Traffic & Transit

NJ Still Laughing At Crazy Hudson River Paddleboarder (VIDEOS)

Watch extended footage from Scott Holt's now-infamous voyage across a river on a paddleboard. See videos from his new guerrilla comedy show.

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — He calls it the “wet suit commute.” And anyone who’s seen Scott Holt’s now-infamous voyage across the Hudson River is probably inclined to agree with his choice in nomenclature.

But what has New Jersey's intrepid mariner been doing since his journey into the choppy waters of the murky river last summer went viral?

It was an ordinary Thursday morning during rush hour last June when Holt – an aspiring comedian – decided to forgo the train, tunnels and ferries for another commuting option: his paddleboard.

Find out what's happening in Hobokenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Running late for a meeting with a potential comedy agent and clad in a full suit, Holt, a 32-year-old Belleville and North Arlington native living in Jersey City, grabbed his trusty board and leaped into the river. He made the meeting, and although he didn't end up with representation, footage of the unusual sojourn quickly blew up on the internet.

As one witness eloquently put it: “People at my job are talking about that dude who paddleboarded the Hudson River.”

Find out what's happening in Hobokenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Watch Holt’s edited version here (story continues below video).

With his crazy voyage still fresh in the minds of New Jersey and New York commuters, what’s Holt doing for an encore? Guerrilla comedy, he told Patch.

“I run a really weird comedy show where we stand on milk crates and use a banana as a microphone and try to make unsuspecting pedestrians laugh without a permit,” Holt said.

The banana helps in the permit department, he joked.

Unlike many forms of street improv comedy, the audience has a way to let the comedians know they’re not into the show. “If the audience doesn’t like a performer’s act, I provide tomatoes they can throw,” Holt pointed out.

The loose atmosphere helps the involved comedians work on longer bits, practice crowd work and “tap into their crazy side.”

People looking to catch one of the impromptu shows will have to do a bit of searching. Although Holt tries to organize a show on the first weekend of the month, the pop-up performances are only announced on the day of the event.

So far, there have been six shows at the following locations: Madison Square Park (by the Flatiron building), a beerfest in western New Jersey, the South Street Seaport, Columbus Circle (Central Park), a “bunch of NYC subway trains” and the Union Square subway station.

Past performers have included Kasey Coresh, Ryan Rummel, Angela Sharp, Garrett Nygren, Josh Wells and Nihara Nichelle.

Holt’s still working without a manager, although he’s had a few friends step up to the plate to help with publicity efforts. Those looking to get in touch with him for possible bookings can reach out to scottholtcomedy@gmail.com.

And yes, the “paddleboard thing” (as he puts it) still comes up every now and then in his sets.

“I’ve been in contact with the people from ‘Risk!’ for possibly getting on there,” Holt said of the storytelling podcast.

WARNING: Below video contains explicit language.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo/videos courtesy of Scott Holt

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.