Pasta La Vista, Baby!
Sooshi Mango’s Global Domination
By Fred Spanner
“There was one time in Chicago where we were performing, and mid-show, while we were doing a song parody, a lady ran up to the stage waving a twenty-dollar note at me! Naturally, I took the twenty dollars, put it in my pocket, and kept performing!”
From the front seat of a beat-up car to sold-out theatres on the other side of the planet, Sooshi Mango have gone viral. Carlo, Joe and Andrew have spent the last decade turning the chaos of ethnic households, immigrant parents and second-gen nostalgia into comedy gold, building a global fanbase that laughs just as hard in Melbourne as it does in Manchester.
Recently crowned 2025 Moomba Monarchs and gearing up for their biggest international tour yet, the trio are proof that family trauma, wooden spoons and unsolicited life advice translate in any language.
Loaded sits down with the lads to talk car videos, world tours, salami gifts, Wiggles collabs and why you should never say no when your mum offers you food. This is Sooshi Mango, loud, loving, unapologetic and very much just getting started.
In less than a decade, you’ve gone from car videos to cultural icons. What do you think resonated so deeply with audiences worldwide?
Carlo: I think our character development over time has been one of the things that we’ve been able to do well, and playing into nostalgia is also a big part of it. The chemistry between me and the boys is pretty good, too.
With all that married together, it’s created something that our audience can really resonate with. We’re very humbled and privileged to be in a position where our audience loves what we do, so we’re very grateful for that as well.
What’s one thing people always get wrong about Sooshi Mango?
Carlo: Well, not all people, but what some people get wrong about us is that they think Sooshi Mango is just for Italians, Greeks, or specifically Europeans. For us, Sooshi Mango was made for everyone and anyone, of any nationality.
Yeah, we play particular characters, but the way we’ve always structured our content is to not use any particular ethnic words. We like to keep it fairly broad so that anyone from any culture can connect with our comedy.
You were named the 2025 Moomba Monarchs. How did it feel to receive one of Melbourne’s highest cultural honours?
Joe: It felt amazing. It was a massive honour. It’s something that we’ve seen throughout our whole lives, and to be on that wall now, amongst such amazing people, is an absolute privilege for us.
What’s the most “ethnic parent” thing you’ve caught yourselves doing in real life?
Andrew: Telling my kids not to spend their money! This was something my Dad would tell me all the time… actually, a million times a week! “Don’t spend your money, buy a house”. Ironically, now, I find myself saying similar things to my kids.
Which character is the most like your actual relative, and do they know?
Carlo: I think most of our characters are similar to members of our families, but one in particular is very similar to my Auntie, and that’s my Carmela character. But then again, my Dad character, Vince, is loosely based on my Dad in many ways as well. I think they all have pieces of different people that are within my family, or we’ve grown up with as friends.
What’s your ultimate “ethnic household survival tip?”
Andrew: Never say no to food that your mother offers you. You must eat everything, no matter how full you are! Clean up that plate, or you’re in big trouble. The wooden spoon might even come your way.
Which of your sketches was the hardest to film without laughing?
Joe: One of the recent sketches we did was in the bath! It was where one of the mums was washing her two boys; that is definitely one of my favourite videos we’ve filmed, and was probably one of the hardest to get through without laughing.
What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever said or done?
Carlo: We’re very blessed, we get all types of gifts from our fans! Mainly salami and things like that after the show. But there was one time in Chicago where we were performing, and mid-show, while we were doing a song parody, a lady ran up to the stage waving a twenty-dollar note at me! Naturally, I took the twenty dollars, put it in my pocket, and kept performing! That was definitely one of the more unique gifts we’ve received.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned going from filming in a car to running world tours?
Andrew: Make sure you cover all bases: trust the people you’re in business with, and the one percenters count!
You’ve collaborated with The Wiggles. How did that surreal crossover come about?
Andrew: We were actually approached by The Wiggles to do the collaboration! We had a round table discussion, came up with a song over dinner, and off we went! It was a very surreal moment for us. With The Wiggles being at the top of the game for 30 years, it was a real treat for us to get involved with them.
The ‘Home Made’ tour is your biggest international tour yet. What part of bringing this new show to the UK excites you the most?
Joe: Just bringing the show overseas! Last time we were in the UK, they accepted us with open arms, and it felt like we were doing a show here in Australia. We’re really excited to get back over there with our new show.
When your characters land in the UK, who will complain the most, and what will it be about?
Joe: I think the Dads, and they will complain about anything and everything!
What’s a character moment in the new tour that you’re especially proud of?
Carlo: The Mum’s scene is very interactive, particularly the start! It’s something we’ve never really seen on stage before, and we think it’s quite funny and clever.
How does performing in the UK differ from Australia? Do the audiences laugh at the same things?
Andrew: We found that the audience laughed at the exact same things! It seems that the story of immigration and the human attached to that seems to translate everywhere we’ve been thus far, and we anticipate the same when we head to Europe this year.
The only things we had to change were a few localised terms, like suburbs and some of our Aussie slang! Other than that, they laughed exactly how they did in Australia, and they laughed just as hard as anywhere else in the world!
With the tours, restaurants, collaborations, and an expanding global fanbase, where do you see Sooshi Mango in the next 5 years?
Joe: We’d love to be a global household name. We want to be doing shows in stadiums around the world, hopefully with our movies being shown at cinemas around the world, too, just to watch everyone enjoy them!
Sooshi Mango are taking the world by storm, and they’ve just announced the UK leg of their global ‘Home Made’ tour for 2026.
They open at the Manchester Apollo on 12th June, before heading to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 13th, ending their short run at London’s Eventim Apollo on 15th June. For tickets and more information, head to www.sooshimango.com