Pass the Mic: CSTO Profiles
Thomas Mabine is a Serious Class Clown
Courtesy of Mark Osorio
Thomas Mabine sits in the lobby waiting upon my arrival. I’m walking to the community center in Roxbury, almost 10 minutes late due to MBTA issues. As his manager is blowing up my phone, I continue to walk faster. As I arrive at the center, Mabine greets me with so much enthusiasm, like I wasn’t 10 minutes late. The 20-year-old comedian is about 6 feet tall, and he has short black hair. He is wearing the sweater of a friend that he was promoting.
My first time watching one of Mabine’s videos on Instagram was hilarious. It was a video of him eating off his friend’s plate and his friend got “mad” and threw the tray of food at him. I really thought he was funny. When I got the chance to meet him I was so excited.
Mabine grew up in the South End, and he started entertaining almost a year ago. Most of his life, he was a class clown and that’s how he got into being a comedian. Mabine went to Fenway High, and he used to play basketball before he started to entertain others.
“All my life, I was a class clown,” Mabine said. “I like making people laugh, I don't know I just love it.”
Mabine did not have a plan B when starting his comedian career. Also, his mom did not have any faith in his career — she did not like what he chose as his path. “My mom hated it,” Mabine said. “People would come up to her like, ‘Yo, your son is doing this and that,’ making fun of me.” But, Mabine explained that her feelings slowly changed. “Now it's a positive. She still [doesn't] like it, but she wants me to have a backup plan.”
Mabine and I leave the center so we can go take pictures. We start in front of the building, and his manager says they would look nice on the track across the street. We go, and they come out amazingly. As we finish up, Mabine talks about getting in contact with friends to make more skits. He tells me about comedy, “You can do it, just be consistent and have faith in yourself. You can do it.”