We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rob Fairbanks . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rob below.

Alright, Rob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When I was growing up, my grandfather and I would watch reruns of Three Stooges and Luarel & Hardy. I remember asking why they’re in black and white, I thought there was no color in the world back then? He would laugh and say no they’re filmed back in the day before there was color television. I loved sitting there laughing at the shows and thinking to myself how did the know that would be funny? That’s when I fell in love with comedy.

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

I was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. and moved to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation in 2009. I have the dream of being a stand up comedian ever since the age of 9 when I seen Eddy Murthy’s comedy special “ Raw”. I was always afraid to tell anyone and kept that secret until my later adult life. In 2014, I started doing videos on Facebook called the Rez Reports and they when viral. It open the door for me to do my first official comedy show and started my stand up comedy career. I’m best know for my character the Rez Reporter and my weather reports now.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first started I wanted to hold comedy shows with fellow native comedian friends but there’s no comedy clubs on the reservation. I tried to book all native comedians comedy shows at casinos on my reservation and other places, but not everyone was interested in all native comedians show. At first I was frustrated because I knew we’re just as funny as any other comedians. I got the opportunity to host drawings at our casino on the Leech Lake Reservation and started building a relationship with gaming and eventually we started booking all native comedians comedy shows. I like to think it help encouraging others to do the same.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Having people recognize me out in the world and say they love my videos or that I helped them through a rough time in their lives. For me that motives me to continue doing videos and stand up. I hope to inspire others to follow their dreams and goals.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @resreporter
• Facebook: Rob Fairbanks (Rez Report)
• Youtube: @robfairbanks813
• Other: Snapchat: rezreporter Tik Tok: @rezreporter