Gab Valenciano: ‘Super Selfie’ videos started during low point in his life

Gab Valenciano became an internet sensation when his “Super Selfie” videos went viral in 2013. They were such a hit, Beyoncé's music video for “7/11” was even inspired by it.

In a press conference before hitting the MTV Music Evolution stage last Friday, Gab's famous dad Gary Valenciano said that the videos were a product of boredom on his son's part, and reinforced his advice to artists to keep creating.

“Everything you see of Gab in the Super Selfie, that’s a part of Gab. It’s not the entire picture. It started out of boredom. He was in school living in a five-bedroom house alone. And then one time he sent me a video and said, ‘Dad, check this out. I think I should post this.’ I said [laughing], ‘Go, post it!’” Gary said.

It may come a surprise that some of the fun, quirky videos that have earned millions of total views were not made during Gab’s happiest times. In fact, he said, the Super Selfie videos became his outlet when he was down.

“I was also very down at that time. A lot of people, their best work comes out at the most desperate of times. I think not just desperate, but even—I know a lot of people who come out with their best work when they were at their lowest and I think that was one of the lowest points of my life,” Gab revealed.

“I just kept creating and that was my outlet. I didn’t resort to anything else. I just told myself that I’m going to open my laptop and shoot,” he said.

Despite the millions of views the Super Selfie videos have received, Gab advised aspiring artists not to focus on the analytics. He also urged artists to collaborate instead of compete with each other.

“There is always gonna be someone better. There is always gonna be someone fresher, someone newer,” he said.

“I always tell people, ‘Don’t compete. Collaborate. Don’t compete. Contribute.’ Because, again, it’s such a competitive world. People will always have better equipment... But you only have one you.” — BM, GMA News