TikToker Sam Vicchiollo On Newfound Fame and Advocacy
A proud member of the LGBTQ community who grew up in a very conservative area of Wisconsin, Sam Vicchiollo is using his social media platform to live authentically and encourage people to stand up for what is right.
The 21-year-old influencer developed his passion for entertaining at a young age by putting on performances for his friends and family. With the rise of TikTok, he shifted his focus to posting unique videos and is best known for his wide range of content including comedy, lip syncing, and lifestyle POVs. The first TikTok video Vicchiollo posted on May 22, 2019 instantly went viral.
With his charm and engaging personality, Vicchiollo has built a large following and hopes social media is a stepping stone to bigger opportunities in the future. He took some time to talk more about his newfound fame, content, and advocacy with OFM.
Let me begin by asking, how has life been since achieving social media fame?
Honestly, my life has completely changed since achieving social media fame. I grew up in a very small town in Wisconsin with almost zero social media whatsoever, so to go from that to this reality that I live every single day is completely different. I can’t remember what my life was like before social media, but I can’t imagine my life being any other way.
Your first TikTok video received 1 million views. What was going through your mind at the time, and did you ever expect that would lead you to where you are today?
When that video went viral, I was in utter shock, and this was still my senior year of high school. I went to school telling all my friends, “Oh my God, look what happened! My video blew up!” Did I think it would lead to where I am today? Absolutely not. If that video hadn’t blown up, I probably wouldn’t have ever posted another video.
I initially posted that video as a joke. I just posted it and went away from my phone thinking that I wasn’t going to touch TikTok ever again. But because that video did so well, it inspired me to keep making more, and it drove me to want to keep growing and do better. I’ve always been very competitive with myself and my accomplishments, and I saw an opportunity. I wanted to take it somewhere.
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What kind of content do you enjoy making the most?
I enjoy making the most real, authentic content that I can, and for me, those are the videos where I talk and just live my life. I make a lot of videos highlighting different things that I do every single day, such as taking my dog to the dog park, cleaning my bedroom, getting dressed. I know those sound like such mundane, simple tasks, but I do a great job engaging with the audience and making it funny and relatable. Not only does my audience like those types of videos, but I enjoy making them. They’re fun, and I feel like I’m truly engaging and connecting with my community of followers.
Is that how you would say your videos are unique and different?
Oh, absolutely. I think that’s how I’ve been able to differentiate myself from the other creators on TikTok. It’s so easy to take a trending sound, add a little spin to it, and have a video go viral. I do that all the time just because it’s kind of like filler content, but the way you really differentiate yourself is by creating completely unique content that no one else has done before. I think that’s how I’ve been able to become so successful on TikTok.
Ultimately, what do you hope audiences take away from your content?
At the end of the day, I want all my viewers to feel something when they watch my videos. Whether that be relatability, sadness, happiness, or laughter, I just want them to be able to watch my videos and say that they could take something away from it and make them feel something. I feel like my job as a content creator is to create content that people enjoy, engage with, and want to send to their friends, as well as content that really impacts their day or life. You never know.
I get DMs all the time on Instagram from random followers saying how much my content has changed their life or has made their days better. It’s helped get them out of their sadness, and that’s what drives me to keep making more.
Is it easy or difficult to constantly come up with new video ideas?
@samvicchiollo ON THE FIRST DAMN TRY OUCH
I would say 50/50. Sometimes, I get in lulls of creativity where I can’t think of anything, and that’s normally when my content starts to take on the identity of picking a trending sound and just adding your spin to it because I really can’t think of anything. However, there are times when I am so full of creativity that I’m jotting down ideas in my notes and I’m so excited and passionate to make videos.
So, it really just depends. Since my content does pertain a lot to my life every single day, I don’t know what the next stage of my content is going to look like. I try to plan it out a little bit, but I also try to go with the flow and be as real as I can.
What advice can you offer on how to engage with a trend while making it your own?
First of all, never copy someone else’s idea. You will never become someone, become famous, or be successful from other people’s ideas and success. So, that’s step one. Step two, try to think of an idea or concept that a lot of people can relate to. Honestly, that’s the first thing I think about when I see a trend. Like, how can I take what this trend is and make it relatable for all 2 million of my followers? How can they relate to this, enjoy it, and share this with other people? It’s a marketing strategy, and that’s how I’ve been able to get so successful in creating consistently good videos.
Is there any kind of content you refuse to make?
I refuse to make dancing videos because I cannot dance at all (laughs). I think it would be terrible if I were to post those types of videos, as well as thirst traps. I try to stay away from those too. The reason why I do this is because I think about the type of compliments or comments that people make about my content, whether that be in person or online.
Right now, 99% of the comments that I receive are, “Your videos are so fun. I love watching your content.” I think if I were to post thirst traps or dancing videos, they would start being like, “Oh, you’re that dancer. You post thirst traps; that’s kind of cringy.” I want people to love my content as much as I love my content. If I’m not confident about what I’m posting, then I’m not going to post.
Of course, there are perks to being a social media star, but what have been some of the biggest challenges?
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I think one of the biggest challenges is how fast I had to grow up at such a young age because I knew that my social media was something that I didn’t just want to be a one-and-done thing. I didn’t want it to be a little phase of my life where I blow up on social media and then don’t take it anywhere. Since day one, I was monetizing my account, reaching out to brands, getting signed with management, and I am so grateful for all those opportunities.
However, because of that and being a 21-year-old, I never have a day off. That has been very challenging, especially with so many of my friends in college. Now that it’s summer, they’re all off from college relaxing with no responsibilities. I literally do not have a single day where I am not dealing with some sort of responsibility. So, it’s a blessing and a curse. I’m so grateful for my life and the life that I live, but there are times I do wish that I had a chance to just slow things down.
Scrolling through your videos, I see you have collaborated with some high-profile brands. Is there one you would love to work with some day?
Oh, absolutely. My dream brand to work with would be a designer brand, but honestly, another brand that I would love to work with one day would be Nike. As a kid, I’ve always had big dreams, but they were just dreams because I was a kid. I never thought that they would become a reality. Going to the Nike store with my mom, I said to her, “I want to be on a poster in the store.” Like, I wanted to be on a billboard and in a Nike commercial for some reason. I was obsessed with Nike as a kid, and I think if I were to achieve that one day, that would be a lifelong dream come true.
You used to be a member of the House of Us, a TikTok content house that champions social justice, equality, environmental sustainability, and dignity. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
Yes! That was back during the 2020 election, and I worked closely on that house with Jesse Stollak, Converse’s chief marketing officer. It was an amazing opportunity for us to be able to advocate for young people’s voices and the right thing to do in terms of the election. I feel like there were so many opinionated ways to go with who to vote for or how to view the entire election.
The 2020 election was not a normal election by any means whatsoever, and I knew that with my platform and so many other TikTokers’ platforms, we had a chance to use our voices to advocate for good, social justice, and topics that truly impact young people. I was able to cultivate the house, so I was part of the original plan, and I helped bring in other TikTokers to join.
I helped come up with a strategy for it, so it really was a passion project for me. It ended up being super successful, and I feel like we did get a message out there. Whether we impacted just a few people or millions, I’ll never know how many people took away what we were posting and producing, but I know that I did make a change, and I’m really proud of myself for doing that.
@samvicchiollo Replying to @t.pawz13 ITS SO CLEAN YAY
With the midterm elections coming up, will you be using your platform again for political advocacy?
Most likely, yeah. I always want to make sure I educate myself before speaking on topics. With all that coming up, I don’t want to say yes or no to anything right now until I do educate myself and find out how I want to insert myself into a situation and how I want to get involved, but I’ve always prided myself in advocating for social justice topics across the board. I could definitely see myself advocating for something like this.
What are some future goals you hope to achieve as a content creator and TikTok star?
I think the first goal for me would be to continue growing my following and community. I have a lot to say, and I want as many people as I can to hear it. So, that’s the first thing. The second thing is, although I love TikTok and I love this opportunity that I have right now, I know that TikTok is a stepping stone in my greater career. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but I really want to try to get into modeling and pursue acting. More things where I can express myself creatively. Like I said, TikTok is the stepping stone for those opportunities, so we’ll see what happens.
Stay up-to-date and connect with Vicchiollo by following him on Instagram and TikTok @samvicchiollo, or Snapchat @srvicchiollo.
Photos courtesy of Jenn Burnham and The Chaserr Photo
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