We recently connected with Brian Hoffman and have shared our conversation below.

Brian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

There are many ways to earn a living in this great country we live in. One of those ways is finding what you love to do and then find a way to profit from it.

Growing up as a child I can remembering asking my Mom why some people don’t seem to like what they do for a living. Her response stuck with me for all my life. She said that some end up doing a job that they dislike because it pays the bills. To me that seemed ridiculous. Then adulthood happened and I realized quickly that sometimes you have to do a job you do not like to provide for those people you love. It is a sacrifice that most people do in order to make sure the people they love have what they need.

I believe that each and everyone of us has something inside of them that will allow them to do whatever it is that makes them and the others around them a little better. We all have those God given talents and it is up to the individual to realize what they are and to put them to good use.

I found that early in life, I had the ability to remember and tell jokes and stories that would make people laugh. Everyone loves to laugh, it makes a person feel good and is great healer of sorrow, which we all experience form time to time.

The next challenge was for this high school educated person to figure out a way to make a living from it. Making people laugh, for me anyways way a fairly easy task, the hard part was earning a living from it.

After years of open mics, I finally started to earn small amounts as an MC and opening act. Knowing that I had to push harder, I starting finding my own gigs in small organizations, private parties and eventually heading to Las Vegas where I figured I was going to make it big time immediately…. HA!

As with most people with their wild dreams, I found myself being taken advantage of, but learned quickly after going down every wrong path I could find! I was headed for destruction and much worse, possibly death.

I did find a few good folks that took me under their wing to show me how to survive in the entertainment world. Luckily before I started in entertainment I had run several businesses right into the ground! I knew what not to do.

Most people don’t realize that show business is just that, a business and without any business you have no show. Even if you are the most talented individual in your field you will fail without any business.

So I studied what the successful businesses did and tried my hardest to take a lesson from them. While still having a “Real Job” I would take the money I made from that and invest it in my comedy career. It took many years before I could quit my “Real Job” and call my funny business a success. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done but the rewards of being self employed in the field of entertainment has allowed me to travel all across the USA performing in some of the most iconic and historic theaters ever.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I come from a small town in North Dakota. My parents had a 1200 acre farm where we raised grain and cattle. This life taught me to work hard and to do the best job you could no matter what the job was. I was taught to do things right, even if it wasn’t the most glamorous job, like cleaning out the barn! It is that lesson from my parents that has helped me with what I do today.

If you would have told me when I was doing that job that I would eventually end up being known as the only Red Skelton impersonator in the world with the blessings of his widow, his niece and the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, I would have said you were nuts. But that is what I am. Red Skelton was one of the funniest comedians that had his own television show for 20 years, was a huge movie star in the 40’s and also had his own radio show long before television was even thought about.

As I perfected my comedic skills, many folks told me I reminded them of Mr Skelton, which I politely denied since I didn’t feel I was of that caliber of talent.
Years of studying his routines and style had led me to a life of great rewards.

I get to make people laugh and remember fun family times when they were younger. That I would say is one of the greatest things about my job. Giving people a journey back in time, reliving those memories of their childhood. If you attend one of my performances and have no clue to who Red was, then you get to enjoy good clean funny comedy, create new memories and learn more about a man who believed that you shouldn’t pay to hear something that you could read on a bathroom wall for free.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about what I do is watching peoples faces as they laugh at silly jokes and routines that are timeless.

One of the routines I do is the pantomime of a man who gets to see his new born baby for the first time. We can all relate, as most people have seen those babies that let’s just say, have the face only a mother could love.

That bit will live on for eternity since new babies are being born every minute and some of them, I think, look like, well let’s just say, less than beautiful when they are born.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The main goal I had originally was to survive in the entertainment field. That meant long hours doing the things I didn’t necessarily like doing so that I could, for a couple of hours, do the things I love to do and again that is to make people laugh.

We all have to things we don’t particularly enjoy doing with all your heart. While doing those things I feel it helps to focus on the things you love to do and keep telling yourself, “I will do this now so I get to do the fun things I enjoy later.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://redskeltoncomedyshow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redskelton4u/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedSkelton4u2
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-hoffman-7724883b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianRedSkelton
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RedSkelton4u