The Melbourne based comedy group, Sooshi Mango have had us crying with laughter since their first ever YouTube skit went viral back in 2015. Made up of the two brothers Joe and Carlo Salanitri and close friend Andrew Manfre, their hilarious skits play off the Greek stereotypes they grew up alongside. With over 70 million views online, Sooshi Mango have cemented their selves as Australian comedy heros. We caught up with the group to get to know Sooshi Mango a little better.
How did Sooshi Mango first start?
Joe did a video ranting about not getting a thank you wave when driving and posted it on Facebook which kind of lit the flame. Shortly after Carlo and one of his friends joined Joe and did a video in the car and we adopted the name Sooshi Mango. But the group formed entirely when Carlo invited Andrew to shoot a video with the group. One night we all got together and shot some random stuff that just made us laugh among ourselves. We posted it and the rest is history!
How did it feel having when your first skit go viral?
Amazing! We didn’t know what was going on! It was flying and we were all texting each other during it. It happened very shortly after we started so we kind of weren’t expecting it. It was our video Italians Vs Greeks. So many people were sending us dm’s and we seemed to just strike a nerve and find our groove. In some ways that was the real birth of Sooshi Mango.
What’s your favourite skit you have done in the past?
We have quite a few that we like but one of our favourites that is a little more recent is the “ when ethnics say gooodbye “ vid. This is a snap shot into our childhoods and re-enacts the very very very long process of saying goodbye to family and friends after family visits. The waiting was painful but it now makes for good comedy to re-enact it!
Why do you think Aussies love Sooshi Mango so much?
It’s probably a mix of things. A lot of people relate to our stuff and it’s nostalgic for them. Others just love the characters we have made and the style of comedy we do. We seem to have crossed into many cultures and ethnicities which is great because we have always wanted to bring people together no matter where they are from. It still amazes us how diverse our fan base is and no one appreciates their fans more than us.
Sooshi Mango has been around for 5 years now, how do you keep things fresh?
5 years is nothing in this game. We are still considered babies. It’s been a wild and fast ride to where we have gotten so far. It’s easy keeping it fresh. We are three creative guys and comedy literally runs our life. We are joking with each other 99% of the time so coming up with stuff is natural and pretty easy. We have only just begun!
What’s been your most memorable moment as Sooshi Mango?
Definitely when we sold out the Palais threatre in St Kilda. It’s the largest theatre in Australia and it was a return leg show to close out our first solo tour. We had toured across Australia and done 35 shows prior to that so to have that end our first solo tour was just so emotional and overwhelming. We’ll never forget that.
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