>> We're going to have a little fun here tonight at the circus,
so you're all invited!
>> When a goose clown has brown with white,
and then there's a white faced clown,
and the white face is all white with eyebrows and mouth drawn on.
And then you have character clowns.
I have white around my eyes and around my mouth,
and then I have brown around the rest,
and then some accent colors.
I remember the first time I put this on,
the guys are, like, "Well, we thank you for coming,
but your makeup isn't very good today."
Clowns can be blunt.
>> Hey! >> How are you doing?
>> The more you do, the better you get at it.
You watch other guys do things.
>> All our fingers. >> Really.
>> And you learn from them. >> Do it again!
>> We raise money,
and then, boo, money
is donated by the unit to the surrounding hospitals.
Huh, what do you think? I like it!
The interaction with people is what I really like.
How are you doing?
The perfect aspect of this is the interaction with the kids.
Their idea of perfect is when you go in
and you pay attention to them
and make a fuss,
and have a good time with the kids.
Everybody against me!
Up!
It's kind of nice when you build those kinds of relationships,
and you're a public figure.
All right, boom!
There's a certain expectation of how you behave and how you act.
>> Go get another one! >> Go get another one!
>> I like the fact that we can make an impression on people.
We're going to have to oil our [INAUDIBLE], they're kind of squeaky.
>> Yeah, they're getting old. >> As a CBP officer,
obviously our job is to read people.
When you ask them a question, you look to see how they react.
Those tools are useful in clowning,
but not for the same reason.
Good to see you! >> Yeah, good!
>> You know, sometimes a kid will be very hesitant
when they approach you.
You have to deal with them accordingly.
So like with me, I'm a pretty big guy,
I'm 6' 3", 250 pounds.
If a kid comes up
and you can see they're a little bit nervous, I'll get down on my knees.
Do you want a picture? Come get a picture!
>> Get down to their level.
And they get more comfortable,
because you're not as imposing that way.
No, I thought you were [INAUDIBLE].
Teenagers are interesting at the circus.
They'll try and avoid you, because it's not cool.
I'll say -- "Do you have your cellphone?"
"Well, what do you want me to take my phone out for?"
"Well, we're going to do a selfie."
And instantly you see the light click on.
Okay, yeah, we'll give you a card, and you can tag me.
And they think, oh, he's with it, he knows what he's doing.
Perfect!
You have to interact different ways with different people.
Let's do duck lips. >> Okay.
>> Sometimes people will show up at the border,
and they'll have -- their expectation, there's a little bit of fear there
because even though, you know,
most, 99.9 percent of the time
they haven't done anything wrong, it's just you're an authority figure.
Hey grandma, I was here! Hi!
>> I will say I brought a few things
from clowning to my job at the border, like
once you have established
that a person's not a threat,
if they have kids in the back seat,
I'm done with the parents.
I'll talk to the kids.
I'm not trying to elicit information,
it's just you make them more comfortable.
So the next time those people come to the border, they're not afraid.
Clown -- it's hard to get mad at that guy.
Don't get eaten by an elephant!
The big name tag, that's, you know, your mark.
I'm Camo, the clown. Come on, your picture with me?
Awesome! Come on over.
Because we're Camo's. All right!
We have all different guys.
We have Disco, and we have Phys Ed.
He's a gym teacher. One guy's Trash Can,
but he's a hobo clown.
He's a little grumpy, but he's a good guy.
I mean, it goes on and on at the circus.
The last time, we had 42 clowns.
When you go to the [Shrine?] Hospitals, you pay nothing.
Whatever your insurance doesn't cover is covered.
They afford people the opportunity to get treatment, ieregardless
of their ability to pay.
And I like the concept.
I like the idea that we're helping people,
and we're giving back. You're welcome!
I enjoy it. I really do.
I have a great time.
But it's the idea of giving back to the community,
and to the people.
And sometimes you see poverty when you do things like this.
>> What do you say, Nan?
>> But for that moment, they just --
they have a big smile. And they enjoy it.
They'll ask you for a balloon
and you tie a balloon for them,
and you give them a clown card
and you sign an autograph --
it's great to be a part of that.
Oh, you want one too?
All right, there's a card for you.
No man is bigger than when he stoops to help a child.
We're going to shake it out of him!
It's just kind of a philosophy that I like.
You can get away with things as a clown just goofing around with people,
that if the average person did it they'd be upset.
But when you do it, you're a clown.
I actually have three or four different noses
that on occasion I use.
Well, this is one of the few times
I actually get to wear hair.
So what we're going to do is, we're going to go visit some schools
and go into the classrooms.
We'll go classroom to classroom and we'll interact.
Wait, don't move, don't wiggle!
And at some point in time, I'll take my hair off, and put it on a kid.
And they laugh because they see the kid in a -- with the wig on.
Danica, you could be a good clown!
And two, they see me without hair,
so it's kind of funny.
You never know what to expect.
Our most veteran clowns have 35,
40 years of doing this.
And they stick with it because they love it.
They love the interaction with people,
and they love what we represent and what we do for people.
We'll see you at the circus. >> Thank you!