach. That's what he does is people people do it on social media and then he reacts to them doing it. They're taking shots. that's crazy. Some people mix it on some of your videos I've seen, they mix it with stuff. Like one guy recently mixed it with like pink Nesquick type.
Dan Regan: That was y that that was yesterday's video. He did I think it's Moonshine, like Old Smokies Moonshine, but it I'm like, that looks like Nestle Quick to me. So you put that in with some with some Mountain Dew, which is I'm sorry, people are defending. Mountain Dew is disgusting. Okay? I will die on that hill. I can't stand my buddy my buddy loves Mountain Dew. Whenever we'd go out after a game, like go to Taco Bell, he'd go, large Mountain Dew, no ice. I'm like, you're disgusting.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Like strawberry and esquig type stuff. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, it's so gross. Yeah. So gross.
Dan Regan: But ugh but yeah, so people people will mix it, but the whole thing is like I and I I've made a I've talked about like people like, well why are you so you know, why do you hate it so I'm like I don't hate it. It's just you if you've had it, you understand my reaction to it. It's not good. And pe people are like if people
GenX Adulting Podcast: god. That's that. Now yes.
Dan Regan: See, the thing is like I talked about my my experience with it. I was at a house party at my friend's house, a couple people were there, somebody brings over a bottle of 190 Everclear. And we've at this point we heard stories about this legend. I heard all the stories. They crack it, my buddy swings it, runs to the sink and spits it out. We're cracking up, so it starts getting passed down. Everyone, no one's no one no one can keep it down. Maybe somebody did, but it gets to me. Now I'm fifteen at the time, I believe. I get it, I swing it. As soon as I as soon as it hits me, you can feel that burn. And I went, no. I ran to the sink like it was a trough, 'cause there was like three of us sick standing there. Spit it out. But then after that, they would have parties when you would do like we called it
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: Ooch, you put ever clear with wine punch. And we would mix it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yes. Yeah, it's like a jungle juice cycle. Do they still sell that? Yeah. Okay.
Dan Regan: Yeah, yep, they do I loved white punch. So they would do the hooch.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yeah, it was a big can and you pop it and shit. Yeah, but now can get it in like j other ways, not just that old fashioned can.
Dan Regan: Yep, you would That that can was the best, that opener with the two triangles you put on both sides so it it would breathe on one side. Yep. So but the the hooch, we would drink that and you would w I mean, we're kids, so one cup of that and you'd get twisted on on one on one cup. So like, you know, the whole the whole you know, and I've talked to other Gen X creators have said it, you know, like, you know, we're dying in a field somewhere. That was true because where I lived
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah totally. Yes. Yes.
Dan Regan: There was a little lake field right down the street from us, and that's where we'd always go, we smoke weed, we would drink. And one night, this is an Everclear story, this is another this is another story. One night my buddy calls me up and he says, Let's go down the park. We go down the park, we're sixteen at the time. It was me, him, other three of us. He swiped a bottle of Jack Daniels from his dad's liquor cabinet. Okay. Full bottle.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Geez.
Dan Regan: cracked it and we just hung out and throughout the night the three of us killed it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Three? Only three of you drank a bottle? my god.
Dan Regan: The three three of us. Three of us. I don't remember getting home. what happened was my buddies carried me home, left me on my front. So I woke up on my front porch on my back. I remember waking up and all I see is stars and the trees. And I'm like, what the hell how did I get here? And I go inside and I said to them the next day, I said, Why would you bring me home?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Dan Regan: When my grandparents are home, like they thank God they didn't come out and see me. And I've never had Jack Daniels since then.
GenX Adulting Podcast: really? So no Jack Daniels, no Everclear. It's funny. I think we all have stories like that where we we've parted ways with some some bottle. Peach Snops. Peach Snops. That sounds nasty. I had my moment in high school and actually Jose Cuervo. Like I'll drink sequila, but I will not drink Jose Cuervo. I don't know what it was about, at least I don't I don't know for you guys. That was the tequila, yeah. Yeah, yeah. We all drank Jose Cuervo. And one night that was it for I wouldn't do Boons Farm. I don't know. I'd like to taste some Boons Farm. Do they even make Boons Farm still? I bet they do, but I don't know. I don't know if I've seen Boone's Farm.
Dan Regan: Yeah. I was gonna ask you d how about Bartles and James, the wine.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Bartles and James. Yes. I w I would love to have a make that? I don't think so. I don't think so. Or Zima? Did you ever you you were we had the party balls. I'm sure you did you have the party balls? Those were the best, right?
Dan Regan: I don't think so. Nope. Just talked about that two weeks ago. I said how I said we you know I was going to a kegger one night and I said honorable mention to the party balls because yeah, love the party love the party balls as well. but Zima, Zima was that our generation's white claw. Zima for sure. You know. I'm
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yep. Yes. Absolutely. I think it the beginning of the seltzer concept for sure. They're good. How how did we get kegs so easily? Like we I don't know about you guys, my group got kegs. We we did party balls easily. We did the party balls where but there was always someone with an older brother. Yeah, I guess that's it. 'Cause there would just always be a keg.
Dan Regan: Yeah. It was this It was the same way we got eighty so easily. Like how did that happen
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. eighty. Yes. I can still taste the flavor of that. So but real quick but the eighty is he's you're talking about fireworks, aren't you? wait, no, I'm thinking of what's the drink? No, there's a drink. Mad dog, mad dog, yes, yes, that. When I was younger there was a number there. We'd go into we'd go into Chinatown in New York and buy fireworks and then go back home and
Dan Regan: Yes. Mad Dog. You're thinking Mad Dog twenty twenty. And maybe
GenX Adulting Podcast: Either sell or light But you're right. How the hell did you get eighties so easily? I don't know, older brothers.
Dan Regan: based we ba yeah, we basically had access to dynamite. Like this is like insane.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Basically. It's so true. We put them in mailboxes, light and run. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gen X says
Dan Regan: Yeah. We would what we would do is we would we we would put my friend we had we would put in a bucket of water and we put like I forget how we were able to like we would put on a piece of wood, so w and we just watched a bucket of water explode. Like that was like our entertainment. You know.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. We'd throw them in the water. We used to have this spot where there was full of sunfish where we'd fish. You'd light the eighty and throw it in the water. Then you'd s then you'd see the fish kind of float up. my it's kinda bad. You get cancelled cancelled now.
Dan Regan: And just you just and just stay you just stand out there with your net and just catch all the fish.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Pretty much. So I wanted to ask you on your reaction videos, have you ever had anyone come back at you that you've reacted to?
Dan Regan: One and not not that they came back at me. like I I told you guys before we went on the air that I'm gonna be doing a an everclear reaction video later tonight. And I was tagged in it a lot. Well two and people tag me in everclear videos, they'll tag me in like mad dog twenty twenty videos and stuff like that. Well recent like about a week or two ago, I started getting tagged in this video, but when you get tagged in a video go to your notification it'll show you the video that you know you're tagged in you can click it and see what it is. Well this particular video you just see a black screen with a with a with a with like a like a projector which means the person blocked you you can't see it I was getting tagged in this video a lot and I'm like what video are they tagging me because I can't see it so finally I asked one of my followers sent it to me in in in a in a message they actually sent me the message And it was blocked again. I go, what video is this? I can't say it. Who's the creator? And it was a guy who I did a reaction on it on an Everclear video a couple months ago. And he must have not liked it and blocked me. So so I did a video after that. I did a video and I said, Everyone, please stop tagging me in this creator's video. And I put his name on there. I said he blocked me. He obviously does not want me to, which I respect, so please but people are still tagging me in it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. That's actually not bad though, considering how many reaction videos you've done. That that's really the only thing, you know, that have that one instance. That's actually not bad.
Dan Regan: I the one guy I remember I and I've had people some of the people in the videos start following me. They've reached out that some people thanked me, like, Thank you so much. You know, like people make videos now where they literally will call say my name in the video like Dan, this is for you. I hope you see it. the one kid I did he did three attempts, three separate videos, three attempts at Everclear. And after his first one, he messaged me on Instagram. He goes, Come on, you gotta give me a little bit of credit. You know, but he was a good sport about it. So then I made a video about that. I thanked him and you know, so you know, I respect that, you know, and I'm waiting I'm waiting for somebody to to do like a a mean reaction to one of my stupid videos, like, hey, you ever gonna smile there, they're grumpy or you know, whatever, you know, I'd I'd get a kick out of it, you know, like I'm waiting for somebody just to kind of mock me. You know, but it's gonna happen, I'm sure.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have you ever gotten anyone coming back at you for your duet videos where you duet someone to set them straight or react to their ridiculous video that they're making? Has anyone come back at you about that?
Dan Regan: Not the person that not the person in the video, but I've had recently I did a video about this couple that was a young couple getting married and they have and they're and the rules that they're having at the wedding. they said that it's not they're not serving alcohol, they're not gonna have any kind of meats or vegan. So I just gave my take on.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes.
Dan Regan: You know, I did you know, I didn't I didn't drag but I also was like, okay. So one of the relatives on Instagram went at me in the comment. Like, you know, you don't even know these people, you weren't invited, so why do you whatever. So what I do, I I wish TikTok allowed us to do this. YouTube and Instagram and Facebook you can do it. I will pin that comment to the top.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: And people people have dubbed it the pin of shame. so because I'm like listen, if you're gonna come in and comment, now you're here's the repercussions. So I pin I pinned her comment and she had a couple of people agree with her, but the majority last time I checked her it has to be four hundred comments on her comment. Just dragging her. So I let everybody else do the work for me. You know, it's like, you know
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. my god. That's hilarious. Yeah.
Dan Regan: It's like it's almost like it's almost like remember the movie Stand By Me? when the parts where where he did he drank the castor oil and he threw up in a pie eating contest and he goes he just sits back and he just admires what he that's what I that's that's how I feel when I do like a pin of shame and people are just I'm like let's sit back
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yep. It's great engagement too. It's like thank you for the engagement. Because here we go. Now, through all this growth on social media, have you experienced any new opportunities that from the social media growth itself, from your videos and and things you that were unexpected come from it?
Dan Regan: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so after Laffey Taffy, like I said, up until then Laffy Taffy was the biggest opportunity. And so I got I'm trying to think what this was. Yeah, this was so then I get an email. I remember I was I was telling you guys about this earlier before we went on. I get an email from a producer of the Mayim Bialik podcast. My Mayim Bialik wants to talk to me. Now Mayim Bialik was blossom. She was she's she was Amy on Big Bang Theory
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: was like, holy shit. Called I was out. I called my wife. I'm like, I'm gonna be on I'm gonna be talking to Mayim Bialik. She's like, what? I'm like, yeah. This so I emailed him back. I said, absolutely, this okay, we'll send you like you guys, send you availability. We'll talk more. You know, look through the email because he's like, Hey Dan, you know, we love your whole Gen X stuff. I think Mayim you know, is a fan. Or she'll really So me and him were going back and forth. And he said, Well what's what it's gonna be is it's gonna be on her social media account. It would be like a Facebook or Instagram live video, you would jump in, you know, and then she'll be put on our all the platforms we give you the video to see if you use it. I said, Okay, great. Because we have compensation as well, you know, whatever. I was like, Okay. And so then we were going up to Cooperstown, New York meeting my wife for for vacation. And right before we left He sent we're we're supposed to have a Zoom call, me and him, to kind of go over stuff. And he goes, I gotta cancel a family emergency in the hospital. My antenna went up a little. Like, okay, things happen. So then I started Googling. I told my wife I go, I don't trust this. Something's something's off. But yet everything he was talking to me about, he had he had all of our social media at the bottom, he had his title, segment producer. Get up to Cooperstown. We're watching the World Series. It was the year Yankees played the Dodgers. And we're watching it and it was that. If you're a Yankee fan, it was the game where Garrett Cole didn't cover first. The Yankees lost the game. It was a heartbreak game for Yankee fans like us. Right before that happened.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm.
Dan Regan: I went I was following Mayim Bialik just to kinda get an idea what her show was like. And she posted, It's been made we've been made aware that someone is posing as the producer for the show. We have no affiliation with this person. I looked my wife, I went, I got scammed. Now, luckily he didn't get money from me because when like I said he was gonna offer me money, he says we have a couple payouts, however you however you want it. I could do a r a check, a routing, and I I would never do that in a million years. We have Venmo, we have something else. I said let's do Venmo. And I think that's what then I couldn't get a hold of him after that. I think he he was banking on me saying, Let me do a check transfer and that's how he would get my information.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right.
Dan Regan: They can't just say we'll just do check because that's too s they have to give you the options and hopefully you'll say check and if you don't don't So I was crushed, to be honest with you. I was like, that sucks. Three days later. Well, three days, and that's why, like, when you guys reached out to me, this is why I do this with everybody now. I get 95% of my email about podcast or spam. So I will reach out, I will find the person on Instagram, whatever, and I'll say, hey, I'll screenshot the email. I'll say I received this today. Is this legitimate? If it is, let me know.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, that's crazy.
Dan Regan: Most of the time they don't even get that to me, sometimes I was like, that's not from our team. Three days after we got home from Cooperstown, I get an email. Hey Dan, I'm a my name's Ken. I'm a s I'm a producer for America's Funniest Videos. We saw your video we like to use in an upcoming show. Please reach out. I'm gonna give you a freaking break. Again? Already?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. This guy's moved on.
Dan Regan: Yeah, so I was like, Alright. So but then I was reading his email and again it seemed legit. I'm like, whatever. So he goes, You want to do a phone call? Okay, a phone call, you can't get nothing from the phone call. Turns out it was legitimate. So America's Funniest Videos back in the nineties they did America's Funniest People was a spin-off show that they had for a few years. They they were bringing it back as a test for one show. And
GenX Adulting Podcast: It's awesome. Right. Right.
Dan Regan: Long story short, I know it's a long story already, but long story short, I was on the show, America's Funniest People, with other creators from social media. I ended up winning winning the episode. My my video one. It was called Clues I'm Getting Old. I do a lot of those videos, like it's hard to pick, you know, I 'cause like I said, I'll recycle some of my jokes, but like the jokes were
GenX Adulting Podcast: Which which video was it? Mm.
Dan Regan: I have my have to I have to make sure my arm has to be in a certain position before I fall asleep so I have I'll have full use of it the next day. It's jokes like that. So but it's true. Right.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. That's no joke. But I know well it's good bec it's all true. Yeah, no, that's the c the s the brilliance of comedy.
Dan Regan: So they played mine, it was up against me and this other guy in the finals. And I'm now I'm like talking to you guys on a laptop. You know, through you know, they're in California, I'm in Jersey, but it's live. Alfonso Ribeiro's the host and Alyson Hannigan from American American Pie. And he goes, Okay, here are the two final and the studio audience voted, not the not the people watching. 'Cause it was taped it wasn't live on T V.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: So then my now my wife is behind the laptop filming me on our cell phones. I'm like, I just want a record of this. So it goes, okay, he goes, the winner of the grand prize is Clues I'm getting gold submitted by Dan Regan And all of a sudden you just see the look on my face. I didn't think I was gonna win. My wife, my wife goes, and I had never cursed. This is the first time I cursed on video, but my wife goes, Holy fucking shit, like that on the video. She's holding it. And I'm like, please, I hope they didn't hear that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Possible.
Dan Regan: so then so now I won. That was a week before Thanksgiving. The show didn't air till June. So I had to sit on this for so and knowing and I I told I told no one. Nobody. Me and my wife knew that was it. So when I was you know promoting it, people are like, is gonna be live? I said no. I I think I said yes. I d I think I had to sign obviously I had to sign an NDA. so I think I said, Yeah, it's live this and that. So the night it aired, me and her are watching it and they announced that I won. Next thing you know, my phone is just blowing up. Texts, phone calls. And I wasn't taking many because I just wanted to kind of like take it in and just share it with my wife. So that was the biggest to this day. As far as career-wise, that's the biggest thing that's happened to me was winning America's Funny Videos
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. That's so cool. That is cool. That's so cool. Did you get to meet Alyson Hannigan and Alfonso Ribiero
Dan Regan: I didn't get to meet him, but I talked to him, like I'm talking to you guys through through the laptop. she'll she asked me, she goes, she goes, what are you gonna do with the five thousand dollars? That's how much I want, five thousand dollars. And I said, I go, well, like I said, I that buys a lot of readers, a lot of ibuprofen or something like that. And they both laughed. So I'm like, I made Car I made Carlton and the hell was her name.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: I and the girl from American Pie laugh. I'm good.
GenX Adulting Podcast: you know who she is one time at Bandcamp. One time at Bandcamp on American Pie. Remember the redhead? They would say one she's like the main character? Yeah, like it would say one time at Bandcamp and then it'd be this crazy like sexual story. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's like the main character. Yeah, she's yeah, but what was her name? He married her. The character they got married. What's her name?
Dan Regan: Yeah. Was it Annabel Flaherty or something? Annabelle Flaherty, I think, or something like that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Not Annabelle. It's not no, but you're close. It's gonna come to But it's something like that, but yeah.
Dan Regan: Something like that. I c I c yeah, I it's well and and the famous line her famous quote was like Jim is drinking and up until then she would always say this one time at band camp we switched instruments and we played and it was so cool. It was like this lane. Then the one time she goes, This one time at band camp, I shoved a flute up my and he spit out his drink because it was like that came out of nowhere. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: That's funny. It's awesome. It's and then Alfonso. Do you remember the fresh fresh prince of Belair, the show? Yeah. Do you remember his brother who would do the dance? Yeah. Yeah. That's Alfonso Ribiero Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that's awesome. That's great. That's very so what year was that?
Dan Regan: Yes. That was tw last last year. Not just past not this June, it just passed last June, twenty f twenty five. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, not too long ago. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. So you have the social media is taking off and you have situations like this where you're participating in the show. Are you still doing stand up during this time? Because that's that's a lot.
Dan Regan: No, I retired from stand up. 'cause I had, you know, promoters reaching out to me like they always did, they do shows. and I honestly I kinda lost not I don't say I lost my passion for it, but I was just focused on social media so much and I was putting so much into social media every day. So I said it's not fair to keep saying no to people. So I just made a post on Facebook one day. I said I'm excuse me, I'm stepping back from doing stand up. know I made a lot of great connections with everybody. Thank you so much. I said Matt saying never, but for the foreseeable future, I'm just gonna concentrate on social media. And I don't regret it. Do I I miss it sometimes? Sure. Like when I watch I do watch certain stand up comedians still that I that I want to see. Like a friend of my if a friend of mine's on there, like I I watch his stuff or her stuff. But like if I watch it I'll be like, yeah, I I I do miss that instant reaction that you know
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: 'Cause doing it on a video, even though I'm getting the comments, I'm I don't really I don't see the faces. You know, I don't see what's going on. So I miss it, but not enough to bring me back. I'm having way too much fun.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now that makes sense. And but it is a very different experience. I don't know, the way social media has taken off though, you can definitely feel connected to your followers. It's different than stand up for sure, 'cause it's not that instant reaction, but but it's way more vast. You're able to reach so many more people with social media around the world. You know,
Dan Regan: Well that's that's that's why I tell people it's it's I could reach so many more people than I could ever do doing stand up. And another thing is no travel. As I'm getting older, that's the big thing. Like when I was first doing stand up, you know, I was working a f regular job. I would go down to the laugh house in Philadelphia every Wednesday night to do open mics. I did that for two years. All off and on. Two years. Every
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes.
Dan Regan: Sometimes I wouldn't go on till after midnight for f for three minutes on stage time. And I have to come home, be up at six o'clock in the morning, go to my other job. Never complain because this is what I want to do. And there are people doing it today that you know you know they're grinding. And but now, like I I would I would go down to Philadelphia, you know, to go do ten minutes at a bar, and I would look forward to it. The thought of doing that now is just not appealing to me. And that's no shade on the comedians who who do that because if the passion's there, go for it. My passion is social media because I feel like I can reach more people. And considering what my stuff is now, it plays better on social media anyway than the world stage, I think. So that's
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. No, that makes sense. That makes sense. And you just started your merch line too, right? Recently?
Dan Regan: Yes, I did. Yeah. I I'm I'm
GenX Adulting Podcast: That was just like what, a month or two ago, I think.
Dan Regan: Yeah, about about two to three months ago I I I was I didn't really was gonna do it and then somebody's like you gotta start making shirts to say there it is, hey Gen X, you know, just you know just merch and I was like, All right, well worse that worse that happens is nobody buys it. You know, it's like it's not it's not like I'm producing it, I'm putting money out. It's a drop shipment situation where if you order it they they make it and they and ship it out to the person. So I was like, all right, I'll give it shot. And, you know, I've been you know, I've been successful with that, you know, I'm grateful for that that people are, you know and that's another thing. Again, I can't believe people are like see if someone buys a t shirt, I'm like, someone's wearing me on their shirt. Like, what is that? You know, so it's crazy.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. But it's the same thing as when the bands you like and buying a band shirt. It's they feel that same way. You know, it's that connection. So it's very cool. Very, very cool. I do have to ask you, you have your dog on with you off and on, your little baby. how old is it's a girl, right?
Dan Regan: huh. She's a girl. she's all girl.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes, she's I last time I saw a video with her, she had her little necklace on and you were reading her report card from Doggy Daycare. What's her name again?
Dan Regan: Her official name is Mocha, but we call her Moki. Now and like I said, she is going to be an August seventh.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. And how old is she? Seven. Okay. She doesn't look seven. She looks very young. Whatever you guys are doing. Yeah.
Dan Regan: She doesn't act seven. Ugh, she doesn't act seven. I even said to her, I'm like, When are you gonna start to slow down? I'm not saying slow down, just energy wise, just take it down a notch a little bit because she is but then the day that it happens, it's gonna it's gonna tear at me. I know it is. So
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: She's upset with me. She's upset with me now because it's it's it's crazy how she knows this. Saturdays and Sundays like like are totally dedicating to her, because me and my wife are both home. And like when I was setting all this up, she saw me getting ready, she goes into the other room and pouts. 'Cause she knows, like, alright, he's not paying attention to me. Well, she's a she's a she's a a a serial licker. She will lick you to like
GenX Adulting Podcast: my god.
Dan Regan: If you have any exposed skin, she will lick it. She just I know it's like a calming thing for her as well. But she will give me her paw whenever I ask. When we're going I can't even say the word. When we're not when we're leaving the house.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes.
Dan Regan: She will sit on the bed. How? Now I will come in and I'll put my face, I'll put my nose right up against hers. If I do that normally, I will get a bath. When we're do she will not even stick her tongue out once. She's like, no, you're not getting.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. That's hilarious. So conditional. Yeah. What kind
Dan Regan: Talk talk about a brat. Ugh. And and I'm like, do I get a paw? And she'll be like, Are you kidding me? Won't get a paw either.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. She's a little diva. What what kind of dog is she? Is she a pity?
Dan Regan: She definitely is pit. I think she's pit and I see a little bit of boxer in her. We're we we got her in a situation, she was in a bad situation. and I don't mean like her her well being, just her owner passed away. and they didn't know they didn't know what was gonna happen with her. And we just put our dog before her down, like a month prior and or two months prior. And we weren't ready, honestly. We thought we were.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm.
Dan Regan: We tried to foster to adopt and we just you know he was like my soul dog. The dog I mean she's she's a different dog altogether. She's she's wheeled away my heart as well, don't get me wrong. but when we heard her situation and we met her, I'm like, how how am I gonna say no to that face? You know, like what's gonna happen to her? So and we don't regret it at all. Beautiful. She's so
GenX Adulting Podcast: She's beautiful. No, she's beautiful. And you can tell she has such a personality. You know, it definitely comes through, even through the victim.
Dan Regan: Well. Yeah. Like she does this thing where I don't know if this is gonna be funny to anybody else. It's funny to me and my wife. Every night around seven, eight o'clock, if we're watching our one of our shows, whatever, watching a game, seven, eight o'clock, that's her playtime. She knows it. She will get up out of a sound sleep, get on the f get on the ground, and just stare at me. And if we ignore her, she does the thing I c she will then grab my wife's slippers, who's in with my wife's slippers are in front of her on the floor. She'll grab one of her slippers and toss it. And just and and then just stare at my wife like, what? What? Like, yeah, it it's insane. Like we crack up every every night she does it. We purposely ignore her to see to see what level she's gonna go to. And so
GenX Adulting Podcast: She has her little tantrum.
Dan Regan: some night she's full on brat where she will she'll go after my wife's slippers, then she attacks mine, then she'll start biting the blanket that's on the ottoman and like pulling it like yeah. I I got a video of one night just to so people could see it. It's incre it's crazy.
GenX Adulting Podcast: They're they're our family. There's no question. We had three dogs and then in March we lost I lost my soul dog. but we still have two. Thank you. But we've always had dogs together in our marriage. We've had seven dogs total. we are such dog people, but they they are we stagger them because when you lose one, you've got to have another one in the bullpen. That's what you say. I'm not ready. Like we still have the two, but I'm not ready.
Dan Regan: I'm sorry. Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: But their ages are staggered, so the expectation would be Yeah. We'll deal with it. It's it's hard, but unless people are dog people or have had a soul dog, they don't understand, you know.
Dan Regan: Yeah, and I and I and I had a dog growing up and I thought she was my sole dog, but my our last boy, Trooper, who was name was I called him Troop. he was a pity mastiff. yeah, I don't think I have a picture readily available on there's one on the wall. I'll have to I'll have to show you. His head was like his head was almost my size. Like he was just he was massive.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm, wow. I believe that
Dan Regan: He was a rescue as well. the biggest baby, the biggest mush. why he bec the day he became my soul dog was this is when I was going through my panic issues. I was going through a little dark time back in like round s se round twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen. And I was sitting there and I just couldn't you know, I had my h I had my my head in my hands, like 'cause I just I was getting overwhelmed, my wife wasn't home. He was sound asleep on the couch. All of a sudden I feel my arms spread. He put his head in between my arms and he put his nose up against mine and just sat there. And I was crying because I was going through some some stuff. And he just he didn't move. Or I don't know, it was a few minutes. And then I was done. And I'm like, Thanks, boy, I love you, I needed that. Went back on the couch, went back to sleep. My wife came home and I told her what happened, I said, That freaking doll's my soul dog now. That w that everywhere I went after that, he was so good in the car. He would go with me if I just run and just get my prescription, run you know, he went everywhere with me. He he was gone way too soon. he was in a bad situation before we got him, as far as like I think he was abused. how anyone could abuse him was like I don't know. I mean this dog was like pure love.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: So we lost them too early. So that's when I told my wife I said, I'm not ready. It's gonna it's gonna take me a while. And I love I I always thought the same thing. I need a dog right after just to kinda fill that void. But I couldn't after him. But then Mocha came along and I'm like, Yeah, yeah. But but it I think everybody should have that soul dog in their life because it's just you love all dogs, all cats, all your pets, but to having that soul
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. I'm so sorry.
Dan Regan: that they call it it's just it's just it's different. It's just
GenX Adulting Podcast: It is. It is. Our last dog was like that for everybody. His name, by the way, was Floyd after Pink Floyd. Yes. That's how we named him. Yeah, he was after Pink Floyd. He was everybody's full dog in the house. And your wi your wife would appreciate this. our other dog, she's a Bassett dash hound mix. Her name is her full name is Stella Blue, which is a Grateful Dead song. But we call her Stella. But she's named after a Grateful Dead song, Stella Blue. So now Brian Brian asked you about music.
Dan Regan: awesome. That's a great name. Mm-hmm. Yes. Stella Blue. That's great.
GenX Adulting Podcast: What movie from our childhood would you say was your favorite or your comfort movie? the one you go to?
Dan Regan: My favorite eight my favorite eight we're just you and my wife were just talking about this last week as well. My favorite eighties movie hands down is Breakfast Club.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Me too. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Because a c a cl a c a close second I don't know if you can say it, a close second is this one. Save the clock tower from back to the future.
GenX Adulting Podcast: It's back to the future, right? Yes. Back to the future is awesome. Yes.
Dan Regan: That's that's a close second. Yeah. But Breakfast Club, because it's so many layers why it's my favorite, because we lived that the clicks in school. you resonated with one of those characters. I don't care who you were, one of them was you. Maybe not a hundred percent you, but you could definitely relate to one of those characters. it was funny. emotional, it dealt with real issues. The soundtrack was amazing. And think about it, there was you know there was the five of them, Vernon and the janitor, seven characters in a in an entire movie. That's all they needed. It was perfection.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. I agree one hundred percent. And even if y in a way you can kind of relate a little to each of them to that's what I was gonna say, yeah. You know, you could find yourself inside each of them. And but you're right, it represented us to a T and how we felt and I I love the dancing scene because they because we would go on that ride, right? Of you know, the deep emotional dives down. And then just that release of the dance. It w the I John Hughes was brilliant hands down, but that movie especially, I think is the Swan Song. I mean, I that movie, there's just something about it. So totally relatable. I don't know if I've ever asked you that question. My favorite movie? From that time from I was just thinking, I think it's Smokey and the Bandit. it is. That's right. I know that. And that's such a shallow movie. No, it's a great movie. It's just pure
Dan Regan: I agree. No, it's a great
GenX Adulting Podcast: I love Jackie Gleason and you know, the whole cast I thought was It's a great movie. It's a great movie, yeah. I love Smokey and the Bandit. before I
Dan Regan: My most under my most underrated movie, and this'll probably you'll probably ag you know, you might agree because of Smokey and Panda, Cannonball Run is my favorite underrated movie of all time. That doesn't get the love it deserves. It deserves so much love.
GenX Adulting Podcast: A hundred percent. Yeah. Yes. Yes. I agree. Like Dom Deloise in that. And everybody, quite frankly. Dom Delawise is. Sammy Davis and who's the other guy with them? was that Dean Martin? Dean Martin. I think they were drunk for real through the whole movie. Martinez.
Dan Regan: D. Martin. D. Martin. without a doubt. And and what's great about that movie, it had so many stars and I think they all waived their salaries 'cause there's no way you were going to be able to pay all those stars. I think they all waived their salaries and just and just did it for scale, which, you know, was great. W you know, it was awesome.
GenX Adulting Podcast: yeah. Yeah. It's a great movie. We tried to find it. I tried to rent it a couple months ago and it I couldn't find it anywhere. I could find Cannonball Run two, which I watched and it was like not nearly as good. But I couldn't find it. I have to see if it's if it's become available, but it's not readily available.
Dan Regan: Yeah. No. Yeah. Which is odd. I I
GenX Adulting Podcast: did you used to watch the honeymooners as a kid?
Dan Regan: I w I I watched them. I was never I don't want to say a huge fan. I wasn't a fan like I I watched him, but I wasn't like that was like my show growing up. My buddy is me and him argue about this because he I mean he's a honeymooners ride or die guy. So like on purpose I will say, Yeah, it's not like I guess it's not the honeymooners, right? Like I'll just like tweak them. I love Jackie Gleason.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: You know, and it was funny. It's that's I was just never that was never my go to show.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Would you watch Johnny Carson, being that you liked Joan? Did you were you into Johnny?
Dan Regan: I was until I I I still watched him, but after he screwed her over with the Tonight Show, that really bothered me. Like, you know, 'cause she was huge. Huge. From from what I understood
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They say he was an asshole actually. Really? But yeah, I've heard really bad things about him. Yeah. He was such a just a raging prick from what I've heard. Yeah.
Dan Regan: Well, and like like Howard Howard Stern always talked about this and I agree. Howard never liked the fact that he control like when he had a comedian on, if he waved you over to the to the chair, that was an honor. Like you're begging baptized. And Howard's like, Screw him. Like, you know, it's like he can make or break a comedian's career. Like I don't want to say screw him for that, but I get it. It's kinda like I know when you're when you're a comedian you do a set, I don't know, he should have called them all over it just to kinda give like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Regan: If you're ha you're have you're you're having them on your show already, so there's obviously something you like about It's not like it's an audition. So why not just bring all over and give the publicity kind of thing. So I didn't like that. Yeah. I didn't like that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: I agree. Totally. I agree. Yes. Yeah. Right. It's such a power trip. Yeah. Well what was your what was your show?
Dan Regan: well, see the thing was, even back then I was nostalgic. I wouldn't watch shows from that like I love Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch. you know, like like the shows that were before my time. I wasn't even alive yet. I guess if I had to pick a show I'm trying to think. That's I never even thought about that because well, I watch this every Saturday night with my grandmother. It was Love Boat. Always watch Love Boat.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm-hmm. Did you watch Fantasy Island afterwards?
Dan Regan: Did watch Fantasy On as well. I remember watching a Love Boat one night. I'll never for I even brought this up to my grandmother when I got older. I remember on one of the episodes, Sky and his mom were kissing and they opened their mouth and I went, Why they kiss her with their mouths open like that? And she goes, My grandmother knew what to say. She goes, you know, when adults get older, I'm like, That's gross. I would I'm never gonna do that. You know, it's like it's like little things like that, like she
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Yes, yes.
Dan Regan: She had the kinda that's why we said being raised by your grandparents had it had its advantages because you can get things over on because they would go to bed early, whatever. But then also had its disadvantages because, you know, they didn't do the like the birds and the bees talk with me. I guess because they were old school. They did so I never, you know, got the and I that's one of the that's one of my best bits I did on my stand up sets was I do a whole thing about how I never got to talk about the birds and the bees. So I had to kind of wing it on my own.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Right.
Dan Regan: talk about the first time was with the woman. Yeah, it's a whole thing. So but yeah so I I I I would say Love Boat. and then late eighties I started watching like Growing Paint like Family Ties I liked a lot. That was that was that was a big one. Happy Happy Days Happy Days was I was a huge fan. Yeah. I
GenX Adulting Podcast: Right. That's funny. Yeah. Forgot about that. Yeah. I like happy days. Yeah. Yeah. Now I think that Love Boat Night, I feel like that was wasn't that Chips Love Boat Fantasy Island? I feel like I was gonna say we did watch Chips a few weeks ago or a month or two ago. Yeah, I mean maybe I'm off on Chips and maybe it w I feel like it was Chips Love Boat Fantasy Island, but I could be off. I don't know. I settled in though. I'm
Dan Regan: It may have been I'm I'm thinking I I I remember unless I'm wrong that Chips was on Sunday, but maybe I'm wrong. you could you could be right though.
GenX Adulting Podcast: No, I feel like you're right. No, because I am I I wondered that if Chips was on was on Sunday. Sunday was like the Waltons Mutual of Omaha Kirby, the I didn't watch the Walton guy. I liked Grizzly Adams. Yeah. I thought the Waltons were boring. Yeah, Grizzly Adams.
Dan Regan: He could be right. Yeah. Grizzly Adams. See I I now you're bringing back I watched That's Incredible, that was a big one back.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. yeah. And which one?
Dan Regan: and there was another the one Burgess Meredith hur real people. I think Burgess Meredith hosted it.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yes. Yes. I forgot about that show. That's right. And I totally forgot about that's incredible. Yes. Remember when they would do like like Battle of the Stars? And they would have people from different TV shows? Yeah, Battle Network Stars. Yes, I forgot. Do remember that? I don't I v I remember the title, but I can't picture it. It's like different stars from shows would then do like
Dan Regan: That was on Sundays as well, I believe. Yeah, Real People, I think it was called. yeah, Battle Network SARS. Yep. I still love that.
GenX Adulting Podcast: obstacle course things and they we honestly grew up when TV was awesome. Yeah. Because it was in it and it was creative and it was like underproduced. Right. And compared to And you got multiple episodes you get like thirty episodes, thirty five episodes, forty episodes in a season. And then you got reruns in the summer and then it would start you were on a schedule where now you get eight episodes and two years later you get eight more episodes. Like
Dan Regan: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
GenX Adulting Podcast: It's crazy how it is now. So we actually got a lot of much. You know, I think was the best time.
Dan Regan: was the video I did once about Gilligan's Island. because this is something that shocked almost as much as Kurt Loder Gri Gilligan's Island was only on for three seasons.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Isn't that crazy? That's amazing. And what an impact it made.
Dan Regan: It feels like yeah, it felt like and I know the joke is I've seen seven hundred episodes of that show. That's what it feels like. You know, because back then they did like fifty episod like of the honeymooners, I it was one season, I think, right? Or two. One or two seasons, I think. That was it for the honeymooners. If you look at it's either one, two at the most, two seasons of the honeymooners, 'cause each season was like fifty episodes or whatever it was.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Mm-hmm. No way. Really? Wow. I would never have guessed that. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it yeah, and that's to the point of how many episodes you would get is 'cause Gilligan's Island was only three, but you're right. You could watch and Brady Bunch though, I think that was more. But Brady Bunch Right. But still you could watch Brady I feel like I watched Brady Bunch my whole childhood and rarely got a I like I watched them all my whole childhood. Yeah. Well you can't you can't say that now.
Dan Regan: Sure. Brady Punch, I think, was six or seven. Mm. Yep.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay, before I ask my last question, do you have any more questions? I was actually I was gonna go back to a random one. You went to Stokes and did you wind up staying there the whole three nights? Did you square dance?
Dan Regan: Yes. I square danced, and I don't know if it was what it was like for your school, but every year we alternated because they had the cabins, then they had the lodges where the kids could stay. So our our year we were in the cabins. So it was like the military barracks. We just had bunk beds all the way throughout. so we did we did square dancing the one night in that big auditorium or hall wherever they had they did the they told ghost stories. one of our teachers was like
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah.
Dan Regan: famous in our school for telling a great ghost story. That's what that's what you waited for. He did it on Thursday night, the last night. He told a ghost story. And I forget what it was, but it was good. It definitely spooked us. I mean we're sixth grade, so but he told great he's a great storyteller too. but yeah we did the square dancing. I remember we did I remember the food. The food was actually pretty good, I remember. It wasn't bad from what I remember. we did stay all three nights but I was homesick.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah.
Dan Regan: always was and I just want to go home. That's I was like, all right, I'm done. I don't like camping.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah, yeah. We did we did the the Stokes trip. And what's the funny part for me is my neighbor, my best friend who was older than me, his dad was the square dance caller. So what you know, I did it in sixth grade, but then we'd go up there when he was doing square dancing and we'd take a boat out in those lakes and go fishing at night. Were you not supposed to? Not really. Not really, but he
Dan Regan: yeah. wow. No.
GenX Adulting Podcast: His dad called their square dance. That was his thing forever. That's funny you guys square dance. What do you think it's a small world? What'd you guys call it? Because in Oregon it was called outdoor school. We went for a week. It was just Stokes. We're going to Stokes. Okay. Ours was called outdoor school. Right? Did you guys call it Yeah. Did you did your school do peak?
Dan Regan: That's awesome. Just going to Stokes, yep. That that was it. We What?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Did you guys do Peak in eighth grade, which is the Poconos Environmental Education Center?
Dan Regan: We did not. No. No, we didn't.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Okay. Is that a similar thing? We did that in E I don't know because I got sent home the f after the first night. Why would you do? We were outside of our cabin in the middle of the night, you know, just fucking around. Of course, shocker. I had to go back to school and that kind of sucked. Yeah, they had to be in school. Yeah. All right. Any other questions? I don't think so. I've got a lot. I really appreciate you know, you spent a lot of time with us. It's really interesting. I I was hoping you were still doing comedy 'cause then we could go see you. If you ever do, you you know, let us know and we'll we'll sit in the front row and well hopefully he would announce it too once we'd see it. I wanna I wanna s you know
Dan Regan: Yeah. I definitely will. Well I I have an idea that I I reached out to somebody of my a friend of mine and it's not gonna happen for like at least a year or two but I have an idea that I might be coming back on stage again. because like I said earlier, how the stuff I do now wouldn't resonate on stage. Well back then I wouldn't but I think now my idea is that I could do what I do now but do it on a stage. kinda have a screen and maybe react the videos on the screen live in front of it while while also telling jokes like I got some ideas. So that's in the works. That's in the works. So we'll see what happens.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Mm. Mm. see that working. We've got two venues if you come down here. The Boca Black Box and then that place in Fort Lauderdale. Yeah, yeah. It's it's we're no one comes way down here. We're in Boca Raton so we're way south. Like just It's nice in January though when you're freezing your butt off there. That's true, that's true. So
Dan Regan: Okay. Yeah. I'm sure it is. I'm sure it is. Be calling you guys calling you guys in January. You got some sp got s spare space for a little for a little bit?
GenX Adulting Podcast: Always, always. okay.
Dan Regan: And you and you notice you notice I I you notice I do the phone like we did a phone thing that's still
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yes. Yeah, yeah, you did. We didn't even blink. No, that's that's what you do. Yeah. yeah. Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Our our kids have no idea. None what that is. They've none. the idea of calling, first of all. I don't even know their phone numbers. you don't? No, they're they're my contacts. Okay. Well, I'm I'm the mom, I guess why I know. my last question is always
Dan Regan: No, you did it too. You went like that, you're like, Yeah, yeah, cool. No. Nope. Nope. Exactly.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Dan Regan: hopefully still doing this, talking to you guys, just because this is honestly for for me, this is the the best time right now for me professionally is right now. I'm doing what I love. It's not worked. It's never worked for me. so honestly just keep doing this, and just hopefully just making people laugh. That's that's my goal. So Yeah, I really don't see myself like I try to set goals for myself, but I've had a lot of those goals. I have more, but the biggest goal is just to be here in five years and just continue just to you know, entertain.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Great goal. That's a gr I love what you just said, how you've hit you've hit all you've made goals. You've hit all those goals. It's a pretty powerful statement right there to say. A lot of people can't say that. So congratulations. Yeah. To be able to even say that statement. That's huge. That's huge. So
Dan Regan: Yeah. Thank you. I I I I've I've played I played I've done comedy in New York, hit that. I've been on T V, hit that. That's the one that really that when I was on America's Funniest People, you know, I t I remember telling my grandmother when I was a kid I said I'm gonna be on TV one day and she goes, I you will be So my only regret is she wasn't here. But I know people say no, she was she saw it. I and I and I get it, but that's the one you know, I wish she was here to say it. so I mean I like I said I have more goals, you know, now I'm setting newer goals, but the ones I set out, I've hit And I'm very grateful for everybody. For for people like you guys reaching out to me, you know, bringing me in, giving me the time, the platform. I appreciate it. I'm very grateful to everybody for everything I have.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Well, it was our absolute pleasure to have you. And I think this is gonna be such a treat for your followers and your fans to get this long form access to you. And but also for our listeners that are new to you to get to discover you and some of the things you spoke about during the episode. I know it's going to help some people feel seen, especially talking about men's mental health. Again, like I don't think that has enough of a voice. And I think it's so important that you continue to weave that in with your content somehow and serve in that way. So I know just that segment alone is going to affect some people. but then I you know, I'm always just so impressed. there, there she is. There she is.
Dan Regan: My my my wife just got home so she's working at my work.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Of course. Of course. We welcome all dog sounds. We love dog sounds. So that's that's not getting edited out. But I can hear her. tell your I love it. That's funny. I love it. That's wonderful. No, but just and then I'll let you go so you can give her her lovins. But just to see other Gen X peers
Dan Regan: Yep. Hey girl. yeah, she just came in she came in with her bone. No problems.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Going for their passions, betting on themselves, doing the non-normative thing, t taking that chance. It's such a great example for others in our generation to do it. Because, you know, we weren't really given the space or to or encouraged to live outside the box and to get too big for our britches. We were told don't get too big for your britches and we were shushed. So I think at this point in our lives to see others going for it, it motivates
Dan Regan: Uh-huh.
GenX Adulting Podcast: our generation to take that leap, take that chance. And it's just an inspiring to others. So I think, you know, you make people laugh and that it's a wonderful thing. And you change people's daily lives, but you're also inspiring your peers to have the courage to maybe take that step in whatever it is that they've always wanted to do. So just you sharing your story.
Dan Regan: Yeah.
GenX Adulting Podcast: will could maybe affect even one person to have the courage to say, Okay, I'm gonna go do that thing. So thank you for taking the time to be so candid with us and and spend this time with us because it's a lot of time. We know that.
Dan Regan: No, and but like I said, I had a blast. I can't believe it's it's it didn't seem seem like it's been I'm looking at the time out, but it I can't believe even this much time went by. 'Cause it I had I had fun. I really did. It was it was it was really great talking to you guys.
GenX Adulting Podcast: Yeah. Good. I'm glad. I'm glad. No, it was awesome. And for our listeners, for Dan's fans, you already know where to find him. But if this is your first time hearing about Dan, we will have everywhere you can find him in the show notes. Again, Dan Regan, Dan Regan comedy on social media. please feel free to leave any questions or comments for Dan. He'll see them. And as of course we always love to hear from you. So Please leave us any questions or comments. And again, thank you, Dan, for your time and your story. And we loved having you on.
Dan Regan: Thank you guys so much for having me again. I really had a
GenX Adulting Podcast: We did too. And listeners, we will see you next time. Bye.