Meet Joel Kim Booster, a young comedian who’s rising to fame quickly and can even be found on your tv screens this very instant.
Booster just hosted his first Comedy Central stand-up special this weekend and has an album coming out on November 3rd titled Model Minority.
And if you’re thinking, “Where’d this guy come from?” or “Have I seen him before?” You’d be (pleasantly) surprised to know he’s been hustling to get to this point.
Booster has appeared on Conan, he’s written for Billy on the Street, and he even has a development deal for a show.
Now, Joel Kim Booster is enjoying the rewards of his work by getting more spotlight then he ever has before, and he attributes the start of it all to his mixed upbringing.
You see, Booster started out being adopted into a white Evangelical family which made growing up gay and Asian a confusing time.
Booster grew up in Plainfield, Illinois, was homeschooled, and participated in Christian youth groups.
“As you can imagine, it was a little weird growing up in the Midwest with this face and that family,” he told Splitsider. “I literally knew I was gay before I knew I was Asian.”
It wasn’t until he was 17 that his parents discovered his sexuality.
“They read my journal when I was 17,” he reveals in the special. “At that time, my journal wasn’t an introspective thoughts-and-dreams journal. It was more of a Buzzfeed listicle of guys dicks I was sucking.” (That’s a book we wouldn’t mind reading).
While his parent’s didn’t kick him out, Booster ended up having to leave and sleep on friends’ couches.
Eventually, Booster went through college (with the help of his best friend’s family) and later reconnected with his family.
Then, six and a half years ago Booster started doing comedy in Chicago before eventually moving to New York in 2014. He decided to give himself four years to “make it” and found out it only took him two.
That’s when he debuted on Conan and in the same year he sold Birthright to Fox (which will be tv show about a gay Korean adoptee living with white evangelical Christian parents). Sadly, Fox stopped development of the show, but luckily it was picked up by a “to be announced” network.
The on top of that, he’s gearing up for the release of his album Model Minority to boot.
To attribute to his success, Joel Kim Booster says its about being real and open about the world he lives in.
“If you have a strong enough point of view or comedic voice, you're able to just explain to someone that your parents didn't talk to you for a year and a half. Everything is comedy and it's just a matter of taking a step back and disassociating for a moment.”
h/t: Vice
