We’ve all been encouraged to have multiple streams of income, and Isaiah Garnica has found a creative way to make some cash and feed into the public’s pettiness.
For the past week, the Mexican-American songwriter has been charging people $5 to drop a “yikes” under the selfies of their ex-lovers.
The idea came when Garnica, 32, shattered his cellphone and went into an “existential crisis,” according to VICE. Needing some extra funds to purchase a new device, he turned to the Internet.
“People are selling feet pics on Twitter,” the Los Angeles-based hustler said. “I was like — I’ll give you a yikes for five bucks. I thought it was funny but I was actually serious. Turns out, other people were serious about it too.”
His tweet, which has more than 186,000 likes and 36,000 retweets, has gotten him hundreds of clients — allowing him to quickly make the $1,000-plus needed to cop the new iPhone.
While the response to Garnica’s viral micro-hustle has mostly been great, he has received some accusations about bullying. For him, though, the comments aren’t as much attacks but petty ways to help people mend their broken hearts.
“Some say it’s a bully service, but it’s really not,” Garnica told BuzzFeed. “What I offer is closure. Especially when one is blocked.”
In a separate interview with VICE, Garnica said he has even declined requests to body-shame or insult exes.
“I believe in karma. This might be theirs,” he added.
Recently, Garnica followed up his $5 “yikes” comments with a budgeted $3 “eek.”
For him, it’s not just smart but also totally normal to have a creative side gig these days.
“Every single person I know has side hustles,” he said. “Even one of my best friends who has a PhD. He makes porn websites on the side. Millennials and Gen Z stay evolving.”