Bobo, being Bobo

MERCEDES - "Hey, stupid!"

"You are so skinny that I bet you could hula hoop with a Cheerio!"

Insults may not be part of a normal sales pitch, but Bobo the dunking clown isn't your average salesman, and he's not selling your average product.

The chance to send the crass clown for a dip was one of the most popular attractions in the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show midway this past week.

But to entice and ultimately frustrate his would be customers, Bobo often resorts to the lowest common denominator, often slinging insults dealing with weight, height, age or anything in between.

"The main thing I want to do here is make the people happy, then mad, and then happy again," said Jay Kelly, otherwise known as Bobo. "Basically, it is a form of entertainment and it is fun for the entire family. I am a clown and I do my job, which is to make people laugh. But, along the way I may irritate a few people who take offense to what I say."

Kelly said he is often not particular when selecting an insult for a prospective customer.

"I have been doing this gig for over a year now and I pick on just about everything and anything I can, such as weight, legs, and even your nose. The only thing I cannot use as part of my routine is race and I cannot cuss. But, everything else is gravy."

Kelly also talks about how he got started in the clown business.

"Back in the day, I always tried to make my friends laugh and they told me that I should become a clown. I went on to become a factory worker and decided one day that I was going to go ahead and give it a shot," he said. "So, I went from becoming a low paid clown to a high paid clown.

"From there, I started getting routines from other clowns and read some joke books. But, the best way to get stuff is by real life experiences. Some people just look real stupid and it makes it so easy to pick on them," Kelly said.

To keep the insults coming, a three-man crew takes rotating shifts as Bobo. John Westmoreland, who also plays Bobo, recalls one incident where he really irritated a person in attendance.

"About four years ago in Florida, this guy dropped about twenty bucks into the dunk booth trying to dunk me and he couldn't do it. I was mocking him and he was so upset that he drew a pistol and shot me in the leg," he said. "I had to go through six months of rehab because of the damage done. But, once it was all over, I got a tattoo on my back that says I will shoot back."

But despite the danger, Westmoreland said being Bobo is his calling. 

"That was pretty wild with what happened, but it is not going to stop me from doing what I live."