David Chambers, commonly known as Blindboy Boatclub, is an Irish satirist, musician, podcaster, author, and TV presenter. Boatclub is from Limerick and is best known as one half of the Irish comedy hip-hop group The Rubberbandits, who wear plastic shopping bags as masks to conceal their identities. He regularly discusses mental health, masculinity, and other socio-political issues. Since 2017, he has been making The Blindboy Podcast, a podcast featuring interviews and coverage of social issues. He has also published two collections of short stories, and appeared on a number of television and podcast programmes. Between 2018 and 2019, he produced a BBC Threedocumentary series, Blindboy Undestroys the World.
Early life
David Chambers was born in Limerick, where he attended secondary school in Ardscoil Rís. While at school, he met Bob McGlynn and formed the satirical comedy pairing The Rubberbandits. Chambers later attended the Limerick School of Art and Design.
Podcast
Originally touring and performing as part of a duo, Chambers has produced a number of "solo" works, including a podcast which covers topics such as mental health, politics, culture, music, and history. In the Blindboy Podcast, Boatclub sometimes provides "hot takes" and social commentary alongside personal stories and "absurdist riffs". The podcast has also included interviews with people such as Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Spike Lee, Emma Dabiri, Colm O'Gorman, Cillian Murphy and other comedians, activists and academics. The podcast reportedly has 250,000 weekly listeners in Ireland and over a million worldwide listeners monthly. Boatclub has also played live tours of the podcast around Ireland and the UK, also touring in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Television
Boatclub made a five-part documentary series called Blindboy Undestroys the World for BBC Three which explored contemporary issues in the UK. The 2018 pilot episode, which covered the housing system in the UK, was long-listed for a BAFTA award. This was followed by a four-part series in 2019 which looked at precarious employment, anxiety, the internet, and modern slavery. Boatclub has also appeared on several Irish programmes, including The Late Late Show and The Tommy Tiernan Show. He has also appeared on Russell Brand's Under the Skin and The Trews web series.
Books
He has published two collections of satirical short stories:
Boulevard Wren and other Stories, Gill Books, 2019
The Gospel According to Blindboy, Gill Books, 2017