This Ice Cream Truck Owner Hates Influencers So Much, He's Charging Them Double

From Delish

Joe Nicchi owns L.A.'s long-famous CVT Soft Serve ice cream truck. And Joe Nicchi has been burned. As of this week, he's made an official proclamation that influencers-especially those who ask for free ice cream in exchange for "exposure"-will now pay double at his truck, VICE reports.

Nicchi told the site he often gets these type of requests, but that he was Officially Done last week when he "got an event request to do a party on a weekend for 300 people in exchange for the word [influencers] love to use, which is 'exposure.'" It was the tipping point, he explained: "I can't do that; I can't work for free."

Related Video: The Making of a "Digital Influencer"

His first move, which he said was "kind of a joke," was to put the below sign on his truck. It reads "INFLUENCERS PAY DOUBLE." He specified that if you ask for a $4 cone for free for whatever social media-related reason, you're walking away with eight less dollars. And while the photo of him holding the sign (and its caption) gained traction on Instagram, it also quickly went viral on Reddit, garnering him even more attention.

Still, that wasn't the first time he'd lashed out via social media against people who wanted to take advantage of his business (because, again, it happens all the time). In fact, just a few days before the above post, he posted another picture of the sign, giving people the opportunity to see exactly the types of influencers he wanted nothing to do with.

All that said, the fact that all of this has blown him tf up on social channels isn't lost on him. "Trust me, I understand the irony of all of this that I'm mocking influencers," he told VICE. "Now I'm getting some social media credit as influencing non-influencers."

So! If you're in the L.A. area and are after some A+ soft serve, you know what to do-take a good 20 steps away from the truck with your ice cream before you start snapping your inane photos.

('You Might Also Like',)

• Crave Carbs? We Created This 21-Day Keto Plan Just for You

• Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners To Try This Week

• 29 Insanely Delicious Vodka Cocktails