Q: What is your name? Age?

A: My name is Troubles the Clown, I am 9years old, and I was born in the 13^th month (laughs) figure that one out.

Q: How did you come up with the name Troubles?

A: My momma gave it to me (laughs).

Q: Were you born in Wichita? Were? (North, South, East, West?)

A: Yes, and I’d say, in the middle (laughs).

Q: How long have you been a clown?

A: I’ve been a professional clown since 1991, and I’ve been volunteering as one since 1998.

Q: How di you become a clown?

A: Well a friend of mine had me put on a suit one day to help them volunteer  at a nursing center and I loved it, so I’ve been doing it ever since.

Q: What is your character like?

A: Troubles the Clown is still learning things and growing every day, He’s always trying to make people smile because, “a smile makes the day brighter”, as Troubles always says.

Q: Where did you get your costume?

A: My grandma made it for me. And I got my shoes from Jack’s Shoe Shop. I take them in every six months to get repaired and the last time I took them in they ended up in the newspaper. Turns out a reporter was doing a story over Jack’s Shoe Shop and my shoes happened to be in there (laughs). My shoes were in the paper, but I wasn’t!

Q: Did you go to clown college?

A: I took clown classes through Via Christi. While I was volunteering, another clown named Marbles the clown was talking to me and she said that we should work on my make-up and that’s when I started going to classes.

Q: How do people react when they see you?

A: Most of them are really nice, it’s the bad ones I don’t like (laughs).

Q: What are the bad ones like?

A: Well, most of them just shout rude things but some people have thrown stuff.

Q: What kind of stuff have they thrown?

A: People have thrown bottles of pop and snowballs, and used slingshots, but nothing actually hit me. I have been shot with BB’s before while I was on the corner though.

Q: So how long have you been promoting Talliano’s?

A: About two years now.

Q: Have you done any other promoting?

A: I’ve promoted Godfather’s Pizza and Home Town Buffet. I also do a lot of volunteering for places like Child Start Daycare and Hospice Care of America where I am the professor of a 10 week course on clowing. We’re having a class graduate next month, in fact.

Q: What’s your favorite part about your job?

A: I get to clown around all day (laughs). It’s a lot of fun.

Q: Do you work year round?

A: Yes, sometimes people call Talliano’s and tell Frank, (the manager) that I shouldn’t be outside because it’s too cold, but he’ll them that I can come in whenever I want and it’s true. When it’s hot outside I drink a lot of water and sometimes spray my face with a spray bottle, and of course I have my little hat with the spinner on top that I like to call my exhaust system (laughs). When it’s cold I wear a coat, but I love walking around in the snow.

Q: Do you belong to any sort of clown society?

A: I belong to Clowns of America International.

Q: What do you think about coulrophobia, the abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns?

A: Well, when an adult comes up to me and tells me that he has a friend that is afraid of clowns and wants me to go up and say hi to them, I say no because if they’re afraid of clowns, I don’t want to make them any more afraid than they already are. Sometimes children are acared of me and their parents will drag them up to me to say hi, but usually if the kids want to come up and talk to me they’ll walk up themselves. I don’t want to scare anybody.

Q: Have you seen Stephen King’s movie It?

A: No, I have not and I wouldn’t want to (laughs). I’ve heard about it and I don’t like it because it gives clowns a bad name. Sometimes I just want to tell them “Hey people, I’m a professional clown and you see what this is doing for me and other professional clowns!?” I would never try to scare people, and no other clown I know would either. We don’t want people to be afraid of us.

Q: In your opinion, what do clowns do for our society?

A: A clown can make you forget your troubles. They can make you forget about the real world, even if only for a second, and by doing so, they can make your day brighter.

Q: So how can people get a hold of you if they need to?

A: You can contact me through Talliano’s. I do birthday parties, promotions, and company picnics as well.