I will probably never cross paths with Joe Nicchi (pictured above), but if I did, I would give him a solid high five.

Nicchi runs a very popular Los Angeles ice cream truck business, CVT Soft Serve, and he’s taken a somewhat novel approach to the influx of influencers visiting his truck.

It’s not just the influencers that rock up that irk him, though, because he also receives countless emails and messages on Instagram from peeps looking for a free cone.

As the Guardian found out, he’s had enough:

Nicchi went viral after posting a sign that said “influencers pay double”, writing on Instagram that he would “never give you a free ice cream in exchange for a post”… [and] now Nicchi says his business is booming, attracting fans across southern California who share his disdain of influencers.

“We’re the anti-influencer influencers,” he told the Guardian on Wednesday. “It’s weird … but I think it’s really fun. I hope it inspires small businesses to hold their own and tell people to fuck off.”

Take a moment to consider how many influencers are running riot here in Cape Town, and then imagine the scenes that play out in Los Angeles.

Or Chernobyl – yes, that’s also a thing.

Nicchi’s most popular Instagram post, featuring that image up top of the sign, comes with this caption:

We’ve decided to make this thing official with signage. We truly don’t care if you’re an Influencer, or how many followers you have. We will never give you a free ice cream in exchange for a post on your social media page. It’s literally a $4 item…well now it’s $8 for you. #InfluencersAreGross

Given that he works as an actor on the side, Nicchi understands self-promotion, but it’s that dreaded word every freelancer knows all too well that really gets to him.

Here he is talking to VICE:

“Last Thursday, I got an event request to do a party on a weekend for 300 people in exchange for the word they love to use, which is ‘exposure,'” Nicchi told VICE. “I can’t do that; I can’t work for free.”

“They love using the word ‘exposure’. It’s so ridiculous,” he said.

Face to face, he’s not backing down, either:

But the frequency of the requests began to escalate – and became more uncomfortable as they started happening in person, said Nicchi: “The most painful thing for me is when they approach me at the truck.”

…At times, the requests were particularly offensive. He said an assistant to a famous actor – a woman on a television show who he declined to name – recently asked if he would donate ice cream to the cast and crew. In exchange, the actor offered to take a photo at his truck.

His response: “As much as I’d love to do that, I don’t think my kid’s school accepts celebrity photos as a form of tuition payment.”

The assistant responded with a nasty and vaguely threatening message, he said, along the lines of: “I should be careful with my words … This is a very small town.”

By the way, because I know it’s been bugging you, CVT stands for his three flavour offerings – chocolate, vanilla, or twist.

Nicchi has clearly struck a nerve, because his story is now being shared across the world. Here are the three latest posts on the CTV Soft Serve Instagram page (at the time of writing):

Not that he will care, but he can now add 2oceansvibe to that list.

Given the abundance of fantastic free press scored off the back of his ‘anti-influencer’ stance, I’m sure he’ll be pumping out the ice-cream.

Then again, given that CVT Soft Serve was named the best food truck in Los Angeles in 2014, the same year it opened, he shouldn’t need it.

[sources:guardian&vice]