After starting his YouTube channel when he was 11-years-old, Nino Aquino ’23 is somewhat of a local celebrity on St. Joe’s campus. 

Aquino’s YouTube career began when his older brother asked him to film and post videos of his band. Soon, his content transitioned to vlogs of his vacations. Vlogs are videos of a person’s daily life condensed into short videos. Now, his videos center around his life in college. His YouTube channel, “Nino Aquino,” currently has 177 followers. He  posts about one video every two weeks. 

Aquino said he was inspired to make vlog-style videos after watching Casey Neistat, a YouTuber based in New York City, who documents his everyday life. Aquino mirrors Neistat’s video style, with background music, transitions and end credits. 

“I was looking at his content when I realized I liked it and wanted to do something similar, so my style is like his,” Aquino said. “I choose a day where a lot is going on, so my recent one I just posted was the first day back to campus, COVID-19 edition. I wanted my viewers to see how I am coping with this whole pandemic situation.”

Aquino said he likes to capture genuine moments, so he frequently pulls out his camera throughout the day to film.  

“My favorite part is seeing my friends that I put into the vlogs having so much fun and how genuinely happy they are to be a part of my videos,” Aquino said. “When I have my camera out, everyone wants to be a part of it.” 

Katie Parchesky ’22, Aquino’s friend from high school, said she started watching his videos when he started posting about his vacations and still watches his vlogs today.  

“I love how the videos feel like he’s just telling you about his day instead of watching a scripted video,” Parchesky said. “His personality is exactly how he acts in his vlogs. He’s very outgoing, and he’s always in a good mood.”

Anthony Scenna ’22 said he found Aquino’s channel through a friend, but now watches his videos regularly and was even featured in one. 

“I would say the process is really informal, which is cool,” Scenna said. “He always has the camera on him and any time he passes by someone they ask ‘Hey Nino, you vlogging?’ It’s pretty cool how it’s mostly just by chance that you will pass by him when the camera’s rolling.” 

Scenna said his favorite part of Aquino’s vlogs is the enthusiasm and energy he brings when highlighting Hawk Hill.

“It makes me want to get involved in extracurricular activities and clubs, and I’m glad he hasn’t given up on filming them, even during COVID-19,” Scenna said. 

Matt Brien ’22 found Aquino’s channel on Instagram and said his videos are great for potential St. Joe’s students because Aquino shows a real version of everyday life on Hawk Hill.

“My favorite video is the SJU basketball home opener because you get the first-hand view of what it is like to go to a basketball game here and how intense and fun they can be,” Brien said. “It shows that even at a smaller school, we can pack Hagan Arena and come together as a school to show support.”

One of Aquino’s videos from last year received 3.8 thousand views, and he said he heard that incoming first-year students watched it before coming to St. Joe’s.

“This one girl said ‘I watched your vlogs before coming to St. Joes,’” Aquino said.  “[She] saw how much fun I was having, which is why she decided to go here. That is a pretty heartwarming story. I can’t believe my videos affected her college decision.”

Aquino said he plans to continue to document his experience at St. Joe’s on his channel, and to continue his vlogs through his professional career after graduation. 

“The main reason why I vlog is because when I look back 10 years from now, I want to be able to show the people that are with me what I did and how my life was,” Aquino said. 

Check out Aquino’s vlogs here: www.youtube.com/c/TheRandomkid246/videos