[citation needed] Abdi was originally a primary school teacher,[8] and taught in Brixton and Kilburn/West Hampstead.
[2] In his spare time, he performed free comedy shows for a lengthy period to establish himself on the stand-up circuit.
He eventually gave up his part-time job at B&Q,[1] where he had worked on weekends for ten years,[2] and quit teaching to pursue a comedic career full-time.
[9] He has since performed at some of the more established comedy clubs on the United Kingdom circuit,[10] including Hackney Empire, Edinburgh Festival (2007), Trafalgar Square (Eid in the Square),[11] Jongleurs (Various), The Comedy Store, Banana Cabaret, Belfast Empire (Northern Ireland), Up-The-Creek, Headliners, The Broadway Theatre, Hounslow Theatre, The Glee Club (Birmingham), Alexander Palace, Rise Festival[12] and Jive Cape Town Funny Festival.
[5] Besides the UK, Abdi has also done stand-up shows in Canada, the United States, Holland, Northern Ireland, Kenya and Turkey.
He has performed alongside other comedians, including Jack Whitehall, Dave Chappelle, Stephen K. Amos and Reginald D.
He then performed at the monthly Laughter Factory comedy tour, which started at Heroes in Abu Dhabi's Crowne Plaza before heading to Dubai and Doha.
After he was in the bottom two comedians for the second week running, he became the second contestant to be voted off, as decided by judges Alan Davies, Kate Copstick and guest Bob Mortimer.