In this new episode of Popcorner, the Geopop column in which we talk about topicality and pop culture, we had the pleasure of hosting in our studies Gianluca Gazzoliradio conductor, creator and creator of “Switch from the BSMT”one of the most successful formats in Italy. During the chat with Andrea Moccia, we explored his journey, from teenager’s dreams to strategies to interview “impossible” guests such as Roberto Baggio. Gianluca, in addition to sharing his philosophy on success and hard work, also told us about his personal history and his coexistence with an subcutaneous defibrillator.
Born in 1988, Gianluca Gazzoli built his career starting from local radios and from an experience to MTV, until he landed in 2017 to Radio deejaywhere it is one of the flagship voices. Today it is a Creator, radio and television conductor, but above all it is the creator of “Switch from the BSMT”: a format of interviews among the most followed in Italy, in which it hosts in its “basement” full of memorabilia the most important personalities of the show, sport and culture.
One of the prominent aspects of “Pass from the BSMT” is its ability to attract guests of the highest level, often considered unattainable. The secret, explains Gazzoli, is not cheap but is based on a job of years, on perseverance and on a human and direct approach. “In the case of Baggio, it’s about three years that I was trying,” he says. His strategy often consists in going in person to seek contact, to convey passion and authenticity.
Behind professional success, Gianluca hides a complex personal story. As a boy, when he followed his passion playing basketball, he suffered from Maligne ventricular arrhythmiasa pathological condition that led his heart to accelerate and beat up to 315 times per minute and then stopped suddenly. “I suffered above all by doing sports, I brought my heart to excesses, but it was not simply the effort, but the effort mixed with emotional stress,” he explains.
After a year of lack of diagnosis, the problem was discovered thanks to a holter, a small portable device that involves the recording of the electricity of the heart, worn during a game. For this reason, at 17 he was implanted a subcutaneous defibrillatora “machine” that would have saved his life several times but who forced him to abandon competitive sport. The function of this defibrillator is to monitor cardiac activity and stop, through an electric discharge, the sudden accelerations caused by the potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias, bringing the heart back to the physiological function.
The first time he was operated, he was almost traumatic “an internal explosion, so strong as to think he had been hit by a very strong ball or a bar”. For years Gianluca has kept this condition hidden: “If I didn’t say it, it was as if I didn’t have it.” Only later did he understand the importance of sharing, becoming a point of reference for many people with similar problems.
Gianluca sees himself as an “underdog”, one who has achieved his goals with sacrifice, hard work and “obsession”, understood not with a negative sense but as a fundamental component to establish himself. This philosophy is reflected in his idea of ”influencer”: for him, the real models are his idols such as Michael Jordan and Alessandro Del Piero, who have gained their influence exceeding in their profession, not choosing it as a profession.
The success, explains Gazzoli, are not 100 meters, but one marathon: requires the ability to invest in themselves and a team of valid people.
I don’t know a person who has done great things that has not been obsessed with what he does.
