"I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative"
About this Quote
“Constantly” is the knife. He’s not talking about one bad gig or a misunderstood phase; he’s describing a permanent stance. That permanence becomes a kind of negative freedom: if you’re already outside the club, you’re released from the club’s rules. Creativity here isn’t “self-expression” in the Hallmark sense; it’s a tactical advantage. Outsiderness gives you perspective, and perspective lets you puncture consensus - especially the kind Hicks targeted: consumer hypnosis, political theater, the narcotic hum of mainstream culture.
Context matters: late-80s/early-90s American comedy was negotiating the line between club-friendly relatability and confrontational truth-telling. Hicks chose the latter, and paid for it in bookings, TV spots, and the polite approval that turns comics into brands. This quote is both self-mythology and survival strategy: if the world won’t let you in, you convert exclusion into authorship. It’s a credo for the artist as heckler - not of individuals, but of the script everyone else is pretending not to read.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hicks, Bill. (2026, January 18). I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-get-a-kick-out-of-being-an-outsider-constantly-14318/
Chicago Style
Hicks, Bill. "I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-get-a-kick-out-of-being-an-outsider-constantly-14318/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-get-a-kick-out-of-being-an-outsider-constantly-14318/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.



