Today we’d like to introduce you to Gino Baileau.
Gino, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a child, I was deaf u til about three years old. When I finally gained hearing, my mother told me that she couldn’t get me to fall asleep at night.
That I’d be up all night string at the television in amazement of the sounds coming from the box. She said one of my favorite songs to sing along to was Ariel’s “Part of your world”. I think we take for granted our senses, and I think we all need to stop and take a breather and be thankful for our ability to sense whatever it is we are allowed.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the biggest challenge for me was fitting in. If I could go back to speak to the younger me, I’d tell myself that fitting in doesn’t matter. I was an easy target growing up…I was the flamboyant boy who hung out with all the girls, and didn’t want to play football but would rather teach the cheerleading squad their half time dance choreography. I remember being teased so badly at one point that I exploded and jumped across the lunch table and attacked a kid. My mom met me in the principles office, dragged me to the car by my ear, and she started breaking down at the steering wheel. She said, “I’m so glad you stood up for yourself. Because if you don’t, nobody will.”
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I think I’m most known for being an Instagram phenomenon. A lot of my followers are expecting to see me post in a certain way…provocatively, or sexually, or masculinely. I think Instagram is a great avenue, but I think once you’re seen doing something or falling into a visual realm, it’s hard for people to want to support or see you as something else, such as music. I would get a lot of feedback like “oh now he thinks he can sing”, or “I wish he’d shut up and just be pretty”. But the sexy photos or the fashion isn’t what defines me. And just when my fans think they know who Gino Baileau is, I want to remind them that they don’t. If you want to know me, then listen to my voice. Listen to my music.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I had my room full, wall to wall, full of magazine cut-outs of Britney Spears. I remember collecting them, taping them to the ceiling and walls u til there was no paint showing. My dad jokes now that he thought I wanted to be WITH Britney Spears, not BE Britney Spears.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 7085169421
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Ginobaileau
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