Take My Brother, Please: The Lopriores’ Comedy Careers Are Rooted in Avalon
Proud parents Diane and Danny Lopriore pose outside the comedy club in New York.
Relocated from a New York City suburb to quiet seaside Avalon in 1997, Danny and Michael Lopriore spent five formative years on the Seven Mile beaches before the family moved back north in 2001.
Twenty-five years later, the “boys” are social media comedy celebrities with a decade of success beginning with short video skits on Vine and moving on to several podcast, streaming and gaming platforms.
The siblings are partners on the Lopriore Podcast, an ever-evolving, irreverent, pulsating mix of music parodies, impersonations, and observational comedy with 20,000 subscribers. The weekly show has thousands of avid followers and fans who interact online via Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and Twitter.
Enjoying growing success over the last four years, Danny responded to fans’ demand for in-person performances, launching a solo career “live” on stage at the Carolines on Broadway comedy club.
“My first stand-up show was special, man,” Lopriore says. “I have never done stand-up before and preparing for an hour-long show was rigorous and anxiety-riddled. I didn’t want to let the audience down. I’ve spent over a decade building this audience, building my self-belief. Building to this moment was almost like living in a movie.”
Lopriore says his entire life flashed before his eyes just before he hit the stage in front of 300 screaming fans.
“Walking out to a sold-out room really made it sink in for me,” he says. “Standing ovations at the end of the shows mustered a lot of emotions. It was an out-of-body experience. Hard work pays off, right? So, to everyone out there with a dream, hold onto it, make it a reality. Talented people are often afraid to fail. I was like that, too. Do not fear failure. The real failure is not trying.”
Older brother Mike, an award-winning Viner who entertained more than a million followers with his short comic videos, now hosts his own one-man frantic performance-art stream on Twitch, where he does improvisation, songs, and interactive gaming during frantic, hours-long broadcasts.
Mike, who is managed by Nappy Boy Gaming with rapper and recording artist producer T-Pain, believes his Avalon years are a deep influence on his life and career.
“Growing in Avalon was both scary and beautiful,” he says. “Everything was new and exciting. But it was scary being the new kids from New York. You couldn’t beat the views and the sound of the ocean at night, but Danny and I kind of felt like we were the outsiders.”
The boys, 8 and 10 when they arrived in Avalon, turned to humor as a way of connecting.
“The older crowd was always the crowd I liked to be around, and they liked to keep me around because I could make them laugh,” Danny remembers. “That’s where I performed my first “shows.” Trying to make people laugh at rec center nights.”
Mike says “being funny” as a kid led to what is now a lucrative career.
“Growing up can be intimidating and children can be ruthless, but our humor is what made people see us for us,” he says. “Making the other kids laugh and having them tell us how funny we were was addicting. It still is.”
Danny’s first goal was to fit in “full time” at the Shore, where the family spent a fun week each summer on vacation since 1983.
“When you’re in third grade and move to a new state or town, your mind immediately goes to friends,” he says. “It was an adjustment for me. I remember walking on the beach with my family and seeing the water. I thought to myself, ‘I don’t know how to swim. I don’t know how to surf, skim board, any of that.’”
Memories of the first day of school are still vivid.
“My parents told me to just be myself,” he says. “When I walked into class, I saw 12 other kids and asked the teacher [Mrs. Ross] how many were in my grade. She said, ‘This is your entire class.’ I was dumbfounded. I sat next to Alex Colin and Stephen Desalis, who welcomed me right away. They became close friends, showing me the baseball card shop, where to rent movies, where to get pizza and my favorite place, the boardwalk arcade! Keith Nielsen was also a great friend who I stay connected with to this day.”
Athletics also helped the brothers build a close group of friends.
“We played ball with the Coskey brothers, Steve, Mike. Their older brother Dave, who reminded me of my older brother Jared, was great to us. Steve reached out to me on Instagram after the show, it was nice to hear from him,” Danny says. “Their parents always had us around the house and let us hang out even when we drove them crazy.”
“Dave Sr. worked for the Philadelphia 76ers, so we would be able to go to games and watch the Knicks lose. It’s because of him I was able to meet my favorite athlete of all time, Allen Iverson. So, I owe him big time for that. Thanks, Mr. Coskey.”
Mike said growing up in Avalon was life-changing.
“The bond you build with the ocean and the small-town friendships. I miss it all,” he says. “We’re still cool with several of our friends, who have shown so much respect for our work. Shout-out to Joey Schuck, Sam ‘Woody’ Wierman, aka the president of Avalon Borough Council, and our buddies Keith Neilsen, Dennis Howe and Leif Salvesen.
“And of course, the Coskeys, who have been family friends forever. I still dream of getting a house of my own in Avalon. The love we gained was humbling. I truly believe it was our humor that allowed us into people’s hearts.”
The Lopriores also use their platforms to raise awareness for mental health issues, which each experienced on their own journeys, and in support of charities like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and “Feeding America.” Danny’s “Off the Cuff” podcast features influential entrepreneurs, athletes, influencers, celebrities, and mental health professionals who discuss mental health with the mission of breaking the stigmas.
“No conversation is off the table,” Danny says. “No feeling is wrong. We talk about the good, the bad and the ugly, all in the name of helping each other feel less alone and understanding what is truly going on in our minds. We all experience struggles and need support.”
And the struggles and life experiences have paid off in fulfilled “funny” dreams that began on the Shore 25 years ago.