Kid President

Robby Novak (born October 24, 2003), better known by the nickname Kid President, is a TED speaker ("Inspirer"), and a YouTube sensation, interviewing US President Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Andrew WK, Pen Ward, Rainn Wilson, Ban Ki-Moon, and others. He obtained an interview with Josh Groban after an ambitious Twitter campaign, where he had his followers petition Josh. He and his brother-in-law, Brad Montague, have created a series of viral inspirational videos, on a mission to "Make the world less boring," including one which by the end of January 2013 had over 4 million views on YouTube. He makes videos weekly, in collaboration with Soul Pancake. He has several catchphrases and recurring jokes, including screaming, "Not cool, Robert Frost!" (when referring to his poem The Road Not Taken), and asking "What will be your Space Jam?". Kid President calls himself "the voice of a generation." On February 21, 2013, Kid President posted a video in which President Obama called Kid President to promote the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll.
Origin
Kid President, originally a rather modest creation of Freed-Hardeman University Office of Marketing and University Relations to promote the school’s annual benefit dinner, has exploded into something much larger. A series of episodes urging viewers “to make the world awesome”, “be a party” and "to give the world a reason to dance" have gone viral on YouTube.
Recent activity
Kid President's first viral video, “A Pep Talk,” has been viewed over thirty million times. It is dedicated to Gabbi Cook, two-year old daughter of Matt and Charla Cook (both FHU alumni) who recently had a liver transplant.

Kid President began as a method to promote Freed-Hardeman’s annual benefit dinner with Condoleezza Rice. Robby had helped to promote the previous benefit dinner featuring Bob Newhart. He reprised his role as promoter, this time as Kid President. Since that beginning, he has further developed, defined and promoted the character.
On March 20, 2013, ESPN released a video called "Kid President NCAA Tournament Bracket 2013," where he makes choices for the outcomes of the games of the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In the video, he references President Obama's "Barack-etology," Mr. Obama's own choices for the outcome of the tournament. Kid President chooses Gonzaga (his favorite team) to beat Michigan in the championship game.
On April 1, 2013, the White House released "a special video message from the President" featuring Kid President as an April Fool's joke.
Portrayal
Kid President is portrayed by Robby Novak. Novak and his sister Alexia were born with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease). Novak is the son of David, member of the FHU staff, and Laurie Novak.<ref name=FreedHardemanPR />
“We’re overwhelmed and honored that so many have connected with Kid President. We hope it encourages others to take positive action in their lives,” Brad Montague, who directs FHU’s Go! Camp and created "Kid President", said. Go! Camp is a service-oriented week-long effort held each summer at FHU. “It is about empowering kids, helping them to have a voice. That’s what we hope these videos do too.”
<ref name=FreedHardemanPR />

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu