Michael Floorwax Returns to Standup Comedy as Health Recovery Continues

In July, Michael Floorwax returned to the Denver radio airwaves for the first time in more than four years, guesting on Peter Boyles's KNUS morning-drive show to talk about the clinical depression that caused him to leave the ultra-popular Lewis & Floorwax program on 103.5/The Fox and the controversial medical treatment that has finally helped put him on the road to recovery.

Tonight, December 11, he's scheduled to take another step on that path. He'll be taking part in new-talent night at the downtown Comedy Works; get more details below.

This isn't the first time Floorwax (real name: Michael Steinke) has ventured onto the Comedy Works stage since his radio return. A few weeks back, with no ballyhoo or advance warning, he showed up at the club for the Tuesday night showcase, which spotlights performers just getting their start — something he did decades ago. But the setting seemed appropriate, since he's making a fresh beginning, too.

"I had a good time," he says of the gig. "It was fun cracking off a few beauties and doing my shit, since I've been feeling a lot better."

Now he's confident enough to let fans know about his appearance in advance.

As Floorwax told us prior to the Boyles program, his condition was so debilitating that he could barely function. But then his physicians, led by Dr. Sara Markey, tried a technique called ketamine infusion. Ketamine is a powerful drug most commonly used on individuals who are being put under anesthesia, but in recent years, experiments with clinically depressed patients have shown promise, as Floorwax knows from personal experience.

"It's only been around for something like three years, and it's just been a miracle for me," he says.

Thus far, his medical regimen hasn't made its way into his standup routine. "I'm not talking about how I get hooked up to ketamine and trip my balls off and then I feel better," he points out, laughing. "I'm not taking that approach. I'm just doing my regular, sophomoric crap."

Floorwax's success at his first new-talent night appearance has also led to "a few private gigs," he reveals, "and they've been going good. Standup is my bag. That's how I got started, how I get down. It's what I love to do, and I'm glad I'm able to do it again. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

New-talent night gets under way at 8 p.m. at Comedy Works Denver, 1226 15th Street in Larimer Square. Visit the Comedy Works website to get more details.