Steve started attending story shows in 2004, and telling stories in 2006, and successfully competed in numerous Moth story slams. He has won 33 Moth StorySLAMS, and seven Moth GrandSLAMs, and has appeared on the Peabody Award-winning Moth Radio Hour eight times. He also performed in many other storytelling shows, including the Story Collider, where he became friends with Erin Barker and Ben Lillie. He was impressed with their energy and intelligence, but more importantly their commitment to the art of storytelling, even as they sought to establish an identity for Story Collider.

Originally from the Midwest, Zimmer attended Northwestern on the Evans Scholarship, the same one referenced in the film ‘Caddyshack.’ He subsequently earned a PhD in Economics, mathematical focus, from Harvard. Steve had seriously considered switching to a career in science, and at one point spent 7 years working in a biochemistry lab at NYU.