Bali Tour Vlog (vapes, beach clubs & James Smith)

10 years ago I was on a rooftop just like this trying to learn to meditate, trying to work out what I wanted to do with my life with no idea what direction I wanted to go in, desperately trying to uncover where my life should lead next. And then 10 years and 1,000 podcast episodes later and I've sold out a super club on a Wednesday. [music] Save the most challenging for last. I've conquered New Zealand. What have [music] we done? WHAT HAVE WE DONE? WE'RE GOING TO NEW ZEALAND, THE MOST southerly point in the what? >> World. No, it's not. Around us it is. The most southerly point around us. What's below it? Antarctica. Oh, you mean that sheet of ice? Anyway, going to New Zealand, never been before. I'm excited. Sad to be leaving Australia, excited to be going into New Zealand, then Bali, then who knows where? Who knows where? There's a war on. I might just move to Bali. [ __ ] it. >> [music] >> Beautiful. We are off to Mordor. I'm going on an adventure. >> [whistles] >> Hello my friend. Nice to meet you, Aaron. No way. Yeah, I've been following you for years, but that's it. It's just weird to see you in the flesh. That's true. Yeah, I jump scare people on the trail walks around New Zealand. Regulate me. Regulate. >> [laughter] >> Regulate me. You know during the crowd work portion, what if at one point on each show, what if I ask for a local slang word? Not fun? >> And then you could react to it in real time. What it means? [ __ ] what? Fancy a little meditation for 10 minutes, here mate? Dude. Happily. [snorts] Yep. >> [bell] >> It's nicer. It's nicer. >> [music] >> I don't mean to play into the stereotype. There's a lot of [ __ ] sheep. >> [music] >> Why won't you detect my whimsy? Hello. Whimsy not Whimsy is completely undetected. He knows my whimsy. I mean, you've got to feel like a piece of [ __ ] to be on this side that the sheep that's on this side of the fence. So close and yet so far. You know what's mad? In 2 days time, we're going to be flying to Bali to sniff vapes for a week. So, I really do need this regulation in order to offset what the next 7 days is going to feel like. Day drinking on a plane into sniffing vapes in Bali. First, my nervous system will be recharged by that sheep. All right. Time for the show. >> [music] >> [ __ ] incredible. Just on the other side of the planet playing in front of one of the The beautiful ceilings [music] I've ever seen. 1 2 3 4 What's that? 5 6 7 8 Who is this? See that crest at the end, James? What's it say? My toilet is locked. Hello? Hello? Who's in there? Uh it's the guy who's headlining the show tonight. This is a power move. Got his own Come with me. See this huge dressing room? Biggest dressing room. Crest on it. Guy has his own bathroom, private bathroom, private toilet. Yet he's chosen to [ __ ] in my bathroom. Wait till there's a meet and greet. Soon as the Q&A starts, I'm going to [ __ ] in his dressing room. I won't flush. I feel good, dude. I mean, the rhythm of it, I guess. When you think about bands and probably comedians as well, the first few shows are them finding their groove, finding the rhythm of tour. Problem is, if you're only doing eight dates, you ain't got that long before you're in the middle of it. And now we're in the back half of it. So, yeah, I feel good. Oh, big VIP. All right, back in a bit. Something, people? Hey. Hi. I just want to know, what's it like coming to these uh far away colonies on the other side of the world, speaking? It's a really lovely question. I started talking to people on the internet, and now I'm in New Zealand speaking in front of a thousand strangers. It's [ __ ] bizarre. I mean, especially when I come to places like this, they're just so beautiful. And you know, obviously steeped in history and just some bloke from the northeast of the UK that lives in America and is doing this thing now. It's crazy. What's the biggest limiting belief I've had to break through in business? And business is an interesting one because I started running a business when I was 18. So, the business thing wasn't that big of a deal. What changed when I decided to do the podcast was that so much of me is in the pod. If I don't have a good night tonight, it's not even that I had a bad performance, it's that I'm a bad person. Like the the degree of distance between what I do and what I produce is essentially zero. Like there's a little bit of professional distance, but even if you're a musician, you go out on stage and you don't hit the high notes or you you do something, it's like you performed badly. But if I go out and I say something that offends people or that sounds stupid or that's poorly researched, it's like oh, that's that's like almost the middle of you. >> [music] [music] >> All right, bring yourself back around, Christopher. Yeah, well. Time to wake up, Christopher. Ready? >> [music] >> Oh. >> [music] [music] >> I'm hoping to be a assumption that I'm going to [music] be the one that's leaving you. >> [music] >> Do you think your younger self that was bullied would he be proud of you? And what would be the best advice that you could give him? Do I think that my younger self that was bullied would he be proud of who I am now and what would be the best advice I could give him? Opening up gently. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> I don't think he would recognize me, to be honest. I barely recognize me and I've been here the whole time. I don't think I ever assumed that I would amount to anything particularly special. I didn't feel very special in school unless being on the outside is the special part. What would I tell me from school that was being bullied? I'd tell him that he's not on the outside. I'd tell him that he doesn't need to fear things, that he's not alone, that he's doing great, that he's trying. That the fact that he is like a chord being played on a piano, but there's one note that's out, and he's always felt like the note that's out. It's not his fault, and you're in incredibly good company because there's millions and millions and millions of people like that all around the world that are just the one note that's out on the chord that's being played. It doesn't mean that you're you don't matter. It doesn't mean that people don't care. Just means that you need to work a bit harder to find your tribe. And I'd pick him up and give him a hug and tell him that I'm proud of him. >> [applause] >> I want to learn a local swear word. Something that only would exist here, either in this country or ideally something that's just from like the South Island. Have we got one? Can someone give me some different words? Jaffa? What's Jaf- like Jaffa cake? Just another [ __ ] Auckland [ __ ] Aucklander? Oh, brilliant. Yes. Let's [ __ ] go, dude. Thank you. Jaffa. Well, so I'm going to Auckland tomorrow. So Uh I know. You could have stitched me up. You could have said, "It's actually their favorite word. They love being called it." Ladies and gentlemen, I've been Chris Williamson. Thank you so much for coming to see me tonight. >> [applause] >> Bring it in. Family photo. You were amazing tonight. It's really stunning. So Yeah. Spangly. I should have worn that top. [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] There should have been a group discount. >> [music] >> How'd that show go? Good, man. Really good. Great response. Show's feeling dialed. This venue is just so absurdly cool. Feels very British. Not to re-colonialize the New Zealanders, but it was great. Just a good [ __ ] show. Good night. But, travel day and show day tomorrow. Then, 9-hour flight on Monday. So, I'm going to go to bed. What's up, love? See you. See you. Hey. Bye. Yeah, rain right now. Two phases, which one is done? >> [music] >> So, there's no flights going in and out of Auckland. We might not be able to go to Auckland for the Auckland show this evening. The weather may clear up. We could still be going to Auckland. This is just the realities of of touring [music] when you've got one show one day and then another show the next day in a different city or sometimes a different country. >> It just makes things a little more interesting. Canceled the flight for us. They're not letting flights land and or take off in Auckland >> [music] >> midday. Worst case scenario they cancel the flight. Back in the lounge. >> Economy, are you? Can I get you a water, people? Oh, no. Don't get this on camera. 4 hours of delays. We made it to Auckland. Going to go straight to the hotel. Straight to the venue. Then, 9 hours to Bali tomorrow. >> [music] [music] >> Oh, yeah. Today's been a lot of waiting. Flight got delayed by 4 hours. Got up early, only had 4 hours. I was delayed for longer than I slept today, so uh very good. Got on the bus, went home, tried to sleep for half an hour, couldn't, had some pizza. Now I'm here. >> [music] [music] >> Could do with a nap, really. Might have A NAP. >> [music] [music] >> THERE'S BEEN A FEW BREAK-INS IN THE AREA, and because of that, I bought a big black baseball bat the other day, and it lives in my bedroom. And I've been laying there at night thinking, tonight could be the night. And I'm getting excited. Imagine they break into house, I probably would let them get in. I don't want to scare them off, you see, because if I scare them off, they're going to come back. So, and again, genuinely, this is a real tactic that I'm working through. If they try breaking in, I'm going to get into position, I'm going to try not to get too excited. Like even now, I feel like the hair is going up on the back of my neck. I'm thinking I'm going to hide in the dark, maybe at the top of the stairs, wait until they're all fully in the house, and they're going to expect me to go, "Oi, get out. Get out of my house." But instead, I'm going to wait for them to get real close and say, "Hello, boys." Imagine hearing that from the top of the stairs, right? Imagine just saying, "I've been waiting a long time for this, boys." Now, to freak them out a little bit more, I'm thinking I could get my [ __ ] out. So, imagine this, baseball bat in one hand, tiny [ __ ] in the other. "I've been waiting a long time for this, boys." But yeah, so that's the educational talk. What, he's not going to get his [ __ ] out? Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Williamson. >> [music] [music] >> I learned the word Jaffa yesterday in Christchurch. I would like to give you the opportunity to teach me an Auckland slur of some kind. It can be against people from Christchurch, it can be against anybody. I'm I'm I'm trying to collect local swear words. Uh so, is there anything interesting? Empecado sheepshagger? Just sheepshagger? Okay. That feels a little bit like a cell phone, self own. Is it not Are there not lots of sheep like here, too? We don't shag sheep up in Auckland. That's exactly what you would say. In life, you have to choose your regrets. In life, you have to choose your regrets. Regrets are unavoidable because you don't get to run life back and see if the decision that you made was the right one. You're never going to get to see what would have happened if you'd taken that other route, but you might see other people that did. The difference between I genuinely want that and I'm just intrigued to know what it would be like to have it is [music] actually kind of difficult. Grass is always greener. But, given the fact that you don't get to run life back, I think [music] a good heuristic for you and for anybody as well is regret minimization. So, don't think about what decision you want to make. Think about what regret you couldn't bear living with. And typically, that gives us a lot of clarity around big, difficult decisions. Because what do you want is kind of hard and nebulous. It's tough to grasp onto. It's like trying to catch smoke. But, what could you not bear living with the regret of? Absolutely amazing how it was structured, flow, the storytelling through Chris and how he like brought in real world examples. Overall, just a thoroughly introspective and enjoyable experience. Go into debt [music] if you have to and come and see the show. You've just helped me be a better partner, better man. Um maybe more of a hard worker and a better I'm proud of you, dude. The way that he talks about detaching from the materialistic world and not falling into trap of escapism is valuable. The work he's doing is amazing. [music] Breaking through deeper issues in society. I think he's a an amazing role model to males. Podcast saved my life, man. Got me through a hard time and I couldn't feel emotion before I listened to it. Like could never felt emotion my life. So, like it means a lot, man. Thank you. Thank you. I'm glad that you heard it. >> [music] >> Brand new dance moves. Hit it. Someone's going to twist in the nuts. Who is it? What the [ __ ] is going on here? Brilliant. Dude, what happened to the when you have little sleep for a long All right. Oh, [ __ ] That was like three. That was like a multiple orgasm yawn. Show seven done. That was awesome. Auckland is fantastic. And now we're leaving New Zealand and we're delayed again. But it's fine because the flight to Bali is only 9 hours. So, what does it matter if it's another hour or two? Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter about any of it cuz spirits are high. They're They're not. My morale My morale is hit a little bit of a wall. >> [music] >> Dude, first [music] gig in [ __ ] Asia. This is Asia? We're in Asia, right? Yeah, it's Indonesia. >> [music] >> We're in Indonesia. Indonesia is a country. It's Asia. Indonesia. First gig in Asia. >> [music] >> Where should we grab one now? >> [music] >> Right, I got We've got six, Luke. Can you get three more? Three more signs for the bus. >> [music] >> Stag do. Stag do. Stag bang. Stag bang. What the [ __ ] is this? Your jump [music] scare that was a mint thing. Have a [ __ ] mint thing. >> [music] >> All right, that's pretty [ __ ] cool. I have a lot of ideas. This one of the better ideas I've had. Do a tour [music] and then tag 7 days on the end and only do one show and do it in Bali. As ideas go, >> [music] [music] >> hard, but I'm it's mostly that I'm unfit. I'm just my my main problem is my fitness and my strength and my skill and my speed and my endurance. Those are the main issues. It's good. So much fun. So much fun. I've done maybe two sessions of boxing this year, but uh I just I [ __ ] love it so much. One of the few things that happens that makes the entire world stop. When they're in the middle of a flow, you're not thinking about anything. Can't think about anything else. >> [bell] >> So, I came out to Bali 10 years ago on my own. It was a month-long summer trip and I was trying to learn to meditate. So, I bought a book like a little book reading these meditation strategies and I was like In fact, let me find out what that hotel is called. The Koa D Surfer Hotel. And I would sit on the rooftop pool on the little bed. Sun would be rising over the rice paddies. Be sat with my little book trying to meditate, failing. And 10 years later, I've just sold out my first event in Asia. And you know, the seeds were being sown in that to me trying to tap into, okay, who am I? What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? Achieve a lot of success, but is it fulfilling me in the way that it's supposed to? What's the bigger game that I should be playing? And I'm going to try I'm going to go to this place. I didn't really know anybody else that come out here. I didn't know anyone that was in Bali. Came out completely on my own. Met some Australian friends. [ __ ] wild. Life's crazy when you work hard at stuff. >> [music] [music] >> Feel like it's 2010 all over again. >> [laughter] >> See the venue from here. Lucky lucky. Lucky lucky. Atlas Superclub. See you tonight. Last show of tour. Last show of tour, man. It's only been 2 weeks of shows, uh but 3 weeks of tour. And this one feels very foreign. You know, Australia can kind of be a bit like the UK, a little bit like America. Definitely in a different country now. Selling this out feels way bigger than the Apollo in London or Sydney. This one feels way bigger. Why? It's just I don't know. [ __ ] Asia. Middle of Asia, dude. So far away from home and it's sick. 10 years ago I was on a rooftop just like this trying to learn to meditate, trying to work out what I wanted to do with my life with no idea what direction I wanted to go in, desperately trying to uncover where my life should lead next. And then 10 years and 1,000 podcast episodes later and I've sold out a superclub on a Wednesday. Pretty bizarre. My goal for the next couple of hours is to just relax. Lock in, but relax. So I might I might just stay here. I might bring my laptop up. Catch a bit of a tan. I might get a mojito, turn up at the venue and hope that everything's about to get a bit weirder. You need to You need to go. You should go now. Bye. You beauty. >> [music] >> This is a nightclub. This uh they don't do shows of this nature. To have a spoken word show in a nightclub where you've got a system, PA system, specifically [music] designed and tuned for nightclub music. And then we've got the other issue as well as the availability [music] of certain equipment that's here. >> [music] >> And we're also working with people that don't do spoken word very much. So they're not used to the lighting cues. [music] So we're having a little bit of trouble with a language barrier. They do not speak English. [music] We do not speak Balinese. Trying to figure out the best way of conveying that information. >> [music] >> It's a challenge. We've got to pretty much teach them how to work in this environment. We like a challenge, and this [music] is about as challenging as we can make it. Save the most challenging for last. >> We did We did biggest show first and most challenging show last. It also means that when we're at a point where we have the least amount of energy, we actually have [music] to expend the most amount of energy. We have to use the most brain power. Yeah, this is This is very much a show where we actually [music] don't know how it's going to pan out completely. This could be really smooth, it could be really clunky. We just don't know. It's been a tiny bit stressful. All of this is happening, all this frustration, and we're annoying the Chris. I wonder what he's doing. Not every venue has a rice paddy outside the backstage entrance. Just in case I didn't feel like I was in Bali enough. That's some extra Bali for you, that. Oh, yes. Cool. Oh, yes. Oh. This feels more like home. Finally. Finally, I found a stage that feels a bit more normal. >> Probably the coolest [ __ ] venue ever. Oh, this is [ __ ] madness. What have we done? What have we done? I think let's just take what we did with Chris, get rid. Let's just get in some EDM, Yeah. bit of trance, and let's just turn this into a party. You know what You know what I've heard happens after this, June? What's that? 2 hours of massage across the street. Yeah, [laughter] yeah, done. Done. >> Two hours of foot and hand massage across the street. >> kinds. Bare feet, meet and greet. Meet and bare feet. You have been Bali'd out. >> I've been completely [ __ ] I've gone native. I've gone feral. Right, you have an issue. In order to do an entrance to get to the DJ booth takes about 3 seconds. To do an entrance to get to the stage takes about 20 seconds. I can [ __ ] jump this. >> [laughter] >> The fun police. Like you just trip, just you blow your ankle, you get the rest of the show sat down like a Hey. This gentleman, please welcome to the stage [music] Chris Williamson. >> [music] >> They actually need to run around this way. [ __ ] They're not that way. One, two, three, four. I declare a thumb war. Listen. Don't forget your roots, all right? Don't they know? Look, look, look. Look how humble I am. Honestly, this is my new life and my old life clashing together at the same time. If I could be on the front door with a clipboard, I'd love it. >> [music] [music] >> Just a little country boy. Oh, mate. If that's the best photo of all of the whole parade. Yeah. Let's go. Dude, this [ __ ] >> [music] >> Like pre-shag. Yo. Yo. Yo. Yo. Yo. Yo. >> [music] [music] >> Currently, I don't have the insurance that Steve Aoki does. So, I'm not allowed to jump off that. So, you need to give me about 10 seconds to get around him to GET TO HIM. >> [cheering] [applause] >> THERE WE GO. THIS IS MY FIRST HEADLINING gig in Asia ever. >> [cheering] >> I struggle to be truly present if my level of productivity isn't what I want it to be and where I expected it. Oliver Burkeman's got a great name for this. He calls it productivity dysmorphia. Every day, I wake up feeling as if I am already behind. And only if I dominate my entire day flawlessly, will I have dragged myself back up to some minimum level of acceptable output so that I can go to bed that day without feeling like a loser. Just [ __ ] nods across the It's like one of those like Churchill nodding dogs across the entire room. Game recognizes game, as they say. Tactically, what I would do and what I what at least has happened to work for me is forcing breaks. We always talk about building up a good work ethic. No one ever talks about building a good rest ethic. And you need a good rest ethic. So, treat it like a pursuit, right? You need to treat recovery, if you're an athlete, with as much attention or maybe even more attention as you do going and doing game tape. So, program some trips in. Get your boys, go Thailand, go Bali, do whatever it is that you want to do. >> [music] >> But know that that's your challenge, right? You're a drug addict. You're a drug addict and your drug is [music] productivity. It's all right. It's going to take time. You're going to get it wrong. You're going to open Slack. Ah, you open Slack on a Saturday and you're like, "Fuck." It's okay. Over [music] time, you'll get better and better and better. Chris has got a really good way of putting thoughts that I've had in my head for years, but like very clearly explaining it. Definitely feeling a more motivated. I'm taking away so much. It's going to take me a few days just to process it all. There's a balance to find between productivity and not squandering away the time and making excuses for why you can't go and be the best version of yourself. >> You came all the way from Hong Kong. Holy [ __ ] What stands out about Chris in general? The depth in his thinking. So, it's not necessarily, "Oh, here's the answer." No, it's like, "This could be an answer, but there's a thousand variables that can go into this answer and the context of that answer matters." I just want [music] to say thank you so much for restoring my faith in the British man. Do you hear that, British man? I am a one-man band saving you from having bad branding for [ __ ] Romanian women. It was so nice to see him in real life. And it was also to share this experience with other people because I'm always just listening to the podcast on my own and just share this experience with like-minded people. It was just incredible. Oh, he's gone in the back now. Nice to meet you. I was here from China. [music] You've made such a strong impact in my life and I just wanted to thank you for doing your podcast. It's so it's made more of a profound impact than you would [music] have imagined. >> [cheering] >> This is just the sickest thing. >> [applause] >> It's the absolute [ __ ] sickest thing. It feels like a full circle moment for me. This is the last show of this run. We've done all of Australia including cities I didn't even know [ __ ] existed. I've been to the North and South Island of New Zealand and I finished it up here within 500 [music] m of the place that I came out on my own when I was lost. And this means an awful lot. And I [ __ ] love you [music] all for being here. I love you all for being a part of my audience. It means so much. That's it. Got nothing else to say. Guys, this is the end of tour. I [ __ ] love you all. Thank you. Goodnight. >> [music] >> That's it, baby. [ __ ] it. Done. >> Australia, New Zealand, Bali. DONE. EVERYBODY SAY >> [music] [music] >> ALL MY FRIENDS. WHAT'S UP? Want to demo this? How are you? Today's the day that I'm flying home. I have a 30-hour commute ahead of me to get back to Austin. It's a nightmare but I've just got to enjoy some of Bali since the show finally got to chill out no obligations no anything. It's been beautiful. I don't have any deep philosophical insights. I think I just really [ __ ] enjoyed my time with my friends and it was great and we got to travel around three countries and go to a ton of cities I've never been to before and have a [ __ ] ton of experiences. Hanging out with your friends is one of the best things and being able to do it on a shared mission is even better and then all right you sleep deprived or tired or somebody's ill or someone's got Bali belly or you've got a soundcheck in 30 minutes but it's been great. Everything's been stuff and tough. I mean I think back to the day that I landed and I'm with Jimmy Carr on the beach having just had a lunch with Tim Minchin and Jimmy's looking after our kit. Now that was 3 weeks ago. Also 3 weeks without recording a podcast cuz I did so much work before I came out here. So I'm looking forward to getting back and doing that. That's going to be sick. We've got the new studio. There's so many huge guests coming up and I can't wait to do that. More of the Hang Style episodes which I'm excited for as well. I feel I wouldn't say revitalized that might be a little bit too that might be a little bit too gentle for what's happened but uh I just feel good. It's been exciting. I've got some adventures in which has been sick. I hope you guys have enjoyed it. It's been mad doing it and uh we've got another tour in the UK and Ireland in October so it won't be long and we'll be back on the road again.