Comedy Legend Dane Cook and Groundbreaking Entrepreneur David Meltzer Talk 'The Collab' (EXCLUSIVE)

On July 19, 2024, comedian Dane Cook and entrepreneur David Meltzer are making history by bringing together some of the most recognizable and prominent voices in entertainment and business to discuss what happiness and success truly mean in their YouTube Theater special, The Collab. After they met on David’s podcast, The Playbook, in 2023, they realized they could do much more with their matching synergies.

So Dane and David “cooked” up The Collab, an audience-driven talk with a Q&A and several special guests, including NBA All-Star Baron Davis, Super Bowl legend Marshall Faulk, actor and comedian Rob Riggle, and many more. But what exactly is it? Luckily, Dane and David sat down with Distractify to share more insider info about their historic event.

Both Dane and David have had uniquely impressive careers — many millennials remember Dane from his stand-up comedy and movie star peak of the mid-2000s. And while David may not be a household name the same way as Dane, he’s been pulling the strings behind several well-known projects, including as the CEO of the Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, the inspiration behind Jerry Maguire.

While both have had extremely high highs in their careers, both have also hit extremely low lows in both their professional and personal lives. Because of this, they have some insight to share about how to find success in the face of adversity and ensure we’re all living our lives to their fullest potential. And who better to offer advice than two of the most open, honest, and influential voices of our time?

David explained exclusively to Distractify, “It's the conversations that have been around The Collab that are so insightful and enlightening to my mission and Dane's synergistic mission of truly empowering others. [We aim] to empower others to be happy, to leave our presence and be able to take it home to people who today feel so sad, alone, anxious, frustrated, and angry, and allow them to understand what true collaboration is, which incorporates appreciation, which is illustrated on [Dane’s “Grateful”] shirt, being grateful. Appreciation is to add value.”

By appreciating one another, Dane and David were able to create a truly groundbreaking project that dives beyond their surface skills of comedy and business into how they were able to harness those skills for meaningful purposes. “We have similar journeys and perspectives in life, and life has blessed us beyond what most people experience in the history of the world, but it also has tortured us,” David shared.

“And with great pain comes great purpose. With great purpose comes great passion, and with that passion comes great profitability and blessings. And we both are vulnerable enough to illuminate, ‘Hey, this really was a sucky time in our lives, and here are some lessons. We live these great lives today, but you know, maybe tomorrow we'll have some more pain.’”

Like any great collaborators, Dane and David love complimenting each other and gassing each other up, but they’re also not afraid to share their own personal opinions. They first met a couple of years before the project, and after Dane sat down on David’s podcast, he was “inspired” to do more with their conversation.

“Within about 10 minutes of our back and forth, it was funny, it was caustic,” Dane revealed. “We were asking each other questions. This could take on a form that was very unique. And not only did I feel inspired, but David helped me to feel like I was inspiring, that my communicado in that moment was with something that could be of value.”

We would probably all agree that Dane captured the voice of a generation through his stand-up comedy, but David brought out another side of Dane that he wanted others to harness as well.

Speaking with David and Dane just for 20 minutes was like a form of therapy as they recounted how the “downs” of their lives inspired the “ups.” For example, Dane’s popularity grew thanks to Myspace, making him one of the first comedians to go viral because of social media. But he was just problem-solving.

“I was kind of languishing, lonely, and bored, and decided, ‘Okay, maybe there's a way to use this portal to the world to meet and greet and build a fan base by sharing my comedy,” Dane shared. 20 years later, Dane and David are using the internet once again to reach through and connect with a larger audience to hopefully inspire others in The Collab.

The Collab will take place at 7:30 p.m. PST at the YouTube Theater.

Click here to be notified when the live stream begins tonight and get exclusive merchandise from the event!