Comedian Fergus Neal gaining success off Geelong upbringing

A homegrown comedian finding making a name for himself online has opened up about success in the big city, writing material about growing up in Geelong and his future mayoral ambitions.

Former Geelong man Fergus Neal is making a name for himself across Melbourne’s comedy scene and in the world of social media, often referencing life growing up in the region.

“I loved growing up in Geelong,” he said.

“It is a politically interesting place; it is a marginal seat so you meet people from both sides.

“You also have farmers, surfers and about 15 different types of people all in one classroom, so if you can make that class laugh then you can do comedy.”

Amassing 18,700 followers on Tik Tok Mr Neal credited the platform as a way to get his content across to a bigger audience while taking an often political approach.

“I love comedians who talk about topical things in the news, it is a fun way to digest political content,” he said.

Fergus Neal performing stand up.

“I always gravitated towards that because you make fun of the news and have a laugh, but you learn something.”

Besides making a name for himself on Tik Tok, Mr Neal also hosts ‘The Ferg Neal Podcast’.

“I was always hanging around comedy clubs even before I was doing stand up, so I started interviewing comedians,” he said.

“I just asked bigger comedians like Dave Thornton, Matt Okine and Cal Wilson to come on and it was like a school for comedy.

“Then I started doing stand-up and it became ranting into a microphone for 20 minutes.”

While now living in Melbourne and performing regularly at Comedy Republic, he said his Geelong roots has continued to serve him well.

“Comedians in Melbourne are more from the inner city so when I do my jokes about growing up in Geelong people are like cool this is something different.”

In what the future holds, he said he will be performing at the comedy Festival in 2022 as well as expanding his platform through his podcast and social media presence.

He also floated the idea of returning home for a quick stint in office.

“I want to be the mayor of Geelong one day. If Darryn Lyons can do it with a fake six pack then I can do it with a one pack.”

Originally published as Comedian Fergus Neal gaining success off Geelong upbringing