Promoter of Clash of the Stars Jakub Jíra exclusively: Tomio Okamura is my buddy, I also like Babiš

Jakub Jíra and Clash of the Stars, this goes hand in hand. How did it all start and how did you get involved?

Polish owners, Tomáš Le Sy and Tiberiuš Labůdek, approached me. It was after I had worked on the first season of the reality show Like House. There was a horrible gap in the market and unused space. They offered me to be part of it from both an organisational and wrestling perspective. But I'm not a wrestler, so I arranged for a few influencers I know. We didn't know in advance if there would be interest and purchasing power in the Czech market. We gave it a huge promo and involved diverse personalities, which, in my opinion, is key to success. At the beginning, it didn't have such a "hype" as it does now. It's becoming increasingly interesting to the general public. In the last series, Jaromír Soukup appeared, who is known to 95% of people in this country. 

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Do you choose people for the cage yourself or do they contact you? 

In the beginning, when nobody knew about this project, I hunted people myself. Now we hunt them together with Tomáš Le Sym and Tiberius Labůdek. However, influencers mostly report to us themselves. I currently have about 600 unread emails and half of them are straightforward proposals that they want to compete. Then, they also tag us on social networks. But there's nothing easier than creating a viral challenge, shooting it as extravagantly as possible, tagging me and Tomáš, and if it's interesting, we'll have a meeting, discuss options and maybe you'll get into Clash. Thanks to that, Jarda Kotlár also appeared in Clash.

Recently, you accepted an invitation to Tomio Okamura's podcast. Do you mind being associated with his politics?

We are actually doing the podcast together, we have known each other for nine years. We are not exactly "pals", but we are in regular contact. I am also in contact with other politicians, I am simply a businessman and get along well with everyone. In the past, I was already associated with Babiš, Schillerova and Ovčáček, who came to our Camp with Tiktokers. So I was already accused of campaigning for ANO, Okamura, Zeman and Fiala. I am actually campaigning for everyone. I don't take it like that anymore.

What do you think of Tomio Okamura's politics?

We are doing an apolitical podcast together, we don't discuss this. I have nothing to say about that, he has a vision that he is building. He is a successful person and entrepreneur, he built a party from nothing and currently has the third strongest party. But I'm neither his fan nor a hater. We are friends. I take politicians just like influencers.

Aside from Clash of the Stars, you also have your own agency, where you represent Dana Nerudová's son, Filip Neruda. Would you be interested in representing his mother directly or any politicians?

We just added Jaromír Soukup there. Of course, we're friends. He's my entrepreneurial role model and he's a tough guy in what he's achieved. He built an empire and I respect him immensely. He applied for politics and is close to politics. Furthermore, there's Filip Neruda. If I wanted to have Andrej Babiš, Petr Fiala or Petr Pavel, Tomio Okamura and Alena Schillerová in the agency as part of the collaboration, I wouldn't object to it, but they are employees of the state, so I don't know if they could even promote any products on their Instagram. However, I probably wouldn't run a campaign, I'm not a political marketer. I do entertainment. With Tomio, I drop bombs and with Andrej, I play Fortnite.

Who is Jakub Jíra outside the influencer scene? What does he like to do in his free time? 

My job is my hobby. I spend my free time with my girlfriend, but I work non-stop otherwise. I take it as my mission and I live for it. I don't feel any tiredness from it. 

Even the bizarre has its place on the scene. What do you think is the lifespan of influencers like Shopaholic Adel, Psychopath Bejr or the Boy with Stones, for example?

These are my three friends. Those people are still here. It was said about Shopaholic Adel a year ago that she would end, but there is an article about her in tabloid magazines every week. She is still interesting to people. 

source: own querying