organization aimed at promoting Christianity and providing medical supplies to orphanages in eastern Russia. During his formative years, Gionet was actively involved in his parents' charity and went to Russia with them numerous times. Five of his siblings were adopted from Russia. As an adolescent, Gionet spent a year and a half in the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. He later said that part of his "chaotic nature" may have stemmed from this experience. In 2006, Gionet left Alaska for Los Angeles and attended Azusa Pacific University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marketing. Early career While working at Warner Records, Gionet was a social media and marketing intern for Warped Tour. Kevin Lyman gave him the nickname "Alaska" in reference to where he grew up. In order to make it more "unique", Gionet changed the nickname to "Baked Alaska", a reference to him being a marijuana user at the time and a play on the dessert of the same name. Rap and Internet pranks In 2011, Gionet worked for Capitol Records for a short time, before pursuing his own career in rap music with a "wild, redneck, kick-ass" persona. He kept his nickname Baked Alaska as a stage name. His rap songs used a satirical tone and traded on his Alaskan roots, with titles like "I Live on Glaciers" or "I Climb Mountains". In 2013, the Anchorage Daily News published a profile of Baked Alaska, describing him as a "comedy/music video artist". Gionet also posted many humorous videos on Vine where he became known as a prankster, achieving some online popularity. A video of him pouring a gallon of milk on his face attracted several millions of views. He called himself at the time a "cross between Weird Al, Lonely Island, Borat and Jackass". Gionet attempted to promote his rap career by producing several professionally-made videos, which failed to become viral. While in Los Angeles, he was also involved in the party scene and had issues with drugs and alcohol, leading him to seek professional help to get sober. Unhappy with his life in Los Angeles and the lack of progress of his musical career, Gionet was planning to return to Alaska when his social media skills and popularity on Vine led him to be hired by BuzzFeed. Employment with BuzzFeed From 2015 to 2016, Gionet worked for BuzzFeed as a social media strategist, and later commentator.