When I asked the man behind the podcast thezurkieshow, how he would describe his show in just a few words, here’s what he had to say: “Hanging out with that one friend that you don’t hang out with often, but when you do, you talk until 3 am..”
Zurkie had a social media presence long before he started thezurkieshow in December 2024. He has been creating short-form content on apps like Instagram and TikTok for years now. That’s why his podcast was the next step for him as a content creator. Zurkie focuses on self-help, relationships and general life advice. He uses GenZ humor to make the episodes feel just that much more personable and relatable to the listener.
Anyway, I accidentally discovered him on my Spotify explore page one day and I gave it a listen. One thing about me is that I generally don’t listen to podcasts, unless they really catch my attention. But this one did – I think it was because of the hook and the relatability. He just started talking and I was like, “um yes!” So, after a few emails back and forth, I was honored to get the chance to be able to interview him and hear a little more in depth about Zurkie and thezurkieshow.
What inspired you to start your podcast?
“So the podcast came from a couple of friends actually just telling me for a while that they feel as though I have a really good voice and I should use it for something.” He also said, “I loved being on camera, just talking to the camera, I loved it. I don’t know why, it was just something I really liked.”
How do you create the episodes?
I asked this question genuinely wanting to know his creative process. When he told me that all he does is brainstorm the topic, sits in front of the camera, and just talks – that is how he does it. Not much planning, besides the place that he’ll record his episode, just “yapping” as he would say.
“I just try to pull from personal life experiences, like things that are very pressing on my mind. I try to pull from conversations I have with friends, which is a huge part of my inspiration.”
“Some of the ideas are from the perspective of somebody who is going through something for the first time, and maybe I have gone through that situation a couple of times, but I know for my topic I have to frame it in a way that’s like ‘what would I tell someone who’s going through this for the first time?’”
How do you stay consistent?
“What keeps me consistent is momentum, and the more that I spend doing the thing that I love, the more I want to do it.”
“I try to not stress as much because I feel like I have more motivation to stay consistent, because the more time that I spend doing the thing that I love, the more I want to do it.”
What advice do you have for somebody starting their self improvement journey?
“Anyone who is starting their self improvement journey needs to understand that it is a journey, as in it is life-long. There is no point where you are like ‘oh im perfect,’ it is all about the small incremental changes that you think don’t matter in your day to day life, because over time they compound.“
This quote really resonated with me because it goes outside of the confinement that only young people can work on themselves, when in reality it can be anyone.
When Zurkie embarked on his own journey “it was more of a… I was seeking confidence and also self love, because I don’t think I had that for a long time, and it was important for me to realize ‘okay how do I love myself?’”
It really is all about sitting down and asking yourself what it is that you want to better yourself on.
Do you have any episodes that are your favorite or that you’d recommend to new listeners?
“Every single one,” he said, “but I do like ‘you can’t control how they feel.’ I think it’s an important one.”
“A classic in my opinion, ‘there’s still hope for Gen Z.’ I think that that was an episode that made me realize that our generation is not doomed.”
My own personal favorites being, “revenge won’t fix you” and “let them hate, do it anyway.” These ones to me were overall really inspiring for situations that I have gone through and needed advice on, advice that I didn’t even know that I needed, but that I received anyway. I believe that others who go through tough situations can find one of his episodes, just by the title, and after listening will feel so much better, especially hearing a fresh new perspective on it – it can be enlightening almost.
One thing I want to mention about his creative outlook is that notably, his episodes tend to be in front of beautiful scenery, which to me is very stand out, and shows the thought that goes into each episode.
”It’s funny, obviously, I love aesthetics. I find that my best thinking, and my most comfortable state sometimes, is when I’m just alone.”
Zurkie definitely has some insightful views on the general outlook of life, and I believe that he deserves his flowers. I can’t wait to see the next steps he takes into his career! So, next time you’re in the car and you need a short uplifting talk while you’re going to work, put one of his episodes on, and you can thank me later.