A fruity face is finding fame from a UF student’s Instagram.
George the Pineapple debuted on the Instagram account peopleandapineapple last month, which has gained 455 followers and counting.
The famous fruit is never caught without his signature reflective sunglasses, though they aren’t to protect his pineapple eyes.
“It’s probably one of the stronger fruits out there,”photographer Chehade Boulos said. “It’s a fruit with an undercut.”
The 20-year-old telecommunication junior does three photo shoots a week on average, looking for nothing but fun and a small fee for his time.
Boulos has expanded his portfolio, having photographed 28 people and a kitten with the pineapple so far.
One-third of the people who reached out to him on Instagram for photos were strangers, he said. Even the UF track team plans on getting its picture taken with the fruit.
People can choose the place for the photoshoot, but they have to dress “somewhat semi-formally.”
The black-and-white photos are taken around sunrise or sunset — when the lighting’s right. Boulos brings the pineapple, his camera and tripod and begins taking photos.
George the Pineapple’s popularity has grown to where most recognize what’s going on when he’s in the middle of photos, Boulos said.
The simplicity of his success was spur of the moment: It began when his mother snapped a photo of him in the summer wearing a button-down shirt while lounging in a pool with the pineapple. Next time, he was behind the lens.
Boulos said he sees it as a great way to spend his time and hopes it will keep spreading.
“I kind of see it as a best-case scenario, worst-case scenario: At the very least I’ve had fun with people, and it’s a nice kind of thing to add to my portfolio,” he said. “The worst-case scenario is ‘Oh, the hype just rolled out. It happens. But I had some fun, made some friends and a little bit of cash.’”
You can snag a photo shoot with the pineapple by messaging peopleandapineapple on Instagram.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 11/6/2014]
UF biology junior Taiwo Alonge, 21, and George the Pineapple pose atop a roof at sunset. George has found fame on the Instagram account peopleandapineapple.
