Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Mike Bramante and Jake Velazquez

Stand-up comedians Mike Bramante and Jake Velazquez are bringing the laughs to their new podcast Do Less. Each week, the creative duo is helping listeners and each other navigate the path of least resistance. Their philosophy? Doing less is the key to living your best life and they’re here to tell us why!

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Mike and Jake about their journey into the podcasting space, Do Less, and more!

PC: How did you each discover your passion for comedy?
Mike: The only things I’ve ever enjoyed doing are telling jokes and laughing, so I never understood wanting to do anything else as a “career.” I think stand-up in particular is something that you need to feel you have to do or else you shouldn’t be doing it. Some people think stand-up is the scariest thing in the world, but to me, it’s basically the only thing I’m not scared of.

Jake: My dad’s friends used to come over to watch Yankees games, and one of them would always bring an old comedy TV show or sketch to watch after the game. If I got to stay up to watch it, it was the highlight of my week. Then my parents started showing me Mel Brooks, the Marx Brothers, and Woody Allen, and I’ve been pretty hooked since then.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Mike: My comedic idol is Larry David. I’m also a big Apatow fan in terms of the type of content he has produced. But the biggest influences are my friends and family. Especially Jake. I consider him both. Oh, and Sebastian Maniscalco.

Jake: Wow. Do I have to say Mike now? I’ll go with Mike. My parents. There are so many amazing comedians in the NY scene that influence me. You can throw a rock here and hit three comedians I’m influenced by.

PC: You’ve both had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Mike: I don’t know that I’ve had a lot of success, but perception is reality, so I won’t argue with you. I also don’t know that there is one moment. It really is just about the journey of doing it and enjoying the ride, no matter how corny that sounds.

Jake: Hard to pick just one moment. This monumental success all blends together. Probably when Mike and I started doing our podcast and we developed a strong following in Peru.

PC: How did this partnership initially form?
Mike: Over the pandemic, we were doing a lot of outdoor comedy, so we ended up taking a lot of walks together. On these walks, we talked about comedy and life and realized that we had similar philosophies for both. I would actually walk with Jake miles out of my way just so we could continue the hang. I’m not even sure if he remembers all those times. But those were really the first podcasts we did—we just never recorded them.

Jake: Our best podcasts are the ones we don’t record. During the lockdown, we lived for those long walk-and-talks. And I just wanna say that I appreciate the walks home, but it wasn’t “miles.” I was on the way!

PC: Tell us about Do Less and the inspiration behind the podcast.
Mike: Our comedic idol is Larry David, the master of doing nothing. He has created our favorite shows and as a caricature of himself has no time for anything he doesn’t want to do. Doing Less is also about doing more of what you want to do and less of what you don’t want to do. We both work hard and do a lot of comedy. But comedy is nothing, so it’s less.

Jake: Larry David is a big influence, but we both talked about knowing people who have real jobs but don’t actually accomplish anything. They’re busy but it’s all work for the sake of being busy—not creating anything. We think it’s better to “do less” and cut all the busy work out of your life and focus more on the things you enjoy doing. We enjoy podcasting, so just by creating the podcast we are practicing what we preach.

PC: What’s one fun fact that fans would be surprised to learn about your cohost?
Mike: Jake is actually a great dancer. The guy can cut a rug. I am jealous of the rhythm he has.

Jake: Mike is sneakily good at basketball and somehow lifelong friends with all these college basketball players. He lives the “ball is life” lifestyle.

PC: What has it been like transitioning from the stand-up stage to the podcasting world?
Mike: The stand-up feeds the podcasting and vice versa. We talk about our respective comedy experiences on the pod and are sometimes able to get bits that we would use on stage from the podcast conversations. I think it’s cool that if our comedy careers grow and we talk about it on the pod, the listeners can also be along for the ride. What I’m saying is we need more listeners so Jake and I can do less.

Jake: We still do stand-up and that’s a big part of our podcast, but podcasting is fun. It’s an elevated form of conversation because you’re more performative than you would be without the microphones. But it’s still just you and your friend talking.

PC: What do you hope listeners take away after they hear the podcast?
Mike: We just want the listeners to feel like they are hanging out with us. Hopefully, that means a few laughs and some decent “do less” life advice. Listen, we’re giving you laughter and wisdom, what else do you need?

Jake: Whenever people tell us they listen to our podcast while doing laundry, going to the gym, or anything like that, it makes us happy. It’s a pretty relaxed podcast and we want it to be used that way.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Mike: Entourage.

Jake: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Mike: The Notebook.

Jake: Dumb and Dumber.

PC: Favorite book?
Mike: The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide to Life (very do less).

Jake: That’s a good one and a big influence on the pod. Probably Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Mike: Fish in the Dark by Larry David.

Jake: The Book of Mormon.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Mike: Drake? I exclusively listen to hip-hop.

Jake: Ray Charles.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Mike: Ryan Phillippe (people say he’s my doppelgänger).

Jake: CGI Michael Keaton.

Make sure to follow Jake (Instagram) and Mike (Instagram). Listen to Do Less today.