Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Tramonte.
Hi Rob, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story as a business owner and creative dates back to 2004 when I was a freshman in high school. I started my first-ever business painting Xboxes for my classmates in Washington State. The company was called So SiK CuSToMz (lol), and we advertised it by hanging flyers in the boys’ bathroom and posting before-and-after photos on MySpace.
That same year, I took my first graphic design class and became hooked on Photoshop.
A year later, I started a graphic design business with the plan of selling motivational posters. I remember calling Costco, asking for printing prices, and trying to figure out profit margins like it was yesterday haha. The margins were actually pretty bad, so my business partner and I decided to pivot the company into a streetwear clothing brand in 2007.
In 2014, I was living in Idaho, where I attended college, and I was still running the same clothing brand. My wife received a job opportunity in Oregon, and we both decided it would be best to accept the offer and move to the Pacific Northwest.
When I got to Oregon, I landed a corporate job in the automotive industry within a month. I was told I’d be traveling 150 days per year, so I called my business partner, who had actually moved to Mexico, and we mutually decided it was time to shut the company down. That was an incredibly difficult decision, but we both knew it was time.
Fast forward eight months, and I had made a good friend who was just as passionate about fitness as I was. We decided to launch a new clothing brand in the fitness space. He was going to be the face of the brand and create the content, while I managed the creative and operational side since I already had seven years of experience.
That brand ended up running for five years. We opened our own gym, traveled to several fitness expos, grew our personal Instagram followings to over 50,000 each, and enjoyed every second of it. Then, in 2019, our investors decided to part ways, and we lost the gym. I built a studio at my house and was fully prepared to continue running the brand, but my business partner decided he wanted to officially end it. I respected his decision, and we put it to bed.
Throughout my time running both clothing brands, I learned photography, graphic design, marketing, advertising, videography, product modeling, public relations, customer service, order fulfillment, and shipping, all out of necessity. I simply did whatever needed to be done, and without even realizing it, I developed an incredibly broad skill set.
In October of 2016, I quit my corporate job after two years. At the time, it was the toughest professional decision I’d ever made. My boss was the second coming of Satan, and I knew I had to get out of there. One day, I simply quit and went full-time as a freelance graphic designer.
I designed logos, flyers, clothing, and just about anything else people needed. I also began offering social media marketing services to local businesses. Things were rough for a while, but I knew I could eventually make it work, and I did.
About six months later, I landed my first long-term client, a car dealership that hired me for social media management and content creation. That opportunity snowballed into working with several other dealerships, along with businesses in completely different industries. About a year later, I had built an income I was genuinely proud of, and I had done it entirely on my own.
Fast forward to 2019, and I officially launched my creative agency in Southern Oregon called Giant Haus. Two of my close friends at the time were photographers, and after interviewing with a few agencies in town, I quickly realized we could build something that could compete with anyone in the area.
Where I live, businesses were still far behind when it came to technology and social media, so we took full advantage of the opportunity. Within six months, we had built a long list of clients.
Later in 2019, I created a TikTok account. I wasn’t a “content creator” at the time. I was just a guy who enjoyed making entertaining videos. I saw how powerful TikTok was for reaching people, so I figured it would be fun to post simply for my own entertainment.
Then 2020 rolled around, and the pandemic hit.
I was sitting at home playing Call of Duty: Warzone with my buddies when I decided to make a few comedy skits about the game. Those videos absolutely exploded, and I quickly realized just how powerful TikTok’s algorithm was. Millions of views within hours.
Over the next few years, I continued making gaming content. Ironically, I almost never posted actual gameplay. Instead, I leaned heavily into comedy skits and eventually built a following of more than one million people across all platforms. These days, I get recognized in public pretty often, and most people reference one of my Call of Duty videos.
These days, I create a much wider variety of content than just gaming, but when you rack up 83 million YouTube views in a single year making gaming videos, that’s the niche people tend to remember you for haha.
Today, I’m still a full-time content creator, working with globally recognized brands such as Ford, Jack in the Box, Manscaped, Doritos, Mountain Dew, Logitech, ASUS, Lids, and many others.
I also continue to own my creative agency, Giant Haus, where we primarily help local businesses grow through social media marketing, photography, and videography, which are the three things I love the most.
As long as I’m creating, whether it’s for myself or for someone else, I know I’m doing what I love. Creating content has never felt like just a career to me. It’s what I genuinely believe I was put on this earth to do.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has DEFINITELY not been smooth for me.
Back in 2016, when I suddenly quit my corporate 9-to-5 job, I didn’t even tell my wife I was going to do it. I just did it.
Keep in mind, this came less than a month after getting married AND buying a house. I went from earning a decent salary to having ZERO income, but like I mentioned earlier, I knew in my heart it was what I needed to do to take control of my life again. I was absolutely miserable, but I never told anyone. That was probably the hardest part.
As far as my content creator journey goes, there were also several major roadblocks along the way. The biggest came in 2023 when Call of Duty released what I still believe was the worst update in franchise history.
Coming off the success of Warzone, which was the #1 game in the world, they released Warzone 2.0 and completely ruined it. They changed several core aspects of the game and added features that absolutely no one asked for. The game was fundamentally different, and not in a good way. Player count plummeted, overall interest in the game dropped dramatically, and when that happens, every Call of Duty content creator feels it.
Social media content thrives when it’s built around relevant topics, and suddenly Warzone wasn’t relevant anymore. No one was searching for Call of Duty content on Google or YouTube, so views declined not just for me, but for many other creators in my space.
Looking back, it ended up being a blessing in disguise for some creators, but it also crushed a lot of others who weren’t able to make content outside of class setups and Call of Duty tutorials. Not everyone is able to pivot successfully, but fortunately I was.
That’s why you see so much variety across my pages today. I create tech reviews, photography content, shoe unboxings, dog videos, posts with my wife, and just about anything else I genuinely enjoy making.
If Call of Duty had stayed as popular as it was during 2020, I’d probably still be making the exact same content today. In the long run, I think that would’ve been detrimental because I would’ve become so pigeonholed into one niche. Looking back, that’s exactly why I consider that roadblock a blessing in disguise.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m mostly known for my comedy on social media. I’ve always had the ability to take almost any situation, no matter how serious, and find humor in it. Ever since I started posting and building a following in the gaming space back in 2020, almost everything I’ve put out has had a comedic element to it. I think that’s a huge reason why so many people have clicked that follow button.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Spoke on this earlier a few times already
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lnk.bio/RobTramonte
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/robtramonte
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/robtramontefb
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtramonte/
- Twitter: https://x.com/bigrob
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobTramonte
- Other: https://gianthaus.com
