- 2 hours ago
Robert Burck, better known as the Naked Cowboy, is 55 years old and lives in Queens, New York. He earns an average of $150,000 a year entertaining tourists in Times Square, where he's spent more than two decades performing in his signature cowboy boots, hat, and underwear. Beyond street performances, Robert relies on merchandise, Cameo videos, appearances, and licensing his iconic persona to boost his income.
In this episode of "The Pay Check," Robert breaks down how he earns, spends, budgets, and invests his money while living in one of the most expensive cities in the US.
In this episode of "The Pay Check," Robert breaks down how he earns, spends, budgets, and invests his money while living in one of the most expensive cities in the US.
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00:00Hi everybody, I'm Robert Burke, better known as the Naked Cowboy.
00:03I make roughly $150,000 a year on average.
00:08Today I'm going to share my expenses, how I invest,
00:12how I basically navigate around the expensive city that I live in and work in,
00:18and still keep the shirt on my back.
00:20Well, never mind.
00:24I fortunately have an unbelievably disciplined and methodical, consistent kind of personality.
00:30For 27 years, 8 months, and I think 14 days today, I've religiously gone into Times Square every day,
00:37unless I was flying to another country 19 times to do it, or bike week, spring break, Daytona, major events.
00:44On my best year, I've done as much as $250,000,
00:49and I've had literally consecutive years where I only made $25,000 to $30,000,
00:56which was just enough to pay to go to work.
01:00Last year, I made roughly $80,000,
01:03and that comes from like $20,000 to $25,000 in TIPS in Times Square,
01:07roughly $50,000 from Cameo, which is an app where I'm singing happy birthday, happy anniversary,
01:13and then another $10,000 came from Naked Cowboy Oysters.
01:17They're from the Blue Island Oyster Company.
01:20Chris Cortuccio owns the business.
01:22They came across a huge bed.
01:23He was trying to think of a name to sell these oysters.
01:26He's driving through the city.
01:28He sees me.
01:29Epiphany saw me, Naked Cowboy,
01:31and they made a deal, and I think we've been with them at least 15 years.
01:35So Naked Cowboy Oysters, I have a song.
01:37Naked Cowboy Oysters can only be found
01:40at the bottom of the Long Island Sound.
01:42So that's a residual from my Naked Cowboy Oysters being sold in restaurants nationwide.
01:48Cameo is something new to me, actually.
01:51So Cameo, cameo.com, is an app,
01:53and what I do is I get emails on my phone,
01:57and it says,
01:58hey, Joey's turning 25.
01:59He lives in Utah.
02:00He came to New York City in 19-whatever,
02:03and then I just simply take my phone.
02:05I hit record, and I say,
02:06hey, Joey, Naked Cowboy,
02:08and a happy birthday to you.
02:10Boom, boom, 50 bucks.
02:11It goes straight into my credit union in Cincinnati,
02:14where I'm from,
02:14and I just 50, 50, 50, 50.
02:17Cameo was a lifesaver in terms of almost doubling my income.
02:21I spend roughly $11,000 on work expenses,
02:25and that would be hats, boots, gas, gym membership,
02:29anything pertaining to basically just being the Naked Cowboy.
02:32Robert Burke, that's me.
02:34I'm Robert John Burke II.
02:35I exist to get my alter ego, the Naked Cowboy, to Times Square,
02:39so almost every single thing I do is a business expense.
02:43I'm a well-oiled machine, so to speak,
02:46and the only things I buy are the things that I need for work,
02:49so I'm buying boots, hats, guitar strings.
02:52My boots are like $180,
02:54and they last like a month
02:56because I'm walking 50 hours a week.
03:02I live in a two-bedroom apartment here in Queens.
03:06My monthly rent here is $2,140,
03:09and that includes the garage.
03:11The only utility bill I have here is Con Ed.
03:15In the summer, it could be as much as $100,
03:17but insignificant water is included in my rent,
03:20and I've lived here for, I'm going on 14 years.
03:23I moved here with my wife.
03:26I actually lived in a hotel in New Jersey,
03:28so when I married, I came here,
03:31and so I've paid all of mine and her expenses
03:34since we got here because she's my wife.
03:37Hey, guys, come on in.
03:38So this is my apartment.
03:40Pretty empty.
03:41I don't really have a lot of stuff.
03:43Coffee maker, stove, refrigerator, freezer,
03:46pretty basic stuff.
03:47TV.
03:48Don't watch TV, really.
03:50Books.
03:50I spend most of my time right here in this chair.
03:53I paint my boots and hat here.
03:55I got a guitar that I play just for fun,
03:57but not very often.
03:58I play seven hours a day.
03:59Got a nice bathroom here.
04:02Simple, small, New York style.
04:05This is my room here.
04:07You see the naked cowgirl lives here,
04:09so she's got all her cowgirl hats
04:11and pretty much all the clothes are hers.
04:13And this is my little box of important stuff,
04:15which I can gather and get out of here if I need to.
04:18And you got a great view of the city,
04:20except that it's overcast today.
04:22But generally, you can see the entire skyline.
04:24You can even see the Freedom Tower down there,
04:26but not today.
04:28Have an air conditioner,
04:29but I usually lose a fan because I'm economical.
04:31And that's my humble abode.
04:34Turn off the lights.
04:35We're in New York.
04:36Con Ed will really go up quick.
04:38The reason why I think I am getting good value
04:41is for the reason why anyone gets good value
04:43for what they pay.
04:44It's the reason why my rent is low comparatively.
04:47And that's because I'm a regular guy.
04:50I've lived here 14 years.
04:51If I leave, I guarantee the next person
04:53is not going to pay $2,140.
04:56They're going to jack it up to like $3,000 or $3,500,
04:59which is what other people pay here.
05:01But I've been here.
05:02I'm a reliable renter.
05:03They can count on me.
05:04I pay it before it's due and have never not paid it.
05:08It's by being here, knowing people,
05:10is you have to fight to be here a long time.
05:13And it's those connections, the networking.
05:16See, if you go to Times Square, I can go there.
05:18Everyone knows me.
05:19They loves me.
05:20I can do anything.
05:20But if I didn't know everybody,
05:22if I didn't have that background,
05:23I'd be squashed and spit out
05:24and in the East River real quick.
05:29In 27 years, 8 months, and 14 days,
05:31I've always driven my own car,
05:33never taken public transportation,
05:35just don't need it.
05:36I drive a car.
05:37I've always driven a car.
05:38I've been driving since I was 16.
05:39That's how we do it in the Midwest.
05:41Obviously, people in the big city generally take a train
05:44and they take the subway
05:45because it's much more economical.
05:46But I'm driving in the Times Square.
05:48I got my boots, my hat.
05:49I got my stuff.
05:50It's kind of like my office.
05:51I could not be in Times Square
05:53and have done what I have done
05:54without the ability to get out of the cold
05:58every 40 minutes or out of the heat.
06:00My car payment has always been
06:02roughly $800 to $900 a month,
06:05which I've paid religiously, of course.
06:08Gas and travel and gas, I have $13,000.
06:11So that's oil changes, gas.
06:14You got to get three different stickers
06:15for every kind of exhaust that's popping out of your car.
06:19Tolls, bridges, congestion prices.
06:22Parking, $9,600.
06:24Car insurance, $3,200.
06:26When you add that up,
06:27I'm basically paying $3,000 a month to drive a car.
06:32I'm the most routinized person on the face of the earth.
06:35Do the exact same thing pretty much every single day.
06:38You know, I eat lean protein and veggies.
06:39I probably spend about $120 a day on food.
06:42So I eat the exact same foods every day.
06:45I basically have about 10 to 12 egg whites
06:48before I leave the house.
06:49I also go to the deli.
06:51That's the same deli I met my wife.
06:53I get this sushi tray and a protein shake.
06:55That's like $20 because it's expensive to get sushi.
06:58Then I get home.
06:59I get two steamed chicken and broccoli,
07:01some Chinese chicken right across the street.
07:04And then I'm eating another 10 to 20 egg whites
07:07before I go to bed.
07:08And sometimes I get up in the middle of the night
07:09and eat more egg whites.
07:11I'm like out of control.
07:12I eat more food than anybody on the planet.
07:14And that's why I point out,
07:15even if I say I made 80 to $150,000 a year,
07:19the one thing I don't write off is food
07:20because everybody has to eat.
07:22And that is my biggest expense.
07:24Now, these are not things I normally buy,
07:26but for price comparison,
07:27we've got a gallon of milk.
07:29We've got a, I call this a two liter,
07:33white bread, one dozen eggs,
07:37and two pounds of rice for the grand total of $20 and 25 cents.
07:46For the first 25 years, I've done Mardi Gras.
07:49So I drove down to New Orleans and did Mardi Gras.
07:52Then I drove over to spring break in Siesta Key, Florida,
07:56and then bike week on the way back.
07:58So it's a trip straight down New Orleans, up 95 and back.
08:02I've done that 25 times.
08:03In terms of recreational expenses,
08:06I've mentioned I've been married now for almost 14 years.
08:09She's actually normal.
08:10So she likes to have fun and do more recreational stuff.
08:14We both have simple tastes.
08:16There's been a pool hall right on our block.
08:18So for $10, we can play pool for an hour.
08:21We go to the beach where there's free parking.
08:24We eat on the beach.
08:25We've been to Mexico City eight times, Cancun.
08:28And in every one of these cities,
08:30we're eating chicken and veggies.
08:31We're staying at the hotel.
08:33And every single day that I'm there,
08:36I'm performing at some point as the naked cowboy,
08:39making the entire business expense a business expense.
08:43It's like Picasso said,
08:45when I work, I relax.
08:46I'm a worker bee.
08:48I get done.
08:49Sitting around relaxing is not relaxing.
08:51Although one caveat,
08:53I love my wife so much that whatever she wants to do,
08:55I'm more than happy to contend myself
08:57with doing whatever she wants to do on her time.
09:00I flew over to Ireland for Irish entrepreneur.
09:03I went to Japan twice,
09:05once for the Cherry Blum festivals,
09:07once for dating.com or something.
09:10I went to Germany four times.
09:12Norway with Norwegian Airlines.
09:14They were advertising flights from New York City to Norway.
09:17So they flew me over in my underwear.
09:19Everywhere I've ever been,
09:20every single thing I've done,
09:22I just,
09:22I bring my underwear.
09:23Have underwear, boots and hat.
09:25We'll travel.
09:28Last year,
09:29I spent $3,600 out of pocket for minor medical,
09:34you know,
09:34I felt like I needed to see a doctor.
09:36I was getting sore throat
09:37and I just go to the urgent care
09:40and pay 120 bucks
09:41and then you go to the doctor.
09:43I never had health insurance for my entire life.
09:46I never went to the doctor.
09:47I went to the doctor for the first time
09:49like two years ago
09:50as the naked cowboy.
09:51I don't care what it is,
09:52tax,
09:53I go to those types of things
09:54in my underwear.
09:55First thing they tell you
09:56at the doctor's office,
09:57get naked.
09:58First thing they tell me,
09:59could you put your clothes back on?
10:00I go to the gym.
10:01I've been going since I was 17 years old
10:04and I just make it a point
10:05to train harder than anyone else in the gym.
10:08It's that simple.
10:10I've made absolutely zero efforts
10:12to actually save money.
10:14Like I went to college,
10:15got my bachelor's degree
10:16and right after that,
10:17trying to be a model and actor,
10:19I started working at a TGI Fridays,
10:21which was the first job I had
10:22outside of stripping
10:24dancing
10:24or being in a G-string
10:25in a bar
10:26and I had a 401k
10:28and after seven years,
10:29I had less than $5,000 in it
10:31so it couldn't be rolled over
10:33but I had a friend
10:34named Jason Peetmeyer
10:35who's still my financial manager today
10:37and he took that $4,000 whatever
10:40and every single time
10:41I've been in,
10:41you know,
10:42some well-publicized lawsuits,
10:44I've been arrested
10:45where I was compensated
10:47by the city.
10:48I've had $10,000 deals here,
10:50$20,000,
10:51you know,
10:51endorsement deals.
10:51So every time I've ever gotten
10:53a big chunk of money
10:54that was additional,
10:56I set some money aside,
10:58maybe $5,000, $10,000.
11:00I have a quarter of a million dollars
11:01in my CMA and IRA
11:03and my property,
11:04I own the trademark,
11:06the Naked Cowboy trademark
11:08can be sold,
11:09I mean,
11:09could be conceivably sold
11:11for a million dollars.
11:12I mean,
11:12you can do boots,
11:13hats, CDs,
11:14any kind of licensing deal.
11:15It's just like Elvis.
11:16I got four albums on iTunes
11:18that people are downloading
11:19around the clock.
11:20I'm building a New York institution
11:22that'll have Broadway shows,
11:24movies,
11:24everything in the world.
11:26I have no debt.
11:27I've had the same credit card
11:28for 25,
11:2926,
11:3030 years,
11:30I don't know,
11:31my whole life.
11:31When I was 17 years old,
11:33my grandpa was on a credit union
11:34in Green Hills, Ohio.
11:35That's still my bank.
11:36I have no banks in New York City.
11:38Everything is done in the mail
11:39to my home address
11:40in the village of Green Hills
11:42where I was born and raised.
11:44Same account,
11:45same everything.
11:47If you want to talk about
11:48the expenses in New York City
11:50and what people wouldn't expect,
11:51I would just say
11:52that every single breath you take
11:54costs money in New York City.
11:56Right?
11:5716 bucks to drive over the bridge,
11:5916 bucks to come out of the tunnel.
12:01So the question is,
12:02am I going to live here
12:03long-term in New York,
12:04retirement?
12:04Again,
12:05it's like,
12:05I'm hoping to get through this day.
12:07I recognize the risk
12:10and the danger
12:11of every single thing I do.
12:13For one,
12:14just my lifestyle
12:15is frantic
12:16and I have high blood pressure
12:17and all this stuff,
12:17they say I'm stroke material
12:19because I'm at like
12:20160 and 120
12:21on my numbers.
12:23Not the least bit worried about it.
12:24So am I going home?
12:26There's nowhere to go home.
12:27And my goal,
12:29still,
12:29to this day,
12:30is to have a penthouse
12:31right there in Times Square
12:32to have my own helicopter
12:33that flies me
12:34to my other helipads
12:36on other castles
12:37and homes around the world.
12:38And my goal is to be
12:39the richest,
12:39most famous man in the world.
12:40That's it.
12:41I mean,
12:42I can do anything.
12:43I'm here because
12:44this is the most productive
12:45use of my time.
12:46Hard to imagine
12:47that getting in your underwear,
12:48boots and hat
12:48and standing in the middle
12:49of a street corner
12:50could be the most productive
12:51thing you can do.
12:52But what Tony Robbins said,
12:54the most valuable resource
12:56is resourcefulness.
12:57And that's,
12:58I'm a good sport.
13:00I'm the Nicky Cowboy
13:01Gotta do what you gotta do
13:05I'm the Nicky Cowboy
13:07Keepin' it real for you
13:09Baby Shark
13:10Do-do-do-do-do-do
13:11Baby Shark
13:12Do-do-do-do-do