‘Idaho’s Best Comedian’ riffs on well-known lawn and garden store, dating and himself

BOISE, Idaho — In case you might one way or the other work Idaho Metropolis, a Tinder date that entails the Previous Idaho Penitentiary and an impression of Jim Zamzow into a decent 10-minute set in Backyard Metropolis, you could be Idaho’s finest comic.

These jokes — and the title — are taken, at the very least for a yr.

On Might 21, 29-year-old Dylan Hunter clinched the Sasquatch trophy after the three-day Idaho’s Finest Comic competitors on the Visible Arts Collective.

Hunter has taken his fashion of comedy to the stage since 2018.

“My dad used to inform me if you can also make one particular person snicker, you can also make the entire world snicker,” he mentioned. “And my mother would say, ‘what, are you a comic?’ Sure.”

Like a whole lot of comics, Hunter has a mode that leans inward or, extra precisely, towards his outward look.

“Now I simply seem like Rasputin the used-car salesman,” Hunter mentioned throughout his standup set, through which he additionally in contrast himself to “Abraham Lincoln if he gave up” and “Tom Hanks if ‘Large’ and ‘Castaway’ had been the identical film.”

Hunter first stepped as much as the comedy stage by doing improv on the Faculty of Idaho in Caldwell.

Yep, he is a homegrown Idaho product — sort of.

“Lots of people assume I am native making these jokes. I wish to come clear: I really grew up within the Caribbean,” Hunter mentioned.

Whereas onstage, Hunter relates his expertise doing comedy in Idaho Metropolis.

“This one girl saved shouting at me, ‘you are Idaho Metropolis good-looking!’,” he mentioned. “That could be a actual story. I want I got here up with that tag line myself, however that’s simply one thing anyone shouted at me, and I used to be like, ‘thanks. I’m taking that.’”

Extra self-deprecating humor from Hunter: “My Tinder profile simply mentioned, ‘I do know, and I am sorry.’”

“Having that set I have been engaged on the final couple of years actually got here collectively in a manner that I have not seen it actually do earlier than. It simply felt magical,” Hunter mentioned on successful Idaho’s Finest Comic.

So, Dylan Hunter, you’ve got received the Sasquatch trophy, what are you going to do subsequent?

“I am going to get a haircut, ha ha,” he mentioned. “I like this look, however I wish to problem myself to actually shave 5 minutes of my materials and see what else I can give you.”

Beard or no beard, Hunter will at all times have a venerable Treasure Valley garden, backyard and pet retailer to assist laughs bloom every time he steps onto an Idaho stage.

“Hello, that is Jim Zamzow right here with the conclusion of ‘The Three Little Pigs,’” goes certainly one of Hunter’s impressions and joke setups. “However the piggy was good and planted her dwelling over the past thaw of the Idaho spring, when our soil’s at its most nutrient-rich, and he or she saved it that manner year-round utilizing our patented three-step patented lawncare program (pronounced “pro-grum”).”

Now that he is conquered Idaho, the place does Hunter see himself sooner or later?

“Hopefully not a burnt-out curiosity that anyone’s pointing at at some brewery saying, ‘that man was one of the best in Idaho,’” he mentioned.

However critically, Hunter hopes successful the competition will open doorways for him. He’d like to start out touring the Northwest. Within the close to future, he’ll be doing his factor Friday, Might 27, in a comedy present at Brother Brown’s Underground Bar-B-Q.

The Idaho’s Finest Comic organizer, Beth Norton, was in a position to present all of the contestants with head pictures, video of their units and an up to date biography — issues comics can use to get gigs at varied venues and festivals.