All The Smoke Melvin Gregg: 7M Vine Followers, Snowfall’s Coldest Villain & Platform Shadow Bans
Jan 29, 2026
Melvin Gregg, former Vine star turned actor (known for Manboy on Snowfall), walks through his climb from 7M followers to TV roles. He talks creation strategies, the gap between social-media and TV recognition, platform shadow-banning and reach manipulation. He also shares career pivots, on-set stories with John Singleton, and his surprising love of gardening.
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How He Built A 7M Vine Audience
- Melvin Gregg built a 7M Vine audience by reverse-engineering viral formulas and storyboarding dozens of ideas.
- He posted multiple clips before a big one to secure retention and sustain growth.
Streaming Changed Storytelling And Casting
- Streaming and social media shortened attention spans, forcing faster hooks and different storytelling structures.
- Casting now often values built-in audience and immediate marketability over slow-burn character development.
Audition Story: Booking Manboy
- Gregg auditioned for Snowfall in a packed room including John Singleton and adjusted his approach to be believable, not overtly threatening.
- After initial doubts, three strong episodes convinced the team to take his Manboy seriously.