Laughing maintains a healthy endothelium and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke. When you laugh, the blood flow increases and the blood pressure rises; but when you stop laughing, blood pressure drops back to its baseline. This relaxing effect helps bring down blood pressure. This generates deeper breathing, which in turn sends more oxygenated blood through the body.
And funnyman J. B. Smoove knows all about keeping his heart healthy, because he is a complete hilarious fool and audiences everywhere love it! Now with a recurring role on the hit, award-winning show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, being star on the CBS sitcom The Millers from 2013–2015 and portraying a fictionalized version of himself on the BET improv-comedy reality television parody Real Husbands of Hollywood, and starring in the latest Christmas comedy, “This Christmas,” life has been good for J.B. But it was something that he’s worked hard for.
He shortened his given name, Jerry Brooks, to “J.B.” and added “Smoove” when he began performing stand-up comedy. Smoove spent more than two decades building his comedic career, and had to endure early failures before experiencing stardom. From selling fire extinguishers (yes fire extinguishers) door-to-door, to being a writer on Saturday Night Live for three years then hitting the road in tiny clubs all across the country, he’s paid his dues.
“I’ve been planting a whole lot of seeds my whole life—a lot of those seeds a very long time ago—and I’ve been letting them grow,” explains J.B. “I’m very happy with the phone ringing consistently over a number of years, whereas some guys want it all at one time. I’d rather have longevity than one big bang. When you get it all at one time, a lot of guys can’t handle that, and it blows up in their face. I like it slow and steady, and I keep getting it done. So the phone keeps ringing and I keep meeting cool people. That’s how my life is.”
“Look, anybody can tell a joke, so a lot of a comedian’s success is about energy and engagement. A real comic sells himself first and his joke second. So how do you do that? Get your swagger. Know what you’re doing. Be prepared. Be fresh. Be “on.” Learn what audiences love about you, and then keep giving it to them. If they like the way you move your eyebrow when you smirk, give them the smirk. You know how in wrestling, there are those guys that climb up on the ropes and do their big body slam? That’s their signature move. It makes the audience crazy. It builds excitement. It builds anticipation. You have to have something about you that an audience loves so much they can’t wait to see you do it again…”
“We’ve all got audiences in our lives, man—family, spouses, coworkers, whatever—so every man should have his signature move.”
“I think the world works in funny ways. When you speak directly at things and don’t say you’re going to try to do something or that you hope to do something, the universe will work with you. Think about it this way — a boomerang goes out and comes back to you if you throw it. If you throw it out at the universe it will come back down to you on earth. I threw a boomerang into the universe and it came around and gave me an opportunity…”
So how does he keep fit? J.B. works out with his wife. See the hilarious example below: