At the restaurant in Syracuse, he was approached for photos by two male employees — Bobby Adkins, a cook, and Tom Steber, the restaurant manager — which he took as a sign that his fan base was expanding.
“You’re one of my favorite comedians,” Mr. Adkins told him.
“I appreciate you, man,” Mr. Rife said. He stood, shook the man’s hand and complimented his Air Jordans, saying, “I like the J’s.”
He had been in Syracuse two days but he had not visited the Erie Canal Museum, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo or any other local attraction. An insomniac, he usually goes to bed at dawn. If he’s not sleeping late, he’s up early attending video meetings with his management team.
To keep up with demand, he has been doing as many as 10 performances a weekend. In Syracuse last week, he did six shows over three days at the Funny Bone comedy club — all sold out — in addition to joining two friends who host a paranormal podcast, “Haunted Homies,” for a packed live show at the same venue.
“This time last year, I couldn’t sell out one show in a town,” Mr. Rife said. “It’s still so new and exciting that I’m, like, ‘OK, you need to do everything.’”
Gag Gifts
As show time neared, Mr. Rife rode in a drizzling rain through a desolate part of Syracuse, passing large tracts of undeveloped land. At the wheel of the car was Brandon Manzonelli, 33, a former professional soccer player turned male model who for six years was Mr. Rife’s roommate in Los Angeles and is now his road manager.
