For students considering a career in boxing or comedy, Feb. 4 was a stellar day at East Leyden High.
As part of Ask the Expert Day, alums Jimmy Herrera (East Leyden class of 2007) and Scott Werba (West Leyden class of 2009) spoke in the auditorium to about 150 students.
Herrera originally wanted to play college basketball, but that didn’t happen. One day, he joined a friend who was doing mixed martial arts at a gym. While his friend trained, he went over and started hitting a bag.
“I had a professional fighter come up to me and say ‘You have a lot of potential,'” Herrera told the students. “It was so random. I’d never been in a street fight in my life. I started at (age) 19, which is really, really late. Most kids start at 5, 6, 11 years old.”
Herrera likes the training, which he does about five hours a day, although he describes it as “incredibly hard.”
And it’s great when he wins a match.
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“You put so much time, sweat and blood into it,” Herrera said. “To come out victorious is a feeling no one can take away from you.”
The largest challenge to being a boxer, says Herrera, is knowing whom to fight.
“You got to fight fighters who are going to make you look good and can win, rather than just going for the money,” Herrera said. “You get offered a lot of fights and the money is good, but you can’t let that make you decide. You look at the fighter’s record, who they fought and how good they are.”
Werba got into his field in a similarly random way. Having tested high in writing, an academic adviser at DePaul University recommended he go into advertising. After he graduated, he paid his rent with bartending and being a waiter while doing three unpaid internships at advertising agencies. While he liked the work, no one hired him.
“One night, I was out with friends (at a bar) and they had an open mic night,” Werba said. “I said jokes that weren’t jokes. In four minutes, one person laughed. That was enough for me. I got an adrenaline rush.”
Werba has since performed at Zanies, Laugh Factory and other venues across Chicago. The students laugh when he describes his career trajectory.
“I went from wanting to be a doctor to being OK with telling jokes to drunk people,” Werba said. “All my friends have 9 to 5 jobs. I work 15 minutes tonight.”
Coming up with new material and dealing with hecklers are among his professional challenges. But it’s worth it, he says.
“There are times when the room is completely cold,” Werba said. “The first two comics completely bomb. Being able to go into a cold environment and turn it around, I think that’s the most rewarding.”