As an aspiring comedian growing up in Ohio, Matt Rife never anticipated becoming as successful as he is now — and he’s still pinching himself that his goals have come to fruition. In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly to promote Netflix’s Matt Rife: Lucid – A Crowd Work Special , Rife, 28, reflected on the early days of his career. “The dream I had was, OK, if I could just sell out weekends at comedy clubs for 300-seat venues, I f–king made it,” Rife tells Us .
“The level of being a Dave Chappelle , Kevin Hart , Kat Williams — these arena acts [and] top-tier entertainers — never even occurred to me. I’m from f–king Ohio, it doesn’t really seem fitting.” Rife got his first big break on MTV, appearing on Wild ‘n Out , The Challenge: Champs vs.
Stars and hosting the Total Request Live reboot in 2017. In 2021, he began self-producing comedy specials that went viral on social media, earning him a loyal following across TikTok and Instagram. Now, he shares the record for breaking Ticketmaster due to high demand — with the likes of Taylor Swift — but success has come with its own set of challenges.
“For 11 straight years, I woke up pretty much every single day with nothing to do unless I created something to do,” he explains. “Now, I wake up and go, ‘Wow, I don’t know if I’ll ever have a free day for the rest of my life,’ which is a blessing and a curse.” Rife continues, “I don’t ever want to be bored ever again — that used .