Explore every episode of the podcast The Sport of Life: Chats w/ Comedians, Filmmakers, Sports Figures, Musicians, & Intellectuals

Comedian Josh Wolf chats with Trey Elling, prior to his latest stop at Cap City Comedy Club in Austin. Topics include:

• Smedium t-shirt guys (0:00)
• In-shape grandpa (4:21)
• Competing against your kids (11:15)
• Moving someplace completely foreign (21:27)
• Living in Seattle in the 1990s (32:49)
• An ode to fatherhood (40:13)
• An ode to standup (46:04)

Josh Scherer of Mythical Kitchen chats with Trey Elling, prior to his live taping of Mythical Kitchen at SXSW! Topics include:

• The art of the interview (0:00)
• Crushing content creation (9:02)
• Trey's last meal...Malort (13:37)
• Football...fantasy and real (16:53)
• Throwing hammer at UCLA (21:38)
• Music preferences (28:26)
• Good books (30:59)
• Cooking humanely harvested human (32:49)

Brothers Danny & Zach Guarino of the Bread Basket podcast chat w/ Trey Elling! Topics include:

• Brothers in LA (0:00)
• Most Valuable... (5:39)
• Least Valuable... (11:29)
• Hawaii (17:47)
• Mock-drafting bread (21:21)

Legendary actor and storyteller Barry Corbin chats with Trey Elling, prior to performing his live show, "An Evening with Barry Corbin", to kick off the Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Bastrop on February 18th. Topics include:

• Shakespeare (0:00)
• Being Texan (9:31)
• No Country For Old Men (12:39)
• Tommy Lee Jones (20:07)
• Urban Cowboy (22:03)
• Stir Crazy (30:36)
• Actors as directors (36:25)
• Working with Scorsese (40:01)
• An ode to storytelling (45:25)

Legendary musician Kenny G chats with Trey Elling, just days after performing the National Anthem with Charlie Puth at Super Bowl LX. Topics include:

• How the Super Bowl op happened (0:00)
• Pre-show nerves (1:27)
• First to arrive and last to leave (4:41)
• Failure (13:11)
• Obsession with perfection (15:13)
• Double win at the Super Bowl (20:51)
• Golf (23:51)
• His Tiger Woods story (28:23)
• Favorite romantic song? (31:10)
• An ode to making music (32:39)

Comedian and Impractical Jokers alum Sal Vulcano chats with Trey Elling, prior to his show at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on Sunday, February 1st.

The guys discuss Sal's many years as a comic, his revered special, Terrified, fatherhood, vulnerability on stage, a shared disdain for the wind and traffic, and what Sal loves about standup!

Comedian and actor Jay Pharoah chats with Trey Elling about their shared past as fat kids, allowing himself to be vulnerable as a comic, lessons learned from six years at SNL, and what he loves about standup!

Comedian & actor Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, Our Flag Means Death, Yes Man, the Jumanji reboot) chats with Trey Elling about his standup philosophies and some highlights from his film career. Topics include:

• Refamiliarizing with standup (0:00)
• Going after AI (2:20)
• Sound effects (4:31)
• Jim Carrey (7:28)
• Flight of the Conchords (10:58)
• Fake vomit (13:43)
• Unrealized entertainment dreams (16:21)

Comedian & actor Sean Patton chats with Trey Elling. Sean is an immensely talented comedic storyteller and one of the most interesting people when it comes to discussing the philosophy of standup. Topics include:

• Making Standup Special Again (0:00)
• Crowd work is mostly lazy (7:13)
• Sean's hobo joke (13:53)
• Finding his standup voice (21:40)
• An ode to THE ENGLISH TEACHER (29:44)

Damon Wayans Jr chats with Trey Elling, months before filming his first-ever standup special. But he's been doing it a lot longer than you may realize. Topics include:

• Deep standup roots (0:00)
• Open mics (8:26)
• The easily offended (11:50)
• THE OTHER GUYS film (15:00)
• An ode to standup (20:20)

Heralded volleyballer Madisen Skinner chats with Trey Elling and his daughter Vivian, prior to the start of the second season of LOVB! Madisen and her LOVB Austin teammates captured the league's first ever championship last year! Topics include:

• Modern rule changes (0:00)
• LOVB (2:41)
• Impacting her teams (5:17)
• Her sister, Avery (7:23)
• Coach Erik Sullivan (10:12)
• Those insane hops (12:52)
• HEB (14:04)
• Failing (16:46)
• Future experiences (19:49)
• Getting into volleyball late (21:27)
• Jerritt Elliott (23:11)
• Embracing being a role model (24:04)
• An ode to volleyball (26:16)

Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld joins Trey Elling for the second- of a two-part chat on his book, ⁠BEST POSSIBLE PLACE, WORST POSSIBLE TIME: TRUE STORIES FROM A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD⁠. Topics include:

• An ode to Patrick Warburton (0:00)
• The Hollywood machine (3:25)
• Feedback from Gene Hackman (8:08)
• Barry's role in FORREST GUMP (9:56)
• Tommy Lee Jones & toy guns (17:08)
• Alternate casting for WILD WILD WEST (20:21)
• Barry's encounter with Bill Murray (26:16)
• Working with Michael Jackson (34:24)
• Dealing with liars (39:35)
• Making his first book into a movie (45:31)

Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld joins Trey Elling for the first- of a two-part chat on his book, BEST POSSIBLE PLACE, WORST POSSIBLE TIME: TRUE STORIES FROM A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD. Topics include:

• Writing a second memoir (0:00)
• Shooting BLOOD SIMPLE in Austin (2:45)
• The unique look of RAISING ARIZONA (10:25)
• De Nero instead of Hanks in BIG? (14:07)
• Making Tommy Lee Jones funny in MEN IN BLACK (17:25)
• Making Gene Hackman funny in GET SHORTY (20:06)
• The greatness of Dennis Farina (27:35)

The filmmakers behind the sci-fi thriller THE ASTRONAUT chat with Trey Elling on the red carpet, ahead of the movie's world premiere at SXSW!

• Producers Chris Abernathy & Eric Fleischman (0:00)
• Writer & Director Jess Varley (1:43)
• Gabriel Luna (5:27)
• Kate Mara (7:38)

Actor Matthew Rhys and director Babak Anvari chat with Trey Elling on the red carpet at SXSW, prior to the world premiere of HALLOW ROAD, starring Rhys and Rosamund Pike!

• Babak Anvari (0:00)
• Matthew Rhys (3:07)

Comedian Joe DeRosa chats with Trey Elling at the Creek and the Cave during SXSW 2025. Check out Joe's latest special, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Topics include:

• Street food & sandwiches (0:00)
• Work-life balance (7:23)
• Tech reliance (13:24)
• Modern parenting (19:14)
• Modern Austin, TX (23:53)

David Ovelowo and Bokeem Woodbine chat with Trey Elling about their  Apple TV+  series, GOVERNMENT CHEESE, ahead of its world premiere at SXSW!

• David Oyelowo (0:00)
• Bokeem Woodbine (4:15)

Portugal. The Man singer & songwriter John Gourley chats with Trey Elling, during the bands US tour in support of their new album, Shish. Topics include:

• Making Shish (0:00)
• Falsetto (8:34)
• More on Shish (16:36)
• Living in the Alaskan woods (18:47)
• Dogsledding (24:05)
• Fatherhood (29:48)
• "Feel It Still" (31:58)
• "Sleep Forever" (41:28)
• Appreciating what we have (45:05)
• The Portland Trailblazers (53:28)

Comedian & Impractical Jokers alum Joe Gatto chats with Trey Elling, prior to his shows at Cap City Comedy Club, Dec. 5-7. Topics include:

• A Steve Byrne story (0:00)
• Standup (4:10)
• Parental advice (6:28)
• High school bowling team (9:33)
• Modern parenting challenges (13:10)
• An ode to comedy (16:51)

Rebecca Trent owns the Creek & Cave, one of the most popular comedy clubs in Austin, TX. TJ Miller is a comedian & actor.

They sat down with Trey Elling at the Creek's podcast studio to chat, while munching on some BBQ from Terry Black's. Topics include:

• Standup-radio connection (0:00)
• Love for Rebecca (5:30)
• Rebecca's background (8:40)
• Rebecca's Colin Quinn story (12:26)
• Altruistic vs people pleaser (16:48)
• Comedy and boundaries (18:11)
• TJ's open mic story (25:52)
• Running a comedy club in Austin (37:07)
• Rebecca & TJ share a story (42:02)
• An ode to standup comedy (48:13)

David Zucker's film credits include AIRPLANE!, THE NAKED GUN, and more. He's also written two best-sellers...SURELY YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS: THE TRUE STORY OF AIRPLANE! and BEFORE THE INVENTION OF SMILING: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE ZUCKER FAMILY FROM HORSE & BUGGY TO INDOOR PLUMBING.

He chats with Trey Elling during a break from a national tour to celebrate the 45-year anniversary of AIRPLANE!. Topics include:

• Donating Davy Crockett artifacts to the Alamo (0:00)
• THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE (8:01)
• AIRPLANE! (13:05)
• Teaching a comedy Master Class (16:33)
• Back to AIRPLANE! (19:00)
• David the best-selling author (24:20)
• An ode to making people laugh (28:22)

Jordan Hicks is a Lifetime Longhorn who played ten years in the NFL, including winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. He chats with Trey Elling after having returned to Austin with his wife and kids on a full-time basis, to talk football, leadership, and his foundation that looks to empower kids with disabilities. Topics include:

• Fatherhood (0:00)
• True Strength Ability Awareness (2:47)
• Leadership keys (9:51)
• Mack Brown & the red banquet (16:15)
• More on True Strength (19:31)

FORELOCK is a dark comedy set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, written and directed by Caleb Alexander Smith, who also stars in the film, alongside David Krumholtz.

Caleb & David join Trey Elling, ahead of the movie's world premiere at the Austin FIlm Festival to discuss making this indie flick. Topics include:

• The film's beginnings (0:00)
• How David got involved (3:36)
• Challenges in making FORELOCK (6:16)
• Caleb's 'Superman' looks (9:26)
• A unique opportunity for David (13:47)
• Movies that influenced this script (18:12)
• The importance of having fun (21:25)
• Caleb's wife, Lindsay (23:00)
• Sports talk (24:54)
• An ode to FORELOCK (31:02)

Comedian and actor Ron Funches chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at Cap City Comedy Club, Nov. 7 - 9. Topics include:

• Austin, LA, & Portland as comedy towns (0:00)

• Discussing his IMDB hits...NEW GIRL (7:17)
• COUGAR TOWN (9:44)
• CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (10:52)
• Working with Johnny Depp vs Tom Brady (14:04)
• A.P. BIO (18:31)
• A love for voiceover work (21:01)
• LOOT (24:42)
• An ode to standup (26:51)

Champ Bailey is a Georgia Bulldog, 15-year NFL vet, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

More recently, he's the executive producer of Signing Tony Raymond, a movie about an up-and-coming college football coach who's attempting to sign the top high school recruit in the country.

He chats with Trey Elling, ahead of its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival. Topics include:

• A summary of the film (0:00)
• The BUSINESS of sports (3:22)
• Champ's role as EP (11:59)
• The stellar cast (13:44)
• Sharing REAL recruiting ridiculousness (17:57)
• Establishing a culture at Georgia (20:55)
• Darrell Green FINALLY getting his due (22:43)
• His kids playing football (24:54)
• Final thoughts on Tony Raymond (31:16)

Comedian Owen Smith chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at Cap City Comedy Club, Oct. 24-26! Topics include:

• The book he wrote w/ his 9-yr-old (0:00)
• Early lessons in standup (4:20)
• Exposing his kids to standup (11:25)
• Youth sports (21:49)
• His new TV show, Crutch (28:55)

Comedian & podcaster Sam Tripoli chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at the Comedy Mothership in Austin, TX. Topics include:

• Is Kim Kardashian a witch? (0:00)
• How Sam got to here in standup (3:39)
• The Comedy Store's "dead" period (7:25)
• Paul Mooney (10:53)
• People attacking Austin's comedy scene (21:18)
• How to beat "the game" (28:45)
• Ode to our Armenian roots (30:55)

Two-time Olympic medal-winning freestyle skier Alex Ferreira chats with Trey Elling, months before the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina and shortly after the announcement of his partnership with Nulo! Topics include:

• Working with Nulo & love for his dog, Brandy (0:00)
• Prepping for the 2026 Winter Olympics (2:17)
• A surprising fear (5:15)
• Recovery tools (6:28)
• Working better with women (8:05)
• Sage lessons from Jeremy Bloom (9:37)
• Favorite book (12:40)
• Growing up working class in Aspen, CO (14:58)
• Dad's pro athlete past (16:22)
• An ode to Nulo and skiing (18:01)

Actor and bestselling author Elizabeth Berkley Lauren chats with Trey Elling, prior to the start of her nationwide tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of SHOWGIRLS!

Filmmaker Kevin Smith chats with Trey Elling!

Everclear frontman Art Alexakis chats with Trey Elling, during the band's tour in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of their Sparkle and Fade album.

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt chats with Trey Elling. Topics include:

• A crazy week (0:00)
• "Good" movies (6:33)
• Making Big Fan (12:34)
• The Royal Tenenbaums (17:40)
• An ode to standup (23:41)

Ohio State alum and long-time strength & conditioning coach Anthony Schlegel chats with Trey Elling, prior to the season opener between Ohio State and Texas. Topics include:

• Moving around (0:00)
• The "joy" of championships (5:56)
• Youth sports burnout (13:01)
• In-season resistance training (19:54)
• Specialization (26:58)
• Ankle mobility (30:58)
• Texas-Ohio State (33:56)

Texas Tech head football coach Joey McGuire chats with Trey Elling during Big 12 Media Days at the Star in Frisco.

Texas Longhorns safety & team leader Michael Taaffe chats with Trey Elling, during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Topics include:

• Book rec (0:00)
• Key to winning in 2025 (2:05)
• Personal offseason goals (3:00)
• Dreams (5:15)
• Defense even better this year? (6:50)
• What really matters (7:49)
• An ode to football (9:35)

Commissioner Brett Yormark chats with Trey Elling, during SEC Media Days at The Star in Frisco. Topics include:

• Excitement for Big 12 football (0:00)
• Comfortable on the job (2:03)
• Things to learn (3:34)

• The NCAA's role in college sports (4:24)
• Automatic qualifiers in the CFP (5:44)
• Closing the financial gap (7:50)
• Greg Sankey (9:30)

Cardinal Black frontman Tom Hollister chats with Trey Elling, during the band's first-ever US tour, which was nearly completely sold out before it started. Topics include:

• The current tour (0:00)
• The totality of Midnight at the Valencia (2:44)
• Starting with "Ride Home" (4:22)
• The emotion of "Push/Pull" (7:14)
• An ode to Tom's daughter with "Adeline" (12:15)
• The business of being in a band (18:18)
• Tom's past life as a rugby player (34:35)
• An ode to the new album (37:30)

The legendary Eddie Pepitone chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at the Creek and the Cave in Austin, Aug. 15-16. Topics include:

• 0:00 Small businesses
• 2:11 Validation
• 5:03 Parenting
• 11:22 George Carlin
• 14:01 TWO achilles ruptures
• 18:09 Bodily harm
• 25:12 The drug of comedy
• 28:42 An ode to standup 

⁨

The Sport of Life aims for entertaining & informative long-form conversations with comedians, filmmakers, musicians, intellectuals, authors, and sports figures!The website: https://withtreyelling.com/The Sport of Life on ESPN Austin, weekdays from 6-7pm CT: https://www.1027espn.com/show/the-sport-of-life-trey-elling/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withtreyelling/On Twitter: https://x.com/withtreyellingOn Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withtreyelling

Comedian Trae Crowder chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at Cap City Comedy Club, Aug. 14-17. Topics include:

• Sharing a first name, kinda (0:00)
• Comedy in LA and Knoxville (2:36)
• Trae's MBA & Psych degrees (7:55)
• Bonding as former fat kids (12:50)
• A fan of the Raiders & Vols (17:53)
• An ode to fatherhood (24:02)
• An ode to standup (31:55)

The Sport of Life aims for entertaining & informative long-form conversations with comedians, filmmakers, musicians, intellectuals, authors, and sports figures!

The website: https://withtreyelling.com/

The Sport of Life on ESPN Austin, weekdays from 6-7pm CT: https://www.1027espn.com/show/the-sport-of-life-trey-elling/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withtreyelling/

On Twitter: https://x.com/withtreyelling

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withtreyelling

Texas Longhorns softball coach Mike White chats with Trey Elling, shortly after leading the program to its first-ever national championship. Topics include:

• 0:00 Life since winning a natty
• 3:50 Men's fast-pitch softball in the 1980s &'90s
• 5:56 Growing up in New Zealand
• 11:04 Moving to the US
• 15:18 Entrepreneurial spirit
• 17:42 Getting into coaching
• 23:24 Learning how to properly instruct
• 26:29 Becoming head coach at Oregon
• 28:15 Quick program turnarounds
• 31:00 Fostering a killer instinct in players
• 33:46 Business lessons for coaching
• 36:55 Controlling emotions
• 38:53 College softball's changing landscape
• 43:59 Odes to coaching & fatherhood
• 45:03 OKC & double birds
• 48:13 Learning from Chris Del Conte
• 49:39 Advice to Steve Sarkisian
• 50:32 Toughest coaching gig ever
• 51:41 ATX food recs

The Sport of Life aims for entertaining & informative long-form conversations with comedians, filmmakers, musicians, intellectuals, authors, and sports figures!

The website: https://withtreyelling.com/

The Sport of Life on ESPN Austin, weekdays from 6-7pm CT: https://www.1027espn.com/show/the-sport-of-life-trey-elling/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withtreyelling/

On Twitter: https://x.com/withtreyelling

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withtreyelling

Comedian Alonzo Bodden chats with Trey Elling, prior to his Aug. 15-17 shows at the Comedy Mothership. Topics include:

• Life in Vegas (0:00)
• The Sphere in Vegas (10:42)
• Getting more personal with his comedy (17:44)
• Driverless vehicles (22:32)
• Motorcycle accidents (29:32)

Check out Alonzo's work and tour dates: http://www.alonzobodden.com/

For tickets to the Comedy Mothership: https://comedymothership.com/

The Sport of Life aims for entertaining & informative longform conversations with comedians, filmmakers, musicians, intellectuals, authors, and sports figures!

The website: https://withtreyelling.com/

The Sport of Life on ESPN Austin, weekdays from 6-7pm CT: https://www.1027espn.com/show/the-sport-of-life-trey-elling/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withtreyelling/

On Twitter: https://x.com/withtreyelling

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withtreyelling

Comedian Donnell Rawlings chats with Trey Elling, prior to his return to the Comedy Mothership in Austin, TX. Topics include:

• Coming for Kill Tony fans (0:00)
• Crafting that next hour (8:57)
• Maneuvering the entertainment world (13:01)
• Evolving as a standup (15:05)
• Acting (19:01)
• Returning to Kill Tony? (23:27)
• Becoming good friends with Dave AFTER Chappelle Show (24:13)
• The Darius Rucker story (27:06)

Comedian and actor Tom Arnold chats with Trey Elling and shares some memories of his friend Chris Farley. Topics include:

• Striking up a friendship (0:00)
• The Chippendales sketch (5:59)
• How Tom got Sober (7:47)
• Farley's Performance at Tom's Bachelor Party (9:40)

Comedian Greg Fitzsimmons chats with Trey Elling, prior to his latest headlining weekend at the Comedy Mothership. Topics include:

• Judd Apatow (0:00)
• Writing for Crashing on HBO (3:27)
• Writing books vs scripts (7:42)
• Total eclipse of the heart (9:23)
• An epiphany with standup (15:03)
• Awe (18:33)
• Favorite books (22:47)
• Hatred for California (25:31)
• Tulsa, OK & Bob Dylan (27:21)

• Larry Charles interruption (30:04)

Actor & comedian Marlon Wayans chats with Trey Elling, prior to his headlining shows at Cap City Comedy Club, June 5th thru 7th!

Caeleb Dressel, a swimmer for the US men's team and one of the most decorated gold medalists in Olympic history, chats with Trey Elling, as he ramps back up for competition. Topics include:

• Re-thinking training for LA in 2028 (0:00)
• Ryan Lochte (17:29)
• "Sacrificing" for your kids (21:14)
• Parenting challenges (29:11)
• Florida Gator sports (38:26)
• Personal "Florida Man" stories (48:09)
• Nulo partnership (51:28)

Actor, Director, and comedian Jay Mewes chats with Trey Elling, prior to his shows at Cap City Comedy Club on May 31st & June 1st. Topics include:

• Standup is hard (0:00)
• Fatherhood (10:21)
• Memories of DOGMA at 25 (23:02)

Comedian & Golden Globe-winning actor Ramy Youssef chats with Trey Elling on the red carpet, ahead of the SXSW premiere of his new animated series on Amazon Prime, #1 HAPPY FAMILY USA. Topics include:

• Unshared art (0:00)
• % of ideas that work (2:09)
• The new series (3:54)

Comedian & award-winning actor Lavell Crawford chats with Trey Elling. about highlights from FOUR decades in entertainment! Topics include:

• Living in Houston, TX (0:00)
• Too Funny To Open (4:13)
• Trash-talking Michael Jordan (7:04)
• Starting & growing as a standup (10:05)
• Intimidating Mike Tyson (18:08)
• Getting BREAKING BAD (23:30)
• Working with Bob Odenkirk (30:47)
• Getting BETTER CALL SAUL (33:11)
• An ode to standup (39:41)

University of Texas at Austin Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris Del Conte chats with Trey Elling. Topics include:

• The upcoming Horns Up fundraiser (0:00)
• How to make A+ hires (3:37)
• Leaders lead...and apologize (10:33)
• That $35-to-40-million figure (15:59)
• The future of the CFP (20:11)
• Success in the SEC (23:42)