The shirtless party man rolls out on Permission to Party tour with vodka, snacks and jokes about his wife, Shaq and Tracy Morgan
Behind the scenes of Bert Kreischer’s comedy tour chaos
Go behind the scenes of Bert Kreischer’s comedy tour and see the editing bay, bullpen and candid moments.
Entertain This!
- Comedian Bert Kreischer is launching his Permission to Party national comedy tour.
- Bert Kreischer maintains his shirtless, party-animal persona but now attempts to balance it with a healthier lifestyle.
- Bert Kreischer flew to New York City to get permission from former ‘SNL’ star Tracy Morgan to tell the story of their first meeting.
LOS ANGELES − The 45-foot tour bus parked in the driveway is just one unmistakable sign that Bert Kreischer is heading out on his Permission to Party national comedy tour.
Kreischer, 52, also shows off freshly pedicured feet as he steps into the San Fernando Valley home he uses for his podcast kingdom. “They were due,” he says, eyeing the midnight blue nails. “Mostly, it makes you feel sexy.”
Bus and feet ready, the barrel-chested entertainer − who has been shirtless onstage since 2005 and through five Netflix comedy specials − is ready to rip off some James Perse tees during the tour that kicks off Sept. 18 in Rockford, Illinois.
“The inherent problem is that I don’t like shirts. I hate shirts and have so many issues with them,” Kreischer says, grumbling about the paisley button-down his wife LeeAnn insists he wear for his interview with USA TODAY. “On the road, it’s the same type of shirt every night. It comes off easy and it comes off quick.”
In an ever-changing world, Kreischer’s fans can rely on the hell-raising comic staying topless and continuing to lean into his alcohol-inhaling, party-animal persona − even as he turns 53 mid-tour on Nov. 3.
Kreischer shot to unusual and instant fame after a 1997 Rolling Stone profile dubbed the Florida State University sixth-year undergraduate “the top partier at the Number One Party School in the country.” Nearly three decades on, Kreischer insists he’s still partying hard.
“I would argue it’s probably even worse. My game hasn’t changed much,” he says. “But I take bigger stints of sobriety now, and I’m healthier now. I work out every day. I get (hydrating) IVs probably twice a week. I drink water. And I’m more cognizant of my sleep and my recovery.”
When ticking off the items packed into the tour bus parked outside, Kreischer includes “a ton of vodka” (his own brand naturally, started with BFF and podcast partner Tom Segura), water, snacks and a full gym stowed in the bus bay. During his 2023 Tops Off world tour, Kreischer packed three semi-trucks with even more workout equipment.
“We had five electric bikes, a cold plunge, a sauna, a full gymnasium with rowers and assault bikes, compression boots with recliners,” says Kreischer, who talked onstage in the resulting “Lucky” Netflix special about losing 45 pounds on the tour. “I’m so much healthier when I’m on the road, without a doubt.”
Kreischer proudly discusses his just-completed walk-on montage video for the new tour which features freakish party animal feats of strength, set to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” The video includes Kreischer’s now-famous podcast explanation of why, “I’ll never stop drinking,” which includes reasons like, “seeing a sunset with a cocktail.”
“I hold true to that speech,” says Kreischer. “We play this one-minute video showing all my feats of strength combined with my partying. There’s beating (NFL star) Tyreek Hill in a slap contest, body slamming some WWE guys, and beating all the Buccaneers offensive line in a stein-holding contest.”
The party-man image is the cornerstone of Kreischer’s still-expanding empire, which includes starring in the semi-autobiographical Netflix sitcom “Free Bert” (coming in 2026) and three podcasts: Bertcast, 2 Bears, 1 Cave with Segura, and the cooking show Something’s Burning. LeeAnn, his wife 21 years, has her own podcast, Wife of the Party, recorded in their second home/podcast studio, just blocks away from where the couple live as empty-nesters to grown children Georgia, 21, and Ila, 19.
Why is the tour called Permission to Party?
The Permission to Party tour title isn’t about Kreischer seeking approval to cut loose in his 50s. Instead, it celebrates the joy of when people, like seldom-imbibing LeeAnn, join in.
“My wife never parties,” says Kreischer. “But if we’re out to breakfast in Hawaii and she goes, ‘What’s this Kahlua coffee thing? This sounds good’ − it might be 8 a.m. and I have no plans for drinking, and now I’m like ‘All right, we’re getting wasted today.’ It’s that energy that I love about partying, the spontaneousness of it. And every (friend) group has that one teetotaler who never wants to go out or have fun. And the second you break their spirit, you have permission to party.”
Who gets roasted in Permission to Party tour?
LeeAnn will continue to be the affectionate subject of personal and sometimes graphic jokes on the new tour.
“I love my wife, but if I have a good joke where I can trash her, I do it happily,” says Kreischer. “We have a rule in our relationship: If it’s funny, it plays.”
His budding friendship with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal will become joke fodder. “Shaq is always like, ‘Please make fun of me,’ ” says Kreischer.
The comedian traveled to New York City to get the blessing from initially reluctant former “Saturday Night Live” star Tracy Morgan about a personal joke that has never been told before.
“So I flew to New York to tell Tracy Morgan about the first time I met him,” says Kreischer. “He clarified certain areas of the meeting, and then looked at me and says, ‘You have my permission to tell the joke.’ It was such a relief and weight off my shoulders. I may tell the Tracy Morgan story on every tour stop.”
