Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Cozens
Hi Adam, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a husband, father, comedian, comedy writer and general busy-body who set his sights on making people laugh, probably as a defensive mechanism, and after realizing it worked – never looked back.
I’ve always been interested in comedy, but growing up in Seattle, I didn’t realize it was something anyone could do. I’d watch sitcoms like Seinfeld and Mad About You and Home Improvement and would hear that Jerry Seinfeld or Paul Reiser or Tim Allen would do stand up and as a child, I thought THAT was the path! You FIRST had to become a successful actor in order to share your silly thoughts with paying crowds. Ugh, I had no idea I was 100% wrong but I love that I once thought that to be true.
I moved to LA for college at Azusa Pacific and after undergrad, went to New York City with aspirations of being a comedy writer. I had learned many of my favorite writers started out as stand ups, so even though I’d never done stand up before moving, I knew it would be good to take a big swing and started hitting open mics when I got out there. Luckily, I had a strong work ethic and made some great friends early on who inspired and pushed me.
5 years later, I followed my incredible girlfriend Laura (now my marvelous and supportive wife of 11 years) back to her hometown of Los Angeles. I had started traveling for stand up by then, working on the road opening for some great comedians and beginning to headline clubs on my own. I started getting regular work as a writer around this time too. Sometimes getting pulled into a writer’s room as a hired gun for a week or so or submitting freelance jokes or getting put on staff for various short-lived projects and publications. There are truly so many fun things you can do if you leave yourself open and don’t try to force one certain lane. Through that openness, I’ve been blessed to have worked as a writer, performer, comic book writer, show runner, director, video editor, meme-curator and so many other fields during my happy and fortunate life.
When I first moved here I started down in Echo Park, then my wife and I bounced around to a few places in Pasadena before we moved ourselves and our two young daughters out east to Glendora. The Pride of the Foothills! Feels crazy that I’ve been telling jokes for 17 years now. Time flies. I don’t hang out in comedy clubs as much as I did as a wide-eyed 24 year old with a free drink ticket in my pocket. These days its more private events and fundraisers and benefit gigs. I’ve been very fortunate to end up where I have. I don’t take any of it for granted.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I didn’t listen to a ton of stand up as a kid so a lot of my education in that field was through observing pros at work. When I moved to New York, I finagled myself a job as a bouncer as a comedy club, and through that, I was paid to stand in the back of the showroom 5 nights a week watching some of the greatest comedians in the world work out material and hone their craft. It was like going to comedy college. I learned so much on writing and improvising and re-working a joke until it worked. It’s probably why my performance style is so varied. I was never a “Carlin guy” or a “Pryor guy” or a “Rodney guy.” I wasn’t overly influenced by any one comedian or style of comedy. When I perform, I find myself doing one-liners, then long-stories, then family and relationship stuff, then physical act-outs, then some silly punny jokes. Topical stuff, family stuff – whatever I’m feeling that night. There was a big emphasis on “finding your voice” when I was young comic, but as it turns out, my voice seems to be pretty scattered.
In terms of challenges, I opted to choose a path less traveled, getting married at 30 and starting a family while still trying to pursue a lifestyle that keeps a very less-than-family-friendly schedule. I’ve turned down some fun opportunities or weekends on the road in order to be around for my wife and daughters and while sometimes it made me nervous in the moment, I’ve never regretted it and more often than not, better opportunities would come from it. There is a lot of power in saying no. As artists we are conditioned to be so aggressive and desperate and cut-throat but telling bookers and promoters that you aren’t willing to drop everything and cater to their every whim or wish can help take back a lot of their power. Plus, my family are such big motivators and muses. Being around them has only served to make my career better. In every way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would describe myself as a husband and father who is fortunate enough to work as a stand up comedian and comedy writer.
In addition to traveling dates and shows around town, I serve a a producer for a digital marketing agency, a writer for a handful of children’s programs and show runner for a daily kids streaming program.
Since October 2022, I’ve been the creator of the hyper-localized Instagram account: Memes of Glendora where every day fort he last 2 and a half years, I have posted comedy content about the happenings in the small Foothill community town of Glendora, CA. Some people like it. I like to think. The page currently averages around 950,000 views a month across all posts, which is honestly bananas. We have a fraction of that many people living there. But people share the posts and who knows where they end up. My page posts clean, apolitical jokes and commentaries about the nonsense happening in our sleepy little ‘burb. Some great stuff has come out of it and I’ve made some incredible friends and have been able to use the page to support local charities, school events and fundraisers. One of those happy little accidents. My kids like when people call me “the meme man” when we are out on the street.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I think I was a nice kid. Beginning around 3rd or 4th grade, I started to experience had some health issues which led me to being a bit of an outcast. It hurt a lot and I struggled with a bunch of feelings during that time, but longterm it helped me to build a thick skin and allows me to approach life with the mindset of already having overcome hard stuff at a young age and knowing I can take on whatever comes next. It can be useful to get your world rocked before the age of 10 because you can come out of it so much stronger.
I loved The Far Side comics and Monty Python movies. Seinfeld and the NBC Must See TV Thursday night line-up, and Dave Berry books. I loved Kids in the Hall and Weird Al. Ninja Turtles and old SNL re-runs and playing with my giant pile of wrestling action figures. I wanted to be a major league pitcher, but I always wanted to hit and that wasn’t allowed in the American League back then, which was a problem because I wanted to only play for the Seattle Mariners. It caused me a lot of stress. Thankfully, I’ve made peace with the matter and learned to appreciate the DH role.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.AdamCozens.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AdamCozens27
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamcozens/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-cozens-3470028/
- Twitter: https://x.com/AdamCozens27
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Adamcozens27
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/memesofglendora
Image Credits
Mindy Tucker
