Greetings from cruising altitude, both literally and metaphorically.

No, but actually, it’s 8:27 AM and I’m mid-flight to Los Angeles. I really do write these from WHEREVER I am. I’d snap a pic out of the window over the clouds to prove it, but alas, I’ve only purchased WiFi on a singular device. Fuck you very much for the $29 purchase, American.

After a 4 AM wakeup (and, admittedly, a 1 AM bedtime — I not only had to handle some auditions and tour contracts, pack, do laundry and have lunch with my girl Kelly yesterday, but also assemble a 32-pound wall vanity to reorganize my skin care products. These things take time and devious levels of care and concentration), I’m on my second pack of Biscoff cookies due to American Airlines’ shortage of anything but cheese.

I cannot cheese and fly. Must cheese and ground only. Lest I blow up like the Goodyear blimp and derail our flight’s trajectory…

2 hours and 57 minutes from landing in Los Angeles, and I gotta say I’m really looking forward to grounding back in my other home for a hot minute.

Bring on the trails and coyotes and scorpions — oh my!

Something about sober October 2025 feels different than past intentionally sober stints. I’m in this strange beautiful place where something big is coming, and I can’t explain it all just yet, but I’m the most internally relaxed and aligned I’ve ever been.

Maybe it’s because I’m in an exceptionally creative flow. Maybe it’s because I’m gearing up to work with people I’m beyond excited to work with. Maybe it’s simply because I feel the readiest I’ve ever been for all the things to come.

Or maybe I’m just bloated and tired of beer.

All I’m praying is I don’t shit myself from over-consumption of green juice and kombucha like I did my last Dry January in LA. I’ll survive either way. And buy some new pants.

But in all seriousness, I’m using this Sober October as both a physical reset and a creative recalibration. A time to reflect on how far I’ve come while I prepare myself for the months ahead.

Clear head, clear intentions, and a few weeks back in LA to handle some biz. No alcohol required — just hikes, creative meetings, and an obscene amount of overpriced wellness products I'll convince myself are investments, not expenses.

The Hustle

Los Angeles and I have a complicated history.

I am often asked “Why did you leave LA?” — well, I both did and didn’t. Let me explain.

I moved to LA in 2011. I had lived in Chicago for a little over 4 years. Chicago is where I started my career in comedy — improv for 3+ years, standup I had just begun in 2010. So I was a freshy when I up and moved to California.

But where I lacked in comedy maturity, I made up for in hustle. I started running a monthly show at The Comedy Store before even moving to LA, flying back and forth from Chicago for months to get a lay of the land before making the full move.

The move to LA was hard. I spent all the bartending money I’d saved simply making the U-haul drive cross-country, and I was living in a small cat-piss scented spare room in Burbank out of boxes without a car for my first three months.

…And when I did finally buy a 2001 mint green jaguar straight out of a classic movie starring pimps, the wheel axle snapped on Sunset Boulevard my third week of owning it and I had to borrow a moped from a friend to get to bartending gigs — WHICH, I might add, accidentally merging onto the 101 on a moped is the only OTHER time I’ve shit myself in my adult life…

I love LA. It was my home for over a decade. I auditioned like crazy, produced shows at all the best clubs, won awards for producing, comedic writing and acting, and almost sold a few TV series — The greatest elevations in my career happened in that city.

I never wanted to leave. The pandemic, a major breakup and my ex-fiance marrying my ex best friend (if you’ve seen my new hour, you know) all played a role, which is so “LA.”

On the other hand, it’s been amazing splitting time between Chicago and LA — Chicago keeps me grounded in different ways than the west coast. Chicago brings more realness to LA’s opportunistic and flaky nature. And LA brings a level of drive and agile creative thought to the table — an epicenter of entertainment.

I love basing out of Chicago. I also like to be someone who’s on-the-go so often that I am allowed to have many “homes.” And I do. And that was always my dream. Just like I wear many hats. I guess papa is a rolling stone… (cue the song)

I’ll just say this: I’ve always felt boundless. A location doesn’t define me, and role or gig doesn’t define me. Nothing truly defines anyone. You can’t capture the complexities of people in simple boxes.

Which brings me to this trip. I'm not in LA scrambling for auditions or chasing opportunities anymore. I'm here with intention — scouting for my special venue, meeting with people I chose to work with and who chose me, performing, writing, resetting …and doing it all with a clear head.

The hustle hasn't changed, but the strategy has.

Ahh, it’s good to be home — 2 hours, 2 minutes and counting til touchdown.

The Chill

So about this whole Sober October thing.

I’m active and healthy, and I generally strike a great balance with mind/body. I've done intentional sober stints before — random weeks here and there when I needed to reset.

But something about this one feels different. More purposeful, less performative.

Maybe it's because I'm not doing it to prove anything or because I "should." I'm doing it because I'm at a point where I need absolute clarity for what's coming next. And as much as I love a good whiskey or glass of wine, alcohol has this sneaky way of blurring the edges of important decisions, and making its way into every social situation.

Especially in Chicago.

I'm in great shape and alcohol has never been an issue. On the flip-side, there’s always an excuse to include it. And there's something interesting about removing even the small variables when you're gearing up for something big. It's less about fixing a problem and more about optimizing performance.

When you're shaping the next evolution of your career and brand, you need to be sharp. Not slightly hungover-but-functional and capable of Solidcore classes while “sweating it out” sharp. Actually sharp. The kind of clarity where your instincts are firing on all cylinders and you can tell the difference between a good opportunity and a shiny distraction.

There's also something grounding about running trails in the morning. About watching the sunset from the patio of the hills overlooking Los Angeles while grilling burgers and literally every other meal — because, grilling. About having creative meetings where your brain is fully present.

I already feel clear-headed and focused. But what happens when you remove even the occasional glass of wine at dinner? What creative ideas show up in that extra 5% of mental space? What patterns do you notice about your energy, your sleep, your decision-making when there's literally nothing in the way?

I used to always joke with friends that I drank because otherwise I’d scare people with how much I accomplish. Welp, it is almost Halloween. I’m leaning in.

Plus, there's something satisfying about choosing intentional discipline when you don't have to. It's a different kind of hustle — the internal kind.

Subtraction isn’t about “giving up,” whether that’s a location, a habit or a path you’re on. It’s about making space for something that better serves you.

October is just the warmup.

1 hour and 18 minutes to touchdown. Newsletter scheduled and… napping…

A friendly reminder, if you miss any of these weekly emails, they live online as posts/entries as well — and it’s actually a fun magazine-like experience to view the archives page. You can do so here on The Hustle + Chill with NPH homepage.

What posts and newsletters are resonating most with all of you? A lot of you reply to my emails, which come directly to my personal inbox. I appreciate all of these and always respond. Keep them coming!

Upcoming Shows

I was hoping to have the ticket links ready today, but SAVE THE DATES for next on tour:

Nov 6th - Mobile, Alabama @ The Crescent Theater

Nov 7th - New Orleans, Louisiana @ The Howlin’ Wolf

Nov 8th - Hattiesburg, Mississippi @ Brewsky’s

I’ll be dropping LA shows throughout the next few weeks as well, both here and on Instagram.

For now, I’ll tease you Oct 16th at The Hollywood Improv

I’ll share ticket links ASAP. Hang tight my hustlers.

Love you all and cheers to the hustle + chill. We cheers our club sodas to a wild October.

xx NPH