Over four years of hitting up stand-up comedy stages around the country, former Marine scout sniper Justin Governale’s big break came when he ended up on the popular comedy podcast “Kill Tony.” However, Governale’s time at the mic had one unexpected outcome: Helping connect a fallen Marine’s family with those who served with him.
Governale has had some show business success since leaving the Marines, appearing on two seasons of Naked and Afraid. But he got an even bigger break on Monday when he was called on to the stage of the “Kill Tony” podcast, a sort of boot camp-style hazing session for would-be stand-up comics.
Naturally, Governale immediately informed the audience that he was a Marine veteran (as Marines tend to do), before launching into a stand-up routine about the Corps’ unique brand of humor.
“Kill Tony” has a massive audience. Governale’s episode had nearly 3 million views just three days after being posted. One of them was Morgan Snyder whose brother, Marine scout sniper Lance Cpl. Sergio Snyder, passed away in 2022.
“I was watching “Kill Tony,” as one does on a Monday night, and Justin came on,” Morgan told Task & Purpose. “I had never personally heard of him, but his bit immediately caught my attention, talking about all things Marine and not Marine-related. After the set, he mentioned being a scout sniper. When I heard that, it immediately grabbed my attention because my brother was one, and that was just the most badass thing in the world.”
Sergio, who was not currently serving in the Marine Corps, died Aug. 29, 2022, after complications of an undiagnosed heart problem resulted in a cardiac arrest, according to his mother, Phyllis Snyder.
Watching the show, Morgan thought, “‘Man, I wonder if he knows my brother.’ It wasn’t anything crazy that I was looking for — I wasn’t looking for anything specific. I sat there and just pondered on it for a while, and I’m like, how cool would it be if he knew my brother? Any type of connection that I can make with my brother, still to this day, I’ll cling on to anything that I can get.”
Morgan reached out to Governale through Instagram, asking if he had served with Sergio. While Governale and Sergio didn’t serve together, the Marine sniper community is small, and so he posted to his Facebook account asking if anyone had served with the fallen Marine.
“Sure as shit, boom, a bunch of dudes were like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m so sad to hear this passing.’ Most of the boys had no idea,” Governale said.
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Governale said he has been driving from San Antonio to Austin, Texas, every weekend for more than a year for a chance to get on the “Kill Tony” show. Governale’s bit hit on a brand of raunchy humor more common in enlisted Marine barracks than mainstream comedy shows. “Combat didn’t make me hard, it was the group showers” was the start of his minute-long segment.
After he finished, the show’s host, Tony Hinchcliffe, questioned Governale’s gay-in-the-Corps jokes, saying “All we know about you is you talked about being gay, but you’re not gay,” before moving into an interview segment where Governale discussed his service in more detail.
Though Governale said he can do better, Hinchcliffe gave him a small jokebook, signifying he had a decent routine. Those who do well on the show get a big jokebook, whereas those who fail get booed off the stage. The “Kill Tony” jokebooks don’t guarantee a spot on the stage again, but it’s an encouragement and a way of rating a comedian’s performance.
“I was trying to know my audience, say some of my shit on stage with the intent of them sharing it, and I think it worked. Now, look where we’re at. We wouldn’t be doing this article if I didn’t do Marine stuff because it led me to the family of a Marine scout sniper who recently passed,” Governale said.
Connected by Governale, several Marines who served with Sergio have sent messages to his family, mostly funny stories.
“Sergio never shared anything about his time with us in the Marines. Those are things that he never talked about. I didn’t know what that was like for him,” said Phyllis, Sergio’s mother. “He didn’t talk about good times. He didn’t talk about bad times. He did say that he had a great connection with his [Marine Corps] brothers.”
Phyllis said Sergio always had a smile on his face, but they noticed something was off. He had joined the Marine Corps ten days after graduating high school and served for five years, getting out in 2010.
“When he came home, I felt like he was going through a difficult time where he couldn’t be around family a lot at the time because there was a disconnect between him and the family,” Phyllis said. “I think he felt like he couldn’t be around us because there were things he was going through. So I think knowing about all the good and bad would actually help us understand why he felt like he had to disconnect himself.”
Morgan and her brother had a shared love for stand-up comedy. She recalled her memories of watching episodes of “Chapelle’s Show” with her brother despite her probably being too young at the time. She said she thinks her brother would have enjoyed Governale’s bit.
“He would have absolutely died. He would have thought that show was hilarious because Sergio was just like that,” Morgan said.
Phyllis said connecting with her son’s fellow Marines has been an unexpected gift after losing Sergio.
“When you lose a child, it’s like you just want to hold on to anything that you can, just anything that’s left of them. If you don’t have those physical things, having memories and stories, hearing his name, the stories about him, and hearing people talk about him is such a gift,” she said. “It’s just the best. It’s just the best thing someone can give you.”
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