Comedian Tricky Niki:

“I had major complexes in my youth”

Tricky Niki taught himself ventriloquism. He is coming to the Bachschmiede with his new show "Größenwahn" on April 13.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

It was a long way until Tricky Niki was able to laugh at himself. The memories from his youth still run deep today.

"When three girls you're madly in love with tell you in your youth: 'If only you were ten centimetres taller', the sting runs deep," says entertainer Tricky Niki. The 48-year-old has now turned his supposed disadvantage into an advantage. He taught himself ventriloquism and magic. In his new program "Größenwahn", he even pokes fun at himself with his height of 1.70 meters.

People have really said all sorts of things to me. Gnome, dwarf Bumsti... I had really huge complexes about it in my youth.

Tricky Niki

But it was a long way before he was ready to joke about it openly in front of an audience. "People have called me all sorts of things. Gnome, dwarf Bumsti... I had really huge complexes in my youth and didn't even want to go to school anymore because of it," admits the entertainer. He now loves to laugh at himself, but also admits: "I see my new program as a kind of therapy in which I work through my size complex together with the audience in a very funny way."

The comedian seems to have already successfully overcome the size problem in connection with women. His ex-girlfriend was a proud 1.86 meters tall. "I had no problem with that at all." What still gives the Vienna-born comedian a bit of a headache, however, is social media. "I would recommend young people who are also bullied to simply delete their online channels. It's better to surround yourself with real friends who know and like you."

Giving other people encouragement and rays of hope through his entertainment shows is the most important thing for Tricky Niki. "Once a seriously ill woman came up to me after the show and thanked me for finally allowing her to forget her everyday life for a few hours. You just stand there and think to yourself: it's crazy what you can change with a bit of nonsense and ventriloquism."