Ex-drug dealer turned comedian reveals how he went through $30,000 a week

A former drug dealer who is now a stand-up comedian has revealed the amount he was making that still wasn’t enough for him to live off.

Stand-up comedian Andrew Hamilton was making $30,000 a week when he was arrested in 2021 and sent to prison.

Mr Hamilton, 36, was in prison for four months, but he told news.com.au he thought he’d be facing a sentence of a few years, and it changed him.

At the time, he wasn’t telling jokes for a living.

He was dealing drugs and running his Darlinghurst pizza shop, which was running at a loss because of the pandemic.

Even though he was clearing over $1 million a year in “dirty money”, he wasn’t saving anything but living week to week.

“When you’re in that life, I’d make $30,000 and spend $40,000. Between what I was putting up my nose, gambling, and buying sneakers,” he told news.com.au.

Andrew has revealed what his life was like before going to prison. Picture: Instagram/andrewhamiltoncomedy

He was arrested and served four months in prison. Picture: Instagram/andrewhamiltoncomedy

The comedian now doesn’t touch drugs or gamble, and he says he doesn’t miss the money either.

In fact, he says, if you’re living a more normal life, you don’t need that kind of money.

“When it is dirty money and it comes to you easy, you don’t put the same value on it,” he said.

“A lot of stuff I was spending money on. If you take out gambling and drugs, then it is like things like a $1000 bottle of wine, and I can get by with a $20 bottle of wine.”

He is concentrating on the free stuff in life now and he has a new-found appreciation for it since being in lockup.

Right now, his focus is stand-up comedy and, ever since he got out on bail, he has been performing.

At first, his sets had to be scheduled quite early because he had a curfew. He was also accompanied by his mum, per his parole orders. But now, things have started picking up.

He appeared on The Project, has over 200,000 followers on Instagram, and is gigging so much that he is becoming the comedian other comedians tell you about.

It’s been a whirlwind. Sure, you’ve heard of rags to riches, but from prison to comedy is a less likely, down-on-your-luck story.

He said his new ‘addiction’ is stand-up comedy. Picture: Instagram/Andrewhamiltoncomedy

Comedy has changed his life. Picture: Instagram/andrewhamiltoncomedy

When Mr Hamilton was first locked up, his parents, although concerned, told him, “This might be the best thing for you.”

And even at the time he was inclined to agree.

He said he was living in “chaos” and he had created a life that was a “house of cards” that was due to collapse on him.

“I definitely knew by the end I was in a bad coke spiral. I was high functioning, and I could trick other people, but I knew within myself I was f**ked,” he said.

Before getting arrested, he thought he was “too smart” to be caught, but there’s nothing quite like the organised crime squad raiding your house to make you realise you’re not as clever as you think.

“When you’re in prison, you’re in the naughty corner. I was only in four months, I got very lucky, but it was long enough to think,” he said.

He also found that prison life was less wild antics and more dull. Sure, you can find trouble if you’re looking for it but, for the most part, every day felt like “Groundhog Day” and he found that most men inside were looking for a laugh more than a fight.

An average day was far less exciting than people might think.

“Blokes in the yard are just playing touch footy and listening to the radio, trying to get through another day. They all feel the same,” he said.

While locked up in Long Bay, he knew that he wanted to be a stand-up comedian. He’d always dreamt of being one, but now he felt like he had no excuse not to try.

“I had a chance to be like, ‘I really had higher hopes for myself’, and then I thought, if there was a better path, what would I take? It would be to be a stand-up comedian,” he said.

The epiphany sounds impressive, but Mr Hamilton reckons it was just a natural conclusion.

“You’d be surprised. If someone had a gun to your head and said ‘what would you do if you had to change your life?’ You might find the answer is one you’ve ignored for a long time,” he said.

He is about to start a national tour. Picture: Supplied

Once he was out of prison, he threw himself into stand-up comedy. He said it’s been a game changer and kept him on the straight and narrow.

“I had a massive emptiness inside of me. I’d never found something to fulfil me. It wasn’t until I found comedy that I found purpose,” he said.

The purpose has given him freedom. Mr Hamilton is aware that once you go to prison, you can spend the rest of your life in and out.

“In Long Bay, there was like 80 of us in the yard, and only two of us were in prison for the first time,” he said.

It has also been rewarding to see how much it has resonated with his fellow criminals and the people enforcing the law.

“I have a lot of cops and prison officers to come to my show. It is relatable humour,” he said.

“There was a time when I did a show in Adelaide and this ex-cop came up to me and said, ‘great show’. Later, another guy said, ‘great show’, and he was from the Hell’s Angels.”

Mr Hamilton’s national tour kicks off in August.

And his first book The Profound Benefits Of A Stint In Prison is out on the 30th July.

Originally published as Ex-drug dealer turned comedian reveals how he went through $30,000 a week