Today we’d like to introduce you to Cbas Mattar.
Cbas, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, I’m Sebastian Mattar a.k.a. Cbas, a 25-year-old comedian. Born and raised in the county of Dade. I’m a die hard 305 representers. I love my city and everything in it. So, being able to kick off my comedy career here means the world to me. I’ve been doing comedy for a combined three years or so, but consistently, roughly a year and a few months now. I got started in comedy cause it was something that I always was a fan of it. One day, I was on a cruise and after watching these comics kill, I asked the cruise comics, “how do you get started doing this?” and they guided me to search for an open mic when I would get back on land. From there, it all started to come together.
Growing up, I always had an “entertainer” background. In high school, I was a class clown. I would also work on many extracurricular activities, Such as, speech and debate, PA announcer for basketball, baseball, girls basketball, and eventually continue this into college in Miami Dade where I would become the PA announcer for women/men’s basketball. I’ve done a little bit of a lot. I’ve worked six years in the restaurant, three years selling shoes, three seasons with the Miami Dolphins as an “entertainer” with the team. I spent one year at Miami Media School and got a diploma in TV and Radio broadcasting.
So, there’s been a lot of loose ends over the years that little by little, has been finding a way to tie themselves up in a very “God” like way. There’s been a lot of “God” like influence in my comedy career which has made this feel like more of a calling. Especially after one night, listening to Joey Diaz and Joe Rogan talking about comedy, I would get the itch to go back to do comedy and start working on a new set, in early December of 2017. I had a conversation the following morning with my cousin who’s a Pastor, Rod Vargas, where he said comedy is my calling. Without having any idea, I was working on getting back into comedy. It was just more of a reassuring sign that I was being guided onto the right path. Comedy has been in my life closer than I ever knew growing up. Being able to make people laugh has been something that has come naturally to me. It comes easily to laugh at hardship because of my dad’s influence. He dealt with a number of health complications growing up, and he would primarily find a way to make a joke about it, or find a way to deal with it in a humorous way.
Through a lot of hard work, discipline, good mentorship, and many other factors, I’ve been able to start creating somewhat of a reputation for myself amongst comedians and other artists in Miami and other cities. I’ve always put a lot of work into this art whether it be through networking, joke writing, talking comedy, watching comedy, writing new jokes, connecting with strangers, or anything else comedy brings. This is a job, and treating it like anything else will not allow the success of it come to light. Thankfully, if you love it and do it right, it won’t feel like a job.
I was never athletically gifted for sports or other activities. But talking… talking is easy! Plus, I can make people laugh?! Making people connect through laughter has been a gift that God has blessed me with. This is how I have found a way to create a life worth living. If the meaning of life is being able to do what you love every day of your life and the universe takes care of you, then I’m more than sure it revolves around me doing comedy. This is a way to provide for my family today, my kids tomorrow, and make a legacy for myself down the line.
Thank you guys for giving me some of your time to read this. Hope this was worthwhile. Make sure to follow me around Miami!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Struggles I’ve dealt with have been from a young age. My father was always a physically sick man from when I was born. He had a heart transplant for seven years prior to me being born. So, dealing with taking care of my dad was something I grew up doing. The older I got, the more he would need my assistance. But, at the age of 11, my parents got divorced and I went with my mom to Texas. Not knowing anyone, or anything over there, we left from Miami in February 27th and arrived at Katy, Texas March 1st. Growing up in a single parent household in a place that neither my mom nor I had any idea what was going to happen or how to even make things happen. But we made it through and I made it back to Miami when I was 14, where I would move back in with my dad and eventually take care of him until his passing when I was 20.
Growing up in a house that had a weird dynamic all around was not a struggle, but a blessing. Ive gone through my obstacles and troubles, but I always come out on top. Thanks to my mom’s mental toughness and my dad’s physical toughness, they had been prepping me for the tough ass world. But I am beyond blessed for all of my obstacles because they have shaped me and molded me to be able to continue comedy and do what I love.
Please tell us about your work.
I’m a stand-up comedian. Grabbing a microphone and being able to make people laugh and bring them into my world for a few mins to be able to block out their bs. I’m known to be an entertainer in general. Whether that was in Miami Coral Park Sr High, Miami Dade College, Miami Dolphins, or comedy, its always been something that I’ve carried with me.
What I am most proud of, is being able to tell my truth, make it mine, and make it funny enough to be able to do comedy around the city(es).
My personality, way of thinking, and work ethic are what separates me from others. Having an outgoing personality allows me to connect to a stranger in the crowd that may have had a family member pass and they didn’t know how to find the light in their situation, but after watching me, they find a way to see it through a different light. My way of thinking has been more of the “glass half full” mentality. Due to what I’ve gone through, my work ethic is what keeps me going in this field. Getting to places early, making sure to shake hands with the right people, staying up to write comedy, getting stage time, consistently being somebody who people can count on.
There are comedians who are funnier than me TODAY, but my work ethic is what separates me and will put me in my own category tomorrow.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, nothing. Everything has fallen in such a way that I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams. So, thinking I could have had a better break somewhere, or a better situation arises is not something that I think would happen. I mean, I’m living it and sometimes, this shit makes no sense to me and six months down the line, it makes sense. But without that rollercoaster, I would never know how to make sense of it. So, I wouldn’t change anything by any means.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 786-389-4010
- Email: cbasthevoice@gmail.com
- Instagram: cbasthevoice
- Facebook: cbasthevoice
- Twitter: cbasthevoice
- Other: youtube.com/cbasthevoice
Image Credit:
first solo picture: @redellagiungla (Instagram)
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