Max Meisel
Max Meisel is a comedian/actor/writer who moved to L.A. after spending thirteen years in New York City. In August 2023, he started BackDoor Comedy, a monthly comedy party featuring a DJ, dance party, food pop up, photo booth, and singles event combined with a great comedy show. It has averaged 175 people per show since it began and was featured in E! News for changing the face of comedy. He is currently on a national comedy tour with Tom Arnold – you can find tickets for his upcoming shows here.
What NYC neighborhoods have you lived in?
I lived with my grandma on the Upper East Side for a year and then moved to Gramercy for the next ten!
What do you love (and maybe dislike) about New York?
I love that NY constantly has action. The journey going from my apartment to the destination I was headed was chock full of adventures and it was always so inspiring. The lack of personal space was getting to me a bit. I would have liked a bigger home and ability to get away from the noise.
Only-in-New-York moment?
I once went to a sex party at a children's karate dojo in Bushwick. It was off hours obviously.
If you were to come up with your own personal quote on what New York means to you or how it makes you feel – what would that be?
New York City... the only city I know where you can feel like you're on top of the world and then the bottom of the barrel all in one subway ride.
When and why did you move to LA?
October 2020. It was Covid and my career was going nowhere. I always had thoughts of moving to LA but was too afraid to make the leap. If I pursued a career in the performing arts in LA and couldn't make it there then I guess I truly couldn't make it anywhere. I was on the verge of finding a new career path. But with NY shutting down it truly forced my hand and I made the move. I'm very grateful for that extremely difficult time in the world.
Where do you live in LA now? How has life compared?
I live in Santa Monica and I have to tell you the absolute truth. I fucking hate this place. It is soulless, the people are weird, and I'm in the car all the time. I can't get a meal past ten o'clock even on a Saturday night and I have never seen so many people seemingly thriving while also lacking employment. If one more person tells me about their healing journey I am going to throw up, and the wellness community just looks like a lot of people with way too much time on their hands. I will say, however, that I love having an apartment right next to the beach and doing Ketamine with my friends has been a blast. Hooray for LA Sober!
What do you love about LA compared to NY?
Still waiting to find that "LA Magic". I'll let you know when I do.
Favorite hidden gems in LA?
When LA was shut down during Covid I researched the best burger places in town and did a pretty solid burger tour of LA. My tops are For The Win, Heavy Handed, and Goldburger.
