Stavros Halkias
Halkias in 2021
Born (1989-02-11) February 11, 1989 (age 35)[1]
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Podcast
EducationBaltimore Polytechnic Institute
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Years active2010s–present
Genres
Websitestavvy.biz

Stavros Halkias (born February 11, 1989) is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster. Active since the early 2010s, he is a nationally touring comic who came to prominence as a founding co-host of the podcast Cum Town.[2]

Early life

Halkias was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland,[3] to Greek immigrant parents (a Macedonian mother and Athenian father) and attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a public high school where he played football.[4] He attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, working for Marc Steiner's Center for Emerging Media as an intern.[5] He stated on the podcast Digression Sessions that he was a few credits short of graduating.[6]

Career

Halkias began performing comedy while attending UMBC, at which he hosted a monthly comedy showcase.[7][8][6] 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.[6]

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.[8] 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.[8][9]

Halkias is best known as a former co-host of the podcast Cum Town, which he co-hosted from its inception in 2016 until his departure in 2022.[10] Since 2019, he has co-hosted the basketball podcast Pod Don't Lie with Sam Morril.[11] Prior to this podcast, he co-hosted White Chocolate NBA Pipecast with Adam Friedland.[12] He also hosted a Twitch series Stavvy Solves Your Problems from 2020 to 2021.[13] In 2022 this series evolved into the podcast Stavvy's World. In 2022, Halkias released his first comedy special, Live At The Lodge Room, on his YouTube channel, which reached 2 million views in three weeks.[14] His second special, Stavros Halkias: Fat Rascal, was released on Netflix in December 2023.[15]

Halkias has become well known for his crowd work, often engaging actively with the audience and riffing on their stories and anecdotes.[16] Many of his stand-up clips on his YouTube channel feature this practice.[17] He released a half-hour crowd-work-only comedy special, Four Nights In NYC.[18]

Halkias has been noted as a body-positive activist.[19] Halkias's involvement with Cum Town podcast has occasionally caused controversy, with criticism levied at the podcast's association with the dirtbag left.[20][21]

Personal life

Halkias is a Baltimore Ravens[22] and Olympiacos F.C.[23] fan.

Works

Comedy specials

Podcasts[24]

References

  1. ^ Friedland, Adam [@AdamFriedland] (February 11, 2020). "Happy birthday to my gorgeous and infinitely talented friend Stavros. Love you baby. https://t.co/OnmGXMOp0n" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ 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. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ^ Conarck, Ben (October 13, 2023). "Stavros Halkias on his hometown shows, Baltimore's grit and those dang Ravens". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "More from Poly's Nick Halkias". Baltimore Sun. October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Change We Cannot Quit On by Stavros Halkias". SteinerShow.org. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c The Digression Sessions (January 2013). Ep. 62 - Stavros Halkias! (podcast). Spotify. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022. 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.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c "Stavros Halkias | Comedians". The Stand Restaurant & Comedy Club. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Lincoln Lodge Presents: Stavros Halkias". www.brownpapertickets.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Stavros Halkias [@stavvybaby2] (June 26, 2022). "We had a good run" – via Instagram.
  11. ^ "Pod Don't Lie". Podchaser. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  12. ^ "White Chocolate NBA Pipecast". Podchaser. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  13. ^ stavvybaby - Twitch, archived from the original on May 5, 2022, retrieved July 13, 2021
  14. ^ a b Kleinschmidt, Matt (June 1, 2022). "Stavros Halkias' debut stand-up special, "Live At The Lodge Room" premieres June 5th". The Laugh Button. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Comedian Stavros Halkias Talks Riding "Weird Wave" Of Internet Fame To First Netflix Special 'Fat Rascal' & Becoming "CEO" Of His Own Small Media Empire". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "Inside the Debate of Stand-up Comedy Crowd-Work Clips". Vulture.com. October 31, 2022. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Stavros Halkias's channel on YouTube
  18. ^ Alter, Rebecca; Clark, Anne Victoria; Fox, Jesse David; Frank, Jason P.; Kroeger, Jake; Pandya, Hershal; VanArendonk, Kathryn (October 2, 2023). "The Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2023". Vulture. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  19. ^ "11 Body-Positive Men Redefining Male Beauty". Out.com. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  20. ^ Marantz, Andrew (July 23, 2021). "The Post-Dirtbag Left". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  21. ^ North, Anna (October 24, 2017). "Listen to what socialist women are saying about misogyny on the left". Vox. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Unger, Mike (October 9, 2023). "Stavros Halkias is Much More Humble and Serene Than His Ravens Superfan Alter Ego". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  23. ^ "Episode 192 - Phased". Cum Town. 30 January 2020
  24. ^ "Stavros Halkias". Podchaser. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
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