Conversations with Aaron Crumbley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Crumbley.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Aaron, and I make nerd comedy videos. I lost my job in January of 2025 and started my account “HikerAaron” to try to make extra income by selling third-party Pokémon LEGO kits from my old company, Bricker Builds. I was new to content creation and had no idea how to sell anything on social media. I was originally scared of looking stupid on camera, so I started posting Pokémon memes to ease myself into the awkwardness of posting, and I figured memes would attract a bit of attention and help the page grow. As a 90’s kid, I grew up with Pokémon and spoke the nerd language needed to connect to other Pokémon fans in hopes of making money. One day I came up with a Pokémon pun, and my series “Redneck Pokémon Word of the Day” was born. Redneck Pokémon Word of the Day takes heavy inspiration from Jeff Foxworthy’s “Redneck Dictionary as he was one of my comedic idols as a kid. That’s the moment I decided to switch my motivation from sales to comedy. Growing up, I secretly wanted to be in sitcoms. The idea of making money by being funny and having fun on set became my ultimate dream. This dream had been dormant for more than a decade, but my newfound hobby of making comedy videos reignited my fire. HikerAaron has blossomed into something bigger than I could have ever predicted. In the pursuit of comedy, I have been able to meet and collaborate with some of the funniest people I know, as well as some of the biggest names in the Pokémon space, including the sales app “Whatnot” and the biggest Pokémon card YouTube channel “Deep Pocket Monsters. I currently have no plans on slowing down and want to eventually get into sitcom writing.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest obstacle is big ol’ stupid ego. Thinking that every video has to be perfect before I post is my biggest hurdle. But you know what, to my surprise, I am not always right about my own art. I have to write, produce, film, edit, post, and let the world judge my videos. There have been plenty of times when I am reluctant to post, and the video that I end up posting does significantly better than I thought it would. And the opposite is true as well. I will be so confident that a video will perform well, and it flops. Moral of the story: social media is more about being known, less about being perfect. Remember, if you want to grow as an artist, putting in the reps is more important than gaining a large following or having your work go viral, even though those are great motivators. Private practice leads to public confidence.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make family-friendly nerd comedy videos. Right now, I am specializing in Pokémon comedy with plans to expand to more intellectual properties later down the line. Pokémon is near and dear to me, but I have always viewed it as a catalyst to make comedy videos in general. I’ve heard it said, “Invest in what you know,” and my nerdy self knows Pokémon the best, so that’s where I started investing my time.
My series “Redneck Pokemon word of the day” has become a staple on my channel. In those videos, I dress up like a cowboy with a Pokeball belt buckle. The outfit has become recognizable in the Pokemon space, which third-grade me could never have imagined. In all that I have done with the HikerAaron account, I think I am the proudest when parents see me at Pokemon card shows and tell me that their whole family loves watching my videos. Giving families a safe channel to watch feels like I am passing the torch of entertainment that was given to me and my brothers, watching Nickelodeon and Disney growing up.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
In 2020, I discovered an entrepreneurial podcast called ” Smart Passive Income” (SPI) by Pat Flynn. I ended up buying his book called “Will It Fly?” and it opened my mind to the correct way of starting a new business endeavor. The book helps people plan a business around the life they want, instead of creating a business and having to change their life around it. This helps people save a lot of time by thinking ahead. Skip to 2025: I am six months into HikerAaron, and I am watching a famous Pokémon card-ripping YouTube channel called “Deep Pocket Monsters” (3 million subscribers), which has the famous jingle “Should I open it, or should I keep it sealed?”. In the card-ripping short videos he makes, he rarely shows his face, so I didn’t know who he was. One day he said his name was Patt Flynn, and it dawned on me that the same guy who was teaching me about business is the same guy who is entertaining me in the Pokémon space five years later! Skip to July 2026, and I was invited by his team to attend his now-famous “Card Party” Pokémon card convention as a featured creator! I brought my book to get him to sign it and took a picture with him at the show. The lesson here is: you never know where a podcast will take you!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HikerAaron
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HikerAaron/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HikerAaron
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hikeraaron