After the death of his father, Amer started playing truant and taking unsanctioned trips to Mexico with his friends.[2] An English teacher made a deal with Amer that if he performed a monologue from William Shakespeare in front of her class, she would reinstate his grade before his truancy began and allow him to try comedy in front of the class every Friday. Amer graduated and focused on his passion.[2] He then participated in and had leading roles in high school theatre, and started performing stand-up comedy[8][9] by impersonating family members[10] and developed it over a few years in the comedy club scene.[11] Amer performed at Houston's comedy clubs as often as possible to refine his act while working a day job at a flag manufacturing company owned by a family friend.[2]