Pounding Thoughts

Photo credit: Heather Ennis

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]C[/dropcap]omedian Shaun Latham is truly a renaissance man. The stand-up guru recently launched a new show on SiriusXM, The Shaun Latham Show, he is a certified international “garnishisist” (which is obvisously a made-up title he gave himself) in 20 Dollar Chef and he is a boxer in Barstool Sports’ Rough N’ Rowdy. He is the total package; he’ll make you laugh, cook your dinner and protect you if need be. Hit him up ladies, @ShaunLatham on Twitter.

While making people laugh is Latham’s primary objective in life, it’s his infectious personality and effortless charisma that draws you to him. Just watch a couple episodes of 20 Dollar Chef on YouTube, and you will be surprised at how quickly he lures you in. He is also an avid cannabis smoker, who truly bucks the “lazy stoner” stereotype.

Tell us about your new show on SiriusXM.

The Shaun Latham Show [airs] Monday through Friday, 10a.m. to 11a.m. EST. It’s myself, YP and Jourdyn Berry. We take callers; it’s kind of a lifestyle show. I love having these two as co-hosts because of the energy they bring. We have a really good vibe even though we are complete opposite humans. It really helps muster up conversation. We’re talking about humorous things, stupid-ass shit. We do a lot of interviews with comedians and entertainers. We just launched in November.

Where did the idea for 20 Dollar Chef come from?

I’ve just been a comedian for such a long time, and I was at that point where I didn’t feel like I needed a regular job anymore. But money was tight, so I had no choice but to cook at home. And after so many years of eating basic shit, you just want to supe it up and make it better. Take a 50-cent bag of Ramen and doing something different with it. So, I started filming it and putting it on Snapchat. I would do Snaps and film myself talking shit, and people really seemed to like it.

Photo credit: Heather Ennis

What’s the worst thing you ever made on the show?

It was Thanksgiving stuffing. I never cooked it growing up. For Thanksgiving, I was always at my family’s or friend’s house, so I never made stuffing before. So, when I tried to make it, it just looked like shit!

“If I smoke a solid sativa, I’m like a man on a mission all day long. Just getting shit done, being creative, catching thoughts and adding more fuel to the content machine.”

Are you scripting your episodes or is it mostly improv?

It’s 85 percent off-the-cuff, but I will write material that comes to me during the day and incorporate it into the episode. I’m constantly pounding thoughts into my Notes app, so I have a couple pages of thoughts to try out. Typically though, it is a random thought I just run with. It’s very similar to how I do my stand-up.

Have you ever cooked with cannabis?

Yes I have, using weed butter and oil. I haven’t done it a ton because I’ve lived in such conservative areas, like Indiana, where they still look at weed like it’s the 1950s. I really want to do it a lot more. When it comes to cooking with cannabis on the show, it has more to do with the sponsor of the episode. Certain sponsors might not want weed in their episodes. If it’s in a non-sponsored episode, I can do pretty much whatever I want.

Do you have a preferred strain or method for consuming cannabis?

I go through stages, but right now I’m really into sativa, to keep me extroverted. I smoke weed a solid amount, and I like to be productive. I’m the opposite of the stereotype, of being lazy. If I smoke a solid sativa, I’m like a man on a mission all day long. Just getting shit done, being creative, catching thoughts and adding more fuel to the content machine. I think it is one of the most important things in my routine, it keeps life fresh. I went through a strong pen phase, but I’m old school, so I mostly smoke joints or out of a pipe. I really pride myself on my joint-rolling skills.

Photo credit: Heather Ennis

How did you get involved in Rough N’ Rowdy?

Rough N’ Rowdy is an event that Barstool Sports puts on that features amateur boxing. It started as personalities in the office boxing each other. After training for a year and a half I told them that I would do it, and then I fought a guy out of the New York office. It was a really awesome event. It was on Pay-per-view and it was great to hear feedback on the match. After that I really wanted to do it again. I really want to fight a Twitter troll. There’s a guy who’s been heckling my friend, and I would love to punch him in the face.

shaunlatham.com