zzdsport
/
Outdoor Activities
/
Comedian Scott Losse Didn’t Set Out to Joke About Outdoor Recreation
Comedian Scott Losse Didn’t Set Out to Joke About Outdoor Recreation
Feb 24, 2025 1:15 AM

  Standup comedian Scott Losse didnt set out to make fun of mountain biking, snowboarding, and other recreational activities on his Instagram feed. Like many professional comics, Losse, 44, spent several years recording videos of his observational humor to see what resonated with his audience.

  He mused on the banalities of middle-aged life, weather in Seattle, and shopping at Costco. But then, about year ago, Losse posted a humorous video tour from his local mountain biking park, Duthie Hill. In the video, Losse showed viewers the parks gnarly jumps and massive drop offs, and then pointed out the easy trails that he uses to circumnavigate the hard stuff. The fire road is running really good—super loamy, Losse says in his trademark sardonic, dry tone.

  A few months later, Losse published another video about the absurdity of snowboarding. Do you enjoy nature but wish it was more stressful? Try snowboarding at a resort on the weekend, Losse said into camera.

  Both videos generated tens of thousands of likes, as the Instagram algorithm distributed them throughout the outdoor community. After that, Losse began regularly goofing on outdoor recreation in his standup routine, and also in his videos on Instagram. His angle: joke about the very specific and very absurd elements of cycling, snowboarding, and getting outdoors.

  We caught up with Losse to understand why cyclists, snowboarders, and other lovers of outdoor activities enjoy his jokes.

  OUTSIDE: How did you decide to start making fun of outdoor recreation culture?

  Losse: Id been doing standup for 12 years and had posted videos of my comedy shows forever without getting much traction. A few years ago I started posting videos of me just talking into the camera—observational stuff. I posted one about the absurdity of Microsoft Excel, and how if you want to get ahead in corporate America you just need to know a few excel formulas. That one was a hit, and for a while I thought I was going to be the office comedy guy. But it never took off.

  Then last spring I got back into mountain biking after a few years off, and I realized that the actual media around mountain biking—trail reviews, especially—leaned so heavily into the gnarliest and most extreme terrain. Its all just rock rolls and huge gaps and features that felt so unattainable. I thought it would be funny to make fun of those. Its like, I dont want to ride the trail named Predator at Tiger Mountain, I want to know how to ride around that trail without hurting myself.

  I made the video about going around the gnarly trails. Honestly, I just thought it was stupid and only funny to me. I didnt think anybody else would like it. But it turns out a lot of people who love mountain biking arent trying to attain mastery. My video struck a chord within the community and got distributed by the algorithm, and it got huge pickup. My buddy joked that I picked up a mountain bike and became an influencer within 60 days.

  What elements of outdoor recreation are inherently funny?

  Theres a super-obsessive part of biking culture that people dont really talk about. Theres gear obsession, Strava obsession, and a fixation on parts upgrades and how they will make you better. Its ridiculous, and all of know it is, but nobody acknowledges it. If anything, Im shedding light on this collective mental illness we all share. You dont find that in snow sports quite as much, but in cycling it is very apparent. You buy a new bike and the first thing you do is upgrade the parts. I need new handlebars and new grips. Theres an entire industry built around people being insecure about what they are riding.

  Your humor is very much focused at the core audience of these sports, and not at casual followers of outdoor rec. Whats the challenge in reaching hardcore groups?

  I feel like it would be easy to make videos where I make jokes about mountain biking in such broad terms that anybody could like it. But that would be boring to me. I just dont think its as funny as being super specific to the things that people obsess about in these sports. Because those are things that I am guilty of. I dont want to talk shit about activities that Im not also doing. For instance, I made a video where I joked about gravel biking. I did it because at the time I was building up a gravel bike.

  I do think its what makes my comedy different. Its reverential. I am making fun of hyper-specific actions done by people in a group that appeals to people in that sport. And Im trying not to be corny.

  How do you straddle the line between joking and being mean?

  My comedic sensibility is that I wont make fun of something that isnt part of myself. I dont seek out communities to make fun of that Im not part of. That helps. I think that when you make fun of a community youre not part of, its easier to be mean. Its less reverential, and people can tell.

  But not everyone knows that Im making fun of activities I love. I made a joke about gravel biking—do you like mountain biking but wish it were less fun? Try gravel cycling!—and people were pretty fired up. A lot of folks didnt appreciate that one. There are very specific communities within cycling, and some of them take themselves way more seriously than others. Most people who get upset dont see that its satire, or they arent familiar with me and dont know that I also do it. So I try to always nod my cap that I love the sport Im making fun of. I want the community to be clear that theyre not being attacked by an outsider.

  Whats the difference between telling jokes in front of a live audience and telling them on Instagram?

  My stand-up humor is more autobiographical and observational. Its a lot about stories growing up in Washington State, being married, and other normal topics. I tell stories about riding my mountain bike, but they are longer, and tend to take weird twists.

  Making jokes online that connect with people is hard. I explain that its like trying to get struck by lightning. Its pure luck. Luck and repetition. Ive found that, since getting a bigger audience, you find your lane and stick with it. And mountain biking and snowboarding became my lane in a very unexpected turn of events.

  This interview was edited for space and clarity. 

Comments
Welcome to zzdsport comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdsport.com All Rights Reserved