Long before Zack Fox was making scene-stealing appearances in “Abbott Elementary,” releasing music and amassing millions of views on his sweat-inducing DJ sets, he was best known for his Twitter jokes.
Fox, a graphic artist and emcee for Atlanta-based indie label Awful Records at the time, was posting absurdly funny tweets under the alias “Bootymath,” raking in tens of thousands of followers. His undeniable social media presence and comedic chops are what ultimately brought him to Los Angeles in 2017 when filmmaker, artist and producer Flying Lotus tapped him to co-write and star in his body-horror comedy “Kuso.”
“Then I just got stuck and then I got married,” says Fox, who tied the knot with Mayumi “Kat” Fox, a DJ and entrepreneur who launched the popular Mayumi Market AAPI marketplace. Thankfully, he’s enjoying living in L.A., which he says has a similar Southern hospitality charm as his Atlanta hometown.
Fox’s latest adventure? Starring in writer-director Alex Russell’s “Lurker,” a gripping psychological thriller that explores the insidious parasocial bond between a rising pop star and a seemingly meek retail employee, which is out in theaters Friday.
He’s also gearing up to unleash his “creative sandbox concept” called UWAY, which is hosting its first rave in collaboration with the L.A.-based record label and jazz community Minaret on Sept. 6 in New York.
Fox takes us along for his highly caffeinated Sunday in L.A., which involves losing track of time at a Yemeni cafe, taking his dogs Kiwi and Pepper for a walk at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area and having dinner at a plant-based Thai spot with all of his friends.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
10 a.m.: Doomscroll on TikTokI’ll be generous to myself and say I might get up at 10 a.m. Even if I say I’m going to get up at 9 a.m., you know I’m going to do the TikTok ingestion at the top of the day so let’s pad it with 30 to 60 minutes of just doomscroll.
10:30 a.m.: A calisthenics workout at home We have a third room in the crib where we keep workout equipment, so I’ve become a calisthenics freak. I never was like that before, but something about having it in the house makes me want to do that more. So I’m really getting into pull-ups and dips. I’m getting kind of scary good at the dips, and if you’re a fan of me you know Shemar Moore is my muse, so I’m trying to do whatever I can in life to look like that. So Sunday, it’s my free day, I’m going to get in there [and] get that work in.
11:30 a.m.: Have a guilty, delicious breakfast Usually by that time, Kat is already up and she’s Filipino, so she’s going to start making food that you are existentially required to eat or the relationship is gonna turn bad. All I know is I just have to eat it whether I’m hungry or not, so I guess we’ll call that a guilt-trip breakfast [laughs]. A guilty breakfast that has a 100% hit rate of being delicious. That’s the cool trade off. One time she made this savory waffle with rice, eggs, green onions and other stuff. She put the sweet and savory ingredients and eggs in the waffle maker. It honestly sounds super illegal, like a way that you summon a troll or something.
12 p.m.: Walk Kiwi and Pepper We’d probably take our dogs around the neighborhood. We like to give Kiwi and Pepper their red carpet at least twice a day. We have a very social dog network out here.
2 p.m.: Lose track of time at Jalsah After that, I’m probably doing the thing where I pretend like I don’t have a caffeine addiction, but really, really want to go to a cafe and have multiple caffeinated beverages. I have been going to this Yemeni cafe downtown called Jalsah. Usually I’m going down there because I have a couple other caffeine crackheads in my social group and we go there. I love it because it feels like a little slice of Yemen like there’s Yemeni jazz and they have the right smells going on, the right vibe [and] the right people. You know you go to a bar and order a pitcher of beer that you’re just going to have the whole day? You can get this sort of pitcher of hot coffee for the table and pour it for yourself. It’s got cardamom and the coffee has like stone fruit notes and it’s sweet. I didn’t realize that Yemenis make coffee the way that Black moms make coffee where it’s strong but very sweet. Caffeine has a time dilation on it so it could be hours that I’m in there or 30 minutes. Who knows?
4 p.m.: Get fresh at Nepenthes Because I’m downtown and if I’m with friends, then we might have to go get fresh. We might have to take it on down to Nepenthes and get a really expensive pair of socks that we’re gonna lose immediately. Maybe a pair of shorts or something that looks exactly like the other clothes that I already have.
5 p.m.: Take the dogs on another walk Now that I have the bag of clothes, we gotta take that back home. We’re going to have to think about where we’re going to [take] these dogs again because they are the star of the show. In this family, Kat is the lead singer, Kiwi is on the keyboard, Pepper is the drummer and I’m way off to the side playing bass. Usually, if it’s a regular day, I would say Kenneth Hahn park would be the spot. Or we’d go to Huntington garden. It’s a ways out because once you’re there, you’re like, “Why am I not doing this every single day?”
7 p.m.: Plant–based dinner with the homies We love going to this spot called Salaya in Thai Town. It is plant-based Thai food. Most of it is on par with what you’re going to get at a typical non-vegan Thai spot. A lot of it is actually beating the Thai spots that I love because I’m plant-based when I’m with Kat, but when I’m out in the world, I just eat whatever. I’ll eat a bald eagle if you fry it right [laughs].
9 p.m.: Go to the movies After that, we’d probably go see a movie at Alamo Drafthouse or New Beverly [Cinema]. During Black History Month, the New Beverly did a double feature of “CB4” and “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.” We had that b— crackin’. I brought everybody I know.
11 p.m.: Work on music At this point, I’ll probably wrap up the day by working on music with friends. Maybe we’ll go to Pirate Studios or we’ll go to a friend’s home studio and make music. Honestly, I think making beats is a good way to wrap up the day. It’s very low pressure and I think it’s good to work out the brain muscles a little bit before bed.
1 a.m.: More caffeine to power through the night If we start making beats late, sometimes I like to hit a late-night cafe if things get too social. Sometimes we’ll hit M3 or About Time in Koreatown. At About Time, we’ll sit out back by the fire.
8 a.m.: A caffeinated, low BPM rave Drinking coffee that late ruins my week [laughs]. Everything’s messed up now. I’m missing calls. I’m missing the email. I’m panicking at the meeting Monday. I’m walking in looking like Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas.” On this caffeine Sunday, I’m going to sleep Monday. I’m a raver and I think a group of three or more Black people talking with a substance involved does qualify as a rave. It’s a low BPM rave. It’s about 40 BPM and there’s no CDJs involved, but it is a rave.
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