WACO, Texas — Despite what you may have seen, Mario Gonzalez doesn’t usually look like this at work.
A few days before Christmas, Gonzalez, a Waco real estate agent with Coldwell Bankers Apex, noticed that one of the real estate signs had been given an unflattering makeover.
A prankster graffitied Gonzalez’s face on the sign, giving him buck teeth, large round glasses and angry eyebrows.
While it may seem like a harmless prank, Gonzalez said signs can cost upwards of $100, and real estate agents are responsible for paying that cost themselves.
But instead of getting angry over unwanted artwork, Gonzalez found a better way to respond.
Ms. Gonzalez bought eye black at the store and, with a little help from her sister, recreated the vandal’s art on her own face.
In a social media post, Gonzalez shared a photo of himself posing next to a sign with matching face paint, which quickly went viral.
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“I found a real estate sign. It’s frustrating, but I couldn’t help but laugh,” Gonzalez said in the post. “Why? Because it reflects this year in real estate! It’s full of chaos and uncertainty. So, either you get in it and make the most of it, or you roll with it and you Either take me away! And I’m rolling “that!” “
Gonzalez realized the sign was the perfect marketing opportunity and a great way to spread laughter and positivity during the holidays.
“We don’t know who did this, so we’re going to turn this into something positive,” Gonzalez told 6 News. “So there were no cameras showing where or who did this. So I said, ‘You know what? The real estate market is already a mess, so let’s make it even more confusing and interesting.’
As of Jan. 4, Gonzalez’s post had more than 124,000 interactions on Facebook, 3,000 comments and 4,100 shares.
“When I did this, I really thought it would probably get 20 or 30 likes,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the internet response to his post has been great and even created networking opportunities. Not only that, but some people have offered to replace the vandalized signboards.
“I didn’t expect it to be this big, and even more so, so many real estate agents from all over the country contacted me,” Gonzalez said. “Tell them you liked the pose. Let’s exchange phone numbers. Let’s talk business. And, yeah, that was a very positive thing.”
Gonzalez said sometimes in business you have to go all in, but when life gives you lemons, sometimes it’s a sign you’re heading in the right direction.
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