Abdi was originally a primary school teacher, and taught in Brixton and Kilburn/West Hampstead. 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, where he had worked on weekends for ten years, and quit teaching to pursue a comedic career full-time. He has since performed at some of the more established comedy clubs on the United Kingdom circuit, including Hackney Empire, Edinburgh Festival (2007), Trafalgar Square (Eid in the Square), Jongleurs (Various).