At 25 years old, Jake Shane's life took an unexpected turn. In 2023, he was an executive assistant in the music industry, with dreams of working in the "A&R" side. But a year later, everything changed. His comedic content on TikTok went viral, leading to the success of his Therapuss podcast and the recording of his first comedy album, "Puss and Poems", which featured stars like Joe Jonas and Snookie. His previous manager became his mentor and propelled him to new heights.

Overcoming Challenges

Success didn't come easily for Shane. He struggled with anxiety and OCD. Back in October, he shared on The Squeeze podcast that he was diagnosed with OCD at 21 and had lived with it untreated for a long time. His parents were against medication, but he found comfort in his hyperfixation on pop stars like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. As he wrote in an article in Highsnobiety in May, "Something about female pop stars made the world go quiet. (Hyperfixation, a symptom of OCD itself, was in fact my only comfort). My OCD wasn't fixed, but falling into the world of pop stars gave me the confidence to address these issues head-on."Now, Shane is close to his favorite pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo and Tate McRae. He still gets starstruck when he meets them. "You see someone on your screen or listen to them in your ears, and then you see them in person. It's still exciting," he says.

Acting Dreams and Mentorship

One of Shane's biggest dreams is to get into acting. He follows the words of wisdom from "Twisters" star Glen Powell like they're "words of the Bible". He interviewed Powell on an episode of Therapuss in May and now considers him an important mentor. "Glen knows so much about building your own brand, persona and getting into the space. Talking to him is really inspiring and he always knows what to say," Shane says. Some of the best advice he got from Powell is "The art of this town is playing by the rules and making it look like your own."Even as he pursues his acting dreams, Shane will always be a "fangirl". Interviewing top stars like Swift and Ariana Grande is still at the top of his bucket list.

Dealing with Success

In light of his current success, Shane finds that making sure his audience is happy gives him more anxiety than the attention on him. "The more eyes on me just means I'm doing a good job," he says. He knows his fans are there for his comedy, not his looks. When he doesn't feel funny, he gets anxious. But having his close friends and fans to lean on helps keep him grounded. "I don't think people outside the fanbase understand the community we built together. They are so supportive of everything I do. I couldn't ask for a better community of people," he adds.