Why Sheboygan Is Everywhere: Brats, Surfboards, and the Funniest Town Name in America
Credit where credit’s due: Dude Trust Me has officially delivered the best Sheboygan video on YouTube — part travelogue, part pop culture deep dive, and 100% binge-worthy. In his hilarious, well-researched breakdown, Nathan Denzene explores why our little city of 50,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan keeps showing up in movies, TV shows, books, and comedy sketches.
Sheboygan is, in many ways, a slice of Americana — a place with bratwurst festivals, surfers braving icebergs, and just enough quirk to make it irresistible to pop culture writers. But as Nathan discovered, there are a few specific reasons we’ve become a recurring punchline, backdrop, or offbeat reference for over 70 years.
The First Big Name Drop
The earliest known pop culture nod came courtesy of mystery author Jack Ritchie, who regularly drove through Sheboygan on his way from Washington Island to Milwaukee. Passing our then-famous Bemis toilet seat factory (and yes, it’s pronounced BEE-miss, as half the YouTube comments remind us), Ritchie began using Sheboygan in his novels whenever he needed a small-town setting.
From there, the floodgates opened.
Hollywood and Home Alone
If you’ve seen Home Alone, you’ve heard John Candy proudly proclaim Gus Polinski was “very big in Sheboygan.” The film even gave us bonus Wisconsin points by name-dropping Kenosha.
Surf’s Up in the “Malibu of the Midwest”
Believe it or not, Sheboygan is considered the best freshwater surfing spot in the U.S., with six- to ten-foot waves rolling in between September and March — which also happens to be the coldest time of year. Surf legends Larry and Lee Williams became icons in the surfing community, inspiring the animated Surf’s Up character Chicken Joe.
As YouTube commenter @debbiestevens5490 put it: “I was born and raised here and never knew that people came here to surf… Absolutely a great video!”
Bratwurst Capital of the World
Johnsonville — just outside Sheboygan — makes sure our city’s name is on grocery shelves nationwide. Bratwurst is more than food here; it’s tradition. We even went to court in 1970 to secure the “Bratwurst Capital of the World” title, beating out Bucyrus, Ohio.
And if you were wondering, yes, the Celebrity Jeopardy “Sheboygan” clue came from that very title.
Comedy Gold: It’s All in the Name
From South Park to American Dad to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, writers can’t resist a town name that’s fun to say.
As @GratefulAmericans commented: “It’s because everyone recognizes the name and no one knows why they know it. So it can just stand in for ‘average middle American town’ in jokes better than some others because the name is funny.”
Honorable mention to other commenter favorites:
- @danielstachnik5792: “In an episode of Murder She Wrote, a character was referenced as having grown up a few miles east of Sheboygan — which would have been in Lake Michigan.”
- @PhilGartman: “You forgot That 70s Show… Three times in fact.”
- @barbarapeters1078: “You missed Fiona from Shameless… ‘Where the f** is Sheboygan?’”*
- @ifiwasrichard: “The Creature That Ate Sheboygan” — yes, that’s a real board game.
The Verdict?
Between brats, surfing, local music history (The Chordettes, anyone?), and decades of comedy name-drops, Sheboygan has a pop culture presence most cities our size could only dream of.
Or as @leslieshatkin707 summed it up: “The funniest people come from Sheboygan. We are a goofy bunch! It’s almost as if the unorthodox and highly comical name of the city we call ours made us all silly because… why not?”
Watch the Video
For the full hilarious breakdown — and to see how many TV, movie, and music references you recognize — check out Dude Trust Me’s original video here:
