Yoshi Obayashi: Serial Killer Comedy

“Violence is just very interesting, ya know?” says Yoshi Obayashi whose fascinating life story serves as the basis for his truly unique brand of dark comedy.

 

Yoshi’s interest in violence started early, when his father took him to visit the home of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. Today, Yoshi continues to take “murder tours,” visiting sites related to terrorists and high profile murderers, and sitting in on the trials of infamous criminals such as Jeffrey Epstein and Elizabeth Holmes. Everyone is fascinated by violence, he says, though men for markedly different reasons than women. 

 

Yoshi found himself on the receiving end of violence beginning at an early age. As an ethnically Korean kid living in Japan, he was physically and psychologically harassed by other children in an attempt to “normalize” him. A tip from a neighbor in the Japanese mafia ensured those kids never bothered Yoshi again. Later, after his mother kidnapped him and his brother and took them overseas, he found himself living in a navy town in Washington State where veterans took their lingering resentments against the Japanese out on him. 

 

Even more than by our shared love of violence, people are united by shared love of sex and porn, and warring political groups may be surprised to learn how closely their secret fetishes overlap. Yoshi gained invaluable insight into human nature during his 25 years spent working in the sex industry for 25 years, including for the infamous production company Evil Angel. Some people turn to BDSM to find respect and dignity, while others who grew up in the segregated southern U.S. seek interracial porn to lament lost love. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s lack of experience with women led him to seek out pleasure in the form of mass explosions. 

 

You’re in for some real (serial) killer comedy on today’s episode. Join us as Yoshi reveals the common kink shared by the ultra wealthy, why standup is like Indian food, and what specific personality trait he shares with Ted Bundy.

 

Quotes

• “I think you could almost talk about anything, if people know your intention.” (6:11 | Yoshi)
• “I just read the audience, I don't know if you know–you made the German porn reference–I've worked in sex business for 25 years." (19:59 | Yoshi)
• “I ended up working for a company called Evil Angel, one of the biggest porn production companies and I worked there for nine years. And then last 14 years, what I call “Perverts Without Borders” I've been whenever I'm working on a second documentary now but anytime–for television, in the movies–they need porn stars to contact me and I know them all.” (21:03 | Yoshi)
• “It's funny, sad and poignant, you know? And I think some of the unhappiness…because I think when I went to MAGA rallies, the predominant fetish for those men were large breasts. When I went to BLM, it was butts. When you talk to either one of these groups, they actually have more in common. It’s very sad.” (28:08 | Yoshi) 
• “I'm not an expert on pornography, I just spend my money and time visiting those places and talking to people and I just want to know, because I think I met a lot of good people, most of the men who rent and bought pornography. They're really suffering from loneliness. Right. And I think when you work a porn shop, you meet a lot of sex workers. They told me about 20% of their clients do not have interest in sex. Just companionship.” (31:17 | Yoshi) 

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Links

Connect with Yoshi Obayashi:

https://www.instagram.com/yoshiobayashi

https://www.facebook.com/yoshiobayashi

 

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