Jordan Leung

It feels surreal,” says Jordan Leung when asked about life as a stand-up comedian. “It’s surreal I’m able to pursue my passion and people actually enjoy the work I create.” It’s a sentiment often felt by creative types, when the line is blurred between personal obsession and professional pursuit. “I remember once,” he continues, “as I was doing sound check for a show, I shed some tears knowing the empty theatre I stood in would soon be filled with people excited to hear my jokes.”

While growing up, Leung was captivated by the way comedians like Stephen Chow and Lydia Shum connected with their audiences. “I think they shaped a subconscious part of me that likes to make people laugh,” Leung explains. Regarded at school as the class clown, he decided to give stand-up a go when he was in New York for post-graduate studies. His first gig changed his life; he remembers an out-of-body experience when everything clicked in place, a moment of discovering his true purpose in life. “I don’t think I slept that night,” he recalls.

After an unplanned return to Hong Kong in 2020, Leung’s reputation as a funny man grew rapidly, with meme lovers flooding to his Instagram page, 69ranch, for culturally relatable puns laced with his signature sarcasm, while on stage his monotone drawl soon had audiences laughing till their stomachs hurt.

From struggling to find consistent bookings, Leung now sells out every performance. Earlier this year, he opened in Hong Kong for American comedian Jim Gaffigan’s Dark Pale Tour. It’s safe to say he’s making waves in the city’s comedy scene, but the 9GAG content director thinks the circle is still too small in Hong Kong. “I’d love to see the genre grow here, to the point where kids will casually say, ‘Let’s go watch a show,’ just as they’d consider, ‘Let’s go karaoke,’ when choosing activities for the night,” he says.