Move over Jill Biden, West Chester University has a new most famous alumni and her name is Kristy Storms.Haven’t heard of Kristy Storms? Chances are good that you will have soon enough. She’s the star of “The Kristy Storms Show,” the latest viral video series to take over Youtube.com.
However, the name Kristy Storms probably won’t appear in any of WCU’s records. That’s because Storms is just a character played by Ashley Sindaco, who graduated from WCU this past December.
Sindaco, a former member of WCU-TV5, created the character in early October following Game 1 of the National League Championship Series that pitted the Philadelphia Phillies against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The initial show played like a more innocent version of “Borat,” with Sindaco filling the role of the absent-minded and badly misinformed TV reporter Storms.
Without breaking character, she would stop anyone that she encountered wearing Phillies gear and drill them with questions regarding “the old guy who lives in the dugout” (Phillies manager Charlie Manuel) and the importance of kicking field goals in baseball. Sindaco also served as the show’s editor.
“We decided to go around with me wearing (a) wig and asking people dumb questions,” Sindaco said, describing the plot of the show, which has remained fairly consistent throughout its run from TV5 to Youtube.
The person being interviewed never knew quite what to make of the questions, often choosing to politely play along rather then correct her.
From there, the show left the streets and headed inside to the studio in WCU’s Digital Media Center.
The format changed slightly, with Jon “J.O.N.” Schafer coming on board as co-host. Schafer and Sindaco played off of each other well as they discussed the week’s “hot and not” topics. The show, called “Stop Talking Now,” lasted five episodes, until Sindaco’s graduation.
“I still planned to go back to the D.M.C. on Fridays and film the show, but it was a lot more difficult since not many people filmed on Fridays anymore,” she said.
It was then that out going TV5 President and current WCU student Chris Pierdomenico stepped in with an idea to retool the show. He took over as editor and camera man. He also switched it back to its original format, with Sindaco playing the proverbial “man on the street” role of roving reporter, covering topics ranging from the Academy Awards to old video games.
The show, now officially known as “The Kristy Storms Show,” is also considerably shorter since Pierdomenico became involved. Each episode runs only three or four minutes in length.
“Instead of filming inside of the studio, we are filming (the show) around the college, around the town of West Chester, and also in Philadelphia. We are also trying to make the show seem like it could take place anywhere, kind of like an ‘Anytown, US’ kind of thing,” Sindaco said.
Tom Ianieri was bought on as a writer to help to craft the crazy questions that Storms asks the unsuspecting public.
The biggest change for the show, however, came as Pierdomenico managed to secure it a spot on the Numa Network on Youtube.com.
“I had always been a fan of Gary Brolsma since 2004 so I did frequent his YouTube site from time to time,” Pierdomenico said. “Near the end of the year, I did a Google search on Numa Network and came across a Craigslist ad asking for people to pitch ideas to Numa Network. Through that ad, I got connected with Justen Overlander, creative director of the network.”
“Loving the Kristy Storms idea, Justen helped me get started with the first episode,” he added.
The Numa Network was created by Brolsma, best known for his own viral video featuring him doing the “Numa Numa dance.” This change marked the end of “Kristy Storms” on WCU-TV5, but it marked the beginning of a viral video sensation.
“Brolsma has the current title of ‘most famous internet celebrity’ and currently has the most video views out of any other internet celebrity,” said Sindaco.
Currently the Numa Network has over 30,000 subscribers and has received over one million views since its inception in 2006.
The most recent episode of “The Kristy Storms Show,” entitled “Happy Easter,” is closing in on 200,000 views since it was posted last Thursday. It was also named as one of Youtube’s “Spotlight Videos.”
The show has become so popular that it earned a weekly timeslot on the Numa Network, something that only three other video series currently have. New episodes of the show are posted each week on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Future episodes of the show may include a trip to Key West, as well as a planned collaboration with Brolsma himself.
“I dont really have any plans of where I want the show to go, I am just having fun exposing Kristy to the world and getting so much feedback from all different people from all around the world,” Sindaco said.
Colin McGlinchey is a fourth-year student majoring in English with a minor in Journalism. He can be reached at CM646588@wcupa.edu.