Fatherhood is a joke: Comedian Ryan Niemiller pokes fun at being a first-time father with a disability

Comedian Ryan Niemiller thinks New Mexico intentionally extends his stay in the state for one reason or another.

“Traditionally, the state has been out to get me,” he said. “So I have this theory that if you live in the United States, there’s one state in the country that hates you for some reason. And I think New Mexico is that for me. So 20 years ago, when my wife and I first were dating, we were driving across the country and got stuck in a freak blizzard (in New Mexico), trapped on the freeway for 24 hours. A couple years after that, I had an engine blow up in a car when I was driving through New Mexico. Either New Mexico hates me or desperately wants me to stay in the state, and it’s trying to hold me captive.”

Fatherhood is a joke: Comedian Ryan Niemiller pokes fun at being a first-time father with a disability

However, he is hoping the third time’s a charm when he performs at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20, at Quezada’s Comedy Club and Cantina inside Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel, 54 Jemez Canyon Dam Road, Santa Ana Pueblo.

Niemiller’s appearance on the NBC show “America’s Got Talent” has changed his luck overall. His appearance, poking fun at his disability in both arms, led him to finishing third place on the show. The self-proclaimed “Cripple Threat of Comedy,” shares his views of the world from his perspective. His appearance on AGT catapulted his career.

“It’s night and day,” he said. “Before I did (AGT), I was on in 2019, I had been doing comedy for 12 years before that. Six months before I was on the show, that’s when I finally was able to kind of make comedy my only job. But, I was doing the comedy version of paycheck to paycheck, where it’s like, I was technically paying my bills, but if I had a canceled gig, I might be calling my brother to borrow money for rent.”

He said appearing on AGT changed everything. He placed third in the competition on season 14 of the show.

“I get to do this full-time now,” he said. “I get to come to places like New Mexico now. New Mexico wasn’t calling for me before the show. It was a direct result of being on ‘America’s Got Talent.’ It even changed other things in my aspect of how I reconnected with my wife. We have a son now. So like most of the things that are happening in my existence, I can kind of attribute to AGT giving me a chance and, fortunately, be doing really well.”

Niemiller said his stand-up material has shifted from focusing on his disability to his experience as a first time parent.

“Now having a one-year-old son, a lot of my material now is the challenges of being a new dad,” he said. “I’m just kind of testing it out across the country. It seems like it’s pretty relatable. And I’m also putting a little bit of spin too, because I’m a dad with a disability, so those kind of challenges.

“My wife and I learned pretty fast that most things for new parents are not designed with people with disabilities in mind. So we’ve had to be pretty creative with some of the stuff we’ve done. My wife, I love her, but she’s not letting me get out of changing poopy diapers. She’s like ‘We’re gonna figure out a way for all this to work. I’m not doing all of it.’ So I was like, fair enough.”

Niemiller’s disability has resonated with others who face challenges. He said many have reached out to him after his appearance on AGT.

“I will be perfectly 100% honest with you, I did not get into comedy thinking that I could inspire people,” he explained. “ ... I just like when people pay attention to me. I make them laugh. That was sort of where it came from. I never thought of it in the context of like, oh, people might be getting something out of this other than just laughter.

“Once I was on the show, I would start getting (direct messages) and people showing up to shows or whatever it might be of people saying either they had a disability or they’re the parent of a child with a disability. And they were like, ‘Hey, thank you for going out there and being truthful and honest and putting yourself out there.’

“I said this on AGT too, when I was growing up, there wasn’t anyone that looked like me on television. There was no aspect of that. So to kind of, even in a small way, get to be that for somebody, it’s something I don’t take for granted whatsoever.”