"The only reason I got into comedy was I was on a bumble date."

This is how Butchulla, Mununjhali and Woppaburra woman and award-winning comedian Janty Blair says how she got her start in the ficklest of businesses —on a date in Byron Bay at a stand-up comedy show.

"I was probably the only brown person black skinned person in the audience," she said of the night.

"I just had this feeling like I well, there's no one that looks like me in a female form."

Sitting in a cafe in Naarm recounting the story, Blair is funny and open about the experience a few years ago that led her to being one of the most infectiously funny new comedians on the circuit.

After being connected with the convenor of the show, the aftermath of her (bad) bumble date saw Blair go all out to learn the craft.

Four days later, she was performing her first gig, getting out "a few jokes" and after being encouraged by the reception she received, Blair went all out, enrolling in weekend comedy courses, every open mic up and down the Queensland coast, and any event that would let her do a few minutes.

Amazingly, in less than two months, she had won her Deadly Funny heat.

"I was the only female with another, say, four or five men…and I won it," she says almost self-effacingly. "[I was] doing comedy…like 6 weeks."

Blair is honest with the work she has put in on the open mic circuit to help her hone her skills.

"What stood me in good stead, and I know this for a fact, is that open mics give you a real sense of either failing or working out what works and doesn't work," she said.

"I guess there's always that performing gene as well. Once you start doing it, you start really loving it."

But Blair's talent on stage, which saw her win the Deadly Funny Grand Final at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2022, isn't by pure luck.

She cites comedian and Ngarrindjeri man Kevin Kropinyeri as someone she looks up to, noting his advice was pivotal to her success.

"I watched and listened and took every single advice that Kevin gave because he's been in the game for 16 years," she says.

"He told me to slow down. He told me to use my face and my body and smile and keep the jokes simple. He talked about word economy."

It's this willingness to learn from others that has taken Blair, in a short timeframe, from Meanjin, to Naarm, and to the Edinburgh Fringe as a part of the Aboriginal Comedy AllStars.

She'll be the first to admit she is older than many of the other comedians at some of the gigs she performs. This life experience, which has seen her work in healthcare and dealing with some of the unique and horrific traumas that impact First Nations people nationwide, has led her to a setlist of refreshing and charming takes on the world.

Part of her act focuses on the perils of dating apps, and as Blair says she likes to lower her age on them.

The comedy scene is often derided for being largely white and male, and despite acknowledging this is often still the case, Blair is hugely complimentary of the scene in Naarm, arguing hosts and event organisers have been both hugely supportive of her, as well as First Nations comedians in general.

"I think the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF)...they're always pushing for Aboriginal comedians," Blair says.

And on non-Indigenous comedians in the space, she is equally as full of praise for their inclusivity.

"I have to be really honest," she says, "I think they're [non-Indigenous males] humble in this space."

"I really think the majority of them love when I see them…they embrace you and go 'thank you' and really welcome you into the space. I never feel unwelcome, I always feel welcome."

She said, however, there is always more work to be done, noting the hugely successful Aboriginal AllStars are performing at the MICF for only two shows, despite the festival being in Naarm for a month.

"People ask me 'why is there only two shows?' and I go 'that's a good question," she says.

"I would love to see us expand. I think we need to do more than two shows…we've got six [comedians] on the line up… but I think even if we got a minimum of three on the line up, we should still be doing shows. I think that comes down to money, time, organisation, all that sort of stuff, but that's an ongoing conversation."

Every time she talks about a comedian she met, or a show she has done, it isn't out of arrogance, or for the sake of 'name-dropping,' but out of genuine pride.

"I'm just enjoying the journey," Blair says. "I'm not thinking about the destination."

For the future, Blair says she wants to get more money together and put on some workshops for Indigenous women in Naarm, as well as for women prisoners — both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

"I want to stay in Victoria and for a while…I want to progress in writing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories," she says.

"I've got lots of stories to tell. I think comedy just goes hand in hand with black fellows and our stories anyway."

One thing is clear: her stand-up career is set to go a lot further than that original bumble date.

Janty Blair is performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as part of the Aboriginal Comedy AllStars on the 13th and 14th of April.

Tickets are available via the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website.