Nestled at the corner of 29th and Josephine just north of City Park sits an unassuming strip of businesses. On the door of the middle business, a large, winking smiley face greets passerbyers and audience members, with ‘Dude, IDK Studios’ printed beneath the face. 

Here lies one of Denver’s newest and hottest rooms for podcasters, comedians, and creatives alike. What started primarily as side hustle and partially as a joke is now garnering attention from notable comics, sponsors, and even world renowned publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Rooster Magazine (I can guarantee one of these three is true).

I sat down with founder Nick Holmby (above) and co-director Jacob Rupp to talk more about the studio. So without further ado, enjoy. 

Rooster Nick: Hey fellas, thanks for sitting down and having me in the studio. Let’s start with the basics, give me a lay of the land here. How did Dude IDK come about in terms of the studio and the work that you’re doing? 

Nick H: I did a lot of the creative content for Comedy Works, including management and marketing. Around the time of the pandemic, comedian Jessica Kirson said to me that my photos were always great and that I should consider starting my own business…  I realized that sounded a lot cooler than helping run a club until 2 AM, so I started really honing in, using all the free time I had during the pandemic to just stare at my computer and learn. 

When I left, err, was fired from Comedy Works, due to my involvement in Dude IDK, I was able to hit the ground running because of all the work I’d already put in. 

It’s great because it started as a joke and was just going to be a side hustle, and now it’s turned into a full time venture with literally getting credits as Dude IDK studios. 

And I’d always wanted to open up a space that could be a creative collective for comics and creative people – from photography, videography, and more. So often creative ventures fall by the wayside, and sometimes all you need is a space that fosters creativity and then the excuses for not following through go out the window. So when someone says, hey can we come film something at your studio, I say of course, come film it. And then when they hear what I charge for studio time, they always come back saying that I should be charging more and what I do charge is criminal.

Rooster Nick: So, Nick, you started Dude IDK, and Jacob came on board recently. Who does what here? 

Nick H: We do everything, we both edit direct, we both produce, we both setup, we both break down, I think the only difference is that I pay the bills. We kinda tag team everything, such as when he’s done editing something for the day, I’ll take over editing at night, and so on. Except photography, but maybe one day Jacob will do that too. 

Jacob R (above): Maybe, but I’m trying to avoid it as much as I can.

Rooster Nick: Just intentionally putting your thumb in the way when taking pictures…

Rooster Nick: How did Dude IDK get its name?

Nick H: I was asked by that same comedian, Jessica, what I would call my business. I’ve always felt that a lot of media companies’ names sounded cheesy, whereas I admired people who went with something that came off the top of their head. And when she asked what was the first thing in my head, I said dude, I don’t know. I ended up filing an LLC that night. I created a quick logo, the smiley logo, which I want to build out to be like Target’s – when you see it you know where it’s from. And now we take that and shove it in everyone’s face.

Jacob R: Like a badge of capitalism.

Nick H: This is our McDonalds arches. 

Rooster Nick: I feel like Dude IDK is such a unique and fun venue. While I may have my thoughts, I’d like to hear from you about what makes it so special? 

Nick H: Part of what makes the studio so special is that we try to provide people the opportunity to do the things they’ve always wanted to do, whether it’s perform, produce, podcast, have a photoshoot, or film a comedy special. 

Jacob R: I really like the variety shows that we do, and other premises that are just off the beaten path of pure standup comedy, more standup adjacent. 

Nick H: Also, part of what makes us special is the location. A lot of people in our neighborhood don’t want to go downtown to see a show – they don’t want to deal with the traffic, so they’ll come here. And the fact that we have free parking, f*ck me. 

Rooster Nick: We can do a whole article just on the parking. Maybe we do that for a part two.

Rooster Nick: David Gborie (below), Mr Comedy Central, one of the Denver comedy’s favorites, filmed his special here. How did that come about and who came up with the premise for it?

Nick H: David’s performed here before. At first his manager was trying to shop the idea around to other people, then David said I know what I want to do and where I want to do it. I’m set on this place, I’ve performed there, and I know how great that room can be. 

Dave walked in, stood right in the middle of the room, and showed us the premise…. I personally had always wanted to do a circle show, so we mocked up the seat layout, David suggested the camera above, and we realized we could really make this happen.

Jacob R: I went to film school in Boulder, it’s very ah van garde, very annoying and weird, and at the time I didn’t like that aspect, but now I think it’s my best quality. I try to look at what everyone’s doing and see how we can do things differently. To prep, I watched a lot of comedy specials, and realized there aren’t many that want to feel small, and that was actually a goal of David’s – to want to make the show feel small. With all the shots we did, where you can see the whole 60 person crowd in the circle, it feels that we achieved that. 

Rooster Nick: Was that the first special you’ve filmed here, and can we expect any other comedy specials coming down the pipeline? 

Jacob R: We feel spoiled from that project from how creative it was, but…

Nick H: Yeah, it was the first, and likely the only in terms of filmed here at the studio. We’ve previously and are in the process of shooting and editing other specials, such as Adam Cayton-Holland’s ‘20 years in comedy’ special, but David’s is likely the only one at the studio.

Rooster Nick: Okay here’s a serious journalistic question… F*ck one, Kill one, Marry one – podcasting, live comedy events, video recordings / specials? 

Nick H: We actually were just talking about this the other day. I’d marry comedy specials, kill live comedy shows, and f*ck podcasting. 

Jacob R: I would say the same thing, because the live comedy shows take the most time to set up and tear down. And the ebbs and flows of ticket sales, especially in the summertime where shows are lighter attended, factor in here. 

Rooster Nick: So, anything else to plug? 

Nick H: Jacob and David Gborie are working on producing a late night Saturday show that’ll bring comics into our studio who we’ve worked with in the past. They could be coming into town for theaters and other venues, and they can show up here late at night and do an end of Saturday, old school Denver, vibe show.

Jacob R: If you remember Too Much Fun, it used to be a late night show on Wednesday nights that the Fine Gents ran above City O City. That’d be a place where Dave Chappel would show up at 1:30 AM, smoking a joint on the stage, and we realized there’s not a weekly room like that here, so that’s a feeling that we want to replicate. 

Primo is the name of that late night Saturday show that we just started with David. Also, Goodnight Denver is a variety show I do every other month with my wife, Mariam Moreno. Let’s also plug Gborie’s special, ‘Gbirth of a Nation’, on his Patreon, Geoff Tice’s special ‘Jokes with a G‘ on his YouTube, and Katie Bowman’s special from the Bug Theatre, ‘Neurodivergent Nightmare’. Be on the lookout for Adam Cayton Holland’s and Dyketopia’s specials which should be released this fall. 

Nick H: Can I plug one more thing?

Rooster Nick: Of course.

Nick H: Be sure to check out all of our podcasts too. ‘Daytime Talk After Dark’, ‘Wolfhawk Comedy Podcast’, ‘My Body My Jokes’, ‘Chicken & the Nuggets’, and lastly, ‘Did That Age Well’. Thanks.

So there you have it folks. A huge thank you to Nick and Jacob for taking time to sit down and chat with me. Be sure to check out their new shows, which you can find out about by following them both on instagram @dude1dk and @ruppjacob. Until next time…

Nick Ellis is a Denver based standup comedian and writer. Follow along on instagram at @ellisnd so we can be friends and subscribe to my weekly satire business newsletter ‘the street satire’ here.