so this is a thing that happened last night. after the brody memorial at the comedy store ended, my dude and i were outside the club reflecting while we waited for the crowd to thin out. we were both wearing our brody shirts and one of the comics who performed earlier (steven? i think there were 4 steves or stevens who went up) walked up to us and gave us 3 OF BRODY'S GOD DAMNED BASEBALL CAPS. I OWN BRODY'S FITTED FUCKING DODGERS CAP. i almost started sobbing and both me and my dude hugged steven. i don't even know what to say, man. thank you so, so much. #brodystevens #positiveenergy #818tillidie #thecomedystore (at The Comedy Store) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7jvYTNAafr/?igshid=7jogddiz3pnj

Tonight, as @thecomedystore celebrates the life of Brody Stevens, I thought pay a little more tribute of my own... ENJOY IT!!! #art #drawing #ink #comedy #portrait #tribute #brodystevens #ryanjebelt https://www.instagram.com/p/B9kvbQ6g_a0/?igshid=cxquim23u4jb

Enjoy it. #brodystevens #enjoyit (at The World Famous Comedy Store) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuqLuOyHL5N/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=189l987bavma0

#164 - "Rest In Peace Brody Stevens"

Episode 5 of MonstrosityPodcast.com

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EP 5 FOR FREE!

One of the greatest comedians of all time, Brody Stevens, in one of his last interviews ever. #RIPBrodyStevens

You can hear more episodes, listen to bonus content, and more at the shows official website - MonstrosityPodcast.com

#RIP #BrodyStevens #comedian #LosAngeles #LA #California #CA #US (at Hollywood Improv Comedy Club) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuVhorFhAZ6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rkilmzrqroaq

So sad to hear about Brody Stevens.... a genuinely lovely man and a genius comedian #brodystevens #RIPBrodyStevens https://www.instagram.com/p/BuRyZD8gqoK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qsl4zluc6u2k

#BrodyStevens was an amazing #StandUpComic if you haven’t seen his work or even if you have watch a #ComicsComic working his craft and #EnjoyIt .. #RIPBrodyStevens #ThankYouBrodyStevens https://www.instagram.com/p/BuQF0uFgheW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15uldoef6blrn

On Brody Stevens, Suicide, and Depression

If you are in trouble, please visit: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Yesterday, Brody Stevens, an amazing performer and comedian, (and incredible athlete, as I’ve gathered he would wish to be noted) took his own life. I personally didn’t know him that well, but I’ve found myself deeply affected by the event. Why? I suppose I can blame Twitter, the vast majority of celebrities and comedians I follow in there have joined together in an outpouring of love and mutual grief of the likes that I’ve never quite seen before. And perhaps that’s why it has hit me so hard. I’m at a time in my life where I find myself, and many of my friends wrestling with these dark thoughts of letting it all go. Many of us are just as loved as Brody was, and we all have gifts that we could potentially be sharing with the world. Brody was a man who would get up on a stage and scream the actual word POSITIVITY at audiences, and you can tell he meant it. You could tell he truly wanted to believe it. He is a man who was open about his inner demons, he even worked himself being diagnosed with bipolar disorder into an episode of his television show. I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of depression and suicide lately, and to see someone so loved, so talented fall into its grip has crystalized some of these thoughts for me. It doesn’t matter how much you are loved. It doesn’t matter that you could have some of the most famous people in the world rush to your home with one phone call to be there for you. It doesn’t matter how amongst the best in your field, you still are the standout, the guy nobody else dares to follow, yet somehow be such a gifted performer that if someone did follow you, you’d have set them up perfectly. It just doesn’t matter how great your life seems.

I read a story about Brody forcing a friend of his to apologize to a worker at McDonald’s after he felt the friend had been short with the worker, and not just apologize, but raise enough of a ruckus that the entire building gathered around to witness a moment of apology and forgiveness (A story by Auggie Smith on Twitter). This was a man who affected people’s lives in the best possible way, and a man who has left a hole in countless people’s hearts that will never be truly full again. And on some level, I’m sure he knew that. Yet that internal battle still finally won out in the end. It terrifies me. Personally, I don’t believe I’ve experienced the depths of darkness that I’m sure Brody did, but I do still have a comprehension of how alone we can feel in those moments. The way our minds can tell us, no matter how many people have said to our faces, “I love you,” that day, that nobody really cares, nobody really understands, and maybe, just maybe, the world would be better off without us. Or maybe wouldn’t everything be so, so much easier if it were all over? The true bliss of being lost in a fantasy of not having to face the next day is a siren’s song that many people have finally fallen victim to. In our weakest moments, at the end of that downward spiral, that can seem like the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what I’m afraid of. Not just for myself, but for my friends who struggle with these thoughts. That’s the underlying sadness I see in people’s words, as they express their grief at Brody’s passing, and share his best moments that he gifted us with. That they couldn’t stop it. They couldn’t help him in the end. For Brody, his struggle is over. We don’t mourn for him. We mourn for ourselves, living in world where he isn’t around anymore. To make us laugh. To spread joy. To call us out on our bullshit when we mouth off to an employee just trying to do their job. It’s selfish in a way. I found myself thinking, “How could someone so talented, with so much to share and show the world leave us?” And I realized that was a selfish thought. It’s a thought that doesn’t understand the pain that person is going through. Often, the most talented people in the world are the one’s going through the most. These are people who experience pain in a way few others can, and that constant exposure is why they create such amazing art, but it’s also the source of the extreme sadness they must battle every day.

Suicide is not cowardice. It’s perhaps the bravest thing you can do, take that leap into the great beyond, not truly knowing what is waiting for you there. Perhaps it’s nothing. And perhaps that’s the most comforting thought of all. These are the things our brains tell us, that the pain can all just over, and before we realize what we’ve done, it’s just that. Done. We all go through low points in our lives. We lose jobs. We lose people. Relationships. We find ourselves at a point where everything seems lost, nothing seems like it’s going right, and it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better anytime soon. If you are at the point, me saying “I swear it will get better,” will seem like a bitter, unswallowable pill. It might even make you angry. Good. Hold onto that anger. Be angry at me, or that person who said that to you, not yourself. It’s better than being lost in the sadness. Ask me just how in the hell is it supposed to get better. Maybe I won’t have the answer right away. But let’s figure it out. Together. 

           I say all of this not to sound hopeless, but in an attempt to understand what would cause something like this. I believe that if we acknowledge the truth of why this happens, indeed why it keeps happening, maybe we can find a way to fight it. Depression can claim anyone’s life, no matter how beloved they are. And that’s important to understand. And my go to response was to always say, you have so much to give, please don’t leave us. But a person in that moment certainly isn’t thinking, “I have so much left to give.” In fact, that thought might even make it worse. Part of the reason I am writing all of this out, is an attempt to understand, and an attempt to come up with some answers, but I don’t have them. All I can think to say when something like this happens, is do your best to be there for each other. Even the most positive people in your life are likely struggling with things that would bring you to your knees in an instant. That’s why they are so kind, so empathetic. They don’t want anyone to feel the way they do, and some make it their life’s mission to combat that for others. The brightest lights shine the most in the darkness. 

What haunts me is in these moments, is that all we can do is tell our loved ones we love them a little more, and share suicide hotlines with one another. And we should. Quite frankly, we are all going to die someday, what is stopping you from telling your friends you love them? Embarrassment? What a silly fear in a world where we must all face our mortality someday. Suicide hotlines have helped people, they’ve absolutely saved lives. But I also worry, in our darkest moments, that doesn’t register as an option. I hope it does. I hope if anyone reads this, if you ever find yourself in that place, seeing death as the only way out of your misery, I hope against hope, that as you start to take your steps down that tunnel to that light, you see another. Along the side of that tunnel. A small note that says: I love you. You can call me anytime, I’ll be there for you. Or, if you want to talk to a professional, here’s their number: 1-800-273-8255. Call. There’s another way, we promise, no matter what. Our love is not conditional. We don’t love you because of what you can do, but just because you are you. You could give up EVERYTHING today, and we will still love you. Just don’t give up your life.

                                                                                                          Love, Jake

 P.S. I would like to say I of course do not know Brody Stevens personally, and I hope that no one is offended by any of my speculation into his life. I’m deeply saddened by his loss, and the raw emotion of the loved one’s he has left behind has left me in tears, I’ve never felt such pain from people before. That’s why I was compelled to write all of this down. I think about how I would feel if someone I loved that much left us, and it knocks the air from my lungs. The helplessness and grief is absolutely a selfish feeling, but fuck it, if I can weaponize the selfishness of not wanting to experience the loss of someone in my life and help them, then I absolutely will. I’m here for you, and the small comfort I take even at my lowest points is knowing that deep down, I have people that are there for me in the same way. And if you don’t share that feeling, I swear, just reach out. Even if it’s a stranger on a hotline, there’s good people in this world who want to help you. No matter what you’ve been through, no matter what evils you’ve seen and experienced, choose to hold onto the good if you can. That dark tunnel doesn’t have to stay dark. Someone will come along with a light of their own to share with you, I promise. My only hope in writing all of this down is that someone may see this, and either understand what others are going through, or if they are going through this themselves, know that this doesn’t have to be the end. It can be the beginning of something new and wonderful. Don’t leave just yet. Please.  

friday, may 22 would be brody stevens' 50th birthday. from 8:18am friday morning until 8:18 saturday morning i'll be on kast streaming a bunch of brody's live performances, every episode of brody stevens: enjoy it!, clips of brody's movie and tv appearances, basically whatever i can find. there's a chat room if folks feel like talking about brody, mental health, or anything at all. i need some #positiveenergy rn #brodystevens #enjoyit #818tillidie #hangover #hangover2 #duedate #cutoutoffunny people https://www.instagram.com/p/CAeiiihgIrD/?igshid=mq6d8ulp3yaz

Doing some laaaaaaaaaaaate spring cleaning in LA. Found this. 😢 #brodystevens #enjoyit https://www.instagram.com/p/CE2q90QA-eE/?igshid=ew3vakq6j46b

. Brody was one of the nicest people I ever met. He was brilliant and vulnerable and generous and I never heard anyone say a bad word about him. But he was tortured by demons I never saw and never really knew about. I wish he was truly aware of just how many people loved and admired him. Maybe he would have reconsidered. Brody was an open wound, forever walking around with sad soulful eyes oddly juxtaposed against a permanently “positive” grin. A grin, it turns out, that he was bravely forcing more times than any of us want to consider. . If you don’t know him, Google him!!! Watch his stuff. Buy his stuff. He was a mad genius and there will never be another Steven Brody Stevens. It’s a loss for all of us, and it’s beyond tragic none of us were ever able to let him know that it was all gonna be alright. It was gonna be alright, Brody. . One of the brightest stars in the comedy universe is now missing, and, on some level, it will never be the same. . #rip #brodystevens #sad #iwrotethisstoned (at Laugh Factory) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuN0PKVHZRO/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10v0acyf2fkdi

https://youtu.be/0kmV5r5RLLQ #mentalillness is no #laughing matter. Even if your intentions are with no harm, you have #noclue how the individual is #internalizing it. #restinpeace #Brodystevens https://www.instagram.com/p/Buao_-un8rf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17vygk3lbhnug

He was one of the reasons I wanted to go to the world famous @thecomedystore a few years ago, he closed out the main room with one of the funniest sets I had ever seen live. He was amazing, I forced @lumpiachef to stay to the very end just so I could fanboy out and tell him what a fan I was of his comedy 🤦🏽‍♂️ I couldn’t help it. He was awesome and I can’t believe he’s gone. RIP #BrodyStevens you will be missed (at The Comedy Store) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuNvFwLn3OC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19ql6ehi28a1r

This man killed himself today - Steven Brody Stevens - a comedian in Los Angeles - I have followed him for years, he had a very different way of looking at the world and was very open about his struggles with mental illness just like I am - he even made a documentary about it with Zack Galafenackis this is so tragic - he fought and fought and fought, but all it takes is a couple dark thoughts and a bad decision and you are gone - and that is the truth - that is the real true life of living with mental illness. I wish you peace, Steven Brody Stevens #stevenbrodystevens #brodystevens #ripbrodystevens #mentalillness #comedian #losangeles #dogkisserinternationalheadquarters #zackgalafanakis (at Dogkisser International Headquarters) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuNhcxiH1sF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qq0whoed33pg

It is terribly disheartening and sad to hear about the passing of comedian/actor/chair drummer Brody Stevens. I meet Brody in LA in 2015 and he was such a sweet & energetic guy. I knew he struggled with mental illness and was upfront about it but behind all of the positive energy he had on stage their was a pain. Mental Illness is real and never let anyone tell you different! It's not something you can just get over or stop. Remember there is always someone who will listen to you myself included and if you ever feel like hurt yourself please reach out anyone. Rest in peace Brody. You will be missed. #brodystevens #mentalillness #mentalhealthawareness #suicideprevention National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 https://www.instagram.com/p/BuNTDnmjHx4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wmhiegel3by4