Broke-Ass of the Week

Broke-Ass of the Week: Mike Force

The Bay's best newsletter for underground events & news

Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude.  Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit'probably not.

Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week?  Holler at us here and we’ll send you the questionnaire.

images from Hawk Town, full pilot episode will debut in late summer.   flickr.com/mikeforce

The above image is from Hawk Town, full pilot episode will debut in late summer.  check out more of Mike’s art here.

Mike Force is awesome!  He’s not just any artist, designer and illustrator, he’s the one who worked on both my SF and NY books.  For those of you who have the NYC book (you totally should by now) he’s the guy who did the hilarious comic-strip in the middle of the book. Yeah, he’s a talented bastard.  Currently he’s working on a full pilot of his own show Hawk Town. Check out some clips of it here.

Name: Mike Force

Age: 28

Occupation: Book/Magazine designer & illustrator

What neighborhood do you live in?: Williamsburg.

Best money saving tip: Rent the small room.

What do you refuse to spend money on?: Student loans and taxes.  No, right now in my life I refuse to pay for health insurance.  For most things it’s cheaper to pay as you go.

Most expensive thing you’ve ever bought: This futuristic laptop I’m typing on now.

How’d that feel?: I was actually nervous leaving the Mac store and walking down the street for the first time in years.  I assumed someone would try to rob me.  Like a banker.

Favorite cheap eat: Late night pork sandwiches at Fette Sau.

Favorite dive bar: Right now, Maracuja on Grand because they have a backyard.  Also, Bruar Falls because it feels like the 1996 version of the East Village in there.

Best deal you’ve ever gotten: My mom let me study at Pratt in Brooklyn.

Favorite free thing to do: Browsing at Spoonbill & Sugartown books, then reading at the waterfront park.

If you woke up a millionaire, what’s the first thing you’d buy?: A business.  Then I’d make it better.  After that, a Chris Johanson painting.

Despite not having money, do you still love your life?: Yes, but I would cheat on my life with a richer one.

Do you own my book?: Yes, and it’s inscribed “despite your involvement, it turned out great”.

Best hangover cure: Odwalla’s Superfood and a very long walk.  I once had a hangover that wouldn’t stop unless I was walking, so I walked for hours.

Are you a hipster?: If by hipster you mean a white person adopting the lifestyle of Jazz musicians, then yes.  Or maybe I’m a broke ass yuppie.  A bruppie.

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.