Rik grew up in Kentucky working on tobacco farms with his father. When the crop was in the barn, he would moonlight working with Thoroughbreds on some of the most beautiful land in the world. Whether in the field, on a tractor, or working out the horses, the rural way of living has always been in his blood.
After graduating from Bethany College in West Virginia, he worked for Simon & Schuster publishing company. But the cubicle life was not for this country boy. He has now been performing for over 24 years. At last count, he had taken stage over 5600 times, including 45 states, 3 countries and several times on the back of a flatbed truck!
His uncanny impersonation of Don Knotts as "Barney Fife" will take your group back to the days of good clean fun. His humor resonates with folks who work hard and want to have a great time. He’s been featured on several TV shows including CMT's 20 Greatest Redneck Moments, The Henry Cho Show, Laugh Out Loud, and Tennessee Crossroads. He also had his own episode of the Emmy® Award winning Bananas Family Comedy. Rik is a regular on Blue Collar Radio and Laugh USA. His six CD's have been featured on countless syndicated radio shows such as Bob & Tom, John Boy and Billy, Rick and Bubba and NPR's Car Talk.
Rik has developed a reputation as a presenter who can take even the toughest of crowds and bring them together for a truly unforgettable event. Using his down home demeanor and love of the simple life, he quickly forms a bond with the audience and takes them on a laugh-filled journey.
Rik is a proud father of two, husband to one, and resides in Nashville, TN. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and Christian Comedy Association.
"Rik Roberts was fabulous! He kept our audience engaged and laughing. It was clean fun and informative. We’d definitely hire him again."
- Director of Membership, Summer Convention in Myrtle Beach, SC
"Rik Roberts was a pleasure to work with and made some very valuable points in his session. Our attendees loved his humor and the information he shared."
- Event Planner, Annual Conference in St. George, UT
"Rik Roberts was the perfect choice for our conference. He delivered a strong message with lots of humor. Conference attendees couldn’t stop raving about his presentation. As a keynote he kicked off our event on a high note. We will definitely invite him back in the future."
- Conference Planner, Annual Conference in Roanoke, WV
"Our association had a great time with Rik Roberts. His Mayberry Method of Customer Service Presentation is both educational and fun! His use of the element of surprise, quick wittedness and good clean humor is a true asset in the industry. Rik is charming, engaging and fun! Our audience loved him!"
- Director of Member Services, Annual Conference in Bowling Green, KY
"Rik Roberts offers the perfect combination of education and entertainment. As the keynote speaker for our Chamber's general membership luncheon, Rik began by engaged the audience with his dead-on imperination of Deputy Barney Fife. After some interactive fun with a few key business and community leaders in the room, he segwayed into a fantastic presentation about eliminating distractions in the workplace through the "Mayberry Method". The audience loved him, and everyone left with takeaways that can be easily implemented to increase productivity in any organization. Rik was a pleasure to work with, and I highly recommend him!"
- President/CEO, Membership Luncheon in Germantown, TN
"We had Rik Roberts come in to present Game Winning Drive to our annual agency off site meeting. Rik really honed in on issues such as team work, unity, accountability, and owning your mistakes. He did it in a judgment-free way that gave us take-aways and connecting points we can take back to our home offices and apply. It was extremely well done, very professional and with plenty of laughs. Rik hit the nail on the head, and managed to not ruffle any feathers. He is an expert at people and it shows. I highly recommend him if you have similar event where you need to tune up your leadership, accountability and communication skills."
- Special Assistant, Management Conference in Nashville, TN
"Rik Roberts was exactly what our conference needed after two solid days of technical presentations and site tours. His "Mayberry Method" presentation had the right balance of information/strategies to combat wasteful work habits well blended with his wonderful sense of humor. Everyone had a great time with some great takeaways from his performance. He was an absolute professional and great to work with!"
- Professor, Test Track Conference in Auburn, AL
"Rik Roberts presented to our group the "Mayberry Method". He was very well received by all level of employees. Not one person, in the audience of 190, lost interest during the 90 minutes he "entertained" and educated our group. We even had an added bonus of unexpected interaction of an official Kansas Highway Patrol Officer that assisted in his great message of how to react/respond when in an unusual or difficult situation. Many employees have requested to have him back again!"
- Human Resource Manager, Employee Training Day in Manhattan, KS
"Rik Roberts (aka Barney Fife) spoke for CML USA, Inc. at our International Sales Meeting. We had representatives from Italy, Canada, Portugal and the U.S. After a full day of being served very technical information, our representatives enjoyed being able to relax and enjoy his performance. Rik's business message was clear and on point, and his very entertaining comedy routine had everyone in stitches from beginning to end. We wanted something light and entertaining yet informative for our sales professionals. From fun "citations" a the beginning to allowing photos to be taken with Barney, Rik Roberts provided exactly what we were looking for!"
- Graphic Design & Marketing, Ercolina International Sales Meeting in Davenport, IA
"I'd like to express our sincere appreciation to Rik Roberts for a job well done at our annual Mid-Year Conference. His portrayal of Barney Fife was "right on" and was very funny with some real life lessons to be learned by those in attendance. I've heard nothing but positive remarks regarding his presentation from our attendees."
- President, Mid-Year Conference in Blue Springs, MO
"Rik Roberts was great. He arrived very promptly and his presentations was exactly what I had hoped it would be. He was entertaining, but with a message. Immediately after the session I had several faculty members come to me and let me know how much they enjoyed the day."
- Supervisor of Instruction, County-Wide Inservice Day in Lafayette, TN
"Rik Roberts was very professional and well prepared. He was able to customize the presentation to our specific needs. He made the planning process very easy."
- Marketing Director, Customer Service Expo in Athens, AL
Rik Roberts has recently performed in: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, just to name a few.
