Straight Edge? Schmaight Edge.

So today I received a question from a reader o’ mine asking, “As another kid trying to eek it out being a PA and someone who does not drink or smoke I wanted to ask something. Has your decision to not drink or smoke inhibit you in this industry?”

This is actually something I have spent a good deal of time thinking about… One would think the obvious answer would be NO! Hard work and a good personality get you where you need to go! And this is true… but only to a point unfortunately. The way I see it, the entertainment industry lifestyle is a work hard/play hard wild ride until you crash, take a few days off to recover from 3 months of 17 hour days and then dive right back in on the next project. And for many of the people who subscribe to this way of life, booze, drugs and cigarettes are an integral part of the equation just to keep them going.

I’ve always managed to play off not doing these things with small jokes or just changing the subject… in college I used to carry a cigarette case full of candy cigarettes and chew on them when my friends would take smoke breaks while we were editting our short films. I’m also a lover of Welch’s Grape Juice served in the biggest Brandy snifter you can find at parties. If people ask why I’m not drinking, I’ll usually say I’m driving or I’m cheap and laugh about it.

But every once in a while there are those awkward cases when you’ll be at a bar with the crew and you’ll be asked to explain yourself more in depth… because even though your producer is a vegetarian because she doesn’t like to eat meat, she cannot FATHOM how you could not drink because you don’t like beer. Being a teetotaler brings with it a life of infinite patience and hidden exasperation… God forbid you come across as judgmental, in an environment where you yourself are constantly judged. Sometimes I even consider telling people I’m “sober” and I “keep my temple clean”… The west coast is interesting to me because we glorify those who have gone to rehab… but those that just choose to abstain from the activities that put so many there in the first place are seen as a type of weird moral police.

I don’t, however, think it has really inhibited me in working. Luckily I am personable enough that I don’t need something to help me open up and “be myself”, so most people don’t really even notice. Plus carrying around a Shirley Temple can look enough like you’re enjoying a vodka cranberry that most people won’t think twice. And I know I’ve been lucky with bosses too, the people who I tend to work for again and again don’t care about that kind of thing and it’s that kind of attitude that keeps THEM working on fun projects as well… there’s a reason that vegetarian hippie is only on my resume once.

So I hope I helped, and stay strong my sober brother! You’re not alone, I promise. At least at the end of YOUR night, you can be the one in the room who remembers seeing that washed up 90’s comedian making out with a possible minor. (Seeeeecrets!!)

And anyone else that has a question, go ahead and submit, I love this kind of stuff!