Kostas Garcia: Cyber Star

 Sitting in front of a camera inside a studio in the valley, Samo senior Kostas Garcia shares his opinions – both humorous and serious – on a variety of current videos on YouTube. Although at the time the only people who hear him are the ones filming and asking questions, soon his answers are broadcasted on the popular YouTube series, “Teens React,” which has received as many as five million views on a given episode.Before participating in the show, Garcia admits he was unfamiliar with the YouTube channel, “TheFineBros,” that created “Teens React.”Garcia’s “Teens React” fans have created a Facebook fan page and Twitter account for him. He has over 9,000 followers on his personal Twitter account. Garcia says he receives tweets every day from people who watch him on the show.“It trips me out that every time I follow someone or even favorite one of their tweets, they start freaking out,” Garcia said. “I don’t think of myself as famous or a celebrity, but I guess to the people who watch the show I am. To think that legitimate movie stars and pop stars have this happen to them on a scale a million times greater than I do is even more crazy to think about.”Garcia is among many others who have become famous through the Internet. One of the first examples that comes to mind is Justin Bieber, who was first discovered through his YouTube videos, and whose latest album was projected to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 copies in its first week.Although Garcia is happy with most of the attention he has received, he says that some of it is over the top.“It doesn’t weird me out that there’s people that like the show and follow me on Twitter, but what does weird me out are stalker girls who tweet me multiple times a day. It’s a little much, but overall it’s pretty cool,” Garcia said. “Once my cousin posted this link to my Facebook of some person who had made a collage with like 30 pictures of my face, which was pretty creepy.”Although the Internet offers a wide range of sites to spread your name, YouTube is among the most popular.“YouTube is such a valuable source because it lets people around the world see other people’s videos,” Garcia said. “Some videos go viral and some people can even make money by making videos. YouTube has been valuable to me because I have been able to share my opinions about certain videos which millions of people watch.”Triana Garcia, Kostas Garcia’s sister, agrees that the attention he has received was completely unexpected.“I think it’s crazy how today anyone can get ‘famous’ off of YouTube,” Triana Garcia said. “Kostas and I always joke around that he’s some big celebrity. It’s crazy. He has actually been recognized a couple times out in public because of how many hits the show gets.”Kostas Garcia’s friends also find humor in the attention he receives.“The best part of him being on the show is the laughs we get out of his obsessive fans,” senior Sebastian Sassoon said. “I hacked his Twitter and they threatened me because I was messing around and they thought I was harming Kostas.”Triana Garcia agrees that many of the things Kostas Garcias’ fans do are amusing.“The things they post on Instagram and Twitter crack me up,” Triana Garcia said. “It’s surreal to me to think that girls are obsessed with my brother.”Kostas Garcia said that he received a spot on the show through a family friend who worked on another show by the channel. When the creators of the channel decided to start “Teens React,” he was asked to participate.Kostas Garcia goes in for filming every four to six weeks, and a new episode is uploaded every other Sunday. Every time he goes in to film, he brings a few changes of clothes so he can film multiple episodes at one sitting.“They show me videos, and I watch them all the way through and then they ask me a series of questions,” Kostas Garcia said. “I answer the questions and just say whatever comes to my mind. Then they edit it and take the best clips [to make the episodes].”Kostas Garcia says the series is beneficial because he is able to learn more about the filming process and being on camera.“The best part about being on the show is being able to be [in front of] the camera,” Kostas Garcia said. “It has definitely made me want to pursue acting. It’s been cool being able to get to learn how this whole process works.”Kostas Garcia’s friends believe that the show allows his fans to see more of his personality.“The best thing about Kostas being on the show is that everyone is able to realize what an awesome guy he is,” junior Paria Sheshpari said. “Kostas has a great heart, and I know with all these people watching him and supporting him, he can use his fame and put it to good use.”However, despite all the attention he’s received, Kostas Garcia said that the only thing that has changed is the amount of online followers he has.“I don’t want to let all of this get to my head,” Kostas Garcia said. “As far as school goes, [the show hasn’t changed anything], but I now have a bunch of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Two or three times, random people have come up to me and told me they saw me on ‘Teens React,’ but nobody has said ‘Oh my God! You’re Kostas from “Teens React!”’Once Kostas Garcia begins college, he will no longer be able to participate in the show because his schedule will not permit, which he says is disappointing. Kostas Garcia says that participating in the show has been a positive experience and he has gained many benefits through the widespread reach of the Internet.“The show has [allowed me] to have my voice heard by millions of people,” Kostas Garcia said. “The experience has been awesome. I guess I was just made to be a reactor.”mlopezzubiri@thesamohi.com