Kid President -- Fox 17 Nashville Exclusive

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• published: 23 May 2013
• views: 141961

Kid President -- Fox 17 Nashville Exclusive by Nick ParanjapeIf you heard the name Robby Novak, you probably wouldn't recognize it. If you heard Kid President, chances are better you know exactly who that is. The 9-year-old from west TN has been a huge hit on YouTube from his witty skits to meeting the *real* president. Only on Fox, we sat down with this funny 3rd grader who's got a serious message all while battling a rare disorder.In his videos, you see him in his black suit and red tie with that contagious laugh and always seems to be dancing. But there is a serious message from Robby Novak, otherwise known as Kid President. It just matters if you're nice to everyone says Novak. That's just one of his messages from his YouTube video Pep Talk which has more than 22 million views. He encourages kids to make the world less boring.The concept of Kid President was the brain child of his brother-in-law Brad Montague who was promoting an event at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, TN where he works. The next thing he and Robby knew, the videos went viral! Kid President became famous, although his friends are quick to bring him down to earth saying my friends don't really care that I have fame and stuff. Since being in the spotlight, Kid President has been all over the country from Hollywood to D.C. His biggest thrill was meeting the real president. President Barack Obama invited Novak to the oval office. it was really fun meeting the president, it was an honor says Novak. The President told him to keep doing what he's doing and Robby is taking his advice speaking to kids all over the country to make this world a better place. One of his regular stops is at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. He doesn't come to entertain the kids, he comes as a patient. Novak suffers from a rare bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta also known as Brittle Bone Syndrome. In his nine years, he's had more than 70 broken bones! Dr. Jill Simmons, a pediatric endocrinologist at Vandy, says Robby's had a great attitude in spite of some significant pain and lots of surgeries. Obviously, Robby is banned from playing sports and although his adoptive parents Laurie and David Novak are protective, they want to make sure he can still be a kid and that includes allowing Robby to wrestle around with his big sister Alexia who also has the same bone disorder. Every 13 weeks, Robby comes to Vanderbilt Children's to get an intravenous infusion, a 5-hour long process to make his bones stronger. the infusions do a great job at decreasing fracture rate, decreasing bone pain says Dr. Simmons.The prognosis for Robby and his sister is excellent according to Dr. Simmons. Both understand what they can and can't do. So, if Robby wants to be president someday, he can! But does he want to? Nah, too much paperwork says Novak.His brother-in-law, Brad says what's inspiring about Robby isn't his bone condition, but the fact that his condition doesn't define who he is. Just recently, the Kid President team was given the Making Kids Count Media Award by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.