Meet Vinnie Medugno!

 I am pleased to introduce you to Vinnie Medugno, a very close friend of the Detore family. The Detores consider him family and he feels the same way about them. 

So, who is he? Let's start at the beginning. 

Born and raised in Staten Island, Vinnie just turned 27 on May 30th, and is one of two children in his family. His older brother Emilio is in the music business and works for Sirius XM Radio. Here's Vinnie and Emilio at a WWE event(they are big fans!): 

Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Vinnie with his parents
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Even though it is just Vinnie and his brother in their immediate family, their mom is one of ten children and their dad is one of fourteen (!) so family events are a BIG deal. Vinnie says that some gatherings "look like sporting events." :) Vinnie is very close to his family and is beyond grateful for all their support. 

Vinnie with family
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Vinnie's first love is music and is already involved in the music business part time. He credits Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra as some of his inspiration. 

Whether it is spinning or singing, he hopes to make the music business his full time career someday. Vinnie went to college and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Media Studies and first got a job working at WCBS FM 101.1. This was just the start of his involvement in the entertainment business. 

Vinnie at WCBS
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Not only does he work in the music industry, Currently, Vinnie works full time teaching performing arts to high school students and history to special education students. He is earning a Master's Degree in Special Education. 

When it comes to his students and teaching them about the performing arts: 

 "I am able to mix both of my worlds together at this job. There is nothing more rewarding in seeing children do productive things and make something of their lives. It is great to be a role model and through them I become a better person because they teach me to continue to be the best at what I try to do so they can model that behavior. My students contribute to the individual that I am and continue to become and strive to be."
Here's Vinnie and some of his students after they had participated and performed in a Prom Showcase at the Staten Island Mall. You can see how proud he is of them! 

Vinnie and students
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Back to the music side of things, Vinnie is extremely talented as a DJ, singer, board operator and producer and this is what he hopes to spend his life doing. He is well on his way. Check out this one of many videos showcasing his talent: 

This video is fantastic. You can really hear Vinnie's great singing voice in this where he is singing at the San Gennaro Festival in New York. Look for Janine's cameo in this as well as Leah DeSimone (from Mob Wives Chicago) in this one. He's so entertaining! 

Which brings me to how Vinnie knows the Detore family.Get ready because it is an "It's a small world" story:  Vinnie's dad used to tend bar and had a cousin that Janine's sister, Angela was close to. So, Vinnie's dad got to meet Angela years ago and said she had the "larger than life personality well before she ever was on television." So, Vinnie began visiting Angela's bar, Drunken Monkey and watching her show with her once it aired. However, at that point, he didn't know Janine...yet.

Vinnie is passionate about charity work and as we know already, so is Janine. Vinnie would be hosting various charity events and would see gift certificates that she would send from Country Mouse for raffles. And then finally, he was asked to host a fundraiser for a young child with cancer. Janine was involved in this fundraiser, they met and it was only then that he learned she was Angela's sister. After that, he and the whole Detore family became great friends. 

Vinnie says that Dom will call him for any job that needs a DJ and adds that he loves all of them.

Vinnie with some of the Detores at a show
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Vinnie and Janine
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Vinnie and Angela "Big Ang"Raiola
Courtesy Vinnie's personal collection

Here's a direct quote from Vinnie about the Detores: 
"I don't look at them as friends.They have become my extended family and I am truly grateful for them, because through them a lot of doors continue to open and we all support each other and that's really what it's all about. In life, a lot of friendships are give-and-take but with them I feel like it's an equal go around of support love and growth. What you see is what they are in reality just all-around great people."

And Janine feels the same way. "Vinnie is family. We love him dearly." 

Vinnie credits a lot of his success in his life to his faith. A devout Catholic, he enjoys attending Mass. And while his faith is strong and unwavering, he doesn't press his beliefs onto other people. He simply just wants to live serving his faith and others well by giving back to the community. It is way of showing thanks for all the blessings in his life that he has received. He also continues working on remaining a positive role model, especially for today's youth. 
Vinnie has a lot of plans for the future.Someday, he wants to settle down and have a family and also wants to continue all that he is currently doing as far as music is concerned.   Here are a few shots of Vinnie doing what he does best! 

Spinning, singing and hosting!
All courtesy Vinnie's personal collection.

So,time for my two cents! I had the pleasure of meeting Vinnie. What a charmer! He is extremely polite and he is the type of person that you know  really wants to hear the answer if he asks you a question. And let's be honest (time to embarrass myself AND Vinnie-lol), what a looker! Seriously, he is a very sweet, down to earth person. 

One of his specific goals is to have a big record hit the charts. You can already buy some of his work on iTunes! I just know he is going to go far.

Follow Vinnie on Twitter-@VinnieMedugno
                                Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/VinnieMedugno?fref=ts



I want to say thank you to Vinnie for the time he took to answer questions and provide pictures and videos. Thank you for reading.