The man inside the Barney Suit for 22 Years, Carey Stinson, announces a brand-new podcast, Purple Roads, exclusively on Talk For Two!
I have no idea how to begin explaining how excited I am for today’s episode. This is a huge honor for me. We have a major announcement from someone I have respected…since I was 4 years old. I just didn’t know it. Let me explain. Today, I welcome Carey Stinson to the show. Who is Carey Stinson? Well, that question has many answers.
Currently, he’s a photographer and podcast producer based out of Dallas, Texas. But to understand how that came about, you must first understand who Carey was (and who, really, he will always be.) For 22 years, Stinson toured and filmed as the costume performer for Barney the Dinosaur. He toured with production shows including “Barney’s Big Surprise” and “Barney’s Musical Castle,” before doing 7 seasons of the PBS television series Barney and Friends.
Now this is where I want all of my children’s entertainment friends to pay attention. If you’ve listened to this show before, you know we started in (and are still very connected to) the industry of entertainers aimed at bringing joy to children at their birthday parties. Something you may not know: Barney the Dinosaur started out in Texas. Before blowing up nationally and internationally, Barney made appearances at birthday parties. It’s totally true, and Carey was the guy who did them, before becoming the PR Barney performer, and then eventually the main Dino on stage and screen.
I have to say, this seems to be the year of exploring major children’s entertainment brands for this show. From the Wiggles to Barney, I have enjoyed this. Often times, adults give kids brands a raised eyebrow. But there are also adults who are passionate for children’s entertainment, and respect what shows like Barney or bands like The Wiggles do for children. I encourage everyone listening to go back and just watch 5 minutes of Barney jumping around. Now think about it: That is an adult doing a 360 degree jump inside a 50 pound suit. That alone should earn mad respect!
After exiting the purple suit, Stinson began focusing his career on his photography, which you can see at CareyStinsonPhotography.com. Though the lessons of love and life experiences he had stayed with him, Carey thought he had mostly put the big, purple dinosaur behind him. And then, during a podcast on entrepreneurship, Carey’s interviewer brought up his time Barney, and he started getting emotional telling all the stories from his time with the mega media franchise. That’s when he knew he had to share the Barney story to the world—a tale of dedicated Texans who wanted to entertain and educate children while spreading a message of unconditional love.
Carey’s first podcast, Purple Tales, aired as both a podcast on iTunes, and concurrently as a YouTube video series. It delved into the world of Barney. From talking to fellow costume performers, voice actors, and the team of people who turned Barney the Dinosaur into a worldwide phenomenon, the stories and show-and-tell were especially engrossing for those of us who grew up with Barney. After 23 episodes, Carey put that limited series to rest.
But now he’s back, with an even broader podcast, Purple Roads, that he is announcing exclusively on Talk For Two. I am so thrilled to be a part of this journey. When my parents took little toddler me to see Barney’s Musical Castle in Hershey, PA, I had no idea I would one day play a small part in how the man inside the suit shares his story.
The Purple Roads podcast debuts December 6th. Stay tuned to TalkForTwo.com for more updates as their site, facebook, and Twitter become available!
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