If you’re a Cleveland native or a local college student (shoutout to my fellow KSU Flashes!), then you’ve probably seen an older gentleman in a colorful, funky suit, dancing the night away with the biggest smile on his face and wondered, Who is that?
“What motivates me is that my talent can turn a person’s day around,” says Mike Toth, who is better known around town as Super Pimp.
But if you’re not often in Cleveland’s clubs, you can still follow Super Pimp’s journey. A Lorain native, Toth has cumulated over 50,000 followers across his social media platforms. His posts mostly show him with his fans, but you can also see sweet pictures with his daughter and videos of him dancing. He’s always had a positive outlook on life, he says, but the origin of his viral persona was created in response to a difficult period in his life that entailed the death of his parents and longtime friends. This led him to a deep depression.
Toth made it his mission to uplift others. That’s why his wardrobe is inspired by the 1955 signing group, the Rat Pack. He says the “pimp” in his name is meant to promote good family, good friends and good times.
“[Rat Pack] always went out [and] dressed to the nines,” Toth says. “They always had a smile on their face, and they always made the people around them smile.”
Super Pimp’s social media presence started in the early 2000s when an anonymous MySpace page was created for people to submit photos of Toth’s suits while he was out. He caught his big break when he was featured on a jumbotron at a Cavs-Nets playoffs game for wearing a hot pink, eye-catching suit.
“I kept thinking I was only going to have fifteen minutes of fame,” he says, “but it just kept passing every generation.”
Though the name is provocative, Super Pimp has built a community based on positivity and encouragement. Toth focuses on others rather than himself, creating a positive impact on the people he encounters just by simply being himself.
"My philosophy is that if you concentrate on making other people happy that you come in contact with every day, then it will come back to you,” Toth says.
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