With his appearances on MTV’s Jersey Shore and its spin-offs, Vinny Guadagnino has generated plenty of earnings.
However, the reality TV star recently revealed that another side venture he participated in was the “easiest money ever” for him.
During his recent seasons of the Family Vacation spin-off, viewers have seen Vinny pursuing several side careers.
His most recent pursuit has been a career in standup comedy, which has made its way onto the show as castmates supported him at a show.
Vinny works hard to improve at comedy and hopes it can go far for him.
His castmates also supported him at another gig, which he called easier money, when he worked as a Chippendales dancer and made $1 million.
Vinny calls Chippendales the ‘easiest money’ he’s made
Weeks ago, Vinny Guadagnino featured his friend Kayla Nicole on his podcast, and she returned the favor by featuring him on her The Pre-Game Podcast this week.
She mentioned that Vinny’s latest gig, aside from filming Jersey Shore, is standup comedy. He also reminded her that he did Chippendales.
“I always tell people it’s not like a strip club. I’ve made like over a million dollars doing it,” he shared, surprising Kayla.
He explained that it was due to his participating in “so many” residencies, where performers stay at a specific location. That was Las Vegas, Nevada, when Vinny was with Chippendales.
“It’s like the easiest money I’ve ever made. Just go there, live in Vegas, rip your shirt off,” he said.
Vinny debuted as a Chippendales dancer in 2019 and returned in 2023. While he told Kayla on her podcast that it was easy money, he previously revealed to PEOPLE that the preparation for it, including a strict diet, made him “miserable” but also helped him look better when on stage.
Vinny says his current gig is much harder
While many people might think a known reality TV star like Vinny is making good money with standup comedy, that’s not the case.
“What I do now is hard,” he shared with Kalya.
He explained he attended UCB Improv school when Jersey Shore was off the air for a while.
“I was doing improv. I was into sketch comedy like Key and Peele and Chappelle Show…So I did all that. I always wanted to do standup because that was the more gangster thing to do, but I never had the balls to do it, or I just didn’t have the means,” Vinny said, due to living in Staten Island.
He said that now that he’s living in Manhattan, he has more clubs and stages closer to where he lives. He explained that he goes out each evening to get better, whether it’s three people or 300, he’s performing for.
“Most of the time it’s free, but I’m just harnessing the craft,” Vinny explained, adding that it takes “years and years” to get better, and he needs to get better “quick.”
He’s shared some trials and tribulations on his social media accounts with his NSFW attempts at standup comedy, including “bombing” on stage.
“The money comes when you’re good and you go on the road and then you start making money,” he told Kayla on her podcast.
Vinny said his dream is for standup comedy to be his career for the rest of his life, but it will take some time.
For now, he’ll continue performing at various locations to get better and appear on MTV’s Jersey Shore: Family Vacation reality show, which will continue to bring exposure.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation Season 8 premieres Thursday, May 29 at 8/7c on MTV.
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