We asked Chris Redd — the stand-up comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member — about the hair clippers he takes on the road, the video game he plays to battle writer’s block, and the wireless in-ear headphones he buys in bulk.
It’s a clean-ass deodorant; it smells great. A lot of deodorants bump under my armpits, and that shit is annoying as hell. This is the first one I’ve had that lasts all day. It’s my favorite travel deodorant.
I had no idea they feel so good and they’re so effective. I was like, “Whoa, this is insane. I’ve been using a caveman’s toothbrush forever.” I love this toothbrush. I’ve been raving about this shit for like two weeks.
I’m a proud bald brother, man. I’m a proud bald man. I don’t hang on to the horseshoe on the back of the neck. I cut it all off close. That’s something people don’t know about being bald: You have to cut your hair twice so you can get close enough. Since I’m always recording, I’m always shooting something, or always have a show, I gotta stay clean and these are the easiest to pack and they get the job done.
There’s such a routine with being bald, it’s crazy. I live by Tend Skin. It’s this alcohol that you put on and most people — at least most Black people who get their hair cut — put on after so they don’t bump up. Tend Skin is extra strength. It gets so hot at some point, people around you can feel it like, “Damn, that shit is working.” It’s the only thing that keeps me from looking like a gargoyle.
These are the first in-ear headphones that actually stay in my fucking ears. I use them for everything no matter where I’m going. If I’m walking, if I’m traveling, if I’m working out, I use those things, period — that I cannot live without. I’ve bought so many of them, because I lose them all the fucking time, that I have two that stay in the case, two that are out so I can constantly have some charged and ready. Any time they get down on quality or if I feel like they’re not hitting the same, then I’ll use one of the backups. If I left them at home, I’m buying some when I get to the airport. I do basically black, but now the blues are the ones I’ve had the longest. I haven’t lost them. So maybe there’s something about the blues that really makes me wanna keep it.
I’ve always been into games, I’ve always been a little gamer — although I can’t really call myself a gamer ’cause there are gamers who are so much better than me and I have other stuff to do. Gamers are basically me if they didn’t have other stuff to focus on. So if I wasn’t writing jokes, I’d be a full-time gamer. I do feel like I’m a fake pro at Call of Duty and I can pretty much pick up the sticks anytime and put up a decent competition. I’m a creature of habit, I like to play a lot of stuff — especially if I’ve got writer’s block or something. I’ll just jump on a game and just escape from that for a second and come back to my work. This is pretty much my obsession right now, and the PS5 is the platform I prefer to play.
My laptop is used for writing and for different videos that I can look at. And then the iPad is for when I’m taking off; it’s basically my touring life. That’s where I’ll review all my sets, I’ll watch shows and study, get a book. The laptop’s when I can like really dig in and write stuff. I never write on my iPad. And I never really watch shit on my laptop for real. It’s such a weird separation, but it works for me.
I really can’t live without it. It’s how I put out my content and stay up to date on what’s going on, when I’m gonna do shows. I’m constantly looking through the news, seeing what’s happening so I can keep it as current as I can if I want to go that route. I gotta stay plugged in. I actually use a calendar, which is so crazy ’cause I’m not the calendar type at all. But now I’m faithfully on that shit all the time. Either that or I ruin my life. I have a bajillion playlists on Spotify and I’m always remixing them. I feel like I’m a DJ of whatever situation I’m at, ’cause I can just plug in and have all kinds of tones, all kinds of genres. I gotta know what kind of music’s out there, so when I go make fun of it, I can be accurate.
Sonos is my speakers. I travel with the beach pill; I’ve been traveling with that forever. It’s just the cleanest speaker to me. It’s durable as hell. I feel like you could shoot it and it’d be all right. I love that thing. And no matter what other kind of speaker you buy, it connects to it. And if I’m at the crib, it’s gotta be the Sonos Move, or just a Sonos setup.
I have insomnia and the anxiety doesn’t help. The Wylds are some of the best edibles ever made. They’re really smooth — they have CBD in them too. Those are my night-nights. I know I’m gonna drift off if I have a couple of those.
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