The Almodovars may have never become famous were it not for their kids persuading their reluctant parents to join TikTok. “It all started with our daughter Aracelis. She was attending AMDA College of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles and said we need to start a TikTok profile. At first we were hesitant. I work in radio and my wife is a teacher, and now our daughter wants us to do TikToks? We didn’t even know what it was [laughs],” admits dad GMan. “But then she explained and showed us the ropes. So, we tried and it just took on a life of its own. What I loved about it is that you can literally create any content you want, and there is a niche for anything. I can remember acting when I was in Puerto Rico and being on TV when I was a kid, but circumstances did not let me pursue that dream. My dad was abusive to my mom and we had to escape the country. So my dreams took a back seat when we came here. My mission then became to learn a whole new way of living and to acclimate to this culture. But to be able to go on this platform and revive that part of myself was like I’d found a piece of me that was missing. Funny thing is that my daughter and my son got their acting skills from me, and now I’m seeing my wife also take part in it too, which is amazing.” Their silly skits are a reflection of their close knit family bond. “We are very tight. We love spending time with each other, having family fun nights, watching movies, going for walks, going to the theater, meditating, having dinner together when we can — everything. Now, with that said, we are family, so everything is not peaches and cream. But at the end of the day, we mean a lot to each other.”
Clearly, their audience wants in on the fun, too. In less than 17 months, their account had accumulated 1.6 million followers. “It was amazing. We reached 100K in the first month so we knew we must have something unique. More and more people got interested in what we were doing, to the point that people were saying we should have a show. We feel it’s amazing to be able to connect with so many people and for them to resonate with us and feel that the content we put out is relatable. It’s a very beautiful connection that we created with our audience — and we are happy that we can bring a smile to them.” A new reality show was born soon after. “We got an email about an opportunity to work with a platform called Triller TV. At first they just wanted us to go live, but we wanted to do more than that. We knew we had something special so we took the opportunity to explore that idea. I talked to some friends and we got to work. From writing the scripts to directing to recording and editing, it was a collective effort — but we were proud that we did it on our own. When we presented the pilot to Triller, they loved it. They got a very well-produced show that can stand toe to toe with any show on TV. We were blessed to create two seasons for them. It was a very proud moment for all of us.”
GMan takes pride in simply portraying a real family through the show. “It is very authentic. We are not playing a part; we really just wrote the ideas and improved the whole thing. It was very easy for us. Usually in a sitcom there are different actors portraying a family. But being able to be a real family gives it another perspective. It’s a unique experience and we just happen to collaborate very well. I mean, we live together, so there is a lot of time to talk and come up with ideas. It’s special when you can do what you love with the people you love.” He says that the family wants to continue giving the gift of laughter to others. “We will continue to make videos that uplift people and make them laugh. We believe that laughter heals and, with everything that’s going on in the world right now, we feel people need some time to just unwind and heal their souls. We hope to inspire others to not take life so seriously and to not only go with the flow but to GROW with the FLOW. Life’s too short. Let’s enjoy the gifts of life. The future is bright. We hope we can connect with the right people and grow into our next step. If you believe it, you can achieve it. It may take sacrifices, hard work, and dedication, but we believe in what we are doing so we know we will achieve it.” Be sure to check out Season 2 of The Swagmodovars!
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The Swagmodovars Bring the Funny to Family TikTok. Photo Credit: Kevin Rueda.
