The New York State on PAUSE Order is working out well for a local comedian. He has gained national attention, by using laughter as a way to uplift others amid the pandemic.

Rob Campbell of Rochester is a father of two. A nine-year old son, and six-year-old daughter. When Rob is not busy enjoying parenting and homeschooling, he creates sketches and parodies.

“I do sketch comedy,” said Rob, “stand-up comedy; improv is kind of like my thing on stage.”

Rob has performed on stage for eleven years now throughout the Flower City. Like many people, he is staying at home.

Rob took to social media as a platform for his gift of funny now that public venues are closed. He also launched a Tik Tok account, after a boost of encouragement from his kids.

“Tik Tok has been good to me since I’ve been on it,” said Rob. “I probably started my Tik Tok account in early March.”

Rob's creative parodies often times include dance, catchy tunes, a plot and a twist. Amid the pandemic, he uses real life experiences as inspirations when creating content for several social platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

“I try to do stuff that everyone can relate to,” said Rob. “Stuff that we all are experiencing together; having to wear protective gear when we go outside or not being able to go outside.”

Rob created a parody of the American sitcom theme song, “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”  It was not a bad idea.

“I had been making some parodies and comedy videos prior to that one,” said Rob, “and they were doing great. But, with the Will Smith video it was even crazier. Over thirty; forty million views between all the pages that shared the video. Four million plus views on my Tik Tok account.”

The viral video shows Rob rapping to the catchy tune, stressing the importance of self-care and shedding light on the social challenges many are facing amid the pandemic. His two kids are included in  the parody, enjoying family quality time. 

The local comedian received a stamp of approval from actor Will Smith who gave him a shout out through a Facebook status stating, “This is GENIUS.”

“Yep,” said Rob, “That’s what Will Smith called me; the Fresh Prince of Self Care; so that was pretty cool [[smiles and laughs out loud]].”

That accomplishment was in April. Since, Rob is still creating sketches and parodies. He says it is his duty, as laughter is good for the soul in these unprecedented times.

“I can earn a living, take care of my family and be a blessing to my community by doing the things that I love.”

@Iam_RobCampbell is currently in talks with several TV networks and likely working on coming up with his next parody.