Keith Habersberger

Nationalities

Keith Habersberger is an American improviser, content creator, and comedian born June 18, 1987, in Carthage, Tennessee. A graduate of Illinois State University's School of Theatre and Dance, he co-led Improv Mafia to a national championship at the College Improv Tournament in 2008, toured with Mission Improvable, and co-founded the sketch and improv group Octavarius before co-creating The Try Guys at BuzzFeed in 2014. His career traces a direct line from college and Chicago improv training to one of the most successful digital comedy ventures of the 2010s.

Habersberger arrived at Illinois State University on a French horn scholarship but gravitated toward the School of Theatre and Dance, graduating in 2008 with an acting degree. He became co-president of Improv Mafia, the campus improv group, during his senior year. In 2008, Improv Mafia won the national championship at the College Improv Tournament, defeating twenty-four teams at the Chicago Improv Festival. The victory demonstrated that collegiate improv programs could produce competition-ready performers on par with those emerging from established urban scenes.

After graduation, Habersberger moved to Chicago and joined Mission Improvable in July 2009, a touring improv company that brought live unscripted comedy to venues across the country. He toured full-time for approximately two years, performing hundreds of shows and developing the audience-engagement skills that would later distinguish his digital content work. He also co-founded Octavarius, a sketch and improv group composed of Illinois State alumni, which produced over one hundred original sketch shows and sold-out runs at ComedySportz Theater in Chicago. Habersberger additionally produced the College Improv Tournament in collaboration with Chicago Improv Festival Productions, giving back to the competitive circuit where he had first gained recognition.

In summer 2013, Habersberger relocated to Los Angeles and joined BuzzFeed Motion Pictures in January 2014 as a video intern. He advanced to producer and development partner roles. That same year, he co-created The Try Guys with Ned Fulmer, Eugene Lee Yang, and Zach Kornfeld. The group originated from a brainstorming session focused on boundary-pushing challenge content, and their videos quickly went viral. The Try Guys' format drew directly on improvisational principles: unscripted reactions, genuine ensemble dynamics, and the willingness to embrace failure publicly.

In September 2020, The Try Guys departed BuzzFeed to form 2nd Try LLC, their independent production company. Habersberger serves as executive producer and on-camera talent, specializing in food-focused content through series like Eat the Menu and Without A Recipe. In May 2024, 2nd Try launched 2ndTry TV, a subscription streaming service.

Habersberger co-founded Lewberger, a comedy music trio with Alex Lewis and Hughie Stone Fish. Lewberger appeared on NBC's Bring the Funny in 2019 and advanced through multiple rounds on America's Got Talent Season 16 in 2021. He co-authored The Hidden Power of F*cking Up (2019) with his Try Guys co-creators.

Historical Context

Habersberger's trajectory from Illinois State University improv champion to digital comedy pioneer illustrates how the skills cultivated in collegiate and Chicago improv translate into new media formats. His time with Improv Mafia coincided with a growing recognition of college improv programs as legitimate training grounds. The College Improv Tournament, which he both won and later helped produce, created a competitive pipeline that connected campus performers to the professional improv world.

His years with Mission Improvable and Octavarius in Chicago placed him in the city's broader comedy ecosystem during a period when digital content was beginning to challenge traditional comedy career paths. The transition from touring improv to BuzzFeed reflected a generational shift: performers trained in live ensemble comedy recognized that the spontaneity, collaborative dynamic, and audience-responsive energy of improv could power digital video content that reached millions rather than hundreds. The Try Guys' success validated this model, demonstrating that improvisational training produced performers uniquely suited to the unscripted, high-energy format that dominated online comedy in the 2010s.

Teaching Philosophy

Habersberger's approach to comedy reflects the ensemble-first ethos of his improv training. As co-president of Improv Mafia and later a producer of the College Improv Tournament, he invested in creating competitive structures that pushed collegiate improvisers to develop rapidly. His production of over one hundred original sketch shows with Octavarius at ComedySportz Theater in Chicago demonstrated a commitment to high-volume creative output as a development method. The Keith and Becky Habersberger Scholarship at Illinois State's School of Theatre and Dance specifically supports theatre majors committed to diversity and inclusion, reflecting a belief that improv and performance training should be accessible to students from all backgrounds. His career models how improvisational training can prepare performers for creative entrepreneurship beyond the traditional stage.

Legacy

Habersberger represents a generation of improvisers who carried their training from traditional stages into digital media, reaching audiences exponentially larger than live theatre could accommodate. The Try Guys, which built a YouTube following of millions, operated on principles familiar to any improv ensemble: genuine group dynamics, willingness to fail, and spontaneous reactions to novel situations. Habersberger's establishment of the Keith and Becky Habersberger Scholarship at Illinois State's School of Theatre and Dance, supporting theatre majors committed to diversity and inclusion, reflects a commitment to the institutional pipeline that launched his own career. His continued involvement in comedy music through Lewberger maintains a connection to live performance even as his primary platform is digital.