Meet Zako Ryan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zako Ryan. 

Hi Zako, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Absolutely. When I was 13, I moved from South Carolina to Ohio. I didn’t have many friends at first. I started to realize the easiest way for me to fit into a new environment was to make people laugh so that became my new “thing”. Fast forward through an Engineering Degree at the University of Toledo, an enlistment in the US Air Force, and a career in the Warehouse Robotics Industry (reeeeeal fun :/), I started performing Standup Comedy as a way of expressing myself. My best friend from high school, Corey Wagner, was living in Chicago making a living as a YouTuber after graduating from Second City. I moved to Chicago to continue learning Stand Up Comedy and never looked back. Now, I can humbly say I’ve headlined some of the best comedy clubs in the country, traveled the world telling jokes, and run a monthly show in Chicago at The World Famous Laugh Factory called “Sorry For Killin’” where we book the top talent from all over the country. The kicker? I run that show with Corey. My best friend from High School. We’re living the dream we talked about as kids. It’s wild. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If it was a smooth road, we’d all be sliding down, it telling d*** jokes. The world of comedy is harder than most imagine. It takes vulnerability, resilience, and a determination to understand and be truthful with oneself. You don’t know what kinda heart you have until you can BOMB in front of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people and get back up there and do it again. Knowing d*** well there’s shit in your pants… Competitiveness amongst comedians, cancel trolls, not being able to spend time with family and loved ones. If you want to do this, it will change you…. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Stand-Up Comedy. I’m also an actor but mostly commercials and a brief scene in Power Book IV: Force where I’m a strip club photographer who gets knocked the f*** out. 

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risks?!? Every time I’m on stage there’s a risk. Risk I’ll piss someone off, risk I’ll offend an entire race or gender, risk I’ll get slapped by a 90s TV legend, risk I’ll sweat through my grey shirt I for some reason chose to wear, risk I’ll fall into the grips of drugs that ravage my community, risks that one of my exes is in the audience. It’s all a risk. The biggest risk, however, is not doing it at all. I’ve come too far; I’ve come to terms with what I must sacrifice to do this, the risk seems small in comparison to the mission. 

Pricing:

• $20 tickets for Sorry For Killin’ at Laugh Factory

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zakoryan.com
• Instagram: @zakoryan
• Facebook: Zako Ryan
• Twitter: @itszako
• Youtube: Zako Ryan

Image Credits
Ashley NiCole’