Vinny Guadagnino of “Jersey Shore” fame chatted with True Hollywood Talk’s Markos Papadatos about heading back to Chippendales as a special celebrity guest to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Guadagnino will be a part of a limited engagement that will run from March 11 through April 10, and this will mark his third Chippendales residency. “I am very excited,” he said. “At this point, it is like reuniting with my family. Initially, it was a new thing for me but I love all the people there. We are like a big family.”
Chippendales recently won the prestigious “Best of Las Vegas” Award for “Best Male Revue” for the tenth consecutive year, as well as the award for “Best Bachelorette Party Destination.”
After two well-received, sold-out engagements where Guadagnino broke the Internet when he bared it all during his steamy shower number, he will return in full force to give the Las Vegas audience another chance to view all of his Italian stallion talents. “I didn’t plan that going viral. I was just having fun while doing it and being authentic,” he said.
He was originally set to return to the Chippendales in 2020, however, the pandemic put a pause on his return when all live shows came to a halt. “My residency was taken away in March of 2020 due to the pandemic, and now the fact that I am back and everything is back and I am doing press again to promote the show two years later is the best feeling in the world,” he said.
During the pandemic, he shared that he did “The Masked Dancer,” which afforded him the opportunity to hone his choreography skills. “Now I have more skills under my belt that I can incorporate into Chippendales,” he said.
Guadagnino is one of the most recognized lifestyle personalities and digital influencers. He rose to fame on MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” which initially ran for six seasons and was the highest-rated series in the history of MTV.
He is also an accomplished author, who has written the best-selling cookbook, “The Keto Guido Cookbook,” as well as his New York Times bestseller “Control the Crazy.” “The Keto Guido Cookbook is awesome. A lot of people ask me about my diet and health and that wraps it all into one. It gives people a good reference of how I live my life. I have more things coming out in the health and fitness category and I hope that becomes another pillar in my career forever,” he said.
“You can make anything taste good if you just change the ingredients around and do it the right way. That’s what the good is about,” he added.
Guadagnino shared that he sees a silver lining during the pandemic. “I definitely used that time to stay in shape and be healthy. It was a very stressful time so if I let myself go that would have added to my stress so staying in shape actually helped me in that capacity,” he said.
On being a content creator in the digital age, Guadagnino said, “I am actually learning. I am trying to get more into streaming and podcasts and YouTube. I want to evolve with the times, we have this capability now to communicate and anyone can do it. I like adapting and I hope to continue to do it. I try to keep up with the times. It’s a learning process.”
He noted that he is still filming “Jersey Shore Family Vacation.” “We filmed over 100 episodes of ‘Jersey Shore Family Vacation,’ not including the first ‘Jersey Shore’ and we are still going. It can go on forever. There is never a shortage of drama and things going on in people’s lives that the show captures,” he said.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Guadagnino said, “New Beginnings.”
If he were to have any superpower, Guadagnino revealed that it would be “eating anything he wants and staying shredded.” “I love food even though I love working out, I curb my diet a lot so that I can stay in shape,” he said with a sweet laugh. “I would give myself three cheat meals a week if I could.”
When asked what track and field event he would do, if given the chance, he noted that it would be something “long-distance related.” “I’m not a big sprinter. I love running long distance, it’s about stamina,” he said.
In swimming, he listed the butterfly as his personal favorite stroke. “I’m not a big freestyle guy,” he said.
For young and aspiring content creators and performers, he said, “Put out content that you genuinely love and you have a passion, and the money will come later. Any time you are being authentic is what resonates with people the most. That will give you the biggest payoff.”
Guadagnino defined the word success as follows: “At 34, the word success is less about money and material things. It’s more about having the freedom and flexibility to do the things that you love to do and to share that with the people that you love. Also, doing the things that you love to do.”
For his fans, Guadagnino remarked about his upcoming Chippendales residency, “I like pushing the envelope further each time. It’s not just a show about taking your clothes off, there are a lot of talented individuals on that stage. There is a lot of dancing and a lot of things that go into it. If you saw what is going on backstage at the Chippendales, your mind will be blown away in regard to how much goes into it.”
Guadagnino also took some time to answer a few fun Rapid Fire” questions.
Waffles or pancakes? Waffles
Flying or driving? Driving (depends on the distance)
City living or country living? City living
Summer or winter? Summer
Library or museum? Museum
Bath or shower? Shower
Pepsi or Coke? Neither
Texting or calling? Texting
Half-full or half-empty? Half-full
Curly fries or normal fries? Normal fries
Skydiving or scuba diving? Scuba diving
Tea or coffee? Coffee
Rain or snow? Rain
Singing or dancing? Dancing
Burgers or tacos? Burgers
Money or fame? Fame (because money comes with fame)
To learn more about the Chippendales and their upcoming shows, visit their official website.
For more information on Vinny Guadagnino, follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
