There are few comedies that have resonated as much with us at Coolector HQ as the iconic British comedy, People Just Do Nothing (PJDN) and we were lucky enough to sit down with one of the stars of the show, Hugo Chegwin (AKA DJ Beats) and talk everything from sneakers to his comedic influences. The multi-talented performer has a new show, Sneakerhead, out now alongside an exceptional podcast with PJDN co-star, Allan “Seapa” Mustafa and some amazing music to boot – with the recent performance at Glastonbury an obvious showcasing of the KURUPT FM talents.
“They also have these huge Turkey legs that people queue up for that look like huge forearms. “
— Hugo Chegwin
See what this comedy legend had to say for himself below:
Q: Probably best to start with the serious questions. Which event filled you with more unbridled joy – scoring in top bins on Soccer Saturday or the birth of your child?
Hugo: Hahahaha I don’t even like football, I played it as a kid until I was about 15 and wasn’t very good, it was a fluke. I was worried that I was gonna drop on my neck. I just thought to myself ‘don’t fucking buckle’ so yeh my son all day!
Q: Your new comedy, Sneakerhead, sees you wrenched from your PJDN cohorts – was this something you embraced or was it a bit of a daunting experience to start with? Did you find it hard not to fall into DJ Beats mannerisms etc during your scenes?
Hugo: It was strange to not be on set with my mates but I wanted to I guess create the atmosphere we have on people just do nothing to Sneakerhead as much a possible. I wanted it to be fun and for there to feel like everyone involved had creative freedom to do what they think would be funny/ work. I would basically improvise a lot and mess about, no real strict hierarchy at all and credit to the director Simon and Producer little Steve Monger for letting us do that. As for falling into beats mannerisms I love beats he a complete and utter idiot but it excites me to do things that are different.
Q: PJDN clearly had a lot of improvisation in the scenes, which definitely added to the chemistry between the characters – was there any scope for this in Sneakerhead or was it more of a script-only comedy.
Hugo: I wanted it to carry that energy and I was encouraged to do that but I think when it’s just one of you predominantly improvising I think it can mess with the flow a little. Especially when the other actors had taken the time and effort to learn it all verbatim. Something what we would do in PJDN was to make sure we hit certain marks and make it feel natural even though everything was written out. If it feels better in the moment then that was encouraged.
Q: Saw you do some eBay ads about sneakers – are you a big sneakerhead in real life? If so, what’s your favourite pair. If not, you’re more or less my age, so assuming it’s a pair of New Balance also?
Hugo: Yeh I do. I know how to really waste money. I like NB’s a lot recently they have been making certified bangers but my all time favourite is either an air max 95 or an air max 1. In my opinion they never go out of style and can go with pretty much everything. The 95 is super British too, it’s part of our culture. Even my dad has a pair…that I gave him and he loves them.
“I love peep show, curb your enthusiasm, Eastbound and down, Nathan for you, partridge but for me I like the documentary’s about curse liners, expats, driving cops I feel like that is where the gems are. It’s like sampling for rap beats, if you choose the same samples everyone else uses your just gonna get similar beats- analogy “
— Hugo Chegwin
Q: Did you think that People Just Do Nothing would go on to be as iconic and such a cult phenomenon when you were filming the pilot for it years ago? What do you think it was about the show that made it resonate so much with such a diverse audience?
Hugo: Not at all, we did that for something to show our mates initially, the only reason it was on YouTube was it was a way of getting it on Facebook so we could watch it at home. I think we where fortunate in that garage was circling back around and we were the new addition to it in some capacity.
Q: You’ve changed up your look a lot for your last few shows, particularly with The Curse – which look are you most into?
Hugo: Yeh both have been shocking. If I had to choose I’d go for Russell in Sneakerhead. Phil from the curse looks like a thumb. I look like a thumb…yeh!
Q: Who would you say has the best sense of your humour from the PJDN cast? And, yes, you can say yourself.
Hugo: I think they are all really funny – This is my way of seeing it.
Asim is Method Man, he’s the star the one regardless if you like or don’t like the show he’s got that style of comedy that bangs. He will make you laugh and there is something that he does in the show for you. He’s infectious.
Seapa is Raekwon, your rappers favourite rapper. He’s a trend setter, sets the level, always creates a new angle of humour a new range of style that all of us guys love and take home with us and use on our friends etc he does it effortlessly. Observes people and picks up on the subtle nuisances.
Steve is the RZA – he’s the Jedi master the one who has the vision. Without him it would all fall apart. Nothing would get done to a high standard and is super funny can always add that extra sauce to your joke and make it bang 10 times harder. His filtering system is strong, if your idea is a 10/10 it’s not happening. We all look for the Stevey bass line seal of approval. It’s not easy to get.
I basically love anything when Grindah’s narsasim is on a ten. When Steve is pickled out of his brain and when chabuddy is at his most disgusting!
Q: What was the inspiration for your awesome podcast with Allan Mustafa, Chattin’ Shit – was it the fact you realised you two say funny shit constantly and it deserved a wider audience?
Hugo: Tbh it’s just an idea we had, nothing over thought or complex about it. We didn’t really even talk much about a concept before we recorded our first ep. Just wanted to be able to share and understand other people that we admires journey.
Q: What’s your takeaway memory from Japan from filming the PJDN movie over there?
Hugo: For me my partner flew out to see me and experience it once we’d wrapped and we both went to Disneyland Tokyo. It’s mad, people dress in full cosplay. We looked weird in our normal clothes. They also have these huge Turkey legs that people queue up for that look like huge forearms.
Q: We’re big fans of Percival menswear here at The Coolector – any favourite pieces from them for summer?
Hugo: I love their tracksuits! They are really good peoples and I wanna see them win!
Q: Will you and the rest of the PJDN guys continue to come up with new projects together, such as The Curse, or are you all starting to branch out to new projects now?
Hugo: If it’s natural and comes to us then I’m sure we will. I think we’ve got to explore on our own for a bit and see where it takes us but Wu Tang is forever
Q: Any stories you’re able to share from the Kurupt FM performance at Glastonbury this year? Do you think you’d be performing at probably the world’s biggest musical festival when you began PJDN?
Hugo: At the time it wasn’t really something we had planned for but when I think back me and Steve used to DJ in our bedrooms together and Seapa used to MC on pirate radio and I used to make music with Asim so I think it just came naturally to us. We all have a good understanding of music I think.
Q: What’s up next for you?
Hugo: Gonna drop some music this year, The Curse series 2 and try to stop eating complete shit and be healthy again.
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