Khalen Saunders’ brother Kameron has also reached career pinnacle as Taylor Swift backup dancer

Long before he won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs and joined the Saints this year as one of the team’s most infectious personalities, 6-foot, 324-pound defensive tackle Khalen Saunders became famous for his viral backflip videos.

But when it comes to defying stereotypes for someone his size, Khalen’s own brother might have him beat.

Kameron Saunders has become a beloved part of the entertainment phenomenon of 2023 as the only plus-sized backup dancer on Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” which has already sold out three nights in the Superdome more than a year in advance for October 2024.

Photo courtesy of Kameron Saunders' Instagram

“My mom has not stopped the bragging since last year,” Khalen said of Kim Hamilton, who is a mainstay in the stands at both of their events — and the clear inspiration for their super-sized personalities when you talk to her for just a few minutes.

“My brother has been dancing and choreographing since (he was) about 12 or 13. So for him to finally get his big break and be on tour, it’s amazing,” said Khalen, who is four years younger at age 27. “My brother has always been told, ‘Oh, you should probably consider choreography, because you’re too big to dance. You should do this because you’re too big to dance,’ Same thing with me: ‘You should play o-line, d-line because you’re too big to play running back.’ And I think it’s just that, 'You can’t tell me what to do mentality.’

“Me and my brother have exemplified that our whole life. My mom eggs it on. My mom is like, ‘You don’t ever let nobody put you in a box.’ And that’s something me and my brother latched onto pretty early. And we did anything we could to get where we wanted to. And now we’re both there.”

Kim performs standup comedy on the side and joked that her plan was to have one little girl and a Corvette. “Instead, I got two boys and a Corsica. I was like, ‘What the hell?’” she said.

She added that her mom, Barbara — known as “Bingo” — had even more personality and used to heckle legendary comedian Robin Harris on stage. The determination they all share comes from Bingo too. When Bingo passed away recently, she instructed that the Frank Sinatra song “My Way” be played at her funeral.

So you get the idea of why Khalen is so captivating in press conferences when he says things like the Saints’ defensive line is a “bunch of dancing pandas” and describes rookie DT Bryan Bresee as a “6-foot-5 Gerber baby.”

But Khalen said it was Kim’s “unconditional love” that made the biggest impact on their lives growing up in a tough part of St. Louis.

Get locked in https://t.co/SM1UNtQeE2 pic.twitter.com/w9iGt0mF1Q— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) September 2, 2023

"I’ve always been a big girl, even when I was small," Kim said. "So people were always saying what I couldn’t do. And I was always like, ‘Bump that. Nobody can tell me what I can or can’t do.’"

Khalen and Kameron’s father, Kenton, was involved in their lives and was the one who got Khalen into football. However, Kim was the one who primarily raised the two boys with help from “Bingo" after she and Kenton divorced when Khalen was 1.

Kim worked various jobs but also did as much volunteering as she could to help expose the boys to different experiences. That’s partly how Kameron was introduced to dance and got started at St. Louis’ Center of Creative Arts. She also sent the boys to the best schools she could, even though they were farther from their home.

“I couldn’t afford the money it took to put (Kameron) in COCA. But he got to see it, and he was able to get a scholarship,” said Kim, who also credited her friends and members of the community for helping out with money and support. “I used to really try to make the kids feel like they were on adventures. They didn’t know we were walking because we didn’t have a car; they thought this was all about fun. We’d catch a bus, we’d pack a lunch, and we’d go to the zoo or something like that. We’d climb trees and sit in the trees and read books.

“I just found ways to be adventurous with the boys and keep their mind occupied.”

Photos courtesy of Kim Hamilton

The boys were obviously there for each other, too. Kim said oner of her favorite pictures of the boys (at the top of this article) was when Kameron posed holding a football while Khalen posed as a dancer.

Although Kameron wasn’t available to be interviewed for this story, all you need to do is scroll through his Instagram account to see how close he remains with Khalen — including a touching video of them sharing a long hug after Khalen’s most recent Super Bowl win.

Khalen and Kameron have three older brothers on their father’s side, all of whom have their share of athleticism that comes from Kenton, who was a “Mike Vick-type quarterback” in his day, according to Khalen.

But Khalen insisted he is the most athletic of the brothers "by far,” even though he acknowledged the amount of cardio that is required in Kameron’s dancing.

“I ain’t gonna lie, back in the day I used to help my brother with his choreography. He’d have me being the background part or something,” Khalen said. “They always preached for football players to get into ballet back in the day; I was one of the originals.”

Even if Khalen wasn’t so surprisingly graceful, he would stand out because of his personality. Khalen said when he first arrived in New Orleans that he always wants to be a “unifier” in the locker room. He immediately instructed his teammates to call him by his affectionate nickname, “Binky” or “Bink” or “Sir Bink” or “King Bink” or Bink Irving” — for when he’s on the basketball court — among other variations.

And he has already made a habit of inviting teammates over to his house, though many suspect it’s just an excuse for him to show them old footage of him playing running back or linebacker.

One of these days y’all will understand that I’m really a skill position trapped in a linemen body!You can’t tell me i ain’t 190 lbs. soaking wet 😂💯 https://t.co/MJfLKwceDw— Saint Binky 2x (@khalenNOTkaylen) August 1, 2023

Wow pic.twitter.com/bm8USNig8B— Saint Binky 2x (@khalenNOTkaylen) August 23, 2023

Teammate Cameron Jordan described Khalen as “aggressively joyous.”

“He’s a happy, big in-your-face type of guy. In a great way,” Jordan said. “It’s great being around somebody who has an infectious personality. Especially a positive one like him. Bink just really wants to be happy — and play the run. In the preseason, he already showed he’s got some dog in him.”

Khalen also records his own music on the side and said all of his brothers are musically inclined. Maybe he’d be on a stage somewhere, too, if he wasn’t so good at football.

“It’s amazing to see that they do have the same strength, the athleticism. One just loved dance and one loved football,” said Kim, who was torn on the toughest question of all:

What’s the bigger deal? A Super Bowl or a Taylor Swift concert?

“All I can say is the Super Bowls are out of this world. They’re amazing, and they’re loud and fun. But I have to say, I’ve seen some concerts, and this last one I saw, that doggone stadium was so loud. I’ve never heard the stadiums this loud.

“I really can’t compare, because Super Bowls are Super Bowls, and Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift. I’m just blessed.”