Shining a spotlight on celebrities and athletes who love to travel. Created and developed by Stacy Steponate Greenberg.
Today, we welcome Jacob Soboroff.
Combine the wit and knowledge of a news junkie with a fun, funky personality, you get Jacob Soboroff, the go-to news anchor for the millennial generation. Named the “Media World’s New Favorite Nerd-Hunk” by Paper Magazine, Soboroff is co-host of the news/pop culture show TakePart Live on Participant Media’s Pivot TV, and in January launched YOUTUBE NATION, a daily web show produced by DreamWorks Animation highlighting must-see videos. With a passion for election reform and increasing American voter participation, it was only fitting that Jacob would visit the Overhead Compartment on this Tuesday in November.
The Overhead Compartment with Jacob Soboroff starts now….
OC: You live and work in your native Los Angeles, what is one place I don’t know about that I MUST see next time I am in LA?
JS: The Los Angeles River. It’s minutes from my house, has miles and miles of biking and walking trails, and you can actually kayak in it! It’s in the middle of being restored from what was essentially a concrete drainage ditch to an incredible wildlife habitat and open space in a city that needs so many more parks!
OC: What is your favorite city to visit for work?
JS: New York. I went to college at NYU and always love going back. And to work in TV and particularly news and talk shows in New York City is to really feel like you’re in the center of the universe for what I do. It’s pretty sweet. Always sort of pinch myself when I am working in New York.
OC: What do you do if you have down time in that city?
JS: Eat and with my friends. I can do both at The Smile which is owned by one of my very best buddies from college Matt Kliegman and his partner Carlos Quirarte.
OC: Favorite place for leisure travel?
JS: If it’s a road trip, we have some friends who live up north of Santa Barbara on a ranch and that’s pretty epic. I learned to surf up there. Best vacation I ever took was to Corsica on our honeymoon after we got married. Never been to a more mellow place with better food nicer people.
OC: What do you like to do in your down time for leisure?
JS: I am fairly boring. I like to take it easy because during the week my hours are relatively strange because I am doing a live TV show until 8PM. Love to go surfing, play basketball, and my wife and I love to go eat delicious food whenever we can.
OC: You were named “Media World’s New Favorite Nerd-Hunk” by Paper Magazine. Do people recognize you in airports?
JS: Not often. But one time we were flying back from Florida and the flight attendant recognized me from the show I was doing on NBC at the time, School Pride, and gave us some super VIP treatment. Got an upgrade and all that. But then there were mechanical problems with the airplane, and we switched to another plane, and got downgraded. Such is life. Can’t stay on that high horse for too long. As long as people don’t think I’m JJ Abrams or Al Franken I’m good.
OC: If you find a chatty fan in the seat next to you on a plane, do you dive right in or pretend to read?
JS: I am down to chat for a bit but then it’s time to get in the zone. I really try to zone out and relax on flights. I am the guy who buys way too many periodicals at the airport news stand and holds up the line for a long time. Also, I have to admit I am addicted to airplane wifi. It’s a ripoff, but it makes the time go by so much faster. Never been super into watching movies on planes.
OC: What’s the strangest thing that ever happened to you on an airplane?
JS: When I was a kid flying to New York with my mom the flight attendant — and this was in the days of super big planes flying between Los Angeles and New York — let me go in what was basically an elevator for the food cart down into the bowels of the airplane when we were up in the sky. Unless I am tripping out and not remembering this correctly, she literally put me in the food cart, and sent me into the underbelly of the plane when we were at cruising altitude. Seems shady now.
OC: In an airport?
JS: I develop a strange craving for Cinnabons. Every. Single. Time.
OC: In a hotel?
JS: My hotel stays have been surprisingly normal.
OC: Your wife’s company recently opened a shop in Soho. What’s your favorite neighborhood in New York?
JS: When I was in New York I spent most of my time living in the Village at NYU. I love lower Manhattan. But I also got to work for Mayor Bloomberg when I was in college as an advance man and got to go all around the city all the time to places I otherwise would have never been. From a watching a Christmas tree lighting in Maspeth to visiting a senior center in Brownsville, the reason I love New York so much is there is so much going in so many different worlds all the time. If I moved back we’d probably live in Brooklyn.
OC: First thing you do when arriving at a hotel in your room?
JS: Take a hot shower.
OC: Why does an expensive hotel have to charge fourteen bucks to access the internet?
JS: I have no idea. It is idiotic.
OC: Complete the following sentence: I never leave home without __________________________
JS: My 2014 monthly planning guide my accountant gave me. I don’t like electronic calendars. They bug me out. I keep my calendar by hand.
OC: Top three favorite restaurants any where in the world.
JS: Rokurinsha is a ramen spot in Tokyo Station, Speranza a super delicious and chill Italian spot in my neighborhood and Nate N Al Jewish deli in Beverly Hills (get the Westwood sandwhich).
OC: Have you met your idol Vin Scully? If so, what did you talk to him about? If not, what’s one thing you’d love to ask him?
JS: Never have met him! I don’t know if I would have anything to say. I think I would just want to hug him.
OC: Why is Chris Paul your favorite basketball player?
JS: He’s a leader and a class act.
OC: Travel secret/habit about you that no one knew until now.
JS: You know those Patagonia puffy jackets with hoods? I have one in L.A. Clippers colors (red and blue) and zip myself up in it when I am on a plane, like I am in a cocoon. If it’s hot, it keeps you cool, and if it’s cool, it keeps you super warm. It’s the best piece of clothing I own. And so comfortable to snooze in.
Jacob Soboroff, please use care upon departure as items may have shifted in The Overhead Compartment during our journey. Thanks for choosing us for your travel tips! Have a wonderful day!
Photo Credit: Pivot
