Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Fairbanks.
Hi Robert, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and moved to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation later in my adult life with my children. Growing up my grandfather would stay with us off and on. Since I didn’t meet my father until I was 19, he was my father figure. We used to watch re-runs of old black and white shows on tv, like “Laurel and Hardy” and “The Three Stooges”. Those were my favorite ones to watch because they would make us laugh. I remember thinking to myself how did they know that be funny and when I’d ask why they were in black and white? My grandfather explained these shows were made a long time ago in the 50s and 40s. That was shocking to me because I couldn’t believe they were made that long ago and that they’re still funny. That’s when my interest in and love for comedy began. My grandfather would watch the “Late Night Show” and when they have a comedian, he’d call me over to watch, his favorite comedian was Rodney Dangerfield. We would crack up at his jokes and he naturally became one of my favorite comedians as well.
When I was a kid on the weekends I’d stay up late because I knew “Saturday Night Live” would come on and that was might favorite show. I would laugh at the skits and how the cast would try to make each other laugh. I always thought that’s what I’d like to do, make people laugh. If I ever saw someone down I would do something silly to make them laugh or smile because I didn’t like seeing anyone sad, so it made me feel good to see someone laugh. Especially my family and friends. Even as a kid, I realized I had a gift to make people laugh and somehow just knew it was my gift. When we first got cable and HBO, They would’ve comedy specials and some of my favorites were Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. As a kid my mom did want me to watch them because they swore and explicit, I would sneak and watch them until my mom caught me. It was when Eddie Murphy’s comedy special “Raw” came out that I begged my mom to rent the movie because it was on VHS back then. I guess she figured I’d find a way to watch so she rented it for me and we watched it together. That was a special moment for me because I and my mom were enjoying the movie together. When we were sitting there laughing together, I thought to myself “Wow, looking at it he’s got everyone laughing in that theater and us at home”! That’s when I was like he’s got the coolest job ever and someday I want to do that, be a stand-up comedian. I kept that dream to myself for a long time and never told anyone, because of fear of what people would think, maybe I wouldn’t be funny or that’s not realistic.
It wasn’t until later on in life that I started doing videos on Facebook, mostly just for my family and friends. It was when I did my first Rez Report and created my character the Rez Reporter, that My videos went viral and open the door for me to do stand-up comedy. Did my first official stand-up comedy show at one of our casinos on the Leech Lake reservation and since then I’ve been doing shows all across the United States.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Trying to pursue my stand-up comedy career there are no comedy clubs around, so I had to work with our casinos to let me host drawings and then have native comedy shows.
Luckily the internet and social media have helped me to get my name out there and have allowed me to do comedy shows in other states, casinos, and comedy clubs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Native Comedian from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota and best known as the Rez Reporter. With a large following on social media, I’m well-known all over now.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
More Native Comedy in the mainstream shows, movies, and specials on tv and internet apps like Netflix and Hulu.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @rezreporter
- Facebook: Rob Fairbanks (Rez Report)
- Youtube: Rob Fairbanks
