For those who do not know (how can you not?) who Gianluca Vacchi is, we invite you to take a peek at his Instagram profile which lists 13 million, yes MILLIONS of followers. This year in May he has been honored the GRAND PRIX at the World Bloggers Awards in Cannes. The WBA (World Bloggers Award) is the world’s first ever awards ceremony for the best bloggers worldwide. Gianluca Vacchi was this year’s star nominee and received the event’s top prize. As he enters the lobby of the gorgeous Four Seasons Downtown, we know from his smile and great energy that it is going to be a pleasant and fun interview.
The 52-year-old influencer has become famous for his “always chasing the sun’ (his words) lifestyle, his ability to be fitter than fit and his will and success at reinventing himself as DJ and music producer. He has collaborated with Luis Fonsi and Yandel amongst others, starred in the music video of J. Balvin’s ‘Mi Gente’ and has in only few years boomed in a new career as a performing DJ in key clubs worldwide.
1. If you were a historical figure… Who would you be? And why?
GV: Caesar or Attila the Hun.
MT: Why Caesar? Why Attila?
GV: Because I like to think big and conquer. I am in a hurry to conquer the world and achieve goals that I impose on myself as an endless and consistent measure of my own talents. I feel good about myself when I know I am fully utilizing the talents I have been blessed with. I also feel good when I know I made the best of what is one of the most important assets in my life: “TIME”. I also like to think that there should still be an animal instinct in a man, something somewhat primitive.
2.Sea or mountains? Your favorite destination.
GV: Both. Sea and mountains. I was a professional skier in Cortina. Skiing was the training ground for my competitive spirit. I’m also a solar type. I would say that my job nowadays is to “chase the sun”. I am just joking but I like both actually.
MT: If you had to choose a destination today, where would you go? What would you choose?
GV: I can’t stay in a place where there is no sea and sun. Maybe I would choose Los Angeles for its creative environment and the weather. I have a house In Miami and I feel content there. It is a place that is like my personality. It is full of Latin Americans whom I like a lot.
3.Let’s talk a little about fashion. In Gianluca’s suitcase: three accessories/items of clothing or gadgets that you cannot do without.
GV: definitely clothing: Jeans, a T-shirt and a tuxedo. These 3 items for sure.
4.Let’s talk about work. Which is something that many people want to know. What is your career about?
I’m certainly an entrepreneur at heart. It is part of my DNA. I still have an automated machinery company of which I own shares and sit on the board of directors. I am also thinking of what to do in the next two to three years, but I don’t know yet. As I said I am an entrepreneur at heart.
5. Let’s talk about your career as a DJ? How is it going?
GV: it’s going super well
MT: You just came out with a new single correct?
GV: yes, I came out with a new single. I produce a lot and I enjoy being a musical director, I do not use software as many young DJs do. I have many ideas, so I give input on what melody is to be used. So far I have played in amazing locations around the world.
6. You are considered a Web star, how do social media influence your life?
This a delicate question. We live in an era where there is a real life and a virtual one, then there are people who separate their virtual life from real life and represent themselves differently in both lives. For example, when you and I take a picture here and we say we’re in Sydney, no one will argue. They believe it. You can only succeed if your real life and your virtual life “overlap” and therefore coincide. You have to show who you really are. I’m not influenced, I’ve always lived like this even 20 years ago, I’ve always been out of the norm …
7. Gianluca Vacchi: Eccentric or Extrovert?
GV: probably both, but certainly anti-bourgeois. The Bourgeois tend to impose respectability and conformity as the way to live, and I do not support that.
8. What advice would you give to those who want to break out in the world of social media?
Whether it is in the world of social media or real life, if you do not have real talents, you can’t break out. You don’t have to invent something special to be on social media. On social media I think you are successful when you are successful in life. Being fairly anti-conformist for example is important, just as dreaming very big is very important. There is no virtual success if there is no real success.
9. How many tattoos do you have?
GV: Probably more than 120.
MT : That’s a lot. Can you identify the most important one and why?
GV: definitely the portrait of my father. Each tattoo has its own meaning and is connected to someone or something important in my life. For instance one of them is a fragment from a letter from a friend, another one is my aunt’s portrait.
10. The cities or locations that are for you a source of inspiration
GV:Definitely New York, which is an incredible place. An electric city, a city that gets inside you and makes you feel you are alive. Though I love it, I can’t stay in NY too much because it feels like time slips out of your hands. Everything moves so fast in this place.
11. What is next for Gianluca Vacchi?
The next step for me is to start a third life. In my first life I worked as an entrepreneur, in the second one I became a DJ and in my third life it could be that I become an actor. ’We’ll see. The secret lies in being open to always reinvent yourself.
We are pleasantly interrupted by a fan who enters the lobby, a distinguished gentleman who works on the NY Stock Exchange approaches us and asks Gianluca to be able to take a selfie with him. You can read delight in his face, the delight of a fan meeting his social media hero. He also confesses that he has grown his beard to imitate Gianluca’s and that he loves and dances to his music. Right there and then we witness the power of being a social influencer, we decide to leave it this way and with a smile and a note of absolute optimism we wish Gianluca Vacchi a third life of absolute success. (ndr)
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