Charlie Patton and Kerry Speckman<\/span> Before Adrian Smith learned how to read and write, he knew how to make people laugh.<\/p>\n Smith, who grew up on Moncrief Road on Jacksonville\u2019s Northside, began performing comedy as early as 6 years old.<\/p>\n His family would \u201cstand me up on the center of the coffee table in the living room and tell me \u2018make us laugh,\u2019\u201d he recalled during a recent interview. \u201cAnd I would just do my little jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n When he performed, his older brother would reward him by giving him a quarter. He would then walk from the Washington Heights apartments<\/a> to a nearby store where he would use his quarter to play Ms. Pac Man with his earnings \u201cfrom telling my little jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n These days, Smith makes people laugh for a living. A professional standup comedian, Smith, who goes by A-Train when performing, spends a lot of time either on the road or on cruise ships. But it didn\u2019t start out that way.<\/p>\n After graduating from Raines High School, Smith attended Florida State Community College\u2019s Downtown Campus, eventually transferring to the Fire Academy of the South at FSCJ. But first responding wouldn\u2019t be a possibility because of his asthma.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it made it tough, and to this day, I’ll chase a fire truck,\u201d he said. “… I love that action, you know. I just have this passion for first responders. And if it wasn’t for asthma [and comedy], I would be on the back of a truck right now.\u201d<\/p>\n How he went from being a wanna-be firefighter to a comedian is a whole other story. Enter his wife, Traci Henderson Smith.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when Traci and I met 28 years ago, she told me within the first few weeks of knowing each other, \u2018You need to be doing stand-up comedy,\u2019\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n At the time, Henderson Smith was involved in the entertainment business, acting as a publicist for athletes, entertainers and songwriters, so she knew what she was talking about.<\/p>\n \u201cShe signed me up for a comedy competition that was here in town without me knowing it,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI was, like, I\u2019m not doing that, you know? I was a little church boy,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought, \u2018I can\u2019t do that and be a person of faith, you know what I mean?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She was, as he put it, \u201crelentless\u201d and two weeks later he was standing on a stage in front of a sold-out crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd as I stood there, I realized I liked it,\u201d Smith admitted.<\/p>\n Turns out, the crowds liked him right back. He eventually quit his job as a corporate trainer to pursue comedy full-time \u2014 and never looked back.<\/p>\n Comedian A-Train from Jacksonville is still making people laugh<\/p>\n Adrian Smith, known in the comedy world as A-Train, grew up in Jacksonville making people laugh and is still doing it. Credit MustCFilms<\/p>\n MustCFilms<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/media-video><\/div>\n He started at local comedy clubs, honing his craft. As his talent grew, so, too did his audience, with Smith serving as the house emcee at the former Comedy Club of Jacksonville and holding a residency at the historic Ritz Theatre and Museum. He’s opened for big names like D.L. Hughley at much larger venues and has toured the world performing on cruise ships.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 Special to Jacksonville Florida Times-Union USA TODAY NETWORK<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"play\"](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\"){kind=icon}
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