I remember going home one day and I had already hit a million. I was so excited, and I walk into my house. My mom's watching my videos, and it was the one where I was literally making fun of her secrets. Everybody's got them, and everybody else wants to know them. You know, maybe maybe you've got a secret child out there that another rapper outed on a disc track.
I'm looking at you, Drizzy, Or maybe you've got a secret recipe, you know, with eleven herbs and spices, and I'm pretty sure I've figured out what ten of them are, but I still don't know what that eleventh is. Maybe it's turmeric or turmeric or whatever it is. I'm looking at you, Colonel Sanders, that's your real name. Or you know, maybe you murdered somebody that's dark. Looking at you, O. J. Simpson.
I don't think that's really a secret anymore. Anyway, Maybe your secret is that you have over a million followers on TikTok and you haven't told your mom yet. Every parent's worst nightmare. Now, my friend Adam Riyoka knows all about that. Adam is a twenty three year old creator from San Antonio, Texas who many know for his alter ego Rosa, the flaming hot, cheeto loving, nail clacking, gossip
loving latin x TikTok character. Now Adam and I sat down at VidCon last summer and he told me about the first time he was recognized in public and how it changed his life. I'm will closet full of skeletons McFadden and this is hashtag storytime, brought to you by iHeartRadio. So I want to talk to you about the time when I first got recognized in public as like Rosa. Yes, so let me tell you. Before Rosa, my life was so boring, Like I had a boring job. I can
I also say, before Rosa my life was born. That makes more interesting. Yeah I've heard that too, so I don't not believe you. I just kidding, um, But yeah, I had a boring job, boring car, boring everything pretty much. So like once I started on social media, it was kind of just like a whole new world. And mind you, I had watched like social media creators forever, like that was like my thing on my downtime. I was your
favorite creator. Okay, well, how ironic is it that one of them is like literally one of my best friends. His name is Louis Castro. I was obsessed and now he's like my realmi um and like a lot of people in the Latin community like um Jenny sixty nine, Manny Mua yeah, um, the Mourio Twins, like so many people that I'm friends with today. I was I would literally watch all the fans and now you're like, I like wished it into existence, kind of manifested them. So
I started social media, like not intentionally. I literally posted my first video like for my friends to see. And when was this? Wait? When? So this was December of twenty nineteen. Okay, all right, so we're going on three years this December. But what a skyrocket to fame. I mean that's three years. O. No, that's so fast. That's like scary. I always heard like people say like, oh, yeah, I've been doing this for years, and I'm like, I've been doing this for three years, Like what the heck?
That's that's I mean, But that's like, that's that's a milestone. Three years. And but it's also so fast for what you've achieved. And I found like three years in social media time is like twenty Yeah, it does. It's like dog years. Yeah for sure. I'm like, whoa, okay, um, sorry, I get a side checked the lot that's going to happen. Um,
what was it? Oh? Yeah, so I was boring all right, and then um I started social media December of twenty nineteen, and then after that, my life, literally, my kid, you not, was never the same. I remember after my first video blew up, I went to work the next day and I was like, big Orge, I'm putting my two weeks in like just joking. I literally like talked to him my co workers. I'm like, it was so good knowing you, Like I will forget about I'm like, I'm going to
miss you. Just remember me. But everybody was like super supportive at my workplace. It was so funny. I went to work the next day after my video had blew up. I was like, oh my god, I posted a video and like it's like going crazy and was this your very first, very first it also I didn't even have a name, like it was just like some girl that I made up. And um. So I went to work and I told everybody that what had happened, and they were telling me because everybody had known that I would
watch people on social media. So they were like, bitch, if you are making these videos, you can somehow meet these people, like be friends with these people, and like kind of just being supportive and I telling me to keep going, because at that point, I was like what do I do? Like do I make another video? Do I like stop? Am I embarrassing myself? I didn't know what to do. So everybody was just being super supportive and telling me, like to continue. So I was like, okay,
I guess I remember that day. I went to work on my computer and I went onto the TikTok website to see if like I would see my face yea like on the four you page. Back then it was like very much like just the four you page. I was kind of yeah, yeah, So I was like, let me just scrow until I see like my video pop up. I was literally sitting there for hours, and I like, mind you, I had like two videos up, so like out of the millions of videos that there was, I
was like, I need to see my video. Get there. So um I was there. I was looking for my video and like talking to everybody about the situation. After I went home that day, I was like, you know what, like they're right, if I don't do this, Like, I'm
never gonna know if like what could have happened. You know, if I would have continued with rows good thing, you were surrounded by friends who told you to keep going because what a sad world we'd live, and if they were like, oh, don't make anymore very hater vibe, Yeah, that would have that would be a totally different life. Yeah. Imagine if it also wasn't created. I know the world would be a worse place. I would imagine, be sad. I'm gonna say that on my panel. I just kidding, um,
But yeah, I went home that day. That's when I created Rosa the name okay, and ever since then, I made another video that day I uploaded it, and after that, every single video that I would upload it like did its day. Yeah, it like took off and it like made my face known to millions and millions of people. Yea. So I remember it was during like COVID was barely starting, so I was and I was never really like a person to go out because like I just wasn't like
that bitch back then. So I would always just stay in until like my family would want to go out, or like my friends would want to go out. So I remember the first time I went out. I was already doing Rosa for like a month, I want to say, and I went to I was I was living in San Antonio and nobody had known kids you, not only the people who had TikTok where were like my friends, family, my mom, my grandma was so clueless as to what
I was doing upstairs in my room. I'm sure they were like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they like who I Like, they knew the type of person I was. Like I would just always made people laugh, but they didn't know I was like putting it onto the internet like that. Yeah. So I was there, and like I said, I had never really gone out. My family had no idea that I was doing social media. I would go out every now and then, but nobody really ever came up to me. I kind of just saw like eyes look at me,
but like not really like say anything. They were kind of hearing whispers like yeah, very that and mind you. I feel like that's when TikTok was barely like finding its creative because there was a couple months when TikTok after it shifted from musically where it was just cringey and people were like, this app is terrible, and then people like you started making characters and like really creating amazing comedy content on there too, and then I was like, oh,
there's a shift happening. And then yeah, we started to see kind of the rise of like, yeah, really amazing talented creators. So that's whenever people were like starting to like put like a face, like a name, and like kind of just like do everything like that. Yeah, So never nobody really ever came up to me, and then up until it was just one time, I went out with my mom and my grandma. Okay, so ironic, right, the two people that had no idea what I was
doing online. I went out with them to a pizza place called Peter Pipers shout out Peter Pipers yes, and then we I As soon as I entered, I saw a group of people look at me, and I was like, because like, I'm not the type to be like, oh, hey, like you want to picture it, because like I don't know if they're looking to be this is funny or like because this is the first time being kind of you know, yeah, So I was like, yeah, you're not gonna be like, hey, do you want to Yeah, like oh, TikTok, come,
you know what I mean. So I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna ignore it, like I'm not gonna like pit any attention to it. And then my mom's like, my mom's like crazy, She's like San Antonio like southside bitch, you know. So she was like are they looking over here, like getting all heated? And I was like I don't know why. I just like ordered the pizza, and so I think I at one point my mom that didn't want it to go up and be like oh, like do you have a question or like what's what's that?
I help you? Yeah, bury that, and then um, they just kept smiling at me. So my mom initially thought they were like making fun of me. Okay, so she was like mama, mama bears ready yeah. And I didn't want to say like, oh no, it's because I'm on social media, like because she had no idea. It's because they loved me. Yeah, And mind you, at that point,
I was still straight. I was very closeted, like so my mom Like, if my mom found out that I was like putting on makeup and like making funny videos, she would have been like, huh, you know what I mean, so I was like, oh my god, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna say? There's layers to this now that yeah. So uh, like after we order our pizza, we're like standing there waiting for it, and I guess one of the girls finding gets the courage
to come up to me. But she comes up to my mom and I'm like, girl, is she the one on TikTok? Why would you not come up to me? And she was always could we want to take a picture with him? And my mom looks at me, She's like what so why yeah, And then they ended up telling her like, oh, well he does the videos on
TikTok like blah blah blah. And I was like I just looked at my mom and my grandma was like so it almost like yeah, very like surprised, and I was just like I just like smiled and like I didn't say no. So I was like my mom was like okay, like she just like let them. So I took a picture with them. Is your mom in the photo? I hope she's in the back. I think she took the photo. She literally took the photo. She was like so confused, Yeah, literally, what is happening. So then, um,
we took the picture. We didn't talk about it. Literally, after we took the picture, we got her pizza. She didn't even ask me about it was your grandma. My grandma was so confused. She was like she honestly thought like they were my friends or like she was like, oh, they're from school or something like just like rekindling old friendship. So, um, we ate and then my I guess my mom didn't
want to talk about it in front of my grandma. Yea, So my grandma went to the restroom and we waited for her in the car, and that's when I'm sitting in the back seat. My mom's in the front seat, and my Mom's like, so, are you going to talk about like what just happened, Like why random people are just taking a picture with you? You're like, no, rather not yeah, And I was like, I don't know how I was gonna like direct this because I didn't want to bring up the fact that I was like gay,
because I wasn't ready to come out to her. But then I didn't want to bring up the fact that I was like putting on makeup and like doing videos. So I was like, how do I like, how do you say this? And then also not show her video like immediately after. So I was like, why pretty much make videos online? I post them and people love them and they laugh at them, and like that's why they recognize me. They like my video got a lot of
views and my faith, they just recognize me. Yeah, And my mom's like, well, I mean, are you being like safe? And I was like, well, yeah, I'm not doing anything crazy, like I wouldn't do anything to like endangerous or like you know what I mean. Yeah, um, she worried, you were like like though, I honestly don't know what she thought I was doing. But I don't know if she thought I was doing like only fan vibes were like what your feet? Yeah, I imagine, or she was like
doing she on her mind. I honestly think she was thinking like Illuminati vibes. They're like doing something like worshiping some type of Satanic culture or scientologic Latina vibes, and she's like very Hispanic, like don't like you know what I mean, like the ray those vibes don't invite the spirits. Yeah yeah yeah. So I was like, yeah, I do these videos online and people love them and like they laugh so they recognize me. Yeah. She asked me if I was being safe and like at one point she
was like, what kind of videos? And I was like, I can show you, but I don't know if you're gonna like them, so I mean, if you want to see them or not, like you let me know. Yeah, she was like no, I don't want to see them, so I was like okay. So then at that point we ended up like we dropped it at there, and then after that I continued to make medals of videos and then I just grew bigger and bigger. I ended up hitting a million followers. Yeah. I remember going home
one day and I had already hit a million. I was so excited and I walk into my house. My mom's watching my videos and it was the one where I was literally making fun of her and she was cracking up, literally sitting on the couch dying of laughing, like yeah literally, I was like, I literally was like so nervous because I heard my voice walking in and I see her laughing. I was like I literally broke
out laughing too. I was like like my weight was lifted off my shoulders because I was like, oh my God, like my mom's laughing at my videos. And what if your mom was your million follower, Like what if she was the one to be little that little boop? Oh my god, let's just say that that sw yes. I think that's I had a little like spice. Yeah, story, she is number one. So I walk in and I hear my voice and she's cracking up and she's like, I found your page. And I was like I can see.
And she was like you're so funny, like blah blah blah blah whatever whatever, and I was like thanks. He's like I can't believe you hit a million followers, like she was so excited for me. Oh yeah. And then at that point I couldn't hide anything else from her because I was already getting asked to do a meet and greet. I was asked to like yeah, it was like crazy already, and I was like, oh my god, like I have to just tell her. I didn't tell
her that I was gay. I was just like okay, mom, Like this is something that I can take seriously, Like I can make a career out of this. I can do so much with this, and like if I'm making people happy, and like I could make my job I'm going to do that because she was always just she was also scared of me quitting my my nine to five job, yeah of CO two, because I was like
my income, like that was how I was living. Yeah, and she was like, oh my god, you can't know, you can't do that, like you don't know what, like what's going to happen. So I was like trust me, yes, I have to follow this. Yeah, and then that's when I ended up meeting Rocio, my manager, and ever since then, my life was no longer boring. It's will I will Yeah,
I agree, you live a fascinating life. It was. It was insane, but that was my the whole like first time getting recognized and like for my life being like and I always say, my life did a complete one eighty yeah, like it just changed completely after like my first video. And that's the beauty of TikTok especially is how quickly you can you can have that full kind of life altering experience. Yeah. And a lot of my creative friends also like the same story, like they went
from this to like this a matter of like months. Yeah, it's crazy to see if somebody making videos in their bedroom can Yeah, And I love seeing like like for me, I remember how my background from my videos and like to the background now it's like so insane, Like watching other people's videos start with this background and now they're like times square like filming it like time square behind them, and I'm like, that's so insane, Like how exciting is that?
What would you say the moral of the story or what you you know, the wisdom that you took away how you were kind of changing, Well, I would I would want to mention or like add that in the beginning of me starting social media, I was like probably at one of the darkest places of my life that I had ever been in and now three years later, I'm at like the highest point of my life. So I just if I want to put a message out there, it's definitely to not give up and to just keep going.
As like cheesy as that sounds, like, honestly, like that's what I needed to hear. Yeah, if I just kept that momentum in that mindset, like look where I'm at right now and it's so insane and also hopefully you're at the highest you've been in your life so far, but I still think you've got oh for sure, you know you're still so much more and like I feel like now like it's just getting higher and higher and higher points in my life. Yeah for sure. Well, I'm
on board for the journey. I'm gonna keep watching. Let's play that. Let's play a quick lightning round of first, last, best, worst, and the category we're gonna go with is what about a job? Okay, that's fine, Okay, so awgory job. First job? Okay, mind you, I'm twenty three. I've probably had like twenty three jobs. I've had so many jobs. Literally my first job, it was at six Flags in San Antonio. All right, the worst experience I've ever had, and that's because I
only worked there for one day. Oh my god. Wait So your first job and your worst job, same job. Oh wait, that's totally fine, that's totally valid. Maybe not my worst. Okay, so there was worse than the one day. Yeah, because okay, let me do what did you do it for one day? So I got hired at six Flags. I was fifteen. That's when six Flags was hiring at fifteen years old at his child labor. Yeah. So I was like, you know what, I have to make money. Like I was like in the mindset of like being
a grown up hurting. I get that grind on mind you, San Antonio weather is disgusting and like it's insane. It's known for like it's bipolar and like hot and like rain and like everything all seasons in one day. So I woke up early, super early. Okay, let me start from the beginning. I got interviewed and I got hired, but they required a math test. My jo was a little bad in school. Why do you doing math at six Flags? Yeah? I'm like, why do I need to know how much change I'm gonna give? If it tells
me how much change to give? We're not telling algebra here. So I ended up failing the math quiz. I would have been right there with it. I was still a potential candidate according to six Flags. So they hired me on as a janitor. Okay, a fifteen year old janitor. So it was so bad because I was excited and I was like, you know what, Like, what's like how I'm back? Yeah, it's like it's fun, Like six Flags is like fun place to be at them. So I wake up super early for the first day of work.
It's like five am. I had to be there like at six thirty six legs was a little far from my house. It's pouring rain, like discussing, thunder lightning, insane, like the worst thunderstorm I could have ever seen. And I'm in my car. I had like a nineteen ninety six Honda Civic or Classic, and my car was like no AC, had no CY so I had to have the windows up because it was raining. With no a C,
I was dying. I was suffocating, just very moist in there, and I was like, you know what, I'm going to work. I was still happy because I was like my first day of work, like nothing can bring me down. The rain was coming down so hard, like six tacks was so far from me. I was in the freeway, driving like forty miles an hour, and I was like and like holding my string with with both hands because I was so scared that my wheel was gonna like I was gonna lose control. I was still with the smile
on my face, like I got it. I'm almost job. At one point, the rain got so bad I couldn't see anything. I was just driving because I was like you know what, I know, just trueway, trust thee. Yeah, I'm like I've been on this freeway plenty of times, like nothing's gonna change overnight, just gonna bird box this, yeah by that. And then so I finally get there and um rain stops. Okay. So I get there. We're
doing like or out. Yeah. The sun is like shining on the opposite side of sid The sun is like shining, like there's like birds flying, it's like super pretty. And I get there. We do like orientation vibes and then they're like, all right, we're gonna get ready to go onto the park, like they tell us what we're gonna do. Mind you all of the like janitor people who got hired on we're like all together in one group. So I have a little buddy with me, like a partner. Yeah,
And they had me a big old trash can. My job that day is basically go around the whole park and like empty the trash cans into one big trash cantah. And so I'm like, you know what, Like I was telling my buddy like, hey, we got this, Like it's gonna be easy. Oh. So we're going it's steaming like beaming. The sun is beaming. It's so hot, and I'm like sweating like like not even like cute sweat like dripping
into it, like my shirts like soaked, and um. We're there and we're kind of just like trying to make the best out of it. I'm like, oh, so, like where are you from, Like I'm trying to talk to him. At one point, I'm going to a trash can and I'm like, you know what, Like it's so heavy the bag. I'm like, we're just gonna have to get it together, Like we're gonna have to pick it up together. So my bright idea was to like lift it super fast so we don't, like, you know, like we don't have
to carry it for so long. Yeah, And he's like, okay, yeah, yeah, we're both I think we're both fifteen. We're like a little them um and uh So we grabbed the bag and we lifted so fast. The bag is weighted down to the bottom by liquids. Yeah, and as soon as we lift it, everything just falls out. And at that point, I'm already like the inner my thighs are rubbing together. I'm like, is she everywhere sweating picking up trash from the floor. I was like, like it couldn't have gotten anywhere.
And I was like, you know what, I'm fifteen years old. I don't deserve this. I like, I'm not gonna be here. My parents are at home asleep. It was like Sunday and I'm a fifteen year old here at six figs in the heat picking up trash with the floor. I was not I should be here on the rack. My parents should be here like paying for those season pats, right, I should be eating, like where's my turkey leg? I'm here picking up the scraps from somebody out a giant pickle.
I don't want to be on Revolution or whatever it's called. I couldn't. I was crying. I literally goes like I need a break. It just give me a second. I went to the restaurant. I was like, I was like wiping up the sweat and like my tears as well, and I was like, you know what, I quit? I was like I was. I wasn't even there a full day. I was a kiden. I was there for like four hours. Wait, did you just tell your buddy or did you go
to the no to my buddy. I was like, look, you're gonna hate me, but I gotta go, like you're on your own. Yeah. Literally, I it was kind of bad. All my jobs, I've never put in a two week's notice if you gotta go. But I saw a TikTok recently that was like, I don't know if you've seen it. They're like, name the scam. That's like not like nobody talks about, but you know it's a scam. And they're like two weeks notices, Like why should you be putting in a two week's notice for a company that doesn't
really give a shit about you. That's a good point, and I'm like, you know what I mean, like like and for them, they don't have to put a two week's notice when they're gonna fire you. Yeah, so what's tea? Yeah that is a scam. Verty much scamp. That's true. Okay, awesome, thank you, d thank you. This is so much fun. This is like it isn't my first podcast, but it's one where I feel like I talked the most and even he talk No, this isn't about me, like I said, well, yeah,
this is fine. Well that about does it. For this week's episode of Hashtag Storytime, I want to give a huge shout out to Adam Ray. Okay, make sure to head on down to the description, click those links and give Adam a follow. Also, if you haven't yet, please hit the subscribe button. That way you don't miss next week's episode. We are doing another listener tales slash Fable
Family Extravaganza. Give us a call. If you want to hear your story on the pod, you can call us at the Storytime hotline which is three two, three, seven four one eighteen seventy three. And if you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review. It helps us out a lot and I literally read every single one of them. Hashtag Storytime is produced by iHeartRadio and Curativity Productions. Hosted
by Will McFadden. Sound designed by Tony maddox, written by Will McFadden and Jason Shapiro, Produced by Jason Shapiro, Daniel LaMura, and Jordan Elijah Michael. Theme song by Scott Simons