In the last decade, the career of comedian Tom Segura has really taken off. In addition to performing at top comedy festivals around the world and headlining a sold-out tour, the 41-year-old funnyman has been hosting a hit podcast since 2011. If you recall seeing his name in the news lately, it may because of an unfortunate injury he suffered in early December. Here, we give you all the deets about this standup comic’s life and fill you in on the recent Tom Segura injury drama.
Who Is Tom Segura?
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 16, 1979, Tom Segura is the son of a Peruvian mother and an American father with Spanish, Cajun, and French-Canadian ancestry. He grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Vero Beach, Florida, and has been performing as a standup comedian since he graduated from college.
When Segura was 18, he overdosed on a combination of drugs and alcohol—an intense experience that obviously changed his life. The comedian even joked that the incident is what led him to pursue standup comedy. “I think when I overdosed on drugs I realized there weren’t a lot of options available for me,” he teased in an interview with The Comedy & Magic Club. “That’s true, by the way. I did actually OD… It was a lot of GHB, a lot ecstasy, and a lot of alcohol…I was in a coma for a while. It’s crazy. I was 18.”
Thankfully, the aspiring comedian fully recovered and went on to find success, both personally and professionally. In 2009, Segura married fellow standup Christina Pazsitzky and the happy couple have two children together. The pair also created the popular podcast Your Mom’s House, which has been running for almost ten years and averages more than one million unique impressions per episode. In addition to featuring well-known guests like Joe Rogan, Whitney Cummings, Bill Burr, and Steve-O, the podcast is hosted by the couple and includes funny stories about their daily life.
Segura has made four standup specials for Netflix—Completely Normal (2014), Mostly Stories (2016), Disgraceful (2018), and Ball Hog (2020)—and currently has one in the works (more on that in a bit). He’s also appeared opposite Mark Walberg and Rose Byrne in the 2018 movie Instant Family, and has been on popular TV shows such as Workaholics, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan, Happy Endings, The Late Late Show, Comedy Central Presents: Tom Segura, Mash Up, and How To Be A Grown Up. In early 2020 (pre-COVID, of course), he was on the road performing his Take It Down Tour, which traveled to 11 different countries and sold more than 335,000 tickets.
Tom Segura Is A Bilingual Comedian
Segura is among a select group of well-known comedians who perform in both English and Spanish. He’s gone on tour with an all-Spanish comedy hour, has a Spanish-language podcast called Tom Segura En Español (which means Tom Segura in Spanish), and is in the process of making a Spanish-language special for Netflix, which has unfortunately been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his most recent Netflix comedy special, Ball Hog, Segura tells some colorful stories about his Peruvian mother that he hopes will shock viewers—as well as make them laugh. “I like saying something that makes somebody pull back and then hopefully laugh,” he told Vice. It’s a two-part equation: you have to bring about an idea that makes people go, ‘oh, [expletive].’ And then if you can make that funny, I think that’s a victory,” Segura explained.
“When you do stand up, you want to get to a place where you’re really talking about things that you feel strongly about,” he continued. “And to me it was like, I obviously have all these strong feelings about having this combative relationship with my mom.”
Tom Segura Suffered Serious Injuries In A Basketball Accident
In December 2020, Segura seriously concerned his more than a million Instagram followers when he posted a picture of himself in the hospital with obvious injuries. Thousands of commenters sent their concerns and well-wishes, curious to know what had caused the injury.
Turns out, the comedian banged himself up while filming a basketball video with YouTube star Tristan Jass and his friend and 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast co-host Bert Kreischer. As he explained (or joked?) on Twitter: “I know it sounds crazy but it really happened… dunking.”
While the incident doesn’t appear in the Tristan Jass video, Segura uploaded the footage to YouTube after broadcasting the “dunkin incident” during a 2 Bears, 1 Cave Livestream with Kreischer on New Year’s Eve. Warning: the injury is pretty gnarly, so watch at your own risk.
Unfortunately, Segura had to cancel some upcoming shows tour as a result of the injury, which he announced on Twitter:
Regardless of how the accident occurred, we’re glad Segura is on the mend and wish him a speedy recovery. It’s great to see that the injury hasn’t affected his sense of humor!