Photograph by Harley Wince
If you’re online, you may not be surprised by the man in a Casablanca Vintage suit, a New Yorker tote bag, and a full face of clown makeup. If you are surprised, meet Softmaxplus.
Before creating Softmaxplus, Michael Sawan was just looking for a creative way to market the books he’d authored. He started out approaching people on the street around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to talk with them about his books, but realized he’d have to get bolder to really make a connection. Armed with knowledge of the art of clowning from improv classes, Sawan donned his now-iconic clown makeup and noticed a shift. People were eager to engage and started to approach him on the street.
To be clear, Softmaxplus isn’t a character. “When I’m out and about, I forget I’m wearing makeup. I’m just doing my thing,” he says.
The strategy was simple: consume a Miller High Life, grab a comically large microphone, and film short videos interacting with people in the city. The spontaneity was exciting, the videos started to gain traction online, and Sawan saw increased book sales during what he calls Hot Clown Summer—the true beginning of Softmaxplus—in 2024.
As the days grew shorter, Sawan’s social media content evolved into a project of its own.
Using his improv experience, he’s started experimenting with sketch writing. Instead of going out with a beer in hand and no plan for his content, he now has a premise—like I Find Love in the Liquor Store, a recent sketch in which he finds love in Bellevue’s The Party Source.
And as his following grows (83,000 on Instagram and nearly 20,000 on TikTok), Sawan doesn’t consider himself an influencer. In fact, he’s focusing less on the numbers and more on creating. “I’ve been [creating] for a long time, and undoubtedly, it’s better to be making things people are paying attention to than just be in a vacuum,” says Sawan.
Now celebrating one year of Softmaxplus, Sawan hopes his longform comedy content on YouTube starts to gain traction, and he one day may even experiment with ticketed live shows. While he’d like to reach audiences outside of Cincinnati, he finds the people in this city to be one-of-a-kind. “When you have diverse people, you end up getting all sorts of different ideas,” he says.
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