By Tyson Paul
2020 will forever be remembered for two Cs…COVID and change. The world spent an entire year dealing with various levels of loss and the changes that came with adjusting to life during the pandemic. Coby JDN dreams of becoming a professional athlete were put on hold indefinitely due in large part to not being allowed to properly train and compete during quarantine and social distancing. Not one to just sit around and do nothing with his life, Coby would use his sudden change in leisure time to focus on a humorous passion project that would soon turn him into a social media superstar the likes of King Bach, Timothy Chantarangsu, and Liane Valenzuela. Focusing on relatable content that viewers often see throughout their daily lives, Coby garners tens of thousands of new followers on social media with every new sketch video he releases. He has also managed to make his way out of your phone and computer screens into your television sets as part of a new Bay Area classic set to be released this year.
Coby recently sat down with We Own The Laughs.com Tyson Paul to talk about finding his silver lining in the midst of sudden change, how he’s adjusting to popularity on social media, what has been his favorite moment throughout this entire experience and how he plans to capitalize on his early success. Now we may consider him to be a gambling man, but when it comes to making the best out of the hand you’ve been dealt, there’s no one better than him.
Hello Coby, 1st I would like to say congratulations on all of your success and popularity thus far. I want to get started by asking you what are some of your earliest memories of comedy?
Pretty much just watching funny shows and movies. I was never really into standup comedy, but I enjoyed comedic forms of entertainment.
You played sports for quite some time leading up to your career in comedy. When did your focus shift?
Right when 2020 hit and the pandemic became serious.
Social media boxing is very popular right now with the Paul brothers leading the way. Do you think that would be something that you would be interested in? Maybe knockout Jake Paul or last longer than Nate Robinson?
Yeah, I need a fade and pay from one of the Paul brothers.
You’ve only been doing this for less than a year, but did you think your comedy sketches would develop such an enormous cult following? Was it something that you manifested or did it happen randomly?
This is all a surprise to me, but I enjoy it and love what I am doing.
For many decades, the Northern California area has been a legendary landmark for comedy. How much aware are you of the comedy scene in your area and give us some of the comedic differences that you will find in different areas of Northern California?
I’m not too familiar with the comedy scene, but I know about many public figures in the Bay Area, from Lewis Belt to Lance Woods and many more comedians/influencers.
Popularity never comes without doubters and naysayers. You have built an impressive following on social media, but some comedy enthusiasts and trollers would consider you a passing gimmick and not an authentic comedic personality. Has the negativity ever affected you and how have you managed to find positivity to rise above it all?
With love comes hate. Even though I don’t get a lot of hate I don’t take it seriously, especially through the internet.
It’s been well-documented that you do have acting aspirations, but with having a natural comedic presence, have you thought about adding stand-up comedy to your resume?
I respect stand-up comedy a lot, but it’s just not my thing.
You haven’t managed to slow down at all during the pandemic. If anything, the pandemic has given you even more time to be creative for social media. What were your first thoughts on COVID-19 and when did you realize that you could still be creative when all seemed lost?
My first thought was how I would lose opportunities because of covid, but instead, I just remained consistent and learned a lot about myself through the pandemic.
How do you come up with the content ideas? Do you ever feel pressure to keep posting great content all the time?
I don’t feel pressure when I love what I do and do what I want. Whenever I get an idea throughout the day I type it down and come back to it later.
What was it like finding out that people like famous comedians and entertainment personalities watch your skits and enjoy them?
Dope. I appreciate anyone that enjoys my content.
Many of your sketches are very memorable, do you have one sketch that stands out from all of the rest?
“When someone at a party says ‘I’ll beat everybody’s ass in here” and “How Bay Area Asians Be” are two of my favorites.
Who has been your favorite comedic personality to work on a sketch with throughout your career?
My boy Huey
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Any big names in the film industry. There are too many for me to list.
What central message do you hope to impart to followers through your sketches? Why do you think they’ve garnered such a positive reception?
I just want people to laugh and enjoy my videos, for the most part, nothing that deep. I think I get a positive reception because I have good content and try to be a positive figure to my followers.
You recently were cast in STARZ’s new comedy series Blindspotting airing in 2021. What was the shooting process like for you?
It was my first time on set for anything, but it was fun. Shoutout to Rafael and Daveed for blessing me with the opportunity.
Do you have any other TV shows you love to be a part of?
None in mind, but I’d love to be in anything pertaining to films.
How has your personal life changed since the rise of your social media presence? What have you learned from it?
A lot of love and I gotta get used to having my face out there known, especially when I’m out in public. I don’t mind it though it’s fun for now.
The Instagram stars are the first generation of big social media celebrities who have now gone on to do incredible things: topping the billboard charts, scoring huge modeling/acting gigs, and much more. What does it feel like to be in the same realm as the original social media stars like Timothy Delaghetto, Liane Valenzuela, King Bach, Liza Koshy, and others? Anyone, you particularly look up to?
It’s dope, I got the buzz I just have to capitalize off of it now and keep leveling up. I look up to a lot of public figures, but I wanna do it my own way and pave a new path.
How would you like to see your social media career develop in the next two years?
I hope it keeps leveling up and I eventually get myself into more shows/movies and keep dropping content. For only a couple of months, it’s been going great.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media comedy moving forward?
Social media will continue to grow and be a part of lifestyle so I expect comedy and social media to continue to coincide with each other.
Is there anything coming up for you that you would like for fans to keep an eye on?
Keep showing love to my IG/TikTok/Youtube/Twitter @cobyjdn
*Photos Courtesy of @Shotsbyphamous @Seanietsunami300 @colbyjdn
[…] of Thursday morning, a GoFundMe launched by his friend Coby JDN had generated more than $32,700 in donations to cover funeral costs and support Huey’s […]
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