In a special interview with the Immokalee Bulletin, local comedian Josh Pray opens up about his growing social media presence, his life on tour, and what his plans are 2018. With over 29,900 YouTube subscribers, over half a million followers on Facebook, and nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram, Josh Pray is gaining steam in the comedy world with no sign of slowing down. In fact, some of Josh Pray’s YouTube videos have been watched nearly two million times. Me: Thank you Josh for speaking with me. Can you tell me a little bit about your background? Josh: I was born and raised in Immokalee and moved away when I turned 18 to go to College where I studied education. Me: How did you get into comedy? Josh: Immokalee is a small community that doesn’t have a lot, so I learned how to laugh a lot. I went into the education field after high school and found that it wasn’t really for me. I decided to have my first comedy show which was actually in Immokalee at the community center. In 2014, the show did extremely well. I just stuck with it from there on. Me: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Josh: I try to be diverse in everyday life. I try to include every culture in my jokes. I don’t like divisiveness, I don’t like separation and being from Immokalee you have black Americans, Haitian Americans, Mexican Americans, and a small portion of white Americans and find that it’s funnier when you can include everybody. I try to watch my language online and I include simple things. Me: How was it filming your videos with your mom? Josh: My mother is a devote Christian in Immokalee. She asked to be in the videos so together we came up with the concept of including my mom in certain videos because she is naturally a very funny lady. Me: How did you get hooked up with Nick Cannon and end up ‘Caught on Camera?’ Josh: At the end of 2014, a video of mine went viral so Nick Cannon’s crew reached out and wanted to fly us to California. I was able to talk them into coming to Naples instead and we shot the episode in my house. Me: Do you have anything coming up in the near future? Josh: Yes, I currently do movie reviews. Fandango and Rotten Tomato caught whim of one of my movie reviews for ‘Wonder Woman’. I now have a contract with Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes so I may be going back to do some TV appearances. I have a tour in Hawaii in April. I will be at the Dayton 500 this year and I will be at the Country Music Awards because of a review I did with Carrie Underwood. Me: With the video titled ‘5 things I learned while camping with my bright friends,’ did that content come from personal experience? Video except: “Now I’ve known Brian for about 10 years now. Brian pulls out some rope. Now in my head, I was like listen black people in the woods with rope…not gonna’ happen let me pack my stuff up and let me go home because this is the end of our friendship.” Josh: I have a friend named Brian that I met in 2006. I try to be diverse as possible with my friendships. When I went out it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. Me: What about the video titled “5 things to know before going to a white barbeque?” With nearly 40,000 views it seems like it was a great hit. Josh: Yeah, that was actually one of my biggest videos. Me: Will you be doing any local shows? Josh: At one point I was doing a show at New York Pizza and Pasta in Naples. Outside of a few locations, our area is not a huge beacon for comedy. For now, I’m booked nationally. If things slow down, I may try to find a mainstay locally. Me: Do you ever do anything in Immokalee? Josh: I did have a homecoming event in August last year. I will probably be doing something again later this year before school is back in session in August or early September. Me: Thank you Josh for taking the time to speak with us and we hope to see more of your great work. Josh: You’re welcome!