Zak Toscani

About

Stand-up comedian, writer, and social media personality known for performing live stand-up shows across the United States and internationally, for his festival appearances at Bumbershoot, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and High Plains Comedy Festival, as well as through his frequent appearances on the comedy podcast All Fantasy Everything. He has also written comedic essays and commentary that have been featured in outlets such as TIME, The A.V. Club, BuzzFeed, and Vice.

Before fame

His interest in comedy developed during his teenage years after watching comedic actors and appreciating their work. He began considering stand-up comedy as a possible career during his senior year of high school after seeing a friend perform at Go Bananas Comedy Club in Cincinnati. He eventually attended a retreat at Ohio University where he first attempted to perform humor in front of an audience which ended up being an early turning point that encouraged him to pursue comedy. He eventually moved to Portland, Oregon, where he began performing regularly in the local stand-up scene before he eventually moved into the Los Angeles comedy scene where he co-founded the stand-up show Faded and began appearing regularly on comedy podcasts. He became known for performing house shows beginning in 2021.

Trivia

A viral Twitter thread in 2018 about a coworker stealing lunches helped bring him attention online before his house-show touring model became widely known. His comedy show Faded became known for livestreamed performances during the COVID-19 pandemic. His sense of humor was influenced by actors such as Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and John Candy while he was growing up.

Family life

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent part of his childhood growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii after moving there during elementary school.

Associated with

He and David Gborie have both appeared as guests on the comedy podcast All Fantasy Everything.