Red shirt, hair in a bun, the stare. You don’t even have to be in the stock show industry, and you’ll likely remember seeing Karis Dadson, 14, showing her pigs in iconic tiktoks, shorts, videos and reels. Not only are these videos reaching youth exhibitors in the livestock industry, but the impact goes even further. The Pat McAfee Show recently discussed showing livestock because of this family’s social media outreach. They’ve been featured on ESPN and BarStool Sports, and Will Smith has even shared their posts.
For the Dadson family of Paso Robles, Calif., the attention their videos have sparked was unexpected. Kara Dadson, mother of the 14-year-old twins Karis and Krew, said she started it to help build their show pig business, Dadson Farms. She posted their first video on TikTok in 2019.
“I did a lot of social media with my small business prior to that and thought I’d try to do the same thing with our show pig business,” Kara says. “It was frustrating in the beginning, because I’m like, ‘Why can’t my small business videos go as big as the pig videos?’ It took off, and I just continually kept doing it. I never expected this to happen.”
Viral Attention
One of the first big hits was a video of Karis showing at a National Junior Swine Association show. More than 41 million people tuned in to watch it.
@dadsonfarms Great night to show at western regionals #showpigs #hogshowman ♬ KILL EM' ALL - STXRZ
“I was like, ‘Well, that’s never going to happen again,” Kara says. “But I continually kept posting, and then it just kept happening.”
Part of her shock stemmed from the realization that people simply didn’t understand what showing pigs was all about. Growing up in an area and attending high school where everyone was in FFA and showed an animal was Kara’s normal. She’s since learned from posting videos for Dadson Farms that her experience showing livestock was anything but normal.
“I’m hoping to show that this is a good thing, and these kids aren’t weird,” Kara says. “I want to put showing livestock in a good light and explain things to people. I do feel like I have explained and explained the same things over and over. But I’ll continue to do it if they still don’t understand.”
Don’t Take it To Heart
Because viewers may not understand what the kids are doing – whether it’s showing, practicing at home, feeding or grooming their pigs – some of the comments can be discouraging to read. Although Kara doesn’t take the comments too seriously and finds inspiration in what people ask or have to say, her husband Kyle said it’s not as easy for him to read the comments.
“I had to put myself in time out one day because I was reading some comments and saw one that really struck a nerve,” Kyle says. “I know Kara is fully invested in taking some of the comments to create new material, but I thought it was just best for me to stay out of the comment section.”
Karis takes a similar approach as her dad. She used to read the comments, but now she avoids them. Krew, on the other hand, admits some of the comments are kind of funny.
“In the beginning, we would go through the comments as a family and laugh at a lot of them,” Kara says. “But some comments will just take a turn. I don’t understand the hatefulness of some of them, and especially with them being children. But if you have any video go big, you’re going to get the love and the hate.”
Last fall, a video featuring a young woman dressed as Karis went crazy on social media. Some media reported the “Karis costume” as the best costume of 2024.
@haleyhanson_ Halloween costume @Dadson Farms Show Pigs #showpigs #livestockshow #dadsonfarmsshowpigs #halloween #halloweencostume #halloweentransition ♬ original sound - ⋆˚࿔ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 ⋆˚࿔
“I think it’s really cool (that people dressed up like Karis for Halloween),” Karis says. “We obviously didn’t expect it. I think it’s crazy how fast our platform has grown to do that. To me, it’s shocking.”
A Reality Check
Long-time family friend James Backman of Small Town Genetics says, “What makes the Dadson family so unique is their ability to bring what we do to life – the majority of our population has no idea about this sport and lifestyle. What was originally designed to teach and educate has become a social media phenomena emphasizing the work ethic, dedication and family interactions showing livestock offers kids.”
So, how do they keep their kids grounded?
“Kara is always very truthful about this – we just put that content out. We’re not puffing up our chest and saying we’re better than everybody,” Kyle says. “We’re just putting it out there to be helpful.”
Some comments go as far as to suggest they think they win all the time, he added.
“Listen, we went to a jackpot show in December. Neither one of the kids placed in showmanship,” Kyle says. “You have the grounding component there in terms of ‘Hey, this is just one man or one woman’s opinion.’ Nothing is given. We are going to work our very hardest at home every single day. We try not to let excuses get in the way whatsoever.”
The results aren’t always what they want, he admits. But that’s okay. This is their kids’ sport and what their family loves to do.
“We fully dedicate our time at the house to trying to make them as competitive as possible,” Kyle says. “They are learning that some things occur in life that you’ve got to put more grit and more grind into, and work through it. I think that’s how we try to keep them grounded here at the house.”
Go watch the entire conversation with Jennifer Shike on YouTube or go listen to The PORK Podcast anywhere podcasts are found to learn what the Dadsons have to say about sibling rivalry, animal welfare and Proposition 12 as well as the strangest questions they’ve been asked by viewers and their wildest ‘fame moments.’
Your Next Read: Don’t Say the S-Word
