Who is BigDawsTv?
Dawson Gurley was born on 19 May 1993, in Kansas, USA, and is a YouTube personality, best known for his prank channel called BigDawsTv. He uploads numerous videos of pranks, in which he interacts with strangers in unusual or awkward ways. He became a viral sensation after he started impersonating National Basketball Association (NBA) star, Klay Thompson.
The Net Worth of BigDawsTV
As of early-2020, Big Daws TV has a net worth estimated to be over $2.6 million, earned largely through a successful career on YouTube.
He has one of the most popular prank channels on the site, with around seven million subscribers and views ranging from 200,000 to an impressive 68 million per video. He’s earned significant income thanks to the advertising revenue provided by the site through Google Ads.
Early Life, Education, and Career Beginnings
At a young age Dawson fell in love with basketball, and grew-up idolizing some of the biggest names in the NBA, including Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson and Vince Carter. His family also loved the sport, which his uncle once playing professionally in Kansas during the 1990s. Dawson attended Olathe East High School, and played for the school’s basketball team.
He recalls his time with the team as one of the best, as the Olathe East Hawks are ranked among the top nationally. They offer numerous sports programs and compete in the 6A division. Around the same time, the Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he became a fan of that team as it was the closest to Kansas City. He dreamed of playing in the NBA, but he didn’t have the same potential for it as other athletes did.
YouTube Beginnings
After matriculating from high school, he enrolled at Mesa Community College, and played for the school’s basketball team.
However, he never really saw a path there that would open him up to a chance in the NBA. Instead, he started looking for other avenues, and became attracted to the video-sharing platform YouTube, which at the time was starting to gain traction online.
He had become interested in making videos ever since watching the film “Jackass”, in where the stars filmed pranks and stunts. The chance to do so became more of a possibility, as YouTube was a very accessible platform. He began posting prank videos in 2012, with his first video done during a trip to Hawaii.
His first prank video was him invading the space of other people hanging out at the beach; one of the reasons why his pranks worked is because he carried an awkward and goofy demeanor, which immediately disarmed many of the strangers he interacted with. Over the years, his channel grew as he posted prank videos saying “I Love You” to strangers, make awkward phone calls, and played basketball. A lot of people appreciated his basketball skills, as well as his ability to carry very awkward situations.
Becoming Fake Klay
In 2015 with the rise of the NBA team the Golden State Warriors, a lot of people took their attention to its stars such as Steph Curry.
Another one of their top players is Klay Thompson, who’s often referred to alongside Curry as the splash brothers. He is the son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson, and has been pivotal to the team’s success. He and Curry set the record for 484 combined three-pointers in a season just a year prior.
Daws had a very close resemblance to Klay, and if he mimicked the NBA players’ facial hair, and wore a jersey, people began mistaking him for the player. This was proven when he released his first prank video as fake Klay, playing basketball with strangers, which reached 18 million views.
He got even more attention when he pretended to be Klay watching a Golden State game, and even the media noticed his resemblance to the star. He was featured by numerous online publications, and even Klay’s teammates started noticing him. Kevin Durant reportedly gave him a high five and called him Klay, while Coach Steve Kerr joked about how Klay was gaining weight – Daws had a much bigger physique, as he wasn’t training like an athlete.
Recent Projects
Since Daws didn’t want to be stereotyped as the fake Klay, he began expanding his reach further by thinking of new ideas for pranks.
I signed a mans shirt who thought I was actually Klay Thompson 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/1Xhj139xVl
— Daws (@BigDawsTv) October 19, 2017
Though it has been a few years since his last video impersonating Klay, his followers still joke about how Klay has become fat, and does pranks during his free time. A lot of his most popular videos in recent years have been interacting with women by using awkward pick-up lines, or putting them in awkward situations.
He’s also been using the wealth he’s gained as a way to give back to others, doing pranks that involve him giving away gadgets or money. He’s also helped out strangers or even pranked them by showing a lot of money to see how they would react. His fame and wealth have grown so that he’s traveled around the world doing pranks.
He’s been to most of the US, and has traveled to other countries. His favorite places to visit in the US include Hawaii and San Diego. He also sells merchandise through an online site for extra revenue.
Personal Life
It is known that Daws married Kelly Cecil sometime in 2017. He regards her as one of his biggest supporters, though she maintains a very private life, not getting involved in any of his videos. Sometime after his popularity as fake Klay, one of his idols, Tracy McGrady, dissed him saying that he won’t get any women during a broadcast on ESPN. Daws jokingly remarked that he had put Tracy McGrady down from his throne of idols, and defended himself, saying that he is enjoying a happy marriage with his wife.