Xander De Rycke
Xander De Rycke is a Belgian (Flemish) stand-up comedian, born on December 19, 1987, in Gent. He spent his early years in Zelzate before moving to Eeklo at age eight and returning to Zelzate at sixteen. Raised by his mother, he never knew his father, and she struggled with alcoholism. At eighteen, he made the decision to leave school and pursue stand-up comedy as a career. His upbringing and experiences appear to inform much of his comedic material. De Rycke began his career earning recognition early on, winning the Homo Cabarectus talent competition on March 30, 2006, and reaching the final of the Lunatic Comedy Award in December 2006. He continued his success by winning the Comedy Casino Cup in early 2007, with Alex Agnew serving as his coach. Following this victory, he toured as an opening act for Alex Agnew’s show 'Morimos Solamente' from 2007 to 2008. He established the ‘A Joker Comedy Night’ series in August 2008 and debuted his first full-length show, Uw Zoete 666, in October of that year, which toured until May 2010 and was later released on DVD in October 2010. Throughout the 2010s, De Rycke continued to develop his comedic style with shows like Mijn Zwarte Parade (premiering in 2012), Zijn Derde Show (2013), and the anniversary show 10 jaar bezig (2015-2016). He launched the year-end show Houdt het voor bekeken in 2016, which he continues to host annually. His autobiography, titled 'Het leven is kak, en dan wordt het grappig,' was released in 2011. More recently, from 2022 to 2025, De Rycke co-hosted the radio show De Roo en De Rycke. Competing on 'De Slimste Mens ter Wereld' in 2024, and delivering a highly-regarded performance of 'XDR15' at the Lotto Arena in November 2021, showcased his ongoing involvement in Belgian entertainment.
