For this week’s Deep Dive Series we are interviewing a talented Clapper creator: @Bigoletexan.

@Bigoletexan is an incredible comedian and content creator. In this Deep Dive interview, he told us about his journey being a veteran and a successful creator of Clapper, as well as about his passion for charities and helping people with personal struggles. On Clapper, his content revolves around comedy and giving back to the community. He livestreams from Monday through Saturday at 8:30pm central. His shows usually feel like you are listening to a comedy podcast because it’s so funny and relatable it draws people in.

Keep reading this Deep Dive Series to find out more about this creator’s amazing story. Make sure to tune in every Friday at 4pm CT on our @Clappertalks account, to listen to the bonus questions that will only be available on our live radio show: Clapper Interviews.

Enjoy this deep dive on @Bigoletexan.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What does a day look like in your life?

About three months ago I decided I was going to retire from my own personal training company I created 15 years ago and become a content creator. I made this decision based on the number of people that have reached out to me from veterans to trauma victims, and people we decided to help. So, I decided I wanted to do this full-time. My day starts with brainstorming with my team as far as content goes for that day, then we begin recording the content. We take phone calls 24/7 from people who reach out to us to meet us. We do our show at 8pm central every night Monday through Saturday. We crunch all the numbers and work on the badges we do for our top gifters. Then we start all over again.

We see that you are so passionate about your fitness and we commend you on your awesome transformation. How long did it take? What motivated you to make these changes?

It’s kind of an interesting story there. When I was in the military I had to be a fit individual, you always have to make sure you stay in the best shape possible. I didn’t get out of shape until our son was murdered and then I blew out to 350 pounds. One day we were at a house fire and we had to cut a hole on the roof and I was so tired by the end of it my chief took me down to the office and told me, ” you have 90 days to get in shape or we are going to have to let you go”. I paid hundreds of dollars for training and figured out what was best for my body and had consistency. I lost 160 pounds in a year and now am just maintaining it by eating healthy and training every day.

We want to take a moment to thank you for your service. Before this deep dive, we saw on your Instagram that you are a veteran and a former fire lieutenant. How would you describe that experience?

Honestly, had I not lost my son I probably still be in it today. I loved every second of it. I was in combat and spent most of the time overseas. It also takes a toll on you and then I jump to the fire department. Both experiences were amazing but when you spend 17 years of your life seeing nothing but the worst and the best in people it wears you down and that is when I decided to retire. August of 2019, we had 3 bad calls in a row and I said I don’t want to do this anymore. I can at least sit in the fact that one person is alive today because of me. That part feels good.

When did your journey as a content creator begin? What inspired you to share your humor and life with people through social media?

I joined TikTok first and that was in 2020, right before Covid hit. I sit outside the gym created my first video and it went viral. Then, my content was kind of sporadic and when I decided comedy was the content that I wanted to do, I started to gain a thousand followers a week. I was in a live and someone said I should try Clapper and four months ago I joined. The experience was night and day. I knew that Clapper was going to be my new home and where I was going to stay.

We know that you are a signed creator with 3rd Rock Media and will be hosting a virtual charity Auction at Holiday Bazaar! Are you excited?

I am very excited. 3rdRock is awesome and any collaboration with Clapper is always an amazing event. The fact that is for charity makes it so much better. Anytime I can raise money for a charity specially when it deals with kids or the holidays I am 100% all in. When they asked me to be the host on Monday it was a no-brainer for me. I am extremely excited and honored that they have selected me and hopefully will raise a lot of money for charity.

So, when did you join Clapper? What was your first thought about the app when you first started using it?

I joined Clapper on August 2021 full-time. I told my people on TikTok where I was going to be and they follow me. The key to transitioning from TikTok to Clapper is you’ll come to Clapper but still post your stuff only on TikTok there is no reason for them to go to TikTok so make sure you direct them there.

What is your favorite feature on the app?

Livestreams. I am a people person. I want to engage and connect with people. I don’t care if someone sends me a beer gift or a castle, they are getting a personalized message from me thanking them or a gift badge. I want every single person that comes into our lives to feel like family.

We see that you have 3 Clapper Fam tiers, share with us why your followers should support you and what benefits you have to offer.

Actually, we have 6 tiers. Our fanbase gift us heavily, so we created 6 level badges. We have the OG level, then 25,000 which has the green background, 50,000 is the bronze badge, 75,000 is gold and then 100,000 has a platinum background with a red star which shows the 100,000 mark. We just created a special badge for the first person that gets to a million.

What do you enjoy most about Clapper? In what ways do you feel like Clapper needs improvement?

I love the fact that you support the creators regardless how big or small they are and not the trolls. TikTok support the trolls, not the creators. You get rid of the trolls and allow us to build what we want to build. For improvement, I would say that people get kicked out of the lives constantly. That obviously frustrates people because they had to miss important parts of the show. Also, on Pk battles I get frozen and even when the battle is over my supporters can still see them, so I can’t go to the next PK.

What advice would you give new users that want to be successful on Clapper?

This is probably the question I get asked the most. I started growing when I found my niche, I am not going to post random different things. If you go from a funny video to political content to a picture of dogs you’re going to get unfollowed. I make a video and put it to the side. When I come back if that video didn’t make me laugh I don’t post it. It’s finding that thing that works for you and then hammering all down. If you want to be a successful creator you have to look at it as your job. It’s consistency all the way. Find your niche and be the best possible as you can be until you finally get to see that growth you are looking for.

For our latest deep dive on @lexiikay, read here.