#1000 - Joey Diaz & Tom Segura

Joey "CoCo" Diaz (born José Antonio Díaz; February 19, 1963) is a Cuban-American stand-up comedian, actor , podcaster, and author renowned for his raw, autobiographical storytelling style that draws from his tumultuous life experiences. Born in Havana , Cuba , he immigrated to the United States at age three and was raised in North Bergen, New Jersey, where he navigated a challenging upbringing marked by family loss and legal troubles, including a period of incarceration in the late 1980s . Diaz began his comedy career in 1988 while serving time in a Denver correctional facility, where he performed stand-up routines during movie breaks to entertain fellow inmates, eventually transitioning to professional stages after his release. His breakthrough in acting came with supporting roles in major films, including Spider-Man 2 (2004), The Longest Yard (2005), Taxi (2004), Grudge Match (2013) alongside Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro, and The Many Saints of Newark (2021) as Buddha Bonpensiero in the Sopranos prequel. On television, he has appeared in series such as My Name Is Earl , The Mentalist , Eastbound & Down , Children's Hospital , and General Hospital , often playing characters that leverage his distinctive gravelly voice and intense persona. Diaz released his first one-hour stand-up special, Sociably Unacceptable , in 2016, and his comedy has been featured on platforms like This Is Not Happening . As a podcaster, Diaz has built a massive following through unfiltered discussions of personal anecdotes, addiction recovery, and life lessons; he co-hosted The Church of What's Happening Now from 2012 to 2016, revived it as The New Testament in 2024, and currently hosts Uncle Joey's Joint and The Check-In with co-host Lee Syatt. He is a frequent guest on The Joe Rogan Experience , appearing over 40 times since 2009, which has amplified his cult status in comedy circles. In 2022, Diaz published his memoir Tremendous: The Life of a Comedy Savage , a New York Times bestseller that chronicles his path from street crime and substance abuse to sobriety and stardom. Married to Terrie Clark since 2007, he is a father and continues touring with shows like his 2026 performance 62 & Still Slinging at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. José Antonio Díaz was born on February 19, 1963, in Havana , Cuba , to a Cuban father and a mother of Spanish descent. His father died when he was three years old, leaving the family in difficult circumstances under the early years of the Castro regime. At the age of three, in 1966, Díaz immigrated to the United States with his mother, initially settling on the Upper West Side of Manhattan , New York City . The family later relocated to North Bergen, New Jersey , where Díaz spent much of his formative years. Díaz was raised in a strict Catholic household by his single mother, who worked as a hairdresser and later owned and operated a bar along with a numbers racket to support the family. His upbringing was marked by a blend of Cuban cultural traditions and the challenges of adapting to American life in a working-class neighborhood. He attended McKinley School and North Bergen High School , where he began navigating the cultural shifts of his new environment, including exposure to diverse influences from school peers and the local community. Early on, Díaz took on odd jobs such as working as a dishwasher and a delivery boy to contribute to the household . In 1979, when Díaz was 16, his mother died of a heart attack, an event that plunged him into profound emotional turmoil. Following her death, he lived with relatives while grappling with the loss and the instability it brought to his life. This period of grief and upheaval profoundly shaped his early worldview, highlighting the hardships of his immigrant roots and family dynamics. Following the death of his mother at age 16, Diaz dropped out of high school and descended into a period of escalating personal troubles in New Jersey.

Thomas Weston Segura (born April 16, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, actor , writer, podcaster, and author known for his dark humor and observational comedy style. Born in Cincinnati , Ohio , Segura began performing stand-up in the early 2000s and has risen to prominence as one of the top touring comedians worldwide, with sold-out arenas and international tours such as his "I'm Coming Everywhere World Tour" featuring over 300 shows. He has released six Netflix stand-up specials: Completely Normal (2014), Mostly Stories (2016), Disgraceful (2018), Ball Hog (2020), Sledgehammer (2023), and Teacher (2025). In addition to stand-up, Segura has built a successful career in podcasting, co-hosting Your Mom's House with his wife, comedian Christina Pazsitzky , since 2010, which has become one of the most popular comedy podcasts available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts . He also hosts 2 Bears, 1 Cave alongside fellow comedian Bert Kreischer , focusing on comedy, stories, and guest interviews. As an author, Segura published the New York Times bestseller I'd Like to Play Alone, Please in 2022, a collection of humorous essays drawn from his personal experiences. Segura's acting credits include notable roles in films such as Instant Family (2018), where he played Russ, a supportive friend in a family adoption story, and Countdown (2019), portraying Derek in the supernatural thriller. He has also appeared in television series like Gary Unmarried (2008–2010) and Happy Endings (2011–2013), and more recently created and starred in the Netflix sketch comedy series Bad Thoughts (2025), a dark humor anthology that premiered on May 13, 2025. Married to Christina Pazsitzky since November 8, 2008, the couple has two sons, Ellis (born 2016) and Julian (born 2018), and resides in Austin, Texas . Thomas Weston Segura was born on April 16, 1979, in Cincinnati , Ohio , to Thomas Nadeau Segura and Rosario "Charo" Lazarte. He has two older sisters, Maria and Jane. His father, an American of Spanish, Cajun, and French-Canadian descent, served as First Vice President at Merrill Lynch after the family relocated from Peru following his marriage to Lazarte in Lima in 1976. His mother, a Peruvian immigrant, brought elements of her South American heritage into the household, including a background rooted in Lima where the couple met. Segura grew up bilingual in Spanish and English, primarily due to his mother's limited proficiency in English, which led her to communicate with him and his siblings in Spanish from a young age. This linguistic environment, combined with annual summers spent in Lima , Peru , deeply influenced his cultural identity, fostering a strong connection to his Peruvian roots amid his American upbringing. The family frequently relocated due to his father's career, spending Segura's early childhood briefly in Cincinnati before moving to Minneapolis , Minnesota , and later settling in Vero Beach, Florida , where he completed high school. He graduated from Saint Edward's School in Vero Beach in 1997. Segura's early exposure to humor stemmed from family dynamics, particularly his mother's role as a natural comedic storyteller, and the unique challenges of immigrant experiences, such as navigating cultural differences and language barriers in everyday life. These elements provided formative influences that later informed his comedic perspective on heritage and identity. Segura attended Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina , where he earned a bachelor's degree . His time there represented a pivotal period in his development, bridging academic life with emerging creative interests. During his freshman year, at age 18, Segura overdosed on the drug GHB, was clinically dead for three minutes, and spent time in a coma before recovering. During his college years, Segura made his initial foray into stand-up comedy , participating in open mic events on campus that allowed him to test early material.