Armed with a sword and loads of funny lines, British Comedian Max Fosh entered the GMB to receive the Phil’s Bram Stoker Cultural Achievement award. As the first recipient of the award this year, and a recipient most renowned for their humour, Fosh strutted to the front of GMB to greet a room of ecstatic fans. The Phil granted the award to Fosh for his extraordinary work in media and comedy. Fosh’s career began during his university years at Newcastle. Originally working in radio, he took his audio-visual skills to create the “Street Smart” series, interviewing students on the street during their night-out endeavours. Following the massive success of this series on YouTube, Fosh shifted his approach after Covid hit. He’s gone on to execute elaborate and hysterical pranks alongside his comedy, now amassing a follower count of 4.18 million subscribers on YouTube. His comedic stunts range from running for mayor of London in 2021 to cooking a frozen meal in an active Icelandic volcano. Many of his stunts act as a “blend of comedy in social commentary,” The Phil explained. Fosh kicked off his international “Loophole” tour this month and continued it with a show at the 3Olympia.
Phil president Annika Ramani officially presented the Bram Stoker award to Fosh following a brief introduction. She continued with a series of poignant questions, all of which Fosh answered with humility and a touch of silliness. Ramani inquired about how the comic comes up with such outlandish stunts, to which he replied that it is all about “contrast in comedy writing and finding the balance of comedy and creativity.” In lieu of this question, Fosh regaled the tale of his cooking session in the Litli-Hrútur volcano in 2023, claiming that this was by far the most difficult stunt he’s pulled off to date. Ramani asked in regards to his 2021 mayoral run as well. Fosh explained that although he received pushback for his run for such a position, he has absolutely no regrets. Fosh ran on the platform of encouraging young people to vote, while simultaneously trolling far right-wing candidate Laurence Fox. At the end of it all, he felt the stunt “perfectly represented the electoral system of the UK.”
Fosh took questions from audience members next. A slew of hands immediately shot up in the air. The Q&A session ranged from serious questions about comedic techniques to more playful banter between the comedian and his fans. Fosh’s current “Loophole” tour emphasises exactly what the title infers–the fun loopholes he finds while executing elaborate stunts. One audience member asked what exactly is Fosh’s favourite newfound loophole. He replied that he feels most proud of his “richest man in the world” stunt from early 2022. For a grand total of seven minutes, the YouTuber was the wealthiest person in the world. He managed this by finessing a fake company and an absurd number of shares, materialising in a net worth surpassing that of Elon Musk. Although it was legally valid, his company would likely be accused of fraud, so shortly after its creation Fosh ended the company. This comedic stunt brought a bit of silliness to the frequently daunting world of finance.
Audience members concluded the afternoon by grabbing a few photos with Fosh and testing out the weight of his illustrious Dracula-esque sword. Fosh expressed immense gratitude for the award and The Phil for being such a gracious host. “Any place that gives me a medal for doing no work is a friend of mine. It’s a real privilege and honour to be here with the world’s oldest society,” Fosh told the University Times.
