Dreams can be made in the funniest of places, but few could point to a visit to their local Asda as a day which kickstarted their career as a successful comedian.
Omagh comedian Aaron McCann, fresh from a recent tour to the United States and with plans to return stateside later this year, picked out a chance encounter with a popular local comedian in the supermarket which gave him the push he needed to give stand-up a go.
Aaron discovered he had a knack for performing when begrudgingly hosting his former school Omagh Academy’s formal awards.
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“I got into it completely by accident. I was asked by the head boy at Omagh Academy to host the formal awards and I said no initially because I had no experience on stage or hosting or anything like that," he said.
“When I turned him down, my teachers sat me down and said they really thought I would regret it if I didn’t do it because they thought I would be really good at it.
“So I thought if they were taking time out of their day to tell me that, maybe there is something there.
“I remember just getting a real buzz from it in the end and coming off I just thought, what the hell was that? That was incredible.
“I went to Daly’s, the local comedy club here in Omagh to see a few local comics and thought they were absolutely brilliant.
“My friend put a notion in my head to say that it wasn’t too far off what I was doing at the formal, and said why don’t I take a swing at it.
“We went to see Colin Geddis, Micky Bartlett and Shane Todd in the Strule Arts Centre then and I remember just thinking, all these guys are absolutely brilliant.
“The next day, me and my friend were in Asda in Omagh and Geddis was there and I just went up and started chatting to him.
“I don’t even know what I was looking from him, but he just said there was a great comedy club in your town so just go for it.
“I spent the next month then using every study period I had in school just frantically writing whatever I could think of at all and that’s how I got going.
“Years have passed now and Colin is one of my best friends and someone I consider to be a mentor. I was best man at his wedding.
“It’s mad how just going up to him in Asda led to all that, and me doing something now that I just couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.”
Aaron has now performed at some of the biggest venues in Northern Ireland and the UK, including the Ulster Hall and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
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He is set for a new show at the Waterfront on 24 June, with tickets coming out for the gig next week.
With the comedy scene in NI now arguably as big as it has ever been, Aaron says the talent coming out of here now justifies the hype around the scene.
“It’s been hectic, crazy and I’m very grateful for all of it.
“I think Tyrone and Northern Ireland in general is full of so many talented people, but I feel like as a country we have this thing instilled in us that we are taught to stay in our lane a wee bit.
“It’s brilliant to see a new crop of comedians coming up every three years and people that genuinely have a real interest in doing this.”
While his style of shows here have gained him success, Aaron plans to relocate to the United States later this year and try to make it big in New York.
After recent visits to the Big Apple and in California, the Omagh man says being a success on the other side of the Atlantic is far from guaranteed, but a challenge he is ready for.
“I was out there in December and I just fell in love with the place, and I feel like it’s where I’d like to be for the next lock of years anyway.
“I love being home and I love Northern Ireland, but I’ve always had this notion of trying my hand at stuff.
“I want to have that feeling again where you are by miles the worst person in the room.
“I’m very fortunate now that I get to play the best comedy clubs over here and I’m able to do a big show every year. Last year I did the Ulster Hall and this year I’m going to do the Waterfront.
“I just love stand up, so the ability to get up on stage every single night of the week is something that is really enticing to me, and something that I really want to chase."
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