Tori Piskin

Meet Tori Piskin: a fiery comedian with a tendency towards hypochondria and an otherwise bright and cheery disposition! Piskin champions an endearingly Jewish brand of comedy that’s seeped in self-observation and neurotic family meshuga aka craziness. Piskin emerged in the comedy scene following a debilitating Lyme diagnosis that left her constantly fatigued and mostly stuck in bed throughout her early 20s. Fortunately, Piskin made the most of that low point and taught herself how to edit and produce comedy videos that featured her comedic perspective on a disease that’s widely known and hard to diagnose. Piskin’s struggle with Lyme disease coupled with her childhood experience attending a learning disabilities school in Manhattan has given Piskin a wealth of hilarious material and a sincere aura of relatability. Her resourcefulness, brazen sense of humor, and capacity to wield wit in even the worst of times is just some of what makes Tori Piskin so damn Dandy.

You can watch Piskin’s hilarity on her IGTV videos and listen to her podcast she does with her mother, Lulu Piskin called GOT IT FROM MY MAMA.

How are you doing mentally?

Besides being scared of getting Covid and dying, I’m okay. You look on the news and think OMG I’m gonna get it, but then you stop watching the news and hang out with friends and feel better. Then you talk to your parents and they’re like, “This is serious shit.” I feel differently every hour!

Some days are easier to self-motivate than others. What’s it been like for you?

I’m creating videos all day and some days I feel very motivated and some days I don’t. Because I create my own schedule, I’m really hard on myself if I’m not being productive. But then I’m like, no it’s okay because other people are stuck at home too. It’s a constant struggle.

Where are you living now?

I’m in Los Angeles right now; I actually moved during the pandemic. I was planning to move anyway in early March and I came to LA to look for apartments with my friend. I remember being at the airport seeing this woman who was in first class with all her Louis luggage, but she was wearing gloves and disinfecting every suitcase. Her kids were like “Mom stop you’re so embarrassing.” I doubt that rich woman has ever cleaned so much in her life, but this was when the pandemic had just started here.

When I got back to New York it was a constant back-and-forth in my mind, ‘Do I stay, do I leave?’ But I’m so much happier I moved here in April rather than now, because during April there were so few people on my flight.

Did you grow up in NYC?

I grew up in Long Island till I was eight and then moved to the Upper East Side. I had severe dyslexia when I was younger and my sister was a ballerina, so that’s part of why we moved to NYC to be closer to more specialized schools. Obviously my parents made it seem like the school I was going to was way cooler than it was and I was excited. Then I went and it wasn’t just kids with dyslexia, it was people will all different learning disabilities. I went to that school from 5th to 12th grade. My sister was in the School of American Ballet and my parents were like, “We moved for one of the sister’s because she’s a prodigy and the other one, well—she was a prodigy too, but it’s hard to explain.”

That experience seems like it rooted you in comedy and observing everyone around you. How did you get started in your field?

I was in theater in high school and then my teacher was like you’re really funny you should take an improv class, so I did. I would also go and watch a lot of open mics before I started to do it myself. I’ll never forget one open mic at 4 pm—which is always the time for the weirdest people because who is available at 4 pm on a weekday? Anyhow, it was a strange group of seven people in this dark room and there was an older woman there with her daughter. And as she walked on the stage, her daughter put her hands over her ears and hid under the table. The woman said her kid gets embarrassed of her doing stand up, and I just remember being like ‘This is exactly what i want to do; just be with these crazy people all the time.’ I went to Savannah College of Art and Design for a year and then transferred to Emerson where I did a lot of stand up.

After college I got diagnosed with Lyme disease and that’s when I started making my video content and teaching myself how to edit.

How do you deal with having chronic Lyme?

I deal with everything through comedy. When I first got it, I was really sick and my biggest symptom was extreme fatigue so I really couldn’t do anything. I got a camera and taught myself Final Cut and it was great because I got feedback from so many people who were happy to hear someone talking about Lyme in a comedic way. Once I was back to normal, I started performing live again. 

Lyme is so confusing because some people can get it four times and be fine. I remember finding out when I had it and at the time my pediatrician told me—because at 21 what doctor would you normally have? A friend said “Don’t worry my dad had it four times you’ll be fine.” But it really depends on your immune system. I don’t have a good immune system, nor does my mom and I’m like her to a T. I don’t even know if my dad was involved in the making of me. There is really no cure and luckily I was able to get IV antibiotics for eight months in 2013. Every few years I’ll have a relapse, but it will never be to the extent of what it was. I’ve recently started to see a new doctor in LA and am getting into herbs and vitamin drips. With Lyme it slowly creeps up with symptoms and you have to put the puzzle pieces together and frequently fine-tune yourself.

You and your mom have a podcast together. You have a very unique relationship that seems to be partly the result of a lack of boundaries—something very common in Jewish families. What’s it like working with your mom?

I started the podcast with my mom two years ago. I was going through an awful breakup and he was really close to my family. It was just one of those blindsiding breakups. I was devastated, and my mom’s way of making me feel better was talking shit about him. It was the only thing that made me laugh at the time. I was already filming videos with her, but not to the extent I am now and people kept saying your mom is so funny, so I was like ‘Wait why not just make a podcast with her?’ So 77 episodes later, we’re still going.

In terms of marketing yourself and getting a following, has that just happened organically through word of mouth?

It’s been word of mouth and me reaching out to be on people’s podcasts. Since we have a sort of unique podcast idea, we’ve been able to go on to a lot of bigger podcasts like Off the Vine, which has helped grow our audience. 

Who are your favorite comedians?

I love Jewish women like Judy Gold, Joan Rivers, and Jessica Kirson.

Do you ever struggle with being funny and not offensive?

Yeah, I think it’s really hard to know what’s right to say and what’s not. With my humor, I’ve always liked being mean to people. I make fun of myself, but I also like impersonating others. It’s definitely a hard line and if I’m ever unsure about something I’ll send my idea or video to my comedian friends for their opinions.

If George Carlin or Joan Rivers were around I wonder what they would say about PC culture.

They would probably  say “Get over it,” but they have that level of fame and notoriety to be like that. For someone who is newer like me it’s different. Especially on Twitter, there are just so many people coming for you. I looked back at my Twitter to see if I’ve ever said anything bad and luckily I haven’t. I’ve just spelled things wrong.

How has your relationship with your body evolved since childhood?

I come from a very body conscious family. My sister was a dancer and my mom was a fitness instructor and had an eating disorder, so there was always this level of health consciousness. Some of the games my sister and I played when we were younger were really fucked up with food. There was one when we were 10 years old at a bakery and we’d ask each other which cake we would eat if it didn’t cost you any calories. There was another game where we’d eat a cookie and see who could take the longest to eat it. My roommate and I were talking just the other day: you know you come from a fucked up mom when she’s the kind of mother that says “the kitchen is closed” at night. I always used to sneak to get food. Even now at night in my own apartment, I sneak at night to get snacks because I’m always worried my mom is going to come in even though I know she’s not. Now, for Lyme I have to eat very healthy anyway an d I find that working out makes my mind feel a lot better. Although I definitely feel conscious about how I look and even more so as I’ve gotten older. In my 20s I really didn’t care that much.

Have you been dating throughout the pandemic?

Yeah, a little bit. I was talking to a guy for a while over Facetime who was quarantined with his family. I feel like your dating life really depends on who you surround yourself with; but my roommates and I have had guys over outside at the house and it just feels like we’re in this fucked up adult summer camp. They come and hang by our fire outside. It’s not like we could invite them out or meet at a bar, because LA is shutdown. All we ever do is walk to Whole Foods. It just feels like we’re living in a camp.

In a past-life, you were probably a:

If a contestant on the Maury Povich show was from a past-life, I would be her. I have this angry woman inside of me who always wants to yell. 

What are your go-to beauty products?

Clearsil is super generic drug store stuff, but it really helps with my pimples. I’m really into taking good care of my hair because it’s so curly. I use Diva Curl for my hair and micro fiber towel. Before I end the shower I make the water really cold and put my head under the water for three seconds and it really helps with the curls. I also use Pacifica Sunscreen and the MILK Glitter Stick Highlighter.

Do you find yourself increasingly nostalgic for simpler times? Especially right now.

Totally. Especially right now, I’m really reminiscing on my early 20s. From 24 years old until a few months ago, I was on the grind doing stand up every night. If I ever took a night off, I would feel really guilty. So I haven’t had this time at night when I wasn’t rushing around in so long. And since we can’t really go out, we’re having people over. I sort of feel like I’m back in college.

How were you supporting yourself while trying to make it in the comedy world?

I was working as a freelance video editor and had an editing gig at Refinery 29 for a year which also involved on-camera work. Then I stopped working there and did more  freelance, and as my following grew I was able to do more brand deals. Right before the pandemic, I was balancing freelance editing work with booking commercials and brand deals.

As someone who shares a lot of their life with the world, do you ever experience shame spirals?

I like putting everything out there. The only time I get nervous is if I talk about someone on my podcast and get nervous that they’ll listen. Also, on TikTok I can post like four times a day and don’t care, but with Instagram I get more nervous to post. For a comedian, TikTok is like going to that gym where you know you won’t see anyone, so you wear the shittiest clothes. Instagram is like the Equinox, so you’re going to wear your matching Sweaty Betty outfit.

Vices:

Being on social media too much.