How has networking helped your career?
Matt Chin: I’ll be the first to admit that I was not a great networker. Being a more socially reserved person off screen doesn’t help, but as my career has progressed I’ve realized networking is a necessity in this business. Through networking and meeting the right people I’ve managed to get pitch meetings with some big US networks like Comedy Central, MTV, NBC, E! and many more. Not to mention all of the success I’ve had in Canada is all a result of networking. Professional and personal relationships are great and invaluable in the television business, but many people starting out find it hard to build them. In my experience even getting your work out there on the Internet and building a following online can make a huge difference. It gets your name out there and often the people you want to view your work do and will get in contact with you. This has happened to me many times and I find it to be a great networking tool for a world that is now rooted online.
How do you get the guests to come on your show?
Matt: I’ve had all kinds of guests on the various shows I’ve done from huge youtube and traditional celebrities to the just plain weird personalities. Many people think it’s a long complicated process that involves PR reps and agents, but I’ve found more often than not that all it takes is a simple email or twitter request asking them to come on. The way social media is today it makes communication with people so much easier and available to anyone and that makes things great for someone like me who want to get in touch with them. Once I reach out to them and explain who I am and what I do, they’re happy to come on the show and talk. It’s great content for me and a free plug for them. It’s a win win!
You do some pretty outlandish things…what takes the cake?
Matt: You’re right, I have done some pretty wild things over my career and I’ve seen even more so it would be hard to name just one thing, but I’ll do my best. Most recently, for my new web series ‘You Told Me To Do It!’ (where viewers vote on 3 options every week and the winning option I’m forced to perform) I had to wax my chest in public. I went to the most public place I could think of in Toronto, Dundas Square, and performed the painful task of ripping out my chest hair (I know it’s a shock being that I am half-asian, but yes I do have some chest hair) while people looked on disturbed and horrified. It was pretty hilarious to see their reactions and that’s what I love the most about doing these crazy things. It’s not so much the act itself that’s funny but the reaction it receives. You can see this web series and many of my other comedy shorts/serieshere http://youtube.com/MattChin28. On the other side, sometimes it’s not necessarily things I do that are outlandish but it’s the places I go. On one of my shows’ we would travel across North America attending some of the craziest conventions or festivals and bring our unique brand of humor to them. One of our stops brought us to a truck stop in Missoula, Montana for the ‘Testicle Festival’ aka ‘The Testy Festy’. If you find the thought of sampling deep fried bull testicles, seeing middle aged women in wet t-shirt contests, and drunken bikers roaming around gets you excited than you might want to check this place out! However, I was happy to get out of there as soon as we finished filming because something about a young guy in a suit sent those cougars into a frenzy! Those are some of my crazier experiences but who knows what’s in store for the future?
Where do you see yourself going from here?
Matt: My ultimate goal is to host my own late night talk show and even though I have been doing that in one form or another for over 10 years, I want to continue to move it to the next level. I started the show in my parent’s garage on the web, went on to Rogers TV Toronto, and then on to the national digital channel Bite TV. So naturally my next goal is to take the talk show to a national network in Canada or break into the US. I have the experience and more than enough ideas to bring the old talk show format into today’s world. I just need to find the right fit and a network to believe in me, which is part of the reason I’ve started the online campaign #MattChinForLateNight. I’m hoping this campaign video be spread around through social media and help propel my name out there even more. Who knows maybe even Lorne Michaels could see it… I heard he might be looking for a new host for Late Night!
What’s some of the best advice you’ve gotten about broadcasting?
Matt: The best advice I’ve ever got in broadcasting is to always improve your skill set and never stop working toward your goals. If you’re having a hard time finding work then do it on your own. There are a million different ways to produce your own stuff for cheap and you can distribute it yourself online. This is a great starting point and I guarantee you will improve your skills and make yourself more valuable to the industry. Also, I can tell you right now it won’t be easy you will get turned down 90% of the time. You’ll hear “no” so many times you won’t even know what a “yes” is but don’t let that discourage you because eventually you will get that yes and it’ll all be worth it. I’m sure you’ve heard that before and you’ll hear it again and again but it’s something you’ll need to remember if you want to be successful. My motto has always been, ‘You can’t fail if you never give up.’
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