Lip-Synching YouTube Sensations Navigate Life Together
BEFORE MAKING VIDEOS
Kristin grew up with the mind set to “get in there, do your best, and show them what you’ve got.” Her positive attitude and belief that she should try even when she felt unqualified opened doors for her. She became a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader despite never cheering a day in her life. In her junior year at Texas Christian University, Kristin decided to compete in a pageant for scholarship money and won Miss Burleson. During the same year, she auditioned for American Idol and became a top thirty finalist. The next season she was asked back to be a cohost with Ryan Seacrest. After a year she was let go, but by then Kristin’s career was in full swing. She worked as one of Lindsay Lohan’s backup singers during her 2005 Speak album tour, as a television host and correspondent for networks like Starz, USA Network, E! Entertainment, and the TV Guide Channel. She also spent a lot of time on the red carpet (2011) and at press junkets interviewing celebrities like Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Betty White.
Danny grew up in church. His family were singing evangelists. The family act evolved into a variety show with songs and skits. Danny also loved sports, especially football. He dreamed of playing for the NFL one day. He played ball in college and some NFL teams showed interest, but in the end, there were no official offers or invites. “I went through a couple of years after that where I was mad at God and confused as to why He didn’t allow my childhood dream to come true,” recalls Danny. He did get to play professionally for a couple of seasons overseas in Europe for teams in Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Then he hung up his cleats and went to Hollywood to pursue a career in comedy and entertainment. Years earlier church folks had prophesied that God was going to use Danny’s gift of inciting laughter for His glory. Some of the industry jobs he got to do while in Hollywood included: stunt double for Peyton Manning in a Gatorade commercial and Drew Brees in an NFL commercial, featured background actor (as a personal trainer) on The Young and The Restless, and did some football stunt work in Key and Peele comedy sketches on Comedy Central.
THEIR STORY
After graduating from college, Kristin moved to LA. Three months later she began making some not so good choices. She was going out and partying almost every night of the week and going from one relationship to the next. Kristin met Danny about a year after she moved to LA. He was like a big brother to her. However, he was not in a position to preach since he was in and out of church and focused more on chasing his dreams than chasing God.
Eventually, all the partying caught up with Kristin. She gained some weight and reached out to Danny for some personal training to help her get back in shape. During their training sessions their friendship really took off; they began dating in 2005 and eventually moved in together. Soon they found themselves in a codependent mess of a relationship. Danny was constantly trying to earn Kristin’s approval and she was reliant on Danny to meet her emotional needs. Neither had the spiritual tools to fix things. In the middle of their mess, Danny decided they should start going to church. Prior to living in California, Kristin had been to church almost every week of her life. However, she had not yet experienced a life changing relationship with Jesus.
That morning, after the sermon the pastor asked if anyone would like to rededicate their life. Danny went forward and rededicated his life. He bought several books at the church bookstore after the service and started reading his Bible every day. His spiritual life increased, but things between the two of them got worse. They decided to move out and get separate places. Their fights were still intense. One night after an epic fight Danny felt the Lord tell him to let Kristin go and let Him have her. Danny obeyed and broke up with Kristin (2007). God pressed upon him to pray in advance that Kristin would attend an upcoming women’s conference at their church. She ended up at the conference, God touched her heart, and changed her life. She called Danny to apologize and he could tell she was a changed person. Danny forgave her and their relationship was restored. Kristin and Danny married in October 2008.
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE
A year after they married Danny accepted a staff position at their church. Kristin was still in the entertainment industry, but she and Danny were involved in every outreach effort with the church. They wrote, directed and acted in many productions and were very effective in making the congregation laugh. Danny left the church after a few years and began traveling to perform a one-man comedy show. He quickly realized the comedy clubs were not the environment he needed to be a part of. He rented a theater for his family friendly act. Looking back on their early years they can see how God laid the foundation for what they would be doing in the future.
In May 2016, Kristin and Danny took a leap of faith and left LA and moved to Indiana to pursue God’s plan for their life. They felt God wanted them to start making, “family friendly videos where God is always welcome.” They had already posted a couple of lip sync videos. Before leaving LA, Danny had taken some editing classes at an Apple store, they were establishing a social media presence, and filming with their iPhones. When they got to Indiana, they committed to making one video each week. Their audience began to increase while their bank accounts began to decrease. They were living on their savings and used spare change to buy groceries. A few weeks later they got a call from a pastor who had seen their videos and invited them to speak at a marriage conference. Although they did not feel qualified, they pulled together the material for the February 2017 conference. God gave them a supernatural peace as they shared their story which encouraged many in attendance that were on the brink of divorce.
The next day they posted their Love Songs of the Decades lip sync video. Overnight they received one million views. The video garnered a massive response and a multitude of speaking and media requests. Life changed for their family overnight. To date, this video has been viewed more than 300 million times. Each lip sync video takes one to three weeks to produce. The filming of each song or scene takes fifteen to thirty minutes.
