Meet Orchid Cameron | Standup Comic

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

Hi Orchid, why did you pursue a creative career?
My mission in life is to heal as many people as possible and ignite and maximize their fun and pleasure. I do this directly through yoga and lifestyle coaching, but my art casts the widest net. Art can reach straight into your chest and grab you by the heart. My life has been greatly influenced by artists like Judd Apatow, Taika Waititi, Alexander Payne, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Margaret Cho. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love being a mom. The pinnacle of my life is eating cereal and watching cartoons with my eight year old. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to monetize that as a career path, so I have to settle for traveling the world and standing in front of hundreds of people at a time telling stories and making people laugh. I like the role of being my honest loser self in public, and giving people permission to relax a little about the stupidity of being human and having relief about the harsh judgments they have on themselves. I’m okay with my mistakes and my playful nature gives everyone a chance to make peace with the darkest parts of themselves and heal. Is it corny? Yeah. When I teach yoga, I do it to help people with chronic stress which leads to illness. Yoga has healed my body of chronic ailments, but listening to jokes and enjoying my life gives me reason to live. I like to squeeze out all the goodness that life has to offer, and I like to facilitate that for others.

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 like high up views of the city like The Getty Center on a clear day. I like fine arts, gardens, city and ocean views, and I even like the view of the 405. I’ve spent a large chunk of my life on the 405 freeway and it feels good for me to look at. I live on the Westside because the beach is a requirement, and I’d take guests to both the local hangouts and the touristy parts of the beach like the Santa Monica Pier and Promenade. Cafe Gratitude in Venice is one of my favorite places to take people because what’s more LA than a restaurant where you order food based on an affirmation (“I am cool” is a mint chip shake I like.) My favorite restaurant is Shojin which is vegan sushi, which I also suggest to my prenatal yoga students when they miss sushi. A lot of my friends are fitness bros like myself so I’d take them to my favorite teacher, Kumi’s class at Veda Yoga Center in Culver City then walk down the street through the farmers market and have a burger at Monty’s. If my friends visiting have children, I’d take the expo line to the California Science Center and The Natural History Museum. Kids love trains. If it’s one on one grown up time, I’ll go to beaches in Malibu, have a quiet picnic on the sand, usually around sunset.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to Rachelle Neshkes, Nikki Brown, Dr. Beth Ribet, and Michael Waldren for keeping me alive in perilous times, despite all odds, and Carol Tantau for life mentoring and schooling me in the subtle art of bad-assery.

Website: Orchidcameron.com

Instagram: @orchidcameron

Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/orchid-cameron/

Twitter: @orchidcameron

Facebook: Facebook.com/orchidcameroncomic

Other: Reconnectionablab.Com