Matt Rife is living his comedy dream. Now for the hard part — maintaining it

Shortly after becoming the youngest stand-up comedian in history to sell out the Hollywood Bowl during the second installment of Netflix is a Joke in May, Matt Rife's tireless pursuit of success finally caught up to him.His performance schedule clocking 40 to 50 shows a month led to a stretch of consecutive days without sleep as he stayed up prepping for shows, editing social videos and barreling from city to city. Though his body and mind were getting shaky on tour, he fought through it.Finally, just before a recent pair of shows in Indiana, he said he almost collapsed while leaving his hotel room and was forced to cancel the gigs just hours before showtime. Suffering blurred vision and painful ringing in his ears, he could barely walk or talk and had to be taken to the emergency room.“I felt like I was legitimately dying,” Rife said during an interview at the Kookaburra Lounge in Hollywood. “It’s embarrassing, man, because everybody around me saw this coming.” His piercing blue eyes...