Livestock Marketers of Saskatchewan – Attendees of the Livestock Markets Association of Canada (LMAC) Convention and Canadian Livestock and Master Auctioneer Championships, held in Regina and Moose Jaw May 22‐24, 2014, had a celebrity of their own to celebrate.
Rhett Parks, an auctioneer with Whitewood Livestock Sales, recently sprang to fame when YouTube videos of his auctioneering skills set to rap music went viral with the assistance of David Kamp, a music producer from Berlin, Germany. In a matter of days, the four main YouTube channels resulted in over two and a half million views of the rapping auctioneer in action!
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Parks has since appeared on Canada AM and has been interviewed by radio stations all over the world including Australia and New Zealand. He’s been featured on a social media app called theChive, on a viral video show in the UK, as the new ‘Rap God’ on SPIN.com – and they’re even dancing to his licks in discos in Copenhagen, Denmark!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1MFlQNGjVY]
“The phone calls and Facebook messages over the past three weeks have been non‐stop,” says Parks. “It’s been a bit overwhelming, but I’m having lots of fun with it and I hope to inspire young people who are interested in a career in auctioneering.”
One version of his auctioneering prowess, ‘50 Cent Auction’ can be seen on YouTube, at cattlerap.com and at Facebook.com/cattlerap. The latest video, ‘Sold’, is available for purchase on iTunes.
At 36 years of age, Rhett Parks is the youngest director on the Livestock Marketers of Saskatchewan (LMS) Board. He served as President from 2011‐2013, and has had direct involvement in a number of LMS‐sponsored projects, including a video on proper handling of cattle. Parks has been the manager of Whitewood Livestock Sales, a family‐owned and operated business, since the fall of 2005. Previously he managed Pipestone Livestock, and has been selling cattle since 1997.
The annual Livestock Markets Association of Canada Convention and Canadian and Master Livestock Auctioneer Championships, hosted this year by LMS, provides opportunities for those involved in the marketing of livestock to network and learn more about the industry.
