Slash Coleman on Clubhouse

Bio

US Laughter Ambassador | Addiction Activity Facilitator | Founder Laughter Yoga Richmond | Author | Storyteller

As you may have noticed, I share a name with a famous guitarist and a symbol found in grammar books. If you assume it’s because my parents were huge fans of the band Guns N’ Roses you win points for knowing the reference. Like my namesake, I draw much of my inspiration from being raised by an offbeat, creative family including a grandfather who was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge.

I’ve been interested in how to create the right conditions for laughter since I was a kid. I can remember first taking on the role as the family entertainer at the dinner table, trying to get anyone in my family to laugh as long and as loud as possible. No one was surprised when I chose to make a career out of it.

I’ve spent the last decade using my irreverent humor to create stories that I’ve performed on television, in books and on stages all over the world. From my award-winning PBS Special, “The Neon Man and Me” to my work as a blogger for Psychology Today to my memoir, “The Bohemian Love Diaries,” one thing is certain, using conditional laughter to make others laugh is far from an exact science.

Along my journey, I’ve been featured as a speaker at: TEDx, The International Storytelling Center, the Oral History Performance Conference, The National Storytelling Festival, and Pete Seeger’s Clearwater Festival, to name a few.

In 2015, while on my book tour, my life took a dramatic turn when my right lung mysteriously collapsed. My journey to healing led me away from the stage to Dr. Madan Kataria (the founder and originator of the worldwide laughter yoga movement) and Laughter Yoga University in India where I received my certification as a Laughter Yoga Teacher.

In 2019, I founded Laughter Yoga Richmond and went on to establish programs with such diverse organizations as the US Department of Veteran’s Affairs and ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation.

I now devote my time to establishing laughter yoga addiction activity treatment programs at drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers throughout the country.

I currently live in Richmond, VA and in my downtime enjoy fishing, telling dad jokes and taking walks with my wife, daughter and our dog, Sally Tomato.