Crochet for Peace with Montreal’s Most Adorable and Edgy Comedian (and Winner of Best Baby Face), Shosho Abotouk

What the world needs now is today’s guest, the radiant and revolutionary Shosho Abotouk! Shosho is a generous and talented stand-up comic, crochet artist, entrepreneur, and activist. When I consider the terrifying atrocities that are happening all over our planet, I feel deeply soothed and heartened people like Shosho exists. Behind her sweet and adorable persona, Shosho brings us edgy and important and straightshooting comedy. She is a joy to watch. You will laugh so hard.

Shosho is also the founder of The Montreal Crochet Club, which offers social events and beginner-friendly workshops for crocheters of all levels. There’s Crochet and Cocktails (or Mocktails), Crochet Cafes, Crochet and Comedy nights. What a healing force for humanity! Shosho uses her crocheted creations as statements for activism and she encourages you to do the same.

Follow Shosho on Instagram: @nosearchresultsfound, @studioshosho and @montrealcrochetclub

Follow Erica on Instagram @erica.j.schmidt or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com

Full show notes at ericajschmidt.com/podcast/mtl-crochet-club-comedy-shosho

Shosho Abotouk on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life

Shosho’s Creative Origins: A vigorous bookworm, Shosho always longed to write, draw, and create—but maybe you can relate—she didn’t believe she was good enough. Hear how she went from watching Saturday Night Live to anchoring her high school’s sports events to finally discovering her creative community at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Shosho’s First Open Mics and How Her Baby Face Helps with Comedy. A weird face also helps. A weird name AND a weird face, see you on Netflix. But you don’t need to have a weird name or a weird face to try comedy.

Can you believe that Shosho only learned to crochet during the pandemic? Now she’s a pro crochet artist and teacher! Shosho recommends crocheting every moment of your life. If you’re looking to solve your next family gathering, hit up the Montreal Crochet Club, and never talk to irritating relatives without a bunch of yarn and needles in your lap ever again. You can also get in touch with Shosho for a stunning watermelon Free Palestine keychain, among other gorgeous creations.

Quit like a comedian. Shosho and Erica discuss Shosho’s imminent one-year sobriety from alcohol anniversary. Erica the teetotaller regurgitates everything she learned from Holly Whitaker’s book, Quit Like a Women, featuring kind, gentle, and non-patriarchal advice on how to transcend our culture’s obsession with alcohol. It was the book-club slash share-all portion of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life and we’re thankful for Shosho’s generous candour and honesty.

Listener Question from Reluctant Rapunzel: How Can I Get My Mother to Stop Telling Me to Shave My Head? Shosho’s eloquence and wisdom do not disappoint.

Morning Routines, Creative Routines, and Cleaning Routines: A healthy mix of the snooze button, aspirational affirmations à la Louise Haye, and nailing it under pressure.

Shosho’s spectacular TED talk: Love yourself like your life depends on it. But don’t be cheesy AF. Try to be grateful, hopefully your life’s not that much of a drag.

HALF-BAD UKULELE SEGMENT: Time After Time by Cindi Lauper. Shosho sings like an angel and yet, the segment is living up to its name these days. Someone please help Erica change her strings!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHOSHO. You are what the world needs now!

Recommended Episodes and Resources

If you enjoyed this episode, you will love: Dream Jobs With John Cotrocois, Laughs for All With Abby Stonehouse, Just for Laughs With Andrew Khoury

Why We’re Still Single With Mariam Khan, and Better Out Than In With Aloe Azimov

If you, like Shosho, long for the bookworm days of your youth, check out Erica’s essay, How to Start Reading Again

Quit Like a Women by Holly Whitaker

Full Listen Question from Reluctant Rapunzel

Dear Erica and Shosho,

A year and a half ago, my younger brother—my mother’s golden child—conquered Stage 3 colon cancer. Ever since, my mother has devoted her life to running in every 5K or 10K cancer fundraiser within 400 km of her home. I don’t run because it hurts my knees and I don’t like to exercise. But my mother thinks I should shave my head in support of what my brother went through—oh, and also to make a wig for all the poor children undergoing cancer treatment.

This feels like a big and unnecessary ask. It has taken me most of my twenties to grow my hair almost all the way down my back. My hair is thick, shiny, and kind of awesome. I hate how much emphasis our society puts on appearance, but my hair is the one thing about my looks that I really care about.

My brother is long in remission, and his golden locks have all grown back. He doesn’t talk much about his cancer and has never mentioned that he thinks I should shave my head. But my mother brings it up every time we talk. It’s that, her next race, or adding extra fiber to her lasagna recipes so we don’t all get cancer. It’s like she wants us all to do penance for this thing that was nobody’s fault and that turned out okay. I don’t know why she is taking this ordeal out on my hair.

I would tell her she should donate her own hair, but she lost a bunch during pregnancy and already has a short haircut. I’m close to losing it every time we talk.

How can I get my mother to stop telling me to shave my head?

Love,
Reluctant Rapunzel

THANK YOU, WITH LOVE

Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.

More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.

And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.