"You need to have the confidence to say something, and you need to have the insecurity to improve."

When Amazon told Andrew Schulz to cut jokes about Ted Bundy, abortion, and Michael Jackson from his 2022 special "Infamous," most comedians would have complied. Instead, Schulz took his life savings (more than a million dollars) and bought the special back.

Then he did something wild. He released it himself at $15 a ticket through Moment House, the same platform Justin Bieber uses. First day: $500,000 in sales. First week: over a million. Final count: three times what Amazon had offered.

"I'm a very stubborn guy," he said on Flagrant. "Long story short, I took my fucking life savings and I bought my special back."

That wasn't just business strategy. That was Schulz showing you exactly who he is: someone who can't tolerate being controlled, limited, or told what to do. Months later, he posted "Infamous" on YouTube for free. It now has over 10 million views. And once you understand why he operates this way, everything about the controversial jokes and the empire starts to make sense.

TL;DR: Why Andrew Schulz is an Enneagram Type 7
  • Fear of Limitation Drives Everything: Schulz's entire career is built on refusing to be constrained. Not by networks. Not by platforms. Not by cultural expectations. That fear of limitation? It's the core fear of every Type 7.
  • Reframes Pain as Opportunity: When venues cancel him or platforms demand edits, Schulz transforms rejection into fuel. His "Infamous" special buyback turned a setback into his biggest win. Classic Type 7 positive reframing.
  • Never in One Lane: Podcasting, stand-up, acting, YouTube, merchandise. Schulz refuses to stay in one box. Type 7s are generalists who fear missing out and need variety to feel alive.
  • The 8 Wing Shows Up in Battle: Unlike gentler Type 7s, Schulz's 7w8 configuration makes him confrontational, willing to clash with anyone who threatens his autonomy. "The future is ownership, not censorship" is pure Type 8 energy.
  • Uses Insecurity as Fuel: Schulz openly discusses needing both confidence AND insecurity to succeed. This self-awareness about his inner turmoil reflects the Type 7's relationship with their own anxiety.

What is Andrew Schulz's Personality Type?

Andrew Schulz is an Enneagram Type 7 with an 8 Wing (7w8)

Enneagram Type 7s are called "The Enthusiast" because they're hungry. Hungry for new experiences, ideas, and opportunities. But beneath that hunger is something darker: the fear of being trapped, limited, or deprived of freedom.

That's Schulz. His entire career has been about tearing down anything that could box him in. Networks. Streaming platforms. Cultural gatekeepers. Even the traditional comedy club circuit. He's gone after all of them.

The 8 wing adds a combative edge that pure 7s often lack. While a 7w6 might seek safety in alliances and structures, the 7w8 fights for independence. These are the entrepreneurs, the disruptors, the ones who'd rather build their own empire than ask permission to join someone else's.

Put those together and you get someone who's optimistic but ready to fight. Forward-looking but protective of what's his. Charming until you cross him, then brutally direct.

What Schulz's Comedy Actually Looks Like

Watch Schulz on stage and you'll understand the psychology in action.

He doesn't stand still. He paces with intention, turns sharply, gestures with his whole body. His long limbs become part of the joke. The taller the movement, the funnier the bit.

He bounces around the stage like he's got too much energy to contain. Because he does.

His delivery is rapid-fire. Topics shift quickly. Observation, storytelling, controversial take, crowd roast, all in one breath. Nothing is off limits: race, culture, politics, relationships. He works crowds that are among the most diverse in comedy, with fans fighting for front-row seats just to be in the crosshairs.

The crowd work is where the Type 7 really shows.

In 2019, Schulz released "The Crowd Work Special" on YouTube. Thirty minutes of pure improvisation, no prepared jokes. Just him reading strangers in real time and building entire bits on the spot. He'd film seven shows in a weekend hoping to catch one electric clip.

That's pure Type 7 need for stimulation. The adrenaline of not knowing what comes next. The thrill of creating something from nothing.

Prepared material feels static to him. The improvisation feels alive.

Annual compilations of his best crowd work moments get 8+ million views. Critics have compared his heckler handling to Jimmy Carr. One reviewer put it simply: "Schulz is so talented, intelligent, and genuinely witty, that his improvised jokes are funnier than the scripted gags of most comics whose name-recognition eclipses his own."

Andrew Schulz's Upbringing

Andrew Schulz was born on October 30, 1983, in Manhattan's East Village. His background mixed cultures and disciplines in ways that shaped everything about how he sees the world.

His mother, Sandra Cameron, was a Scottish immigrant and professional ballroom dancer. His father, Larry Schulz, came from German and Irish roots and served as both a reporter and military veteran. Together, they owned the Sandra Cameron Dance Center in Lower Manhattan for three decades.

Growing up above a dance studio changes you.

Schulz watched his parents build something from nothing. Discipline and hustle, every day. His mother's immigrant work ethic. His father's storytelling instincts from journalism. He absorbed all of it.

He attended New York City public schools (Lillie Devereaux Blake Primary, Robert F. Wagner Middle, and Baruch College Campus High). Then he went west to UC Santa Barbara, graduating with a degree in Psychology.

That psychology degree matters more than people realize.

Schulz didn't just stumble into understanding human behavior. He studied it formally. His crowd work, his ability to read rooms, his understanding of what makes people tick? It's not just talent. It's trained observation.

Rise to Fame

Schulz's path to comedy wasn't direct. He was managing a restaurant in New York when a producer from the venue's comedy night asked him to get on stage. He did. And something clicked.

But the traditional comedy path wasn't working. Networks weren't calling. Streaming deals weren't materializing. For many comedians, this would mean giving up or grinding indefinitely.

For a Type 7w8, it meant building something new.

Around 2017, Schulz noticed something: the gatekeepers were failing comedians. Specials sat unreleased. Content got edited. Voices got sanitized.

So he did what no one else was doing. He released his special "4:4:1" directly on YouTube.

Everything changed after that.

He followed it with his podcast work. The Brilliant Idiots with Charlamagne tha God gave him exposure. But it was Flagrant (originally "Flagrant 2") with Akaash Singh that became his empire-building platform.

The Flagrant dynamic matters. Schulz doesn't work alone. He needs people to bounce off. Akaash Singh as co-host, Mark Gagnon adding chaos, AlexxMedia behind the boards. The chemistry turns what could be a solo rant into collaborative comedy.

Joe Rogan has appeared on Flagrant. Schulz has been on The Joe Rogan Experience multiple times (episodes #1846 and #2132). Mark Normand comes through for particularly unhinged episodes.

This isn't a comedian isolated from the scene. He's connected to the biggest names, just on his own terms.

The formula was simple:

  • Own your content
  • Build direct relationships with audiences
  • Diversify revenue streams (Patreon, merch, touring, YouTube)
  • Never give anyone the power to tell you no

His 2018 album "5:5:1" hit #1 on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon, and the Billboard comedy charts. His Netflix special "Schulz Saves America" premiered in December 2020.

And then came the Trump interview.

On October 9, 2024, Schulz released a 90-minute conversation with Donald Trump on Flagrant. No network permission. No corporate approval. Just a podcast getting the former president three weeks before the election.

Three hours later, he got an email from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. They'd been scheduled to host his next special taping. The email read: "After some internal discussion with leadership, it was decided that BAM is not the right fit for this show at this time."

Schulz's response on the podcast: "Fuck them forever."

BAM claimed the decision was made before the Trump episode dropped. Schulz didn't buy it. Neither did most observers who noticed that BAM's board chair, Diane Max, is also on Planned Parenthood's national board, an organization that had endorsed Kamala Harris months earlier.

What did Schulz do? He booked the Beacon Theatre instead. A bigger, more prestigious venue. And he made sure to mention that Flagrant had also invited Kamala Harris to appear. Her team declined.

That's the 7w8 playbook: when someone tries to limit you, find a bigger stage.

The Psychology of Control

Type 7s fear deprivation and limitation above all else. They stay in constant motion to avoid feeling trapped. Most of them don't even realize this is what's driving them.

They just know they hate being told "no."

Type 8 energy craves autonomy. Not power for power's sake. It's about never being in a position where someone else can hurt you or take what's yours.

Combine those two? You get someone who will torch a perfectly good streaming deal rather than let anyone edit his jokes.

"The future is ownership, not censorship," Schulz has said. "The companies that get that are starting to succeed. The creators who get that are succeeding."

For him, this isn't business strategy. It's survival.

His Unusual Relationship with Insecurity

Most public figures hide their insecurities. Schulz broadcasts them.

On Lewis Howes' "The School of Greatness," he said something that shows how well he knows himself:

"In order to be great, you need to have crippling anxiety about your skill level... you need to have intense scrutiny, and you also need to have the confidence to do more."

He continued: "You need insecurity. I'm grateful for it. You need to look at somebody and be like, 'Oh, they can do this better than me. So I need to get better than them.'"

That's unusual for a Type 7. Sevens typically avoid negative emotions. They'd rather stay positive.

But Schulz has figured out how to use his anxiety instead of running from it. He's turned the fear of not being good enough into fuel for improvement.

That's healthy growth. When Sevens mature, they move toward Type 5. They get more analytical. More willing to sit with discomfort. More strategic. Schulz's psychology degree and the methodical way he's built his empire show he's reached this level.

Controversies and Criticism

No analysis of Schulz would be complete without addressing the controversies. And there are many.

The Kendrick Lamar situation: In August 2024, Schulz made jokes on Flagrant about white men who "get slapped" by their Black girlfriends. Three months later, Kendrick Lamar's album "GNX" dropped with what appeared to be a direct response on "Wacced Out Murals": "Don't let no white comedian talk about no Black woman, that's law."

Schulz's response? He doubled down on Flagrant, making sexual jokes about Kendrick and saying "the only thing he could do is decide if it's consensual or not." Four months later on The Breakfast Club, he was still making references to wanting to "make love" to Lamar, this time referencing Kendrick's Super Bowl halftime outfit.

Classic 7w8: attacked, so attack harder.

Venue cancellations: Massey Hall in Toronto canceled his shows after "researching" his material. The Brooklyn Academy of Music canceled his special after he hosted Trump on Flagrant.

Platform disputes: His "Schulz Saves America" Netflix special drew criticism for anti-Asian content during the pandemic. Critics have repeatedly called out his use of ableist language and racially charged material.

What's interesting is that Schulz doesn't back down from any of this. He leans in.

For a 7w8, criticism doesn't trigger retreat. It triggers attack. The 8 wing means Schulz feels any attempt to silence him as an attack on his freedom. When 8s feel attacked, they push harder.

He's said that "censorship is kind of good for comedy" because it makes certain voices louder and more culturally powerful. That's not contrarian posturing. It's a genuine belief that constraint creates resistance, and resistance creates power.

Whether you like his material or not, this explains why he keeps pushing boundaries that cost him venues, platforms, and public goodwill.

Personal Life: A Different Kind of Stability

In December 2021, Schulz married Emma Turner in Montecito, California. They'd been together since 2015, having met at a mutual friend's birthday party in the West Village.

Emma's background is interesting: NYU graduate, MBA from Stern, now a program manager for AI projects at Apple. She runs a recipe blog called Blistered Peppers. Accomplished in her own right and notably private despite being married to one of comedy's most controversial figures.

Here's the revealing dynamic: They have a rule. Schulz is never allowed to talk about their private life in crowd work unless he clears the premise with her first. In exchange, Emma gets final cut on any story he wants to tell about her on a podcast.

That's a Type 7 negotiating with commitment. He doesn't give up the freedom to talk about his life, but he builds in a structure that respects her boundaries. Independence with accountability.

On Flagrant, he's shared the proposal story: how Emma was complaining that calling him her "boyfriend" felt "juvenile" during interviews for her master's program. Schulz responded: "Yeah, we should change that" and dropped to one knee right there.

In February 2024, they welcomed their daughter Shiloh Jean Schulz. The pregnancy came through IVF, a struggle Schulz has been open about.

For a Type 7, settling down can be terrifying. Marriage and parenthood mean commitment, stability, routine. All things that can feel like limitation to someone wired to avoid being trapped.

But his 2025 Netflix special "LIFE" shows a different Schulz. The material focuses on Emma, the IVF journey, and new fatherhood. Critics noticed a tension between the emotional honesty and his usual edgy persona. That tension might be the point.

That's growth. Type 7s have to learn that depth and commitment don't mean limitation. Some of life's best stuff requires staying put rather than moving on.

What Andrew Schulz's Success Reveals

Schulz hasn't just built a career. He's created a blueprint. Other comedians now follow his model of direct-to-audience distribution, diversified revenue, and ownership over content.

But what makes his psychology work?

1. He's honest about his motivations. Schulz knows he's driven by both confidence and insecurity. He doesn't pretend to be beyond human psychology.

2. He channels fear into action. Where other Type 7s might distract themselves from anxiety, Schulz uses it as fuel for improvement and competition.

3. He's built structures that match his psychology. Rather than fighting his need for independence, he created a business model that gives him complete autonomy.

4. He's learned when to fight and when to build. The 8 wing could make him purely combative, but he's channeled that energy into construction, not just destruction.

The Question Beneath the Jokes

Strip away the controversial material and the business empire. What you find is someone deeply afraid of being limited.

And he's very, very good at making sure he never is.

Every joke that pushes boundaries, every platform he builds, every deal he walks away from comes back to the same thing: making sure no one can tell Andrew Schulz what he's allowed to say or who he's allowed to be.

Is that admirable independence or destructive defiance? Depends on whether you like his jokes.

But look past the controversy and you see something most people can relate to: the need for freedom, the fear of constraint, and how far we'll go to protect our autonomy.

What would you build if you refused to let anyone tell you no?