Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Rafferty.
Stephen, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Hello! My name is Stephen Rafferty. Thank you for reading my story. I greatly appreciate it. This is the rundown. It all started when I was born… Just kidding. Squid-ward reference aside, my career started almost a decade ago. The year was 2010 and I was in school at the time, but when I was younger, I wanted to do two things when I became older, one was to be a professional wrestler and the 2nd was to be a computer programmer and create video games.
I was a big wrestling fan and a gamer as a kid, so it made sense to try to pursue two things that I really enjoyed. During my time in school, there was a gentleman who was an alumnus and he came and said that he is training people in his company and opened the offer for anyone that wanted to learn how to do computer programming. I signed up immediately. I met a gentleman nicknamed “Beege,” and he was running a small development company called Abysmal Essence, who is most famously known for working on development for the MOBA game Robot Unicorn Attack by Adult Swim Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
I was able to learn different programs such as C++ and JavaScript, but after a few sessions, I ultimately realized that computer programming wasn’t for me. Unfortunately, the company subsided, and I left computer programming altogether. After this, I was still in school working on my studies, but I started to watch a lot of late-night television shows. Most notably, I was watching late night with Conan O Brien, which later became Conan on TBS. I loved his show and his wacky sketches, interviews and comedic timing.
At the time, YouTube, as a platform, was getting out of the infancy stage and was beginning to become a powerhouse as more and more creators were getting on the platform and were being a part of the partner’s program. I started to realize that maybe I could go online and start making comedy videos. On April 1, 2011 my 1st video was made entitled “Rebecca Black Madness,” which was a commentary/critique/parody of the hit song Friday by Rebecca Black along with other topical commentaries such as Charlie Sheen’s WINNING phase and Lindsay Lohan’s on-going shenanigans.
I knew nothing about the video production process as it took me 12 hours to shoot and edit a five-minute video on Windows Movie Maker- the archaic software. The 1st video did well. I was getting like 1,000 views a day and I realize that this could be something. It’s tough to find the original video because it was taken down by YouTube due to copyrights (which I famously said got my channel ineligible to be in the partner’s program and got the channel banned in five countries). Additionally, the original footage got corrupted on my hard drive, so I have not seen the full video in years.
I started making more videos as I was trying to find my comedic niche and style. I started creating characters and comedic sketches and started working on getting more comfortable on camera. I realized that mostly clean humor is my niche and I was basically starting to build a world around me. Notably, I went from being a comedian in training as I gimmicky called myself to build a Raffnation*TM. Egotism aside, every year, I tried to set a goal/project to work on and ultimately complete. All of this stemmed into creating projects and doing some amazing accomplishments which I will briefly list below:
2010: Figuring out my life. Having a mid-life crisis as I like to say. I started as a computer programmer through Abysmal Essence, then starting planning to do comedy and YouTube.
2011: Created 1st YouTube Video and began making sketches/characters and skits while writing materials and eventually doing my 1st live stand-up performance with no material (the reason being that I was a last minute replacement for a parody rock band that no-showed there gig at a local carnival. I talked to the booker and filled in the spot).
2012: Created my own merchandise and online retail store called Raffnation-store*TM while still making videos.
2013: Started working on spoken words and raps. I also created a short-lived animated series called Raff’s Drawing’s of Wisdom*TM with Ronald Lanton.
2014: Broke the Guinness World Record for the Most Straws in The Hair at One Time as Valentine’s day date idea pitched by Maria-one of my former co-workers for a company I was working at the time. I had this record for two years until 2016 when Radzi Chinyanganya- A UK reporter broke it on the TV show, Blue Peter. I also wrote my 1st book called Fifty Ridiculous Drawings and Funny Sayings in Less Than Fifty Pages. I started getting into traditional acting roles while doing some brief pro wrestling training with Coastal Championship Wrestling. This was a big year.
2015: Created web shows such as Untitled Interviews and my two (now defuncted) podcasts, The Insert Title Here and The Wrestling is Wrestling Podcast.
2016: Did my 1st TEDx talk entitled “The State of Time” a spoken word speech on how time affects the Human Psyche. A motivational type spoke the word. Developed greater acting techniques with Elena Garcia (She’s the best. Look up her acting work. If I didn’t mention her name, she would throw a chancleta at me).
2017: Wrote my 2nd book entitled Young Face Stories and Other Awkward Tales. I started filming more professional videos and starring in more direct acting roles. Working for projects with Alessandra Sironi, Cliff Floyd, Chris Jericho, NBC Sports, Nancy Olson, WWE, and many others.
2018: Further expansion in film and acting projects, along with developing my photography and graphic design skills. Created the web-series entitled These Are Questions- the internet show where I ask individuals about their careers and aspirations while mixing in absurd and random questions in between.
2019: Wrote my 3rd comedy book entitled Mini: A Book of Short Thoughts and created my official website srafferty.com which is the destination hub for all my projects and portfolios from the past and present. Think of www.srafferty.com as a streaming service for my career so far.
All this happening within nine years with so many highs, lows and everything in between. I managed to do a lot of amazing things that I never thought I would ever do, but it all started in my bedroom, making one of the most cringe-worthy videos I ever made with no experience in the production process. I had no idea what I was doing and trying not to make kids cry brah. I got where I am today through a lot of hard work, a lot of determination, a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of headaches and just a constant grind working almost every day even if it was only for a little bit of time.
One of my best advice I ever got came from a colleague of mine who will remain unknown for the sake of this interview, but he said to me that as long as you work on something even if it’s for 5 minutes of the entire day 5-10 minutes. You will make a big difference in the long term. Everyone has 5 minutes. Everyone has ten minutes that they can make a work around their busy schedule. I never forgot and that’s what I did. I started off small, taking 5 minutes out of my day to kind of work on something within some different aspect of my career.
I was working weekends and working late nights. I was working holidays and was working in between everything, which is challenging. Now, as I am older, I try to work more in a work-life balance, but especially when I started, I was constantly working on different aspects and having new experiences.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would describe that question like a jar of peanut butter. Sometimes, it was smooth, but other times, it was bumpy and chunky. I would say it’s been mixed and I’m saying that in with the greatest sense of humbleness because I’ve had a lot of great opportunities and I’ve continued to have some amazing opportunities along the way, but I’ve had to struggle. I’ve had to work to make things happen and I’ve had my fair share of failures.
I’ve had projects that didn’t work out and didn’t get greenlit. Videos and shows with no viewership. Bleeding money. I had contract negotiations fall through or didn’t go as planned. I’ve had missed opportunities. As grateful as I am for everything, I would be lying to you if I said that I haven’t’ been through the ringer at times. I’ve had up’s and down’s, but I just try and see what happens. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then it’s a learning experience and I can use the knowledge to make greater opportunities. I try to look at it that way as best as I can.
Please tell us about your work.
I have listed my current services below but basically, I do services in acting, performance, hosting, photography, graphic design, videography, marketing strategies and content creation. I have been grateful to have the opportunity to work with clients in various industries within the business, celebrity, entertainment, modeling, music and sports industries.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I mention in my story that I have done a lot of things. Versatility is a key trait for me. Now, I started my route in stand-up comedy and through that, I’ve involved myself in doing a lot of different facets within on camera performances and behind the scenes work. My versatility is one of my best factors about myself. I believe that’s what really sets me apart from a lot of other people. My versatility and my connectedness to be around many facets of life’s while giving the best business opportunities within my creativeness. I am ultimately trying to be my best possible self.
On April 1, 2020, it will be my 10th anniversary of being an entertainer and I am creating a special video, which is my biggest project I’ve done so far, entitled Raff’s Big Internet Video. It is a ludicrous spectacle that is involving more than 30+ plus talents from past, present and future. There is celebrities, surprises and shenanigans along the way in this massive mini movie.
After that gets released, I am going to rest and have a slice a pizza. Then hopefully, depending on how that video does and what I decide to next, it will hopefully set me up for more projects in the long term, but I look at this in two ways. If this is it for me, then I had a heck of a run. If it’s not the end, then I will continue to do things because at the end of the day, I am just a guy who does things. I’m happy where I am and what I’m able to achieve and accomplish. It is surreal.
Special thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way, I know I didn’t mention everyone here (maybe they are in Raff’s Big Internet Video *wink*) but just know that I appreciate all the continuous support. Thank you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.srafferty.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raffnation/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StephenRafferty-686230795051737
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/realsrafferty
Image Credit:
Cliff Floyd Foundation
Leanne Boucher & TEDxNSU
Gearld Albert
Alessandra Sironi
Dennis Abel
Mike SB
SR Photography
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