Don’t Know “Cheeks?” Let Brad Bell Tell You All About Him!

Growing up in Dallas, TX, Brad “Cheeks” Bell knew several things early on: that he was gay, that he was going to be an artist and that he was going to find success in Los Angeles. Now twenty-four-years old, Brad not only makes a living off of his art, but has established a website – Cheektopia.com – where people of all kinds can come together to share their art and celebrate the creation known as “Cheeks.” Bell’s YouTube videos, consisting of both comic pieces and music videos, have over 400,000 streams and he’s getting ready to shop his first pilot around Hollywood.

But what kind of art does Brad do? (Hint: Think "internet!") And who exactly is “Cheeks?” (Hint: Think "zany!") What does Cheeks want? (Hint: Think "rule the world of entertainment!") AfterElton.com recently caught up with the man to find out those answers and more.

AfterElton.com: Let's start with Cheeks. Is Cheeks a character you play, your alter ego or is Cheeks just Brad but with a different name?
Brad "Cheeks" Bell: The way I see it, Brad is more the act because Brad is the one that has to function in normal society. Cheeks is more who I am. I kind of see life as something of a cosmic joke. I really don't think we should take any one thing too seriously, which I would hope you can see reflected in the world that I do.

AE: For people reading this interview who don't know anything about Cheeks, how would you describe him?
BCB: I would describe Cheeks as a free-spirited, fun-loving person who is comfortably encouraging everyone to express themselves, and creates something that provokes conversation and thought, and at the same time, he can laugh at things that are not easy to laugh at.

AE: It seems like you have a lot of different avenues to Cheeks. Twitter, you've got Cheektopia, and your music and comedy videos. What is your approach to Cheeks and how you are getting him out there in the world?
BCB: I'm one of those people who thinks everything is art to a degree. I know that's a cliché, but I do see the world that way. But the internet is my medium and that's the canvas on which I express myself. I do that in a variety of different ways, be it music or satire or video, inspiring people who might be following me on Twitter. I'm a big believer in all different outlets for art, because, collectively, if we can jam enough different channels, then we can make a positive difference out in the world.

AE: How did you come to realize how you could take advantage of the internet and evolve into this web presence that you've created?
BCB: I think it was first through YouTube when I started posting on there and realized when I was tagging different topics, YouTube sort of generates its own audience. You don't have to go out and find an audience. They come to you because of what you're discussing. I put a couple of things up for fun just to see what would happen, almost as an experiment. Before I knew it, I had a lot of people really responding to what I was doing, and really affected by what I was doing, so I started putting more effort and more thought into how I was going to create content I could release on a regular basis.

AE: How many YouTube videos and how many music videos have you done?
BCB: I've done two music videos thus far. I'm actually in talks with an artist about working on my next one. I've done about fifteen comedic satires.

AE: How many views have you gotten on those?
BCB: Total? I think it's around the 400,000 mark.