A hot topic in the world of comedians! Unexpected person who manages a “part-time job that sells when you work

There is a part-time job that is currently attracting a lot of attention among comedians as a way to “sell if you work. Last year’s M-1 finalist Tomoshige (40) of Mogrider, Shigesumi Kawakita (33) of Vacuum Jessica, Chance Oshiro (47), and others work for a temporary staffing company called ZONE International Inc. The company is led by Satoshi Kobayashi (50), former WKA Muay Thai world lightweight champion.

Chance Oshiro (47)

How did this legend who led the Japanese kickboxing world from his debut in 1988 to his retirement in 2007 become the president of a “successful part-time job”? The kicker was the dissolution of the All Japan Kickboxing Federation (all statements in parentheses below are by Mr. Kobayashi).

In 2009, the federation I was involved with as GM collapsed. When I was at my wits’ end, an acquaintance introduced me to my current job, and I took over the company. My job is landscaping, but I am basically a jack-of-all-trades. I clean up trash at cherry blossom viewing parties and weed whackers in the park.

The number of comedians has increased since the company hired KICK☆ (42), a pin comedian who is a close friend of the company. Currently, there are more than 20 part-time workers, about 60% of whom are comedians. About 60% are comedians. Kawakita and Chance Oshiro have been with the company for seven to eight years, and Tomoshige for five years.

All three are too busy to take shifts now, but they remain on the roster. Chance makes the scene exciting anyway. When I ask him if he wants to see a story, he gives it his all, even though it’s not on TV (laughs). Of course, they do their job well. When we were short on staff, Chance even recruited people through his social networking site. I can only be grateful.

Kawakita is serious. He does every job without complaint, so he is well-liked by the people in charge at the site. He is taciturn, but he never compromises on anything.

On the other hand, Tomoshige had a hard time.

He is a habitual tardy criminal. One time, he was late for the morning meeting, and when he went home to take a nap during his break, he was late for the noon start time as well. I said to him, “Who would be late twice in one day? I said angrily. He must have thought it was a bad idea to be half-hearted, since he had no stage work at Corona and his personal life was also busy with his engagement. After that, I started coming 30 minutes early, no matter how far away the site was.

Why is it that Mr. Kobayashi’s part-timers are always producing successful young people one after another? One of the reasons is his own experience of working his way up the ladder.

For the first 10 years after I started martial arts, I had to work part-time and compete at the same time. I understand that you can’t go to your part-time job because of urgent work. That’s why I put my main job first. If I get a job, I tell them, ‘I’ll make it work, so go ahead. We also go camping together twice a year. We also have a lot of drinking parties, and it seems to be a good place to exchange information. I don’t think I’ve sold well because I worked at our company, but I guess that’s a plus.

Recently, there was something that made me happy. When I met Tomoshige in June of this year, he suddenly said to me, ‘I owe my current success to Mr. Kobayashi. Well, I guess he was just being social (laughs). (Laughs.) But I was a little touched to hear that Tomoshige could say such a thing.

Making shifts is hard! Kobayashi-san talks about the comedians with a smile on his face while blurting out, “It’s hard to make shifts! Kobayashi has no intention of changing his style in the future.

I want to continue to see someone else spread their wings from here on out,” he says. I’m looking forward to seeing someone else’s career. They are serious about their work and their stories are really funny. I can’t wait to see them sell out!

Behind the success of these comedians of the moment lies the existence of Mr. Kobayashi, who supports them as a “great trainer.

Tomo Shige (40) of Mog Rider
Acha Masanobu (36) of “Japaneses

Tomo Shige was a tardy worker when he was first hired, and Acha was diligent from the start. Although they were often working at distant sites, neither of them ever complained.

Shigeto Kawakita of “Vacuum Jessica” (33)

Kawakita says he has never attended a drinking party. He was never a prominent figure, but his diligent work ethic was highly regarded on the job site.

From the September 23, 2022 issue of FRIDAY