Crowd Work Comedy Audience Member to Tour Tampa Bay

Hank Skleeterson, a frequent attendee of stand-up comedy shows around the country will be appearing at various comedy clubs here in the Tampa Bay Area later this summer.

“You probably know me as that fat white guy who gets roasted. That’s me. I’ve been seen in TikTok clips from Matt Rife, Rocky Dale Davis, Jessica Kirson and many others,” he said. “I have more credits than many actual comedians.”

Much like the comics he performs with, and he defines ‘being made fun of’ as ‘working with’, he doesn’t rely on prepared material. 

“Writing is for suckers; everybody knows that these days,” he said. “It’s best to just live in the moment. All I do is sit up front and wear a colorful shirt while being fat and white. From there, I just riff.”

He does say that he’ll taylor aspects of his appearance to appeal to locals. 

“For instance, while I’m in your area, if somebody asks where I’m from, I’ll say I’m from Lutz – is it ‘lutz’ or ‘lootz’? – because apparently that’s your funny town,” he said. “And I’ll claim I work in a weed dispensary. That’s always guaranteed to get some woos, and woos are better than laughs. Also, depending on the vibe in the room, I might say I’m gay.”

”I’ll be the fat, possibly gay guy who works in a weed dispensary in Lutz. It’s gonna kill,” he added.

Skleeterson doesn’t get paid and buys his own tickets for shows but still considers himself a professional entertainer. 

“Crowd work is really popular right now. It’s the easiest form of stand-up and I make it even easier for comedians who rely heavily on it. After all, you can’t do crowd work without a crowd and I’m a crowd. And sure, in real life they don’t know who I am but I guarantee they’re glad I’m there,” he said. “I’m very valuable.”