UrbanUpdate

When you’re on the go as much as comedian Ronny Chieng, there's no such thing as a typical day. “I might be in rural Oregon filming something in the middle of the forest—but sometimes I’m literally in Times Square,” he said. Last year saw the Daily Show correspondent appear in roles on Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, NBC’s Young Rock, HBO Max’s Godzilla vs. Kong, and Disney Plus’ Doogie Howser reboot. He’s following that packed year up with his second Netflix special, Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy, which premiers on April 5th. But even with that grueling schedule, Chieng says he always makes sure he has time dedicated to getting his heart rate up at the closest jiu-jitsu academy, no matter what country he's in. 

GQ caught up with Chieng to talk about how he's handling that packed schedule, a healthy reason to prefer speakeasy-style bars, and some of his favorite places to grab a bite. 

GQ: What was your introduction to Jiu-Jitsu?

Ronny Chieng: I was looking for something to do in New York City. I actually have a weird, specific injury that stopped me from doing the martial arts I was doing previously, so I was looking for something else to get into. With jiu-jitsu, it just seemed like everyone was doing it and it seemed like every city in the world had it. I travel a lot for work so I thought it would be good because wherever I go for work, I could drop by someplace and get a workout. 

Why is it something you’ve continued to do, given how busy life has become?

For the fitness benefits? It’s very cardio heavy and it gives you a really good sweat. Mentally, it’s very meditative. When you’re doing Jiu-Jitsu, you really have to stay in the moment. You have to be present because someone is trying to kill you, literally. So, it’s very hard to think about the past or worry about the future when someone is trying to strangle you to death. It forces you to live in the moment in a really meditative way. The more you do it and the more you reach that meditative zone, you realize it’s such an easy way to live in the present. 

The other side of it is that I think humans get dopamine from learning new things. With jiu-jitsu, there’s always something new to learn from it because the techniques are almost endless. That means you can keep adding to it and because of that, there’s so much to learn. You get dopamine every time you learn a new technique, or you see something new that looks kind of cool and it makes you want to try it.

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What’s your process for finding a school when you’re on the road?

There are some famous jiu-jitsu teachers, so I’ll try to visit their schools. But honestly, I’m just a beginner so I just go to a school that is nearby—whatever is easiest. The number one thing for me is getting on the mat.

As someone who has lived all over the world, where are some of your favorite places to eat?

Malaysia is probably hands down the best place to eat. The food is delicious. It can’t really be duplicated anywhere else. I know everyone says they have a Malaysian restaurant in their city. Trust me, you don’t. There’s no way it’s as authentic or tastes the way it’s supposed to taste. It might be a great restaurant but to get those authentic flavors is very hard. I have to put Singapore up there. If you’re talking about American cities, Chicago is a great food city. Real respectful food there, great produce as well. San Francisco has a great food scene as well with great produce. Melbourne, Australia is also a real food haven as well. Australian produce is probably the best in the world. It’s way better than American produce—that’s not even a diss. It’s objectively true. The produce is fresher. Vancouver has a great food scene. Those are my choices off the top of my head.

The Daily Show films in New York. So what are some places you enjoy when you’re in town?

Damn, you’re really putting me on the spot because there are so many places I like. Dudleys is great. It’s an Australian brunch place. I’ll go there for a big breakfast. Nami Nori is a great spot for a modern twist on sushi rolls. I think Blue Ribbon Brasserie is a great late-night food spot. I really like Dim Sum Palace in Midtown of all places. They have the most authentic yum cha in New York. You can bring people from Hong Kong there and they feel like it’s still authentic tasting. I really like Joe’s Pizza in West Village, and Russ & Daughters for bagels. 

Great picks. Are you conscious about what you eat or can you still eat almost whatever you want?

I’m very conscious about what I eat. Over the last 10 years, I really have been very strict on how I eat because I know how my body works now. Basically, I don’t eat any processed foods. I don’t eat any snacks or candy that’s processed. I don’t eat ice cream. When I’m on the road, I normally go to a grocery store to get things that are unprocessed, or I’ll go to a restaurant and order things that aren’t processed. You could say it’s strict, but I don’t think of it as strict. That’s just what my preferences are. 

I can say no to a lot of things when I eat but I probably won’t say no to a raw dessert. If there’s a raw dessert, I’ll definitely get it. 

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Your new special is called S*peakeasy.* Are you a fan of that kind of bar?

I like that they’re usually kind of quiet places to hang out. When you’re a standup comic or any other kind of live performer, after shows, if you want to hang out, you want to go someplace where you’re not going to blow your voice out.

Is there an added level of pressure when you’re filming one of these specials as opposed to just doing it live?

It’s fair to say yes—there are obvious reasons why there’s pressure. But I would also say that by the time you tape, you should have done it so many times that you can do it in your sleep. There's pressure but hopefully you have done the work so you should be in the zone by the time you tape it. 

Bill Burr once told me that when you’re taping a special, you’re just trying to capture the best version of it. When he told me that, it kind of took the pressure off me. It’s never going to be the same as watching it live. But that’s kind of every comic’s biggest fear—that a show does really well live but when you put it on tape it doesn’t translate. That’s where the pressure comes from.  I know there’s no typical day for you, but what would your routine consist of on a day where you didn’t have to travel?

I’ll wake up around maybe 9:30 or 10 am. I’ll go out for a coffee nearby and get an Americano. (I kind of rotate the shops in my neighborhood.) I’ll eat my first meal around 1 pm. It will be something unprocessed, high protein, and low carbs. Usually, it’s fish. I’ll go home and start working. I’ll keep working until about 6 or 7 p.m. and go out for dinner. 

It’s a tough question because I might have a show—I might eat after the show or at the Comedy Cellar. There are no typical days.

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