I am a deeply spiritual person, I meditate daily, I believe in the power of the universe and that of a higher being (although I am not religious), and I find his discussions and insights to be very valuable and interesting – I feel like I am constantly learning when I watch/listen to/read his work.
I found his most recent book, Recovery, to be life changing. At the time I was spiralling out of control, completely off the rails and desperately trying (and failing) to find myself again, and it felt like this book was written for, and presented to, me at the exact time that I needed it. A few years ago, at one of his stand-up shows, I was able to briefly meet him during the interview, just long enough for him to sign my book (which as you can imagine, is now a prized possession) and that was good enough for me. I had had the chance to not only be in the same room as him, but also for him to sign his book for me, a book that I held in such high regards.
That was until I got tickets for his next show, and somehow managed to get front row seats! It was during the pandemic, just as tickets began to go on sale again, and I was desperate to see anything, let alone one of his shows, so I bought the tickets and prayed that the show would be able to go ahead when it came around. Based on the title of this post, I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I was lucky enough to meet him that night, and even now, almost a week later, I am still trying to put into words just how much I managed to get out of 3-minute conversation.
I had expected to maybe say a quick hello, grab a photo, and be shoved away so that the next person could have their turn – I was wrong. Every single person that he spoke to was given his complete attention for the entirety of the meeting. The questions and answers he was giving everybody were sincere and interested, you could really tell that he was taking the time to meet people because he genuinely enjoys connecting with people, not because he feels obligated to do so as a “celebrity.”
His first words to me after an introduction were “how have you been doing mentally?” and hearing somebody whose work has kept you sane throughout a pandemic ask you that with such genuine kindness and sincerity somehow managed to break and mend my heart all in the split second between his question and my reply. To have the opportunity to thank him for everything he does, and for everything that I get out of what he does, was such a special moment that I could have quite easily burst into tears (which didn’t happen until I was alone in my room that night, much to my surprise).
People say to never meet your heroes, because they never meet the expectation you have of them. For me, Russel Brand met my expectations and then exceeded them tenfold, and I feel so bloody lucky to have had the opportunity to do so.