By Bill Sheehan
At Cal State Fullerton, Alonzo Floriolli is known as one of the top sprinters on the school's track and field team. But across the internet, he's better known as the father on The Flo Fam videos on YouTube.
Florioilli and his fiancé, Jessica Jovel, started creating and posting family lifestyle videos in May 2019, four months before the births of their twin daughters, Arya and Ayla. A son, Vincent, was born in March. The couple's YouTube channel (@TheFloFam) boasts 400,00 subscribers, and Jovel has 2.9 million followers on TikTok (@jessicajovel).
"Those videos have been a real lifesaver for our family. They pay for everything, and I have been able to go to school, run track and still have three kids," said Floriolli.
This weekend, Floriolli's focus will be exclusively on sprinting. He will run the starting leg for the Titan 4x100-meter relay team at the Big West Track and Field Championships, which are being held Friday and Saturday at Cal State Fullerton. Events begin each day at 10 a.m., and ESPN+ will provide coverage.
Fullerton's men's team will be trying to three-peat. The Titans have won the last two men's titles and five of the last six. The women's team will try to win its first title since 2019.
"Long Beach State, has depth in places we don't. If everybody does their job, and a couple people do a little better than they are supposed to, I think we can come out with another win," said Floriolli. "The team has a lot of freshmen. If we win this year, those underclassmen could win for the rest of their time here."
"Our relay guys – Naythn Scruggs, Dominic Gates and Carter Birade – have been looking good. In a way, running in a relay takes pressure off you because you have faith that your teammates have your back. On the other hand, you don't want to let the other guys down by false-starting or dropping a stick."
Marques Barosso, the Titans' third-year head coach, said he's learned to count on Floriolli in major competitions. "Alonzo is very fast and very confident, and he performs very well under pressure. At large meets, he executes better than anyone."
Alonzo Floriolli and Jessica Jovel have 400,000 subscribers to The Flo Family on YouTube (@TheFloFam), and Jovel has 2.9 million followers to her TikTok videos (@jessicajovel).
Teammate Justin Lowe, a fellow sprinter, called Floriolli a "great leader and a great friend."
"Alonzo is always there for the team. He is living through a lot of stuff right now that we don't have to worry about. He has that 'dad aspect' going for him. We can always talk to him about everything," said Lowe, a senior from Antioch who competed against Floriolli in the same high school league.
"He brings a lot of talent and speed to the team. The dude is quick. He is explosive out of the blocks. And as a sprinter, he is versatile and can compete in several events."
Injuries and his son's birth limited Floriolli's to just three outdoor track meets this year. He set a personal best of 10.36 in a third-place finish at the Ben Brown Invitational at Fullerton in mid-March. Vincent's arrival came eight days later, and he took two weeks off to be with his family. He then hurt his right leg after returning to practice and missed another week.
At the Mt SAC Relays in Walnut in mid-April, he pulled his right hamstring halfway through his segment in the 4x400m relay. Floriolli had been cruising at Mt. SAC before the injury, placing second in the 100m with a time of 10.38 and finishing fifth in the 200m in 21.10. "It had been a promising weekend. But I probably overextended myself by running in the 400m relay."
"My doctor said that it would be a six-week recovery. But I've been working with [assistant athletic trainer] Steve Carranza to cut that to four. I'm running in the Big West relay," he said emphatically.
The 22-year-old Floriolli, who does not have an NCAA qualifying time in the 100m and 200m, will skip those races to concentrate on the 4x100 relay this weekend. "I haven't been training, so I'm not running that fast. But I'm running fast enough to help my team in the relay."
A year ago, Floriolli starred at the Big West Championships, finishing first as part of the Titans' 4x100m relay team. He placed second in the 100m and third in the 200m. Floriolli, who has a personal best of 20.94 in the 200m, raced in the 100m and 200m at the NCAA West Preliminaries at Arkansas.
He was also a member of the inaugural Titan men's indoor team in 2022 and holds the school 200m indoor record with a time of 21.15.
"Alonzo does an impressive job at dedicating his time to school, track and his family all at once. We've learned to work as a team to accomplish everything that needs to be done together," said Jovel. "I try to make it to as may track meets as I can. The kids absolutely love watching him at his track meets."
Floriolli and Jovel have been sweethearts since seventh grade in Fremont. Jovel discovered she was pregnant at age 18, and their twins were born in September 2019. They started posting videos four moments before the births.
"Jessica had wanted to vlog our family for a while," said Floriolli. "She figured since we were already watching other people's videos, we might as well make some ourselves. And when the Covid-19 hit six months later, there was nothing else to do. We got serious and started making tons of videos."
For the first three months, subscriptions to their YouTube videos hovered around 100. "You have to have at least 4,000 subscribers before you can even think about being paid," he said.
But the two kept producing videos and began reaching a much larger audience. They hit 100,000, which Floriolli called "very exciting." The momentum continued, and the couple eventually reached 400,000 subscribers.
Jovel has since began posting videos on TikTok and has racked up a 2.9 million followers. She has 150,000 followers on Instagram. Jovel, whose videos chronicle the lives of the couple and their children, also is a product influencer.
Alonzo Floriolli, his fiancé Jessica Javel and their twin daughters Arya, left and Ayla welcome 2-day-old Vincent to their home in Brea.
"Alonzo and I have worked hard at growing our social media brand over the last four years. Pursuing this social media career has always been something I've been passionate about, and I am so thankful to have it as my job today," said Jovel. "Alonso has played a huge role in growing our YouTube channel from scratch. He spent a lot of time brainstorming content ideas, helping edit videos and doing research on the best camera equipment and editing software to use."
At times, Floriolli must explain their social-media careers to friends and families. "My teammates are a bit confused by how it all works, but they are excited for me. My mom and dad don't really understand how this all works, and they don't watch online videos. But as my dad says, 'The money is coming from somewhere. Then rent is getting paid. That's all I need to understand.' "
Floriolli was born in Antioch and lived there until his family moved to Fremont as he started middle school. He played soccer for 12 years and participated in youth track and field.
At Kennedy High School in Fremont, he played football for four years as a wide receiver, cornerback and special team member. He was called up to the varsity as a sophomore and had an impressive start, grabbing two interceptions in his first two games. But he landed awkwardly while being tackled as he returned the second interception and tore his ACL.
"Getting those two interceptions was my favorite memory in high school," Floriolli said. "But the ACL injury changed everything for me. I received no football scholarship offers from any colleges – small or large."
On football Senior Night at Kennedy High School in Fremont, Alonzo Floriolli is joined by his brother Joe, his mother Terrcel, his father James and his sister Gianna. He also has an older sister, Maloni.
The 6-foot Floriolli received a track scholarship offer from Fullerton, which he planned to accept it until Jovel discovered she was pregnant. His parents, Terrcel and James, bought a larger house in Antioch, and the couple and their twins moved in with them. Floriolli attended Chabot College in Hayward and but didn't compete for the school. "It was a hard but smart decision," he said.
Floriolli kept in touch with Barosso, Fullerton's coach, every three or four months. After graduating from Chabot, he talked with UCLA, San Jose State and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco but took Fullerton up on its second-time offer.
His parents both ran track in high school. James has a sales job, and Terrcel is a track coach at Heritage High School in Brentwood. Her boys and girls teams each won Bay Valley Athletic League championships this year. He has an older sister, Maloni, and two younger sibling -- a sister, Gianna, and a brother, Joe.
In December, Floriolli will receive a communications degree with a concentration in public relations. He will then split his time between building a profession track career and expanding he and Jovel's presence on social media.
The 100m dash has always been considered the glamor race of Olympic track, with a list of winners that includes Harold Abrahams, later of "Chariots of Fire" fame, Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt. It's viewed with the same fervor in college, Floriolli said.
"Everyone loves the 100m. Whenever it's time for a prelim or the final, the stands fill up and everyone crowds around you. And when it's over, they disperse. It's fun, easy to watch and very exciting. I'm happy to run in it."