ORANGE PARK – Comedian OMGItsWicks always meets his guests after every show in the lobby to thank them and take photos. Unlike most other performers, he shares stories, offers hugs and doesn’t make them feel rushed.
And he did it for free.
After Saturday night’s show at the Thrasher-Horne Center, the line to share a moment with the man who’s made a career with Florida-based social media skits and standup bits stretched from the lobby, into the theater, across the front of the stage and back up the aisle.
Joined by Myke Herlihy, Ken Miller and Dewayne Miller, Wicks, whose real name is Josh Robinson, waited until the last person took a selfie and left the lobby at 12:30 a.m. – two-and-a-half hours later.
The four had the audience laughing for two hours, telling stories of their childhood and their relationships. Wicks did what he always does: tell non-Floridians what Florida is like in a family-friendly manner.
One of his best lines was when he asked what was the most invasive species in Florida? There were lots of answers screamed from the enthusiast people in the auditorium, like New Yorkers, Palmetto bugs, snowbirds and humidity.
Wicks then slowly said, “Dollar General.”
“I left my garage door open for two hours and when I got home, a Dollar General had moved in. They had already set up the shelves. Dollar General is where old stuff goes to die.”
Wicks focuses a lot of his comedy on Publix grocery stores. Oddly enough, he has no sponsorship deals with the Lakeland-based company.
“But I go there every day,” he said.
He said he eats popcorn chicken, subs or salads almost every day. In fact, he buys Publix meals for the dressing room before most shows. Saturday night’s performance was no different.
The Publix Super Market at Pine Tree Plaza, 410 Blanding Blvd., took the catering deal a step further by making him a special cake that was delivered before all four started a question-and-answer session after their stand-up routines.
According to the decorator, tour manager Brick Sturner ordered a catered meal and a cake from Publix. When store manager Thomas Rouse heard who about the order, Carly Nowicki decorated the cake and Rouse paid for it.
“My mom and I watch his (Wicks) videos all the time,” Carly said.
She couldn’t attend the show because she had another engagement, but assistant manager Bob Summers was there, and he heard Wicks praise the store for the cake and the rest of their deli menu items.
He also talked about driving from his home in Southwest Florida to Clay County, including a drive along State Road 21. If fact, he posted his ordeal online, saying:
“I want yall to know Ive been driving on Blanding all day to make sure I’m prepared for this show tonight at Thrasher Horne.”
He called the experience eye-opening, especially at night and as scary as coming eye-to-eye with an alligator.
Wicks also talked about his drive, which included stints on Interstate 75, I-4, I-95 and I-295, before finishing on Blanding. He said it’s clear every non-Floridian traveled slower in the far-left lane, and they used their blinker as a courtesy.
People from Florida use their blinkers as a warning,” he said. “That means we’re coming over whether you like it or not, and there’s a chance we both end up at Morgan and Morgan.”
All four comedians now live in Florida, so they’re immune to what others from outside the state fear and loathe about the sunshine state. Like OMGItsWicks said, Floridians will take bugs, gators, hurricanes, humidity, stifling heat and pop-up thunderstorms over snowstorms and the hustle and bustle of big-city life.