Nathan Fielder: Comic, Actor, Ex-Barista, Ex-Husband
By our account, Nathan Fielder has been one of Comedy Central’s most consistent and successful comedians.
Fielder’s show Nathan for You, which is produced by Comedy Central, follows Fielder as he creates outlandish business ideas to help struggling companies or places of interest.
Nathan For You
Nathan For You is an absurdist look at how businesses are run in our society today; Nathan’s stand-up specials have all been well received by critics and audiences alike.
Arguably the two most famous moments on the show were The Movement, featuring Jack Garbarino, and the episode featuring the “Dumb” Starbucks parody.
The Nathan for You docu-reality series aired on the television network Comedy Central. The show stars Canadian comedian Nathan Fielder, who runs his own business consulting company in Los Angeles.
He offers bizarre and often impractical solutions to small businesses’ problems. In episode three of the show’s third season, Nathan tries to help a struggling moving company, which leads to the eventual creation of The Movement Book.
Life of Nathan Fielder: Fast Facts
- Fielder was born in British Columbia on May 12, 1983 to a Jewish family. (The impetus behind his Summit Ice Apparel company.)
- His parents were social workers.
- He is 38 years old.
- He attended Point Grey Secondary School, where he was a member of the school’s comedy group that also included comedian Seth Rogen.
- Know for cringe comedy and deadpan comedy style.
- A member of The Magic Castle in Los Angeles, California, Fielder worked as a magician when he was young.
- Fielder earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Victoria in 2005.
- Fielder got into a comedy program at Humber College in Toronto after moving to the city.
Summit Ice Apparel
Summit Ice® is a not-for-profit company that raises awareness of the Holocaust by producing quality outdoor apparel. All profits go to The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The idea for this non-profit came about after Nathan discovered that a Taiga jacker he wore while filming his shows was linked Holocaust denier Doug Collins.
At his one day popup store, he exchanged one of his Summit Apparel jackets with anyone who came and threw out their Taiga jacket. About 200 people waited in the rain for the launch of the pop-up store. There was a note next to the entrance stating that anyone entering would be filmed. The notice was not read by a lot of people because they were too focused on the window display explaining the Holocaust.
Nathan did not miss out on injecting some humor and depth, showcasing how people often do not know what stands behind companies they adore and support.
Seth Rogen, Jack Black, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have all been spotted in Summit Ice apparel jackets.
According to Nathan, Summit Ice did half a million dollars of sales in the first six months.
Dumb Starbucks Coffee
“Dumb Starbucks Coffee” opened in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on February 7, 2014. The shop used the Starbucks logo in their cups and other materials, as well as being a parody of the coffee company. The shop used the term “Dumb” in front of the names of drinks and items that are standard at most Starbucks’ locations.
Nathan Fielder pushed the envelope and generated a stir far and wide. The legal issues related to trademark law were brought to light and written about at length after the episode aired.
The Dumb Starbucks Coffee shop was eventually forced to close by the Los Angeles County Health Department for not having the permits required to run a coffee shop.