“Who the f— is Broke-Ass Stuart?”
It’s a fair question, and the title for the opening chapter of Stuart Schuffman’s new book, “The Worst of Broke-Ass Stuart: 20 Years of Love, Death & Dive Bars.”
If you’ve lived in San Francisco at any point over the last two decades, you’ve probably heard the name “Broke-Ass Stuart,” but perhaps without knowing much — if anything — about the man behind the moniker and his unconventional brand.
Schuffman is the man behind 20 years of raw, romantic and righteously pissed-off writing chronicling life on the margins and his undying love for San Francisco. It started with a historic zine and has evolved into an iconic website and robust social media presence covering city politics, culture, protests, gentrification, nightlife and, of course, dive bars, all in service of “journalism for the working class.”
The unabashedly foul-mouthed writer describes himself as a voice for the underdog: the heartbroken idealists railing against gentrification with grit and wit and “everyone else out there who wants to enjoy life not as a rich person, but as a real person.”
Schuffman has celebrated his share of milestones since launching “Broke-Ass Stuart”: four books, a popular blog, a TV travel show and a run for mayor in 2015 (which he announced at a “bar mitzvah party” marking his 13 years of living in S.F.). And this year, the Board of Supervisors declared “Broke-Ass Stuart Day” on Oct. 17, the release date of “The Worst of Broke-Ass Stuart,” which details these adventures and more.
The name — half self-deprecating joke, half badge of honor — has become synonymous with independent and irreverent journalism in San Francisco.
“I didn’t think I’d still be doing this at 45,” Schuffman admitted about his 23-year-old self. Had he been able to see his future back then, he said, “I would’ve picked a less ridiculous name.”
Schuffman’s love story with San Francisco started on the 71 Haight bus line.
“I met my college girlfriend” on the bus, he said. “I was going to UC Santa Cruz and came up on weekends. After college, I just moved here.”
He got his start as a writer in 2004 on a whim. He was working in a chocolate store in North Beach when he was handed a business card by a travel writer. That was all the spark he needed to make a life change. “I decided I wanted to be a travel writer,” he said. “So I made myself one.”
He started by making a zine. Before blogs, these self-published, handmade pamphlets — cut, pasted and stapled together — were popular among creative types, artists, sci-fi fans, punks and other fringe groups. Schuffman’s first travel and lifestyle zine, “Broke-Ass Stuart’s Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco,” resonated. It sold 1,000 copies and won the “Best Local Zine” award in the SF Bay Guardian’s 2004 Best of the Bay issue.
The success of the scrappy little publication led to another.
“As I matured, so did the publication,” Schuffman said. “In the beginning, it was about finding cheap beer. Now it’s about surviving capitalism and calling out fascism.”
So with all of that said and done, who is Broke-Ass Stuart?
“You want the Jewish version?” he responded with a laugh that implied the answer could go in just about any direction. “I’m super Jewish. I learned how to unhook a bra at Jewish summer camp,” he joked.
Schuffman grew up in San Diego. One side of his family was from New York and the other was rooted in the tight-knit Jewish enclave of El Paso, Texas. It was a childhood filled with Hebrew school, Jewish summer camp and a teenage trip to Israel with the youth group NFTY, courtesy of his grandparents.
“I loved going to Hebrew school,” he shared. “I like to learn, so I liked Jewish school because I got to learn and I got to have friends.” The religious side of Judaism “is not really for me,” he said. “I’m not a big joiner. But I love the community aspect of being a Jew.”
Jewish culture continues to be central in his life, including his family’s “El Passover” seder in El Paso, which he attends annually.
“I love being Jewish. It absolutely informs my worldview,” he said.
Schuffman’s Jewish identity also informs his politics and news coverage, including around Israel and Palestine.
“Growing up, Israel was this safety net. The idea was, if shit went down here, you could always go to Israel,” he said. But as he got older, his views evolved.
In 2018, he went on a trip to Israel with the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area. “It was a learning and unlearning process,” he said. “I saw things that I’d only read about before. Like the fact that you could tell in the West Bank whose houses are settlers and whose are Palestinians, because the Palestinians have black water tanks on the roof because Israel turns the water off sometimes. That’s f—d up, you can’t just turn the water off on people.”
“Broke-Ass Stuart” is an explicitly progressive publication. Schuffman, however, has faced criticism on both sides over how his website presents issues around Israel and Palestine.
He cited a story from a few months ago after Manny’s Cafe, the Jewish-owned business in the Mission District, had its windows smashed and vandalized with anti-Zionist and antisemitic graffiti on June 9. Schuffman considers it a hate crime.
“When we called that out, all of a sudden I got a lot of bullshit for that,” he said. “Which was like, cool, where were you when we published all the other stuff that was in support of the Palestinian cause?”
Schuffman said he isn’t bothered by the criticism. “I’m pro-people. I’m anti-fascist and anti-terrorist, whether that’s Netanyahu or Hamas,” he said. “But threading that needle is hard… some people get mad no matter what you say.”
Even with the accolades and success of the brand, with more than 1,000 paying Patreon members, “Broke-Ass Stuart” remains a financially fragile operation. Schuffman and the website’s co-owner and managing editor, Alex Mak, are the only two staff members. The rest are regular freelance contributors.
“I wish I could afford to pay more people. If we had enough money that my employees unionized against me, I’d be thrilled,” he said with a laugh.
With San Francisco in constant flux, Schuffman remains deeply rooted in the city. Even as friends get priced out and neighborhoods gentrify, he holds on, living in a rent-controlled space and working part time as a restaurant bartender.
“People say San Francisco is dead. They’re wrong. You can’t kill this place. There’s still so much culture and creativity here, it just takes different forms,” he said. “The city says, ‘Yes, what’s next?’ and it brings you along for the ride.”
“Broke-Ass Stuart” has been one wild ride, but Schuffman’s not going anywhere (at least, not until AI comes for him, he says).
“Every fucking day I wake up like, ‘Shit, I’m still doing this,’” he said. “I can’t believe I still get to do this.”