Meet Matt Shaver | Comedian & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Shaver and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
My favorite book of all time is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, a masterfully creative piece of fiction that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. The book itself is bursting with characters, settings, and sayings that pushed the boundaries of creativity and have become universally recognized. Reading this book fills me with a childlike sense of wonder and inspires me to think more creatively- but even more inspiring to me is the story of Lewis Carroll himself, whose real name was Charles Dodgson. Many people don’t know that he was a lifelong mathematician and academic dean, two professionals that most people don’t associate with the type of creativity necessary to write the novels he did. But he wrote them, and that fact reminds me that every person you meet, regardless of who they may appear to be on the outside, can be filled with an amazing amount of creativity. He was also an avid letter writer and photographer, two hobbies that I have made a part of my own life as well.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think the most frustrating part of my creative career so far is that I’ve never been able to answer this question. I do not know my “brand” – I do not know what my strengths are, what characters I’m best capable of playing, and how I’m viewed by audiences. Unfortunately, I like doing a lot of different things. I like making a lot of different comedy in a lot of different styles that is probably tailored to a lot of different audiences. While this is freeing in some ways, it’s very limiting in others. People probably follow me expecting one thing and then get something entirely different. It’s not that I don’t know who I am, it’s that I feel like I’m ten different people at once. And trying to pick which one of those people I want to be in perpetuity is both extremely difficult and, honestly, not something I really want to do. As a result, it has not been easy getting to where I am today, and it won’t be easy getting to where I want to go. But if there’s one thing that sets me apart, it’s hard work. Lots of people think they work hard. I’ve met many of these people. Many of them do, most of them don’t. I work extremely hard, and I work extremely hard at working smarter, not harder. Besides that, I’m just like any other schmuck.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a firm believer that you should do things in the places you visit that can’t be done anywhere else. This sounds obvious, but lots of people travel the world and do/eat/explore the same things everywhere they go.

With that being said – what are some things Los Angeles has that you can’t find anywhere else in the world? Those activities would make up my itinerary.

Off the top of my head, here’s my list:
– hike up Mt. Hollywood to see LA, the ocean, and the Hollywood sign
– visit the studio lots where some of the most iconic shows and movies were filmed
– eat at some of the best taco trucks in the world
– see a comedy show where some of the world’s best comedians perform nightly

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve been very fortunate to have had a strong group of friends my entire life. To me, my friends are my family. They have encouraged me, supported me, and escorted me through all of my best and worst times. I’ve shared my happiest and saddest memories with them. If it were not for their acceptance of who I am as a person I would not be able to do what I do. To all of my closest friends, thank you. And to all of my friends who have supported me on Patreon for the past four years – a double thank you to you.

Website: https://mattxshaver.com/

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Other: https://tiktok.com/@mattxshaver https://mattshaver.substack.com/