We were lucky to catch up with Carl White recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carl, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Becoming a Professional Santa Claus is a lifelong process. I had no idea at the time, but growing up with parents who embraced and celebrated many Christmas traditions was the beginning of my journey. They were children of the Great Depression and had been all too familiar with lean times. My brother and I were generously gifted within their modest means, the house was well decorated, the season always included a visit (or two) to Santa Claus.
When I became a father, and later a grandfather, those childhood Christmas memories impacted my approach to the season. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child brought a new perspective. Once I had retired from my career and grew out my now white beard, I was approached by friends and family to be Santa Claus. At first I resisted, but once I gave in and saw those first reactions from children I had never met before I was hooked.
Now I needed to BECOME Santa Claus and I went on a pursuit of knowledge. Along the way, I was fortunate to find mentors that guided me through the process of improving my portrayal of Santa. It is tempting to over invest in costuming and props, and I have some that gather dust in my closet now that I acquired before consulting with others or understanding the market. Now I have attended two Santa Schools, a Santa Convention and multiple online training sessions. I also network with Santas from around the country and attend local Santa organization meetings.
My intention is to continue to seek out training each year in the off season to develop better skills and offer the best experience I can deliver to my clients. Being Santa is a mixture of improvisation, joy and love for others, especially children. All the while needing some business acumen in order to manage bookings and the like. I can’t imagine a more satisfying “side hustle” for my retirement years.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Real Bearded Professional Santa Claus and I offer my services to clients on a per event basis (as opposed to working in one location for a full season). I am available year-round, so I am available for commercials, print advertising, TV and film appearances, “Christmas in July” events and anything else my clients might think of doing outside of the Christmas Season. During the season I do public, private and civic events and my clients include cities, businesses, hotels, parents, grandparents and anyone wanting to add some jolly to their holiday. I am comfortable in front of an audience of a single child or an arena of 5,000. I read and tell stories, sing, pose for photos and of course deliver gifts as the occasion requires.
One of the things that makes me happiest is to hear the positive feedback from clients after an event. I am frequently asked to return and my Christmas season always fills up quickly.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
In the end, being Santa Claus is all about the children. Now you must understand that everyone is a child to Santa Claus. Having a child run up to you and hug you when you first appear is magical. Engaging them in a conversation about their life and wishes and answering questions about life at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus and the elves and reindeer is always a delight. It can be equally fun to have a photo taken with an adult that says, “I can’t remember the last time I had my picture taken with Santa.” I have been photographed with children from only a few days old up to age 100. I will do this as long as I can continue to bring joyful smile to others. That is my mission, to add a jolly element to a joyful season for as many as possible.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building clientele as a Professional Santa Claus is all about the visual. Getting photos on social media are critical to expanding your customer base. I remember in year one trying to engage photographers and having no luck whatsoever with emails. Over time, as I did small events and either put my own photos on social media or had clients tag me in their photos my exposure started to grow. I have gained several large clients who simply did a social media search to find me. I have even had to turn away clients from among those initial photographers that were unresponsive because now my schedule is too full to accommodate them. I’m happy to say that I have built my online presence without any input from SEO or Social Media consultants.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JollySantaBlueEyes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jollysantablueeyes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JollySantaBlueEyes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlewhitejr/
Image Credits
Caleb Jones Photography Karina Morazzi Photography Carly Mowell Photography KBT Productions Photography Lifesong Photography Lynn Puzzo Photography