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Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/1519053
Miami Living: What inspired you to first start posting videos on social media? Brandon Farris: I’ve been making weird comedy videos as far back as 7 years old I believe. Back then it was just for me and friends because there was no easy way to upload that footage. I started uploading my music on Youtube first because in my early 20’s I wanted to do music as a career and I saw the benefit of being online. It wasn’t until February of 2014 when my sister tagged me in the Ice Bucket Challenge that I uploaded my first honest piece of comedy and it blew up! Over 70,000 views and over 90% disliked.. so, it wasn’t the best start for me and my fragile ego. Miami Living: What was it like living out of your car and regularly posting videos on social media? Brandon Farris: Living out of my car was a lot of things! Lonely at times, exciting, terrifying...hot. Making videos kind of kept me sane a bit. There is a lot of time to think when you have no place to go and you’re sitting in your car. I think looking back I loved it and am grateful for it, but I think in the moment I would have given anything to be where I am today. I think that’s where my drive came from (pun intended). Miami Living: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced living on the road? Brandon Farris: I found out pretty quickly that finding a place to sleep would be one of the biggest challenges. I lived in Burbank, around LA, and they do a great job about not letting people sleep in their vehicles comfortably. I’ve been kicked out of many parking lots, got the cops called on me, had people shine flashlights and bang on my windows while I was asleep telling me to move. It was tough for me personally to comfortably find a place to just relax. Space was also another issue. Not a lot of room in a car for anything other than the necessities..and peanut butter. There is always room for peanut butter (which was 90% of my dinners) Miami Living: How did posting online change the course of your life? Brandon Farris: 180 degree shift. I went from not having a place to live, or comfortably sleep, or even a place to sit and feeling lonely, to having an amazing wife and two beautiful children in our own home. It was night and day for me. I’m beyond grateful for where I am and even more grateful for where I was and what I did to get here! Miami Living: You write “You Deserve to Laugh” in your bio, what does comedy mean to you? Brandon Farris: I wrote that very purposefully. I knew that people in the world were struggling, I was one of them, and having something to lift my mood and break me out of the thoughts of “will I live in my car forever? Will this ever work?” were incredibly beneficial for me. So I knew people needed something to give them what other creators gave me, so I decided to make it clear that I am here to show you that no matter what is happening in your life you deserve to laugh. So it had a deep meaning for me when I wrote it. It was also a big reason why I uploaded daily. People need help every day and I felt this obligation almost to be that person for whoever needed it! Miami Living: What was one of your first videos to go viral? Brandon Farris: Besides the failed Ice Bucket Challenge... I did a video where I just ranted about how I got an Oreo McFlurry from