TopBuzz Creator Spotlight: How The ‘Nastyass Honey Badger’ Narrator Turned His Viral Moment Into A Brand

By 11/27/2018
TopBuzz Creator Spotlight: How The ‘Nastyass Honey Badger’ Narrator Turned His Viral Moment Into A Brand

Welcome to TopBuzz Creator Spotlight, where we’ll be profiling a handful of notable creators who are expanding their distribution prospects onto TopBuzz — a two-year-old content aggregation app owned by Chinese mobile giant Bytedance. Even in a crowded platform landscape, TopBuzz offers discovery and revenue prospects that these creators describe as irrefutably additive. 


Like many viral videos before it, The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger is as hilarious as it is inexplicable. In the clip, dating back to Jan. 2011 and counting 89 million views to date, a character named Randall narrates Nat Geo Wild footage of a honey badger. In a campy tone with an emphatic New York accent, Randall recounts how the animal mercilessly chomps on snakes, mice, and bees. “Look, it’s getting stung like a thousand times. It doesn’t give a shit, it just — it’s hungry. It doesn’t care about getting stung by bees.”

Sensing an opportunity, Randall — whose real name is Christopher Gordon — seized his moment of virality, ultimately building it into a brand of sorts, with honey badger-themed merch, a mobile app, and even his very own book, Honey Badger Don’t Care: Randall’s Guide To Crazy, Nastyass Animals.

Tubefilter

Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories

Subscribe

More recently, Gordon has also sought to branch out from a platform perspective. In addition to his YouTube channel, which counts roughly 200,000 subscribers, he has started to distribute his content on TopBuzz — a news and content aggregation platform — where he shares narration clips about myriad subjects, including African birds and over-the-top arm wrestling. We spoke with Gordon about the experience of going viral, his mission of wildlife preservation, and why he says that TopBuzz is the most lucrative platform of any on which he is currently active.

Check out the conversation in full below:

Tubefilter: What was your career like prior to the viral success of The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger? Did you have any previous experience in improv or comedy?

CG: Before the viral success of The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger, my career was kind of all over the place. I worked for various large pharmaceutical companies, a resume-writing service, and even as a nursing aide at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. At night and during my free time, I’d create comedy videos with a friend, Dan Lubell, as well as play music throughout Manhattan’s venues with my band, St. Christopher & The Sleeping Doormen. I’d also perform standup and improv with a few groups. Way back with Lubell and another old friend, Peterson Harris, we produced a half-hour variety show for Public Access called Out Of The Room that was an underground hit.

TF: Did you create that first video off-the-cuff, or did a lot of work go into planning it?

CG: The Honey Badger video was indeed off-the-cuff. I had initially posted it as a birthday gift to my friend. Before that, I posted a lot of goofball skits — mainly also concocted on the spot. Lubell and I would think of something, and then do our best to quickly execute the idea. The only work that went into the video was the research.

TF: What do you think made it go viral, and what did the experience feel like?

CG: I think the reason it went viral was because viewers could relate to the beast itself — running around, fending for itself, doing anything to get a meal. The honey badger is in each and every one of us; it’s only a question of if we choose to let it loose or control our inner badger. The footage itself, filmed by Colleen and Keith Begg — who both studied the species — is incredibly well-edited, which is yet another reason for its virality.

The experience of having a video go viral, especially after creating so much content prior, was exciting and very moving. A true lover and supporter of wildlife, I was beyond pleased that this species, once threatened, received such attention. It’s important for us to learn more about wildlife so that we can work to protect it. It was a blast watching the viewcount grow so quickly — very surreal to say the least.

TF: What steps did you take in order to sustain that moment and turn it into an enduring career?

CG: It was definitely a case of opportunity knocking, and wanting to take advantage while the iron was hot. After years in comedy, I decided to stick with content that educates the masses about wildlife in a relatable, funny way. As long as there’s wildlife to discuss, the brand will exist and thrive because none of these animals care! They gotta do whatever they can to stay alive. They also need our help and protection — so if I can raise awareness, I’ll keep creating.

I also owe a lot of my success to my two managers — Josh Kesselman and Danny Sherman from ThruLine Entertainment — who were instrumental in getting me repped by William Morris. They also helped with merchandise and a book deal with Andrews McNeel.

TF: In what ways have you expanded into new content areas beyond your initial concept?

CG: I’ve been able to explore livestreaming and more political content. Live video is always a blast because it has an immediate impact. Getting more political has been rough since the United States is so divided. Some viewers are bound to take offense. Therefore, I’ve actually found it easiest to be political in a live format. That way, your content kind of quickly filters out who’s with you and who isn’t. They either keep watching or drop off, and it’s exciting because those who stay basically are ready to calmly have a discussion rather than post out of anger. Anger-viewing is something many people partake in, so I try my best to keep things balanced and focus on the absurdity of it all.

TF: What platforms are you currently active on, and where are you seeing the most engagement?

CG: I’m active on TopBuzz, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Soundcloud. I feel the greatest interaction these days from TopBuzz and Twitter. Both platforms allow for the most freedom of expression in my humble opinion.

TF: How did you hear about TopBuzz? Is the content that you share there different from elsewhere?

CG: I had initially heard of TopBuzz here and there — via mentions on Twitter and such. Then, I had the great pleasure of [creator strategy and partnerships manager] Austin Null reaching out to tell me more about the platform. I was instantly intrigued and did some research and realized what an amazing opportunity it would be.

The content I share on TopBuzz is similar to what I upload to YouTube. But I look forward to creating content exclusively for TopBuzz. I think my work is well-suited for the platform because it’s edgy and unique — like TopBuzz itself. It represents the ultimate freedom of expression, which I’ve often fought for on other platforms.

TF: In what ways has joining TopBuzz affected your audience growth and monetization prospects?

CG: Simply put, I do not earn on other platforms what I earn on TopBuzz. This wasn’t the case roughly five years ago, but times and systems have changed. I’m still in the process of building an audience and finding my niche. Lately, all I seem to want to do is share links to my TopBuzz work or other TopBuzz articles. Other platforms suddenly feel very formulaic and somewhat sterile. TopBuzz is youthful and straight-forward. I can feel the bubbling of my audience growing.

But again, my mission is to make viewers laugh while learning something in the process. If I’ve made a viewer laugh and educated them through humor, I’m honestly good — even if they haven’t followed or subscriber. If it leads to more work or working with others in developing projects — even better.


This Creator Spotlight is brought to you by TopBuzz. TopBuzz is a distribution platform that uses powerful AI and algorithms to help creators and publishers discover new audiences for their content. If you’re interested in monetizing your content join TopBuzz for free. Take the AI-powered app for a spin and see how your customized feed improves with every touch. Download TopBuzz for iOS or Android.

Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories

Stay up-to-date with the latest and breaking creator and online video news delivered right to your inbox.

Subscribe