Today we’d like to introduce you to Maximo Garcia-Tuñon.
Hi Maximo, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My mom and dad are both in the hospitality business. From the time I was born, and later Roque, my brother, we had the opportunity to travel from hotel to hotel, all over the world. Since our family and friends were always curious about which new hotel and what exciting city we were visiting, my mom decided to open a private Instagram account, kind of like a photo album, for our family to see. This is how @TheHotelBoys came to be. Separately, from the age of 4, I have been acting and have performed in a number of local theater productions. I wanted to start auditioning at TV and movie castings and know it would be good to have a larger social media following. When I was 12 years old, I asked my parents if I could take control of the account and make it public in an effort to grow the platform. At that time, we only had about 1,000 followers, which were all family and friends. Just two months in and starting to figure the world of Instagram, the pandemic hit. No more traveling. No more auditions. No shopping or anything. Being used to eating at nice hotel restaurants, I decided to learn to cook since there was nothing else to do, and I was getting bored of my mom and dad’s go-to home cook meals. Now, on Instagram, I would see all these bloggers posting about their new food creations. So, I took it upon myself to recreate them and then post them on my account. My first cooking attempt was from @DevourPower, a famous food blogger couple in NY with over 1 Mil followers. To my surprise, they saw my post and shared it in their stories, and my first food post blew up. Not only did we grow significantly, but I started to get many different challenges from many local bloggers. I would do complex recipes, like a beef wellington, and some wacky ones like a giant breakfast pizza! From this, we gained a lot of popularity and got our first food sponsor. From there, we took off! The next thing I know, we had a request from local bakers and restaurants who were, in the height of the pandemic, trying to promote home delivery items to stay afloat. Other requests came from professionals who lost their jobs because of covid and asking us to promote their home-baked goods since they were trying to make ends meet. Every day was a new package, cookie, cake, etc. at our doorstep, and we focused on this because it helped the local community in this interestingly difficult time.
Once Miami opened up again, our focus grew to hotels and tourism. Not only because it was the industry that raised both Roque and me, but because it’s Miami’s most significant industry and one of the industries most affected, so it was our way of giving back… while having fun.
Now, a year later, at 13 (and Roque is 9) years old and with over 10k followers, we focus our lifestyle account to include all the things Roque and I enjoy the most like, travel, food, fashion, and the arts (to include my acting).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The ride has actually been extremely fun and rewarding. Receiving calls from local businesses to helping them promote their products or business has given us a sense of pride and we will continue to help, support, and promote these amazing businesses.
Now, this process did not come without challenges or struggles. Knowing that a small business owner is giving us a product to promote, I try my hardest to ensure the content is the best. I don’t yet have all the equipment some of the big-time bloggers have, yet I know that our content comes from an authentic place and I hope the followers see that.
Another challenge is seeing the not-so-nice opinions from followers or others who like to bully or leave mean comments. I don’t get why people would do that. Roque and I were raised to love and respect everyone with no judgment. And if for whatever reason we are offended or don’t like something, we ignore, unfollow, or just move on. There is no need to spread hate or nastiness… it doesn’t do anyone any good.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
From the time I started to walk, I have wanted to act. I would watch TV and always think I wanted to do that. At the age of 4, I began to do local theater and absolutely LOVE it. I have been in over 10 productions at Area Stage Company, an award-winning, professional theater company putting together world-class productions for over 30 years in Miami as well as some school productions.
In addition to acting, I have a passion for fashion and would love to have my own clothing line. In 2018, I had the pleasure of being personally invited by Mr. Tommy Hillfiger to tour his design studio in Chelsea, New York, where I was not only able to see the design process but was able to design a pair of jeans alongside his design team.
I also love food. I love to experiment with food and always cook for my family and friends. I would love to own several restaurants across the US. I have a plan… but I can’t share it yet. I’m 13 and don’t want someone to steal my idea… Haha.
With all my dreams, everyone asks me which I will choose to be/do when I grow up and I simply reply by saying. all of them. My goal is to study Film and Acting, maybe in Tisch, NYU with a minor in Business so I can be a working actor, dabble in fashion, open my restaurants while managing my brands as my business.
My brother Roque still doesn’t know what he wants to do, but if I had to put money on it, he will be a comedian.
What does success mean to you?
I’ll let you know when I get there… But for now, I would define success by setting goals in life and enjoying the process. I have heard of and know a lot of people who haven’t achieve all their goals but are still successful. I think that being in a state of constant happiness is a sign of success.
Contact Info:
- Email: Maximo@TheHotelBoys.com
- Instagram: @thehotelboys
Image Credits
Maximo & Roque @TheHotelBoys Photos by Dylan Rives @drives (on Instagram) and or DrivesMedia.com Location is at The Moxy Hotel South Beach (except the pics where Roque is in Red t-shirt & us in Blue hoodie mirror) which are at the Tropicana, the temporary solo exhibit by Josh Aronson in Miami’s Design District)
