On stage, Valentine Fly Guy is the personification of cool. Every aspect of his performance, from his hilarious gags to his retro pimp clothing assist in a top class comedy act. Currently to be found on BBC’s Comedy Nation, Channel 4’s Nights Out At The Hackney Empire and Channel 5’s Comedy Network, Valentine is well on his way to national stardom.

Matt Cross spoke to the man behind the afro, Zeron Gibson, regarding the influences for his character, Valentine’s future projects, and the highlights of his career on the comedy circuit.

BBCi: What were your inspirations and influences in the development of Valentine Fly Guy?
VF: A lot of my inspirations came from comedy films that I saw as a kid, particularly black exploitation films. Things like Car Wash, Flash, and Starsky and Hutch – they were all inspirational to the role of Valentine Fly Guy. There’s another one called I’m Gonna Get You Sucker, which starred OJ Simpson. That was also very influential to the development of the character.

I used to love watching Richard Pryor, and I respect him both as an actor and a comedian. I would say that he contributed to my aspirations to be a comedian.

Valentine is based very heavily on the stereotype of black pimps in the US. I had to make him American because the character wouldn’t have worked if he was British – the stereotype just wouldn’t be as funny. The original concept that I toyed with was called Flamingo Jones, but it took about a year for me to finalise the character and get the accent and personality just right.

BBCi: Why did you choose a profession in comedy?
VF: I’m a trained actor, and I also teach Wu-Shu – it’s the same martial art that Jackie Chan uses. Growing up I’d always hoped to be a stunt man in films, and got into the whole martial arts thing partly because of that.

But comedy always appeared to be something I could do. I’d be down the pub with my mates and I’d make a few gags, and it hit me that this was something I enjoyed doing. I figured that if I could make my mates laugh, why not carry that on to a bigger audience and get paid for it.

BBCi: What have been the most rewarding aspects of your career so far?
VF: I was doing a gig at Swindon Air Base, and after the show four big black guys in military gear approached me to congratulate me on my act. They were from Harlem USA, the same place as Valentine, and one of them perks up ‘so my man, which part of Harlem you from?’ and I nervously had to tell them that, ‘well, actually, I’m not American. I’m British’ (laughs). It’s very difficult to perfect a distinct foreign accent, so when I knew that I’d fooled them; I realised that I’d got it just right.

Another time was when I spent a week walking the streets of London dressed and acting as Valentine. It was beneficial to help practice and develop the character, but I got to interact with the public, whom I convinced I was a Harlem pimp. I got some great responses, and it was really funny.

BBCi: What projects are we likely to see you in the future?
VF: There’s a TV series on BBC2 called Malai Comedy at 11pm on Fridays; I’m on that. There’s also one called Malai Presents on BBC3, coming up in March.

I’m also doing a show as myself called Lab Rats with Mike Leheah; it’s a ‘rough science’ type of thing, where we’re the guinea pigs for weird experiments. It should be a real laugh. As well as that, I’ll be touring the country doing more stand up shows.

BBCi: Many stand up comedians have suffered abuse from hecklers at some point in their career. How do you cope under the pressure of the spot light when you’re hurled an abusive remark?
VF: Hecklers are an experience thing. In most cases, a heckler will only make a comment if you leave yourself open, in which case, you’re encouraging abuse by showing a weakness in your act. If you use a character as your performance like I do with Valentine, it’s imperative that you don’t come out of character – doing that would be the end of you on stage.

The term ‘heckler’ is a destructive word, but not all heckles are negative ones. I’ve had people shout out punch lines before I’ve finished a gag, that have actually been funnier than what I was about to say. When that’s happened, I sincerely thank them for their contribution.

It’s my personal belief that hecklers should be treated with respect, and that you should only give as good as you get. Remember that I’m a showman; people have paid money to see my performance, so I don’t try and offend individuals in the crowd. You tend to find that people heckle because they’ve drunk too much, but it’s not often done in malice.

BBCi: Do you have any advice for aspiring comedians?
VF:There are a lot of important elements that make a successful comedian. Your connection with your audience is an important one; you have to remember that you are a showman and you are providing a performance so there’s a degree of professionalism that’s expected of you. We all get nervous, but as soon as you’re on stage you have to be confident – if you’re not, the audience will see straight through you.

You also have to make sure your jokes make you laugh. If your joke doesn’t make you laugh, how can you expect it to make anyone else? There’s no point sitting there and writing new material and saying, ‘right, this will be funny’. If you’re not laughing, then it’s probably not as good as you think”.