Chris Ballinger

Stardom did not come naturally to Chris. As the boy next door, Chris went to Cal State Northridge for two years before transferring to Occidental college as a junior. By this time Chris was married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Smith. Although it was never planned, Chris picked up his magical traits in these early years of college itself. A theater major, Chris performed magic tricks on the streets of Pasadena to earn some extra cash. Being a member of the Academy of Magical Arts, Chris did regular shows at restaurants and birthday parties.

Ballinger was fortunate to land a job at Fox studios as a writers’ production assistant for the then popular TV series ‘Bones’. However, two years later, things took a sudden turn with the announcement of the writer’s strike. With a new born in the family, Chris had to come up with a quick alternative to provide for the family.

With interest in magical art, Chris took a job with an online magic retailer. He made more than 1000 YouTube videos in his Santa Barbara studio apartment. His creations were published under the title ‘Magic Geek’ and on the portal JugglingStore.com. It wasn’t long before Chris’s work got recognized and both the digital properties became the No. 4 website for magic in the world.

All was well till 2014, when life took a second u-turn and Chris was laid off from his stable job of 7 years. After some deep introspection, Chris decided to convert his video making skills to a profession. He decided to launch his own YouTube channel where he would post daily videos of his family and magic. There has been no looking back ever since. Chuck E. Ears make your dance moves even more awesome! #Ad. Share your favorite Dad Hacks moment on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #DadHacks and #Sweepstakes for a chance to win the Ultimate Gaming Pack or a Guest Pass for your next trip to #ChuckECheeses. A post shared by Chris Ballinger (@chrisballinger) on Jun 9, 2017 at 3:51pm PDT

Very few of you would know that Chris had created his YouTube channel back in 2013, and his amateur videos had already garnered more than 100,000 subscribers in just 18 months. However, fame and recognition came only in 2014, after Chris got laid from his job of 7 years with an online retailer company.

It was only then, when he decided to fly solo with his YouTube Channel. That time, a father of 3, Chris chose to sell off his house, over picking-up another job. He used the money to build and grow his YouTube channel. It was indeed a tough call very few men can make. And all that hard work eventually paid off. His ‘Jennifer LawrenceMagic’ video was an instant hit on the internet and that made ‘BallingerPresents’ a common household name across America.