Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Johnson. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Robin Johnson served over twenty years in the United States Army before transitioning into the entertainment industry. After retiring from the Army, Robin discovered her new mission was to heal people, organizations, and communities with humor. She founded Best Medicine Brigade, a company that produces comedy showcases featuring veteran and military spouse comedians and facilitates humor therapy for mental health. The program, HEAL*HARIOUS, focuses on incorporating humor into whole health wellness strategies for veterans with mental health diagnoses such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. She is a Level II Certified Humor Professional through the Association for the Applied & Therapeutic Use of Humor and a Comedy Bootcamp Instructor for Armed Services Arts Partnership. She deployed five times to Afghanistan and Iraq during her service, earning the Airborne, Air Assault, and Pathfinder badges, three Bronze Stars, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Her career highlights include serving as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commanding a battalion in Iraq where she was charged with leading 960 Soldiers, maintaining over $50M in equipment, and acting in the capacity of a mayor for a coalition base responsible for a $300M budget and over $3B in construction projects and contracts.
Robin is also a stand-up comedian and motivational speaker with performances at venues such as Carolines on Broadway, Stardome, Atlanta Comedy Theater, Charlotte Comedy Zone, Bricktown Comedy Club, Louisville Comedy Club, and corporate venues all over the country. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University and Summa Cum Laude with an MBA from Webster University. Despite having a distinguished military career, her proudest achievement is her family. Robin has been married to retired Army Apache pilot Cayton for 20 years, and they have two wonderful children that give her an abundance of comedy material! Voted Charleston’s Best Comic 2022 and featured on USA Today, Fox, and ABC, Robin continues to use her voice to advocate for more representation of veterans in comedy.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Being in a dual-military family was undoubtedly challenging. My husband and I have a combined 11 deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Leaving our children was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Going from combat to comedy was a bold step. It’s the most challenging entertainment genre, and the industry could be more profitable initially. There’s a lot of upfront investment for little monetary return.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in facilitating HEAL*ARIOUS, a therapeutic humor program that improves psychological performance. I go a step further than just standing up and telling jokes. I donate many volunteer hours to help heal people with humor, including over 48 weeks at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in downtown Charleston. My focus has mostly been helping other veterans because I know first-hand the struggles of PTSD. I also help athletes and executives to use humor to enhance their psychological performance.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
Risk is my middle name. Go big or go home. I jumped out of airplanes during my military career and was in combat multiple times. I embrace risk but am also deliberate about how I assess it and the strategies to mitigate it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.healarious.org and www.bestmedicinebrigade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinphoenixjohnson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comedianrobinphoenix
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-johnson790/
