GONZALES — Asante Madrigal, a former Gonzales resident, was chosen by NBCUniversal as one of 27 social media influencers to cover the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Known on his TikTok, YouTube and Instagram accounts as King Asante, Madrigal headed to Paris on Aug. 5 as a member of the press with NBC and TikTok. He returned from the France trip on Aug. 11.
“I’m so humbled and grateful and really excited to represent creators of color, being both black and Mexican and a member of the LGBTQ community,” said Madrigal, 23, about the opportunity. He added that it was his first international trip as an adult and that he was happy to represent Gonzales.
Madrigal’s videos cover popular culture, sports and trending news. He changed his hairdo to represent the United States with a red, white and blue look. He had access to meet and interview Olympic athletes and tour the historic city.
While in Paris, Madrigal posted interviews with track and field champions, including gold medalists Gabby Thomas (Women’s 200m, 4x100m Relay and 4x400m Relay), Tara Davis-Woodhall (Women’s Long Jump) and Grant Holloway (Men’s 110m Hurdles) and silver medalist Anna Cockrell (Women’s 400m Hurdles). He also shared a posing video with the latter three and fellow track stars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (gold medalist in the Women’s 4x400m Relay and 400m Hurdles) and Jasmine Moore (bronze medalist in Women’s Long Jump and Triple Jump).
He even got to meet rapper Snoop Dogg, who was dubbed America’s unofficial mascot at the Paris Olympics, as well as snap a few time-transition shots of the Eiffel Tower.
Madrigal grew up in Gonzales and went to high school in Salinas. He then attended college in San Diego and currently lives in Los Angeles. He has used his bilingual skills in Spanish to interview the Barcelona soccer team, and occasionally posts language-related videos, such as his Paris video about speaking French.
Madrigal got his start in 2019, while in college. He began by talking about internet culture, online creators and celebrities, as well as sharing news. He said moving to Los Angeles made it possible to get invited to cover celebrity events, such as red carpets, a year ago. Rather than talk about a celebrity, he gained the chance to be part of the news coverage.
From the start, Madrigal said he intended his videos for fun, and never expected content creation to turn into a job nor any intention to go viral. He said the ample indoor time during the Covid-19 pandemic allowed for substantial channel growth.
“When TikTok was happening in ’20 and ’21, people danced,” Madrigal said. “I was one of few people who talked to the camera. I got like 40 or 50 million views. A lot of people were getting their news from TikTok.”
This past year has come with a shift toward what Madrigal called more traditional media coverage, such as covering award ceremonies or the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore.
“I grew up watching so many different creators, and to be in the same room as them is insane,” Madrigal said.
Despite being from a small town, Madrigal said his parents always pushed him to dream bigger and do better. He advised youth interested in social media to be curious and to look up the many online resources. He recommended getting inspired by the content one watches online.
“You can do this as a job,” Madrigal said. “The creator economy needs to have creators of color, people that come from small towns, and from the LGBTQ community. There is room for everyone.”
Among his memories of Gonzales, Madrigal said his parents signed him up for swim lessons every summer.
“I did swimming lessons in Gonzales like seven or eight years as a kid and that’s how I learned how to swim,” he said. “Anytime I think about swimming, or water, or going in the ocean, I’m using my Gonzales skills I was taught.”
He also called out Pacheco’s, which he characterized as “the best ice cream ever.” He said his father would reward him with trips to Pacheco for good grades or winning basketball shots.
Madrigal said his family influenced him toward education, since his mother works for Hartnell College and his father works for the Salinas Union High School District.
“Growing up, education was a really important value,” he said. “It’s helped me communicate in LA and get to know people. It’s helped me be a creator and express myself. I think that it would be different if I didn’t go to college.”
He added that if he chose to shift careers, his degree could help facilitate that, or allow him to go back to school to get his master’s degree or a PhD.
“It’s a case-by-case basis of what people want,” Madrigal said of what he’d honestly recommend to youth currently in school. “I would recommend to finish high school and college and you can always do social media on the side. But everyone’s journey is different.”
