We love comedians and we love kids, so it’s not surprising that we love a comedian kid. What is surprising about the 10-year-old funny man who goes by the moniker “Kid President” however, is that he has some super important things to discuss. Or preach rather; his delivery is perfection, and ultimately uplifting.
Born Robby Novok (in 2003, which will make you feel really old) he initially became the character Kid President as a promotion plan for a political benefit dinner. The character stuck and has turned him into a YouTube sensation, comedian, TED speaker, and motivational speaker, and yet, he remains adorable. Incorruptible, as of yet. He has interviewed Barack Obama, Beyonce, Josh Groban, and Rainn Wilson via soup can. Interviewing Rainn was an obvious choice as he is one of the founders of the new media company SoulPancake that hosts Kid President’s videos. Soulpancake brings fun and accessible conversation to big concepts like creativity, spirituality, religion, arts, and philosophy.
A recent Kid President video release “20 Things We Should Say More Often” starts off with some clear choices about how to be a better person during spoken interactions, such as saying “thank you” and “excuse me.” Hello: manners. Yes please in 2014. But the advice quickly takes a creative and therefore engaging turn, suggesting we say a little more of: “here is a surprise corndog that I bought you because you’re my friend.” Kid President also teaches us about self reflection (“Before you say something about the barbeque sauce on somebody’s else’s shirt, take a look at the barbeque sauce on your own shirt.”), telling people they’re “awesome and mean[ing] it,” occasionally admitting sports team defeat, and the often overlooked importance of not saying anything at all–“sometimes that’s the best thing you can say.”
Kid President has even used his good to implement calls to action like socktober, a sock drive for the homeless which demonstrated the willingness of adults and kids alike to get involved. (Which took place in October, if you didn’t catch that part of the portmanteau.) A child motivational speaker that appeals to everyone and even dances from time to time in an effort to rid the world of global sadness while wearing a suit and tie? Why didn’t we think of that!
All of his videos can be found on the SoulPancake YouTube channel. Obvious messages he’s sharing? Maybe. But you can’t beat the delivery package.
