From Sports Journalist To Standup Comedian

Our Guest this morning is Sam Adams, sportswriter-turned-stand-up comedian, keynote speaker, book author, actor, and master of ceremonies. Sam performed his first standup comedy set in 2000, only a few months after his return from reporting on track and field at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Eight years later, at age 49, the long-time sports journalist took on comedy as a full-time professional career.

In 2019, Sam was the first African American sports journalist ever inducted into the prestigious Denver Press Club’s Hall of Fame. In 2018, Sam’s popularity catapulted when the “True Color” clip from his 2017 Dry Bar Comedy special went viral — with over 10 million social media views in less than 72 hours. Since then, the clip has reached over 35 million views on Facebook alone.

Adams shares with KGNU’s Rossana Longo-Better how before making his transition to standup comedy, Sam spent three decades as a sportswriter and television commentator based in Denver, Colorado. In 2003, Sam’s media peers elected him Colorado’s Print Journalist of the Year.

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Storytellers of Color airs on the second Monday of each month as part of A Public Affair on KGNU. The major goal of the show is to provide a safe space for communicators of color, through a series of conversations, to elevate their voices and discuss issues of equality in the media. The show is inspired by recent gatherings of various working groups, including Latinx Voices, organized by Diamond Hardiman from Free Press’ News Voices Colorado Project, and Journos of Color Network led by Tina Griego, reporter, editor, and coach from Colorado News Collaborative.

The Storytellers of Color series are a collaborative effort, with an open invitation to other storytellers to come into our airwaves, to tell their stories, and occupy the safe space we are providing every second Monday of the month.

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