It was only three years ago when SmoothGio walked across the stage at his high school graduation, but his digital footprint in history is proving to be much more far reaching.
Gio, a proud South Florida native, played football in high school with the goal to play college football on a Division I scholarship and eventually make it to the NFL. For background, the state of Florida is a hotbed for NFL talent, a list that includes Deion Sanders, Antonio Brown, Lamar Jackson, Fred Taylor and Emmitt Smith. After his junior season, however, that life plan changed.
Gio established a YouTube account under the name SmoothGio and he received a decent number of views doing videos with his friend, NateSoUgly where they followed online trends like Smash or Pass videos, the one chip challenge and lyric text pranks on potential love interests and exes. The series that changed his life came by way of asking Worldstar questions on the campus of his high school.
WorldStarHipHop produced a series where a host would ask people in public basic education questions. The absurd number of wrong answers, whether from the pressure of being on camera, being under the influence of alcohol or just not knowing, is the magic that made the series go viral, so Gio decided to try it on his high school campus. The first WorldStar questions video he did received over two million views. The setup was simple, use one iPhone as the camera, and another iPhone as the microphone. Gio would then edit and upload the videos from his iPhone as well. The formula worked so well, not only did Gio become a YouTube sensation, but an entire generation of teenagers conducting public interviews using iPhones as microphones in hopes to catch a viral moment emerged.
Walked Into High School with dreams of playing Division 1 football in college & from there going to the NFL! 🏈… That all changed when after my Junior season I decided to do Youtube. God had a plan for me & I thank you all for supporting & helping me through it. ❤️💯 pic.twitter.com/oEcZcHoIwC
— $mooth 🥷🏾 (@SmoothGio) May 31, 2019
At Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, rolling out caught up with Gio about his success and advice for aspiring creators.
What’s Art Basel Miami Beach 2022 been like for you?
This is my second day out here. Yesterday was a cool little vibe. I definitely just got out here tonight, so I don’t know yet, but hopefully, it’s lit though.
You started an entire generation of kids doing public interviews with their iPhones. What is it like being so young knowing you left your impact on social media?
It feels great, man. I’m not going to lie, it feels great.
Do you feel like you’ve earned the proper recognition for starting this video trend?
I feel like I do, and I don’t at the same time. I get my flowers, but I feel like I don’t get my flowers all the way sometimes. But it’s all good, we always just keep growing and keep grinding.
What do you have coming up next?
You have to stay tuned. Y’all follow me on social media, SmoothGio on all platforms.
What advice do you have for aspiring content creators?
Stay consistent, set trends and that’s pretty much it.
