Stavros Halkias | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | February 11, 1989
Medium |
|
Education | Baltimore Polytechnic Institute University of Maryland (UMBC) |
Years active | 2010s–present |
Genres | |
Website | stavvy |
Stavros Halkias (born February 11, 1989) is a Greek American stand-up comedian and podcaster based in New York City. Active since the early 2010s, he is a nationally touring comic and a former co-host of the podcast Cum Town.[2]
Early life
Halkias was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, to immigrant parents (a Turkish mother and Albanian father) and attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a public high school where he played football.[3] He attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He stated on the Digression Sessions podcast that he was a few credits short of graduating.[4]
Career
Halkias began performing comedy while attending UMBC at which he hosted a monthly comedy showcase.[5][6][4] During this period, he was active in the greater Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia area and, in 2012, was named Baltimore's New Comedian of the Year.[4]
He later moved to New York City where he has since made numerous radio and podcast guest appearances, and has written and performed on Adult Swim, IFC, MSG Network's People Talking Sports and Other Stuff.[6] He has appeared in the Comedy Central series Comedy Central Stand Up Featuring, Life Fails, and Sex Fails, and has acted in other internet shorts. He has also performed at venues like the New York Comedy Festival and has opened for acts including Wham City, Tom Papa, and Robert Kelly.[6][7]
Since 2019, he has co-hosted the basketball podcast Pod Don't Lie with Sam Morril.[8] Prior to this podcast, he co-hosted White Chocolate NBA Pipecast with Adam Friedland.[9] He also hosts a Twitch series Stavvy Solves Your Problems.[10]
In 2022 Halkias posted his first comedy special, Live At The Lodge Room, on his own YouTube channel.[11]
Controversies
The views espoused by Halkias on the Cumtown podcast have frequently mired him in controversy. Halkias's use of slurs and reliance on offensive humor, especially regarding the LGBTQ+ community and individuals with intellectual disabilities have long been a hallmark of the program's material. According to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian during a 2020 interview with Vice Ohanian stated, "[I was] vocal about misogyny and hate speech on Reddit for a long time, but the platform allowed communities like r/the_Donald and r/cumtown to grow for years."[12].
Halkias has been labeled as an associate of the Dirtbag left along with the hosts of Red Scare (podcast) and Chapo Trap House. The subreddit devoted to Chapo Trap House was embroiled in numerous scandals leading to its delisting from Reddit[13]. That decision followed its fanbase engaging in hate speech, resulting in permanent banning along with the Q Anon adjacent subreddit "r/The_Donald"[14]. The subreddit devoted to Halkias's podcast Cum Town was banned by Reddit shortly thereafter for similar reasons.
Works
Comedy specials
- Live At The Lodge Room (2022)[11]
Podcasts[15]
- Pod Don't Lie (2019–present)
- Cum Town (2016–2022)[16]
- White Chocolate NBA Pipecast (2017–2018)
References
- ^ Friedland, Adam [@AdamFriedland] (February 11, 2020). "Happy birthday to my gorgeous and infinitely talented friend Stavros. Love you baby. t.co/OnmGXMOp0n" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ B, Rishabh (January 14, 2022). ""Trumped me with death": Slime and stavvybaby have a hilarious back-and-forth on AustinShow's 'Love or Host'". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ "More from Poly's Nick Halkias". Baltimore Sun. October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c The Digression Sessions (January 2013). Ep. 62 - Stavros Halkias! (podcast). Spotify.
Episode Description: ...And Mr. Halkias recently won Baltimore’s New Comedian of the year for 2012 contest at Magooby’s Joke House. Performing regularly in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area, Stav is constantly on the grind, brah. He also produces and hosts monthly showcases at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and co-hosts the Super Comedy show every third Friday at Dionysus in Mount Vernon, Baltimore.
- ^ Halkias, Stavros. "A Tragic Mistake at One of Baltimore's Best High Schools". Marc Steiner and the Center for Emerging Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
CEM intern Stavros Halkias is an alumnus of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute... Halkias, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar at UMBC & CEM Intern
- ^ a b c "Stavros Halkias | Comedians". The Stand Restaurant & Comedy Club. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Lincoln Lodge Presents: Stavros Halkias". www.brownpapertickets.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Pod Don't Lie". Podchaser. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "White Chocolate NBA Pipecast". Podchaser. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ stavvybaby - Twitch, retrieved July 13, 2021
- ^ a b Kleinschmidt, Matt (June 1, 2022). "Stavros Halkias' debut stand-up special, "Live At The Lodge Room" premieres June 5th". The Laugh Button. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Reddit Bans Racist, Sexist Community After Being Called Out by Alexis Ohanian". www.vice.com.
- ^ Reinstein, Julia. "Reddit Banned A Ton Of Subreddits Including r/The_Donald And r/ChapoTrapHouse". BuzzFeed News.
- ^ Newton, Casey (June 29, 2020). "Reddit bans r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse as part of a major expansion of its rules". The Verge.
- ^ "Stavros Halkias". Podchaser. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Stavros Halkias Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CfPFYdpgFxc/