Kalpakis began his career in
Hollywood, Los Angeles. In 2006, he started performing as a student at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in
Los Angeles. In 2007, he started a sketch comedy group there, The Birthday Boys, with friends he met at Ithaca College. They quickly came to prominence on the
Internet, also making sketch comedy videos for
Funny or Die. In 2010, Kalpakis took on a role as a writing teacher at UCB LA, where he met
Scott Aukerman, who offered him a guest spot on his podcast,
Comedy Bang! Bang!. When it was adapted into a
TV series in 2012, Aukerman offered Kalpakis a writing job and multiple onscreen appearances. The same year, The Birthday Boys were discovered at UCB by
Bob Odenkirk, who took it upon himself to produce their self-titled TV show on
IFC. It has since been recognized as a
cult classic. == Writing ==