Share a brief bio about yourself:
My name is John Havard, I was born and raised in Houston, and am the youngest of four brothers. I met my wife, Andrea, when I was sixteen, attending St. Pius X High School and she is now my camera crew, editor, promoter, scheduler, and idea person for the show! We have two young kids; Kaden is five, and Addison is two-and-a-half years old.
What led you to start up Cowboy Jack?
When the pandemic hit, I went from spending the majority of my time traveling for work to working from home, and at the same time my son’s school was closed. We had to use the television as a babysitter to jump on Skype and Zoom calls and we were unhappy with how goofy and silly a lot of kids' content was. There was nothing organic and wholesome like what we grew up on. Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers were people who drew kids attention with what they were saying and showing rather than using loud music and silly speaking tones to draw kids in. I talked about it enough until one day my wife said; “If it’s such a huge deal and you can’t find what you want him to watch, why don’t you make it yourself?” My son’s favorite movie at the time was Toy Story and he loves Woody, so I became Cowboy Jack modeled after Woody! I had my wife film me at our neighborhood pond, learned how to edit via YouTube, and it was all downhill from there!
Tell us a little about Cowboy Jack:
Cowboy Jack is an educational and fun field trip style show for kids. We encourage good moral character, friendly behavior, and learning through play. Reminiscent of Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo, I use my real adult talking voice and no silly gimmicks. Kids are drawn to the show for the exciting things we show and teach, not because of loud music or silly dancing.
What is your greatest achievement in life?
My greatest achievement is of course, my two beautiful kids that completely transformed my life. Before having kids, I was honestly terrified of children! Now children are the most incredible part of every day and we should celebrate and promote the joy they bring to the world!
Who inspires you?
I’m inspired by Fred Rogers and great children’s entertainers from a simpler time. There are so many “big topics” put into children’s content these days and we just want to focus on fun, educational experiences. When I see parents emailing and messaging us telling us their kids did great at the dentist or had the best doctors appointment ever because of our show it recharges my batteries like nothing else!
CowboyJackShow.com