Matt Gourley Helped An NBC Producer Scam Airlines | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

you know just before we started the. podcast today there were other things I. was thinking of talking about and then I. came in at the tail end of you. describing Matt a job you used to have. and I immediately thought I want to hear. about that and I honestly have not heard. the whole thing yet it just sounded. quite strange and I'd like you to tell. this tale if you don't mind yeah sure it. is very strange uh there was a guy who. found a corporate loophole with an. airline where he figured out if he could. pay.

dumb people like myself to fly legs of a. flight he would acre more in mileage for. his company than it would cost to pay us. to do this thing so us you said me and. some friends from our improv group in. this was in the 90s well okay hold on in. the 1990s you're in an improv group yeah. how did they F how did he this person. this this uh oh God this gets deeper and. weirder I know I'm asking the question. I'm the lawyer here I'm asking the. questions they're used to be a show on.

NBC that was on after Saturday Night. Live called quick wits which was an. improv comedy type show that we I sorry. I worked at NBC in the 9s in the comedy. division never heard of quick wits no. would you nor would you because this. thing I think was syndicated and we were. all on it and it was it was it was what. it was and I don't maybe quickwits. wasn't doing well enough that he figured. out he had to somehow scam an airline I. don't know he was a very nice guy but he.

paid a bunch of us in this group and I. so he was associated with the show he. was a producer on the show okay but he. was also running the side hustle where. he would pay essentially mileage mules. like us and I would do three flights. three roundtrip flights a day to where. to where to LAX well that was a thing. you could choose so you could a bunch of. my smarter friends chose Vegas and. Arizona I chose San Francisco along with. my buddy Jeremy just thinking ah it's.

cooler up there but you get fogged in up. there so we couldn't even complete all. of our flights each day so you're flying. LAX LAX to uh to San Francisco yeah. three times back and forth three times. in a day we get off the plane and get. right back on the same plane and the the. flight attendants would look at us like. we were drug meals or something well you. may have been drug meals well we were. handed these things he ever put you to. sleep and then when you woke up you felt. something in your bottom yeah yeah but. that's most nights okay so Qui questions.

do you ever w i k of course you don't. have to you don't have to explain that. that anyone who comes up with the name. Quick wits would have to of course spell. it that way so um look I'm not proud uh. okay did you ever suspect because I. never saw this show and I worked at the. Network do you ever suspect that. there was no show and this was just a. trick to get you to be mileage mules I'm. suspecting it now I don't think I mean I. think this person literally said I want.

to get as much mileage as I can so I'm. going to pretend there's a TV show hire. eight improv people and then your your. improv game was fly on an airline three. times a day uh I don't know what to say. other than the airline figured that this. was happening figured it out and they. got into a big argument and eventually. the other thing is you had to pitch a. quota amount that you would do and if. you didn't do that amount you had to pay. a. penalty you had to pay him you had to.

pay him uh so if you didn't meet your. quota you had to pay him money as a. penalty okay now is a crucial question. how much money did you get paid to say. wait to go to the airport wait in line. go through security get on the plane fly. LA to San Francisco get off the plane. then get wait around for the next plane. get on flight back how' you get much did. you get per flight we got $50 per flight. well this this late '90s pre 911 I was.

going to say pret TSA $50 no 150 a day. cuz we were doing three flights no but. yours would get fogged in I know that. was the problem and I wasn't going to. make my quot you were always just. circling you probably never landed in. San Francisco by the way they were first. class no one's ever landed in San. Francisco these were first class they. were but it's those little air buses so. that almost doesn't even matter no. there's no first class on the airb did. you uh try and eat a lot of free snacks. and stuff you just get peanut nuts.

that's it you know I mean I had a nice. time with my buddy Jeremy we became best. friends because of this but then they. got into an argument the airline in this. guy were you uh how do you know this he. told you we found out because most of us. were not going to make our quotas by. this deadline and luckily the airline. and he settled for some amount and we. didn't have to finish our quotas he then. went and wrote a book I think like a. self-published book about it that's. maybe on Amazon or something okay has. this guy continued to flourish in Show. Business think so with shows called The.

Wacky. Wiggles can we watch Quick wits I don't. know how you'd find it I is it on. YouTube I doubt it I Googled I Googled. it and it did come up but there are no. yeah it says eight myage. mules Circle the San Francisco Bay Area. Wayne Brady was on it a bunch oh he went. on to other things yeah somehow he so. escaped it um ready for another host at.

home Adam's archives oh God here we. [Music]. go. yes we know that this is an ordinary. walking te but what has it become in the. hands of Wayne Brady and Cory Rouse put. your hands together for our funny. comedian Emmanuel. Lewis I'd like to do my impersonation of. Gary Coleman what you talking about wi. oh boy by the way none of this was. improvised where are you.

I'm not in this episode it changed every. you're not even in the oh cuz. you're your plane is circling I'm I'm. 10,000 miles above San Francisco did you. recognize that was uh she's in marvelous. Mrs ma what was her name I love. her oh look okay comedy quick. wit never seen this no why would you. have it was on at like 2 in the. morning and by the way it's presented as. Improv everything was written hi I'm.

Jullian Hamilton and we call our show. quickwits cuz we have four quick witted. professionals who are competing to make. you laugh let's meet the teams hey. ladies all girl team I love it what's. you guys team name today we are the home. record Alex forstein okay can I ask a. question yeah you're saying that. everyone I'm looking at right now was. flying no no no no no Wayne Brady was. not doing this Alex Borstein how did. they get out of it I don't know he just. went he he I was part of an improv group.

that did this and a lot of the people in. the improv group were also on quickwits. and we knew him because he ran it but. were you were you ever on quick wits. yeah you appeared on camera. yes and would you you were doing this at. the same time that you were flying. around to rly I don't remember yeah. somewhere around there it's all a blur. yeah that's fun it's a that's a that's a. that's a that's unbelievable and and.

it's just insane to me I guess it's not. illegal what this guy was doing I don't. think so but it was something Shady. about it that they settled with him out. there's something Shady about it hey you. kids go jump on an airplane I'll give. you to nowhere I'll give you 50 bucks I. did I did feel like exploited for sure. you know but in the most like innocent. way you know it could have gone a lot. worse we all did things for a buck I. yeah I well son do you want to go ahead. no you know just we did things yeah what.

did we do we did we we flew to San. Francisco three times a day oh but no. what did you do that's right no you did. not no that was you no I'm we did it. we're okay okay you don't want to hear. about we don't want to hear about it I. did uh like a a thing for the National. Association of Music. vendors uh and is this like pre any kind. of exposure and yeah I'm just getting in. the business I'm just I'm writing for.

not necessarily the news and someone saw. me at an improv show and said you're. funny um we'll pay you some money if you. uh can get yourself it was like an hour. and 40 minute drive out of LA to this. weird structure where they shot videos. of how to sell they wanted to teach you. how to sell musical instruments and how. not to sell musical instruments and what. I realized later on is they wanted to. hire an improviser because they didn't. want to hire a. writer and so they would just say be you.

know a real handsome guy would come out. and say the one thing you don't want to. be is the know-it-all salesman like this. guy and then I would just be behind the. counter and say well if you're going to. get a synthesizer you don't want the moo. R23 let me tell you why and I would just. make up all this stuff and the cusser. would go yeses too much information and. the handsome guy would G now let's try. that again and let's have this guy you. know listen more than he talks so I did. that and I have it somewhere it's in my.

parents house up in the attic on 3/4. inch tape do you remember what 3/4 inch. tape was like a giant brick we should. bring these in cuz I think I have a DVD. copy of quick wits I would have to we. would have to build that machine that. could play we could get stupid tape mind. we should have a a segment where all. three of us bring in our most. embarrassing thing do you have anything. embarrassed captured on I have 28. years five nights a week I don't think I.

do I haven't I've only been on TV with. with Conan but when I was in second. grade I was in the opening credits for a. show it was a legal drama and there's a. quick shot of me saying the Pledge of. Allegiance I love this oh that's great I. would love to see that I don't even. remember the show you know what I I want. to see that I want to see you in a. quickwits and um what I really remember. fondly more than anything I did was the. opening of the video has that kind of. late 80s. it's space Oh yeah and cubes spinning.

that have an image on each side of the. cube showing different parts of what. you're GNA see in the video and like. welcome to the and I and you know like. and I just thought we got to find this I. got to find it I've been on a million. game shows and then I also won a toilet. flushing National toilet flushing sound. effect contest once and was all over. like. National people from all over the. country did this this is just a noise. you could make with your mouth it's a.

noise I did make with my mouth and I'm. not going to do again because that's not. what won me the. competion sounds what won the. competition it was just the way I set it. up I slept with. everybody I my way to the top at. the toilet flushing. competition I just love you in bed and I. you're smoking a cigarette and you're. like what' you think uh pretty. good good enough.

to say that I'm King flusher tomorrow I. finally found what I want to give it. away for yeah you're taking a cab home. you're crying and your mascara's. running the next day and the winner is. Matt GLE I love the one who actually. deserves it just being really upset. about it the artist the artist artist. well we learned a lot about each other. yeah let's never talk again okay.