Mike Rita

Much of the inspiration behind Mike Rita’s comedic material comes from his experiences growing up in a working-class Portuguese immigrant family in the low-income neighbourhood of Bloor and Lansdowne, in West downtown Toronto. Mike’s parents, Carlos Rita and Maria Pimentel de Melo, met in Ribeira Quente, a fishing village in São Miguel island, Azores. Carlos was the son of a fisherman, while Maria was born into a family of peasants. Carlos also fought in the Colonial Wars in Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. The couple immigrated to Canada in 1975 in their early twenties and settled in Toronto, where they married. Carlos worked first as a cobbler and later as a machine metal worker. Maria worked as an office and domestic “cleaning lady” – one of her employers was Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

Born in 1990, Mike was raised to embrace his Portuguese heritage. He was immersed in the communities’ many festivities and other cultural practices, like making wine at home or slaughtering pigs. He learned how to play the accordion and participated in “comboios” with his parents, going door to door singing Christmas carols until three in the morning. Another of Mike’s passions that feature prominently in his comedy and public persona is his love of weed and overall pot culture.

Mike has been a fan of comedy since he was a young boy, going to Toronto’s many storied comedy clubs like Yuk Yuks and Second City since he was legally allowed to at age 16. Two years later, after having dropped out of school and started working in construction, he decided to pursue a career in comedy. In 2010, Mike won the Tim Sims Encouragement Award from Second City. The next day, he quit his construction job and decided to try comedy as a full-time job. Lucky for Mike, Yuk Yuks called him the following day and offered him a job as a touring comedian. That same week, he was hired to host Sunday night open mic events at the pot-smoking lounge, Vapor Central, near Yonge Street and Bloor Avenue. Here, Mike started building his fandom as a “pot comic,” turning Stoner Sundays into one of Toronto’s most popular Sunday night shows.

Weed consumption and its surrounding culture is a major part of Mike’s private and personal life, and his career as a “pot comic.” As someone with ADHD, Mike has relied on weed to manage his focus, time, and other important social skills that people with that disorder tend struggle with. According to Mike, it’s because of weed that he is able to lead a “normal life.” Through Vapor Central, Mike became one of the organizers of Toronto’s 420 rallies to legalize marijuana.

In 2013-15, Mike established himself in Canada’s comedy scene. A significant part of his early and continued success are his Portuguese-Canadian fans. Mike built a large following among the Portuguese diaspora in North America with his YouTube videos and live performances with the Fall River-based Portuguese Kids. With Lusent Group, Mike’s first managers, he and his Portuguese-American peers performed at various locations in Canada, the United States, and Bermuda. Some of Mike’s career milestones include performing to a crowd of 3,000 at Massey Hall on 2015 New Year’s Eve and to about 20,000 people during a 420 rally at Toronto’s Dundas Square. Since then, Mike has been on Just For Laughs seven times and multiple television, radio, and streaming comedy shows, including The Debaters, Comedy in Color, Birbiglia & Friends, Kevin Hart Presents, and Comedy Roast Battles – the latter brought Mike his first nomination for a Canadian Screen Award. Throughout his career, Mike has also worked with famous comedians like Tom Green, Russell Peters, Kevin Hart, and Tommy Chong. In 2020, he started the Mike Rita Sessions Podcast, where he gets high and interacts with his guests. The following year, he launched his video series Legal Weed Reviews with Macaw Studios. More than the venues that have helped propel Mike’s career, his high energy, candour, humility, work ethic, and passion for his craft have made him a fan favourite. His immigrant childhood stories are both unique and relatable to Canada’s ethnically diverse audience and to the Portuguese diaspora around the world who are able to watch him online.

Today, Mike lives in Wasaga Beach with his partner Danielle Morgan and their daughter Aleeya.