If you are chronically online, then you probably came across the question that plagued the internet in March: Are New York City influencers boring? Since then, there have been many conversations about who is interesting enough to be an influencer, who deserves a following, and what it means to depict New York life online. And, these days, no one is grappling with those questions more than 23-year-old content creator Jay Guapõ.

Unlike the transplants who received scorn earlier this year, Jay Guapõ, whose real name is Jason Fernandez, is a New York City native. His content is anything but boring, and usually fits into two categories: playful, mischievous pranks or vibey (sometimes unsettling) lip-synching videos. The young TikToker, who has over three million followers on the platform, is – if his swarmed meet-ups and surging following are any indication – clearly having a moment. 

When I first met Guapõ in a lobby in downtown Manhattan, we hardly go five minutes before a fan calls out to him to tell him that she loves his videos. Guapõ, wearing low-slung jeans, a large skull belt, and, in true New York fashion, a black puffer jacket, thanks her shyly. Although he’s bashful about his newfound celebrity, these run-ins have become the new normal in the city he grew up in. “I probably get stopped like 30 times plus a day,” he says. “It’s crazy”. 

Guapõ has seemed to have been everywhere lately. Last month, he modelled for the Luar show, causing The Cut to crown him “the most influential person at fashion week”. Several days before that, he appeared in a Heaven by Marc Jacobs campaign. Most recently, he posted a vlog teasing an upcoming collaboration with the streetwear retailer Snipes (though his high-profile opportunities are new, he’s actually a true fashion head; he tells me he’s in an “OD Rick Owens phase” at the moment). Through watching his videos, it’s clear that Guapõ himself is in disbelief over the recent turn of events in his life. “Real model shit? I’m not a real model”, he says in a panicked vlog that shows him preparing for the Luar show. “I’m fucking losing my mind, I’m fucking scared, I overthink a lot.” 

Guapõ grew up in the Bronx and admits that times have changed a lot since he was a kid. Despite the extremely online life he now lives, he credits the fun of his childhood to the fact that people weren’t on their phones as much. “You could have fun without technology,” he says, recalling late nights in the park spent playing make-believe.

Around age 12, the time when many other Gen-Zers were also messing around on the internet, he started posting YouTube videos of himself pranking his mum. At that time, though, virality wasn’t the goal; in fact, he’d try to hide his posts. While he dabbled in YouTube again at 18, TikTok was the platform that launched his career. At 19, he started posting consistently on the app. In 2022, several of his videos blew up, and from there, his audience began to grow. 

The person Guapõ still pranks is sometimes his mum, who appears in a February video that now has over 20 million views. In it, Guapõ dresses himself in a head-to-toe clown costume (mask and all), before perching himself on a mini fridge in his mother’s bedroom. He intends to scare her, but slips off the fridge and onto her bed a beat early, spoiling the prank before it’s even begun. From her reaction, which appears to be a mix of irritation and “here we go again”, it’s clear the two have a comical relationship, and certainly one that entertains the masses.

I make them see New York from my point, [and] make them feel like they’re here, too

Other times, his pranks involve trolling fellow New Yorkers. In a separate video, he approaches a random man ordering at a food cart. In the background, a TikTok challenge intended for couples plays. “Who was interested first?” asks the audio while the stranger stands there unknowingly. “Who said I love you first?” it continues. According to Guapõ, all of this is spontaneous. “I need to start trying to plan it out,” he says of his videos. “But I just go out, and shit happens.” 

The more mellow half of his content – playful, at-times hypnotic videos of him vibing to his favourite songs – is a prime example of how TikTok’s algorithm rewards repetition. Once Guapõ discovers a song or audio that he likes, he’ll use it in countless videos, to the point that it becomes synonymous with the creator himself. That was the case with a remix of “Sofia” by Clairo, which Guapõ says he found when it had only 30 likes. Now, it’s been used over 100,000 times. Though the original song came out in 2019, last month, a packed crowd enthusiastically sang along to the tune with Guapõ as if it were a recent hit. “I heard it [and] my ear rung,” says Guapõ, noting that he has a knack for finding music. “Right now, I’ve been running Lana Del Rey. I’ve been going crazy about her.” 

By the time Guapõ reached 100,000 followers, he couldn’t work a shift at Häagen-Dazs, his former job, without getting stopped. Although he was making money from social media at this point, he still didn’t feel secure enough to quit. Then, one day, he got notified that his Häagen-Dazs location was being shut down in a week. Taking that as a sign, he decided to pursue content full-time.

Though his more recent videos often feature others, Guapõ says he didn’t have many friends growing up, which is why so much of his early content was just him and his mum. These days, though, he’s rarely alone and has been able to move out of his mum’s house in the Bronx – something that still doesn’t feel real to him. “Right now, nothing in life [has] hit me,” he says. “I can’t process nothing. I swear it’s like I’m in a dream.” 

Guapõ has become a known face in New York, especially to fellow city kids. Several videos of his show young people mobbing him; in one post in particular, kids pass him soccer balls, sneakers, and iPhones to sign. This past August, a meetup he hosted for his birthday garnered a crowd so large, the event got shut down. Despite the stardom, though, it’s clear that he still views himself as a normal New York City kid, and that he cares deeply about his fans. At the end of this summer, he took a young follower back-to-school shopping as security guards fought off swarming tweens. “We made the right person famous,” one person commented on one of his videos.

When asked why he thinks people resonate with his content, he credits his relatability and identity as a regular New Yorker as a partial reason. The other part, he says, is his ability to showcase the city to those who aren’t living here but want to experience it. “I make them see New York from my point, [and] make them feel like they’re here, too,” he says.

As for what’s next on the horizon, Guapõ hints at acting projects that are in the works, including a collaboration that will feature “a very big actor that we all know”. Though he’s currently booked and busy as a model, acting is the career path he says he’s always wanted. Considering he describes his urban hometown as “a movie”, this pursuit feels fitting. 

“New York is its own world,” says Guapõ. “It’s always something crazy. It’s made for content.”