Comedian and actor Felipe Esparza got his start in comedy all because someone asked him to list five goals in life. During a stint in rehab before he was 21, Felipe was asked what his dreams and goals were. As a young Mexican immigrant growing up in the projects in Boyle Heights (East LA) and then as a teenage father with a drug and alcohol problem, it was a difficult task because he had never thought that far ahead. Up until that question, Felipe was under the impression that life was over at 18. Among the items on his list of goals, “to be happy” and “to be a stand‐up comedian.”

If you had told him back then that all this life experience would one day make people laugh, he wouldn’t have believed it. From being raised in the projects in a family of nine living in the most gang‐infested neighborhood in the country to winning NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” to selling out live comedy shows all over the country and being able to act in TV shows and movies, Felipe’s life has been anything but boring. He worked for years as a stand‐up comedian, opening on the road for fellow comedians such as Gabriel Iglesias and Paul Rodriguez, then took a leap of faith and went out on his own ‐ which led to very little income and opportunity at first. During his early years as a comedian, Felipe was part of the successful stand‐up comedy TV show, “Que Locos” on Galavisión (the only English‐speaking show on Spanish television). That show and the resulting tour helped launch the careers of several other Latino comedians such as George Lopez, Gabriel Iglesias, and Willie Barcena. Finally, after 16 years of struggling, Felipe’s big break came in the form of winning NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”