Special Feature an In-depth Interview
With
Romulo Praxes
By Moises Ravelo

Social media has taken the world by storm. Talented media stars like the Kardashians are famous for it. Without the use of YouTube Justin Bieber would, quite possibly, have never been discovered. Using their cell-phones, lap-tops or PCs to maximize their exposure, keeping the packaging beautiful and remaining in the public eye is what garnered them fame, notoriety and an immense fortune.
It’s a basic law of economics. A product well marketed and well branded is put on a higher shelf and sells a lot quicker and for more money. The standard laws of economics prevail even more so for people who are attractive. Romulo Praxes is a perfect example. A social media celebrity that his fans can’t seem to get enough of. He has astutely amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, worldwide.

Learning something from someone who is a carrier of ‘the flawless gene’, and ‘easy-on-the-eye’, like Romulo, is helpful. He is a wise businessman and marketer. Clever and savvy at attracting just the right amount of attention with beautiful photos, he understood years ago the potential value of followers on social media and his role as an influencer.
From a marketing stand point Romulo’s followers and fans represent a gold mine. With that kind of influence, they will buy what you peddle, take your advice on what to eat, or not eat in a restaurant if he posts a bad review. Romulo is standing on an ocean of oil and he has the drill to extract that oil. They will follow him to the end of the Earth.
While people are toiling away on the internet, endlessly surfing the web, they are not recognizing what could be an empire. The greatest asset in any nation is its people. So, instead of wasting precious time, Romulo increased his followers by posting pics, chatting and making new friends, and amassing names. Besides being lucrative to have so many followers when opening a business or selling merchandise, Romulo, is a ‘people person’. Perhaps it’s a gift. You must be patient, tolerant and constantly ‘on’.
From experience I know what it takes to keep thousands of followers happy. It’s a full-time job. You must be endlessly generous with your time, put up with the occasional curmudgeon and brace yourself when demands of naked pics are eventually asked for. You must be born with a certain fortitude and empathy to withstand the constant begging for one’s attentions by strangers and give your time freely and kindly.

While the rest of us were catching-up with our high school sweethearts or prom dates or exchanging recipes and sweet kisses with our sweet dear ole granny, people like Romulo and countless others in the social media world were creating an unlimited resource of potential buyers, sellers or investors. It is the dream of any marketing professional to have the pulse of a large group of people within reach. So as Romulo snaps a picture a day along with his heartfelt good mornings and his tender goodnights, his source of influence continues to grow.
This makes Romulo a prime example of what I call an ULTIMATE INFLUENCER – people who make it their business to stay relevant, fresh and exciting for others to either dream of being with, or dream of wanting to be, following him where ever he chooses to go.
Romulo is rugged, macho and seemingly tough but with a cool, polite and gentle demeanor. At first contact, I noticed that he understood polite social behaviors and psychology. He had a warmth about him. I immediately felt comfortable with his soothing Brazilian accent. It engages you and his spontaneous friendly disposition keeps you. It really was a pleasure to meet him.
So now let’s take a peek behind the curtain of this ULTIMATE INFLUENCER and find out, through his own words the how, when, where and why of it all. To understand what it’s like to be loved and desired by so many, and to be worldwide famous for being genetically gifted, handsome and debonair. But to also meet a man who is truly caring, a kind soul who happens to be refreshingly brilliant as well.
Romulo was pleasant to interview you wouldn’t think by looking at him that he is a very sweet guy, extremely polite and well-spoken. Almost immediately I could tell that he was college educated just by the way he used his words and how he put them together so effortlessly. This juxtaposed with his (what came to mind at the time) Brazilian James Bond masculine yet ready-to-seduce-Pussygalore speaking voice made me think, this guy is a rare anomaly. I couldn’t find a fault in him anywhere I thought, and then I wondered if he could sing – what can I say my mind wanders.
So, my first question to Romulo was, “when did you get the feeling that through social-media you’d have the power to be an influencer? He responded, “it was something that happened naturally every one of the things I posted I started to notice that people started to notice me and like me more and I have always loved photography, so it all happened very naturally.”
Then I said they seem to like you a lot you have a great following, you are internationally known and so I asked, “at what point did you understand your popularity and your celebrity and the power you have as an influencer?” He responded
as humbly as he could which is endearing to hear that this guy with the looks and swagger of a Hollywood star could be so humble. And, so he said, “to be sincere I don’t have any idea about a celebrity image in social media, I only understand and come to terms with it as real when I travel and people from other countries complete strangers approach me and talk to me as if they’ve known me forever, treating me with kindness and affectionately. I like that a lot.”
I asked him if he ever thought of modeling or acting as a potential career choice because to me it’s obvious that the camera loves him. So, I saw it as a perfect fit. He disagreed and said, “no, I don’t think of myself as being that handsome or good looking enough to be a model or an actor, but if an opportunity or an offer came my way, I am the kind of guy that takes full advantage of opportunities. I would confront it and play with the idea, I like games, but what I hate is to lose.” I chuckled.
I then asked him what advice would you give to others that are just now starting on social-media and perhaps they want to follow in your footsteps? He responded with what I thought was the best advice I had ever heard regarding posting on social-media which was, “my advice would be to publish what you really like, people perceive if you are being real, and people like real that they will find attractive in itself.”