Welcome to the weekend, friends! The world is pretty terrifying right now so… it’s the perfect time for a little levity!
In this iteration of Timeline Talks, a weekly feature of someone who’s using social media in a particularly interesting way and generally brightens up any timeline they belong to, I talked to Netflix star (and winner!) of “The Circle,” Joey Sasso.
Joey, 26, manages to carry his warm personality — as seen on the reality TV show, “The Circle,” which has been described as “Big Brother” meets “Catfish” (if you haven’t seen, go watch, it’s perfect binge-material) — to all of his social media pages and interacts with a significant percentage of his commenters/responders. Rarely do you see a public figure so happy to chat with everyone and anyone. I wanted to explore what it is that makes him feel so generous with his time. Oh, and apparently someone tried to buy his socks once. So Sosh fam, meet Joey.
When "The Circle" dropped last month, you pretty much became an overnight online sensation. You're so charismatic, proving episode after episode that you were much more multifaceted than a typical Italian-American party bro from New York. What do you attribute your big personality to and did you feel like the show portrayed you as you are in real life?
Yes, with the show blowing up, it is safe to say that my life literally changed overnight. The show definitely made me happy because I was always 100% myself throughout… I attribute my big personality most definitely to my Family and where I come from. We are all such big, loud personalities with hearts of gold. It feels amazing to know that I have held my family in such high regard my entire life for having those qualities that most don’t come from and to let the show be a shining light on that for the entire world to see. It truly puts a smile on my face and is something that everybody in my family celebrates together.
Your social media pages on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have since blown up with new followers and you seem to be constantly engaged -- liking/responding to tweets, snapping responses. What has that experience been like? Is it overwhelming to respond and/or engage so much every day?
All of my social pages have definitely blown up and yes, I do like and respond to every person that I could. Absolutely it’s overwhelming but guess what? I love it! There is nothing to complain about. I am truly blessed for this change in my life and I feel so much gratitude for the entire situation. The only part of it that is really overwhelming for me is the fact that I physically cannot get back to every single person when I would like to because the amount of messages that I get is staggering. I do the best that I can and feel good knowing I get back to the people that I can.
I saw you mention on one of your social pages that you're attempting to follow everyone who's following you on Snapchat. Is that true? What are people sending you?
I did give out my personal Snapchat account because of the fact that I felt bad about not being able to get back to everybody in a timely [manner]. I thought to myself, “what can I do that is more personal and helps me engage with my followers in a better way? Hmm, what if I give them my personal snap account and add all of them back?” So I did that and seeing people’s responses and joy from being added and snapped back was great. However, I didn’t know that with Snap it maxes out at a certain number of people so I’m physically not able to add them back at this point. Now, I just made my profile public to have everyone and anyone snap me. The type of stuff I get ranges from videos/pictures and voice messages. People get so excited when I snap them back pics or videos. The coolest thing about it for me now is that people actually don’t get excited because they aren’t looking at me as some “famous” dude from a show, they see me just as Joey. I love that and always tell people I’m just the same kid I always have been and that will never change.
What's your favorite social media platform and why?
Definitely Instagram. I just love the entire layout of the site and being able to do Lives with Fans and communicating with people from all over the world.
What's the weirdest thing someone has sent you in a DM?
I have definitely gotten some odd DM’s to say the least haha. I have had everything from things like “revealing” photos to a couple of people who asked to buy my socks haha. Like, trust me, you don’t want my socks lol. But that definitely threw me for sure.
What should we keep an eye out for on Joey Sasso's pages?
I would say to follow my stuff to keep an eye out for my updates on my upcoming Film “Young Lion of The West” as well as a bunch of awesome new content that is currently in the works. I am so blessed for everything that The Circle gave me in my life but I definitely do not want to box myself in to always being “the kid from The Circle.” It was an amazing life changing opportunity that I will always be grateful for but I can honestly say that for me this is just the beginning and I will continue to work tirelessly to have many more opportunities for success down the road.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
You can follow Joey on Instagram @joeysasso, Twitter @joey_sasso, Snapchat @joey_sasso, and Tik Tok @joeysasso. If you have a tip for someone you think should be featured in Timeline Talks, you can email me at jenna dot amatulli [at] gmail.com.
So sosh is a biweekly newsletter written by @ohheyjenna. Support the newsletter by sharing it and telling your friends, both online and IRL.