Interview: Maxi Gstettenbauer: “Humor is hopelessly overestimated”

Last year, Maxi Gstettenbauer (34) made it public that he suffered from depression and panic attacks and published a book entitled “My depression is your depression”. The stand-up comedian proves that his illness doesn’t keep him away from the stage with his fifth program “Gute Zeit”. with maxi shrub the Cologne resident from Bavaria spoke, among other things, about pointing fingers in the comedy industry and what it’s like to be constantly asked about your state of health.

So you want to have a “good time” on stage? What’s behind it?

Maxi Gstettenbauer: I’ve noticed a lack of good times since Corona. I just recorded my last program “Next Level” for WDR and it contained a lot of political stuff because that moved me. And “Gute Zeit” should also be a break from everyday life for me, when you can just laugh. You come to the show and you have a good time.

And what is a good time for you privately?

In fact, this is constantly being redefined. For example, I now have such a home trainer bike in the basement. That was a crappy time in the first training sessions, but now that’s slowly turning into a good time. I can’t do without it right now. This means that the good times often come when you can endure the annoying ones.

Your announcement states that the “three big K’s” play a role: wars, disease and climate change. Doesn’t sound very funny. How does that fit together?

Complete helplessness. I find that when people try to gain control over such once-in-a-century issues like wars or climate change, it sometimes has funny moments. And I really believe that a lot of what we do is actually just an attempt to process this huge topic for us. I wrote in my book My Depression is Your Depression that comedians are actually people who laugh at the madness of the world.

So humanity’s last resort is humor?

I don’t know what’s in store for us in the future. I also find it quite amusing that so much is expected of us comedians, cabaret artists and satirists. Humor should be medicine. Humor is the secret weapon for everything right now and I think that’s just a hopeless overstatement.

Indeed?

Humor can put you in a good mood at the moment, open up new perspectives, but really solutions? I have the impression that it would be really good for us if we let the humor be humor and don’t charge it with too much expectation, it simply can’t afford that.

Now, unfortunately, it doesn’t just stay with the three big K’s in the world. Crises and catastrophes keep beating down on us. Do you constantly have to adapt your program?

It always depends on what moves me. I talked a lot about climate change in the last programme. Now I’m trying to get what moves me in some way into the program.

And that would be?

I was at the cinema the other day and the trailer for the new Ariel film was running. Many people find it extraordinary that Arielle is played by a black actress, Halle Bailey. A man behind me says, “It’s black, that’s unrealistic.” Personally, I found the tail fin unrealistic… That’s clearly internalized racism. I try not to say these things with a raised finger. I try to paraphrase it and also exaggerate it to the point of absolute recognition, but I would never say how to think about it. I think the raised index finger should be kept in the pocket more often.

They made public last year that they suffer from depression and panic attacks. How are you at the moment?

Good, really good. A symptom of panic attacks is that you often don’t go out. I went through a phase where I stopped going out because I was afraid I would have an attack in the car or on the train. And then you have to say: No, I’m not running away, I’m going through there. I confront that and then I can relax on the train again. I did a panic attack review last year and realized: hey, I’ve only had two and that’s really a record for me.

According to their own statements, they often panicked when going on stage. How did you motivate yourself to keep going?

I didn’t see that as a problem for me. I thought to myself, this is just so super stressful. Part of it is that your pulse goes up to 170, that you are short of breath and can no longer remember the performance. But the gist is that it has nothing to do with the job. If I had become a baker now, I could have the same symptoms in the bakery as before a performance. It is due to the disease itself, which can break out at any time.

Torsten Sträter, who deals openly with his depression himself, outed it last year, so to speak. Were you mad at him?

Of course we talked about it beforehand and I said yes. But when he asked me about it on the show, my feelings had changed. It was funny. Then I thought about it again for a while, I could have just had it cut out.

But don’t you have…

I looked at the incision and also saw what it does to those affected. How many people are given courage, how many it helps. Then you had to be clear: I’m going out with it now and then I have to deal with any feedback. So if someone thinks it’s great, I’m happy. If someone says: “Oh, he only sells himself with his depression”, then I can’t do anything about it either.

A lot has been reported about you, Sträter and Kurt Krömer. There are also colleagues who went public with their illness some time ago, for example Helene Bockhorst. There was little or no media coverage. Why is that?

I would say that the three of us are being accorded a really strange privilege. All three of us are alpha on stage, we’re loud and we look confident. And when a man in particular says he’s depressed, then we get into the old role cliché: “Oh, men have feelings, that’s crazy!” There’s a break in there. And as I look around, the reality is, a woman can just do the exact same thing and see the same thing – and it just won’t resonate in the same way.

Your book wasn’t the first to deal with depression.

When Kurt Krömer published his book, I was in the writing process. And I thought, great, now everyone thinks I’m just jumping on the bandwagon. But that was just the fact. If someone now says: “Now everyone is suddenly talking about depression”, my answer is: “No, now you are listening for the first time. Now you might have protagonists you can relate to for the first time.” And I can only point out that a lot of women have actually written great books on the subject.

You might also be interested in:Interview with Jan van Weyde

As here, you will be asked about your depression in all interviews. Does that bother you now?

I will no longer actively talk about the subject. But you can’t write a book like this and say you’d like to raise awareness and create tolerance for this disease, and then feel annoyed when someone asks you about it. Of course I’ve had the thought in the last few weeks, now it’s good. But that’s just the lot. I’m in the public eye on this issue and I’m available for people who need help.

Then a quick change of subject: You are a presenter, stand-up comedian, author, and have also worked as actors before. What does your future look like, what goals are you still pursuing?

I don’t believe in achieved goals. My path in life is anything but straight. There was always a stroke of luck that pushed me in a certain direction. And if I had any goals now… I don’t know if I would ever have married or if I would ever have become a father. I think it’s really good and beautiful the way it is. And if it’s still all well and good in five years, then to be honest, that’s enough for me.

>>> Info: Maxi Gstettenbauer – Good time: among others 12.2. Dortmund (sold out), 22.2. Bochum (sold out), 23.2. Borken (town hall), 24.2. Wuppertal (the stock exchange), 29.3. Dusseldorf (Savoy Theater), 30.3. Essen (Carl colliery), 28.+29.4. Cologne (Gloria Theater). Tickets from around €32.

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