Meet Chris Strait

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Strait a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

Honestly, from fear of regret. I turn a negative trait into a positive one. I wish I had done/said/not done/not said many things in my life. Yet, to avoid loop-thinking myself into depression, I extract the lesson, and move forward. Do it now, as you will regret it later if you do not. Also, I love the feeling of a project completed. Whether it’s bringing a new comedy routine to fruition, or writing an e-book, or even just having my to-do list completed… there is always satisfaction from seeing it through.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have been a professional stand-up comedian for 24 years, or exactly half my life at this point. I have appeared on several TV shows and have specials streaming on multiple sites. I am far from famous, but I feed my family with my art, which is all I ever wanted. The biggest success, for me, was not that, but being considered a peer with the comedians whom I idolized growing up. Becoming successful at stand-up comedy is really the most merit-based performance art there is. Connections matter a great deal, for getting your work out there. However, no one has ever sustained a career in stand-up, not being funny to at least one key demographic. It’s a hard one to fake. There are also so many definitions of “making it.”, and for me, it was not needing a day job.
I have self-published over a dozen books in my few areas of expertise. That is just a hobby, and I make most of my books funny, but they are about food, boxing, psychology, poetry, US history and travel. They say ‘write what you know.’

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Persistence
Creativity
Not being good at anything else lucrative

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

Just supporting my journey. I grew up in the Los Angeles area, so having a career in show business was not a weird path. However, no one in my family (mostly accountants and locksmiths), ever took that path. It had to be difficult for them to see me struggle, but they always stepped up to help, and being proud of my accomplishments as well. I’m sure my father would have preferred I had been a doctor or lawyer, but what father wouldn’t?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @chrisstraitcomic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Chris-Strait-100063539981789/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/cstrait