“Baby Gronk,” “Livvy” and “rizz” are the words of the week. But many online, even the most internet savvy, don’t know what they mean —let alone why they are being grouped together and have gone viral.
Technically, it all began in March, when the parents of a 10-year-old football player known as Baby Gronk uploaded a video to his YouTube and his social media pages. In it, Baby Gronk, whose real name is Madden San Miguel, is seen meeting Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne, known as Livvy to her over 7 million TikTok followers.
TikTok user Henry De Tolla, known online as h00pify, shared a clip from the original video, adding his own commentary and sprinkling slang throughout. “Livvy just convinced Baby Gronk to commit to LSU,” De Tolla says in the video. “Livvy rizzed him up.”
Months later, De Tolla’s video went viral thanks to one Twitter user’s repost. As of Thursday, it’s amassed more than 2.3 million views on TikTok and has been shared and reposted across Twitter and Instagram.
Some who watched the video questioned their age and their sanity, wondering why “Baby Gronk” and “Livvy” are trending and what “rizz” is referring to. Others appeared mesmerized by De Tolla’s delivery in the video, which features him looking unblinkingly into the camera while speaking in an enthusiastic yet monotonous cadence.
Even De Tolla, who is a rising junior at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he plays lacrosse, admits his video is a bit silly.
“If you don’t know what these words mean, it just sounds like I’m speaking gibberish almost,” De Tolla, 21, said in a phone interview.
NBC News broke down the key terms in De Tolla’s viral TikTok video so you don’t have to.
Baby Gronk aka Madden San Miguel
Madden is a football prodigy who is known on social media by the moniker “Baby Gronk,” referring to a “baby” version of retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski, who is also known as “Gronk.”
Although Madden is still years away from graduating high school, The Athletic reportedthat Madden’s father has shepherded him across the country for unofficial visits to different colleges and universities.
Madden is also familiar with social media fame. He’s been called a “future football SUPERSTAR” since he was 6 years old and has more than 319,000 followers on his verified Instagram account.
Madden’s father, Jake San Miguel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview with The Athletic this week, he said Madden met Dunne on LSU's campus.
"We know her. (Through) mutual friends," he said.
He went on to describe the internet as "the new billboard," noting that while Madden's goal is "to go to the NFL ... the NFL is rare."
"So my goal is to build him a platform and a following where he is making money now and it’s going into a savings account," he said. "... That way he can live a good life without struggle or worry. It’s the insurance behind sports. You don’t have to go pro anymore. Like Livvy Dunne, she’s set for life already because of the internet."
De Tolla said he’s been in touch with San Miguel, who complimented him on the TikTok videos.
“His dad called me Tuesday night. He was one of the people who first told me about everything that was going on on Twitter,” De Tolla said. “He obviously likes the videos because they’re good publicity for him too.”
Livvy
Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, 20, is a junior NCAA gymnast at LSU and a social media star. She is among the highest-paid college athletes in the country, according to Sports Illustrated Lifestyle, and said she makes seven figures through social media and endorsem*nts.
In De Tolla’s videos, he suggests Livvy has been deployed to charm Madden into committing to attending LSU when he is of age to play collegiate football.
Dunne did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Rizz
“Rizz” derives from “charisma” and is slang for charming or seducing another person. The word was popularized by YouTuber Kai Cenat in 2021, according to Dictionary.com.
In one of De Tolla’s videos, he says that Dunne “rizzed” Madden while convincing him to attend LSU. In another video, he jokes that Madden “rizzed up” Dunne and the 10-year-old stole the gymnastics star from her boyfriend, the “drip king.” “Drip” refers to swagger and style.
“Rizz” has proliferated on TikTok, becoming a common part of the platform’s vernacular. The hashtag #rizz has 15 billion views.
Why are people asking if Livvy rizzed up Baby Gronk?
While it’s all fun and memes on social media, Dunne did not flirt with or try to seduce Madden.
In the March 15 video, titled “LIVVY DUNNE KNOWS I GOT RIZZ,” Madden and Dunne met on what appears to be LSU’s campus.
“Hey are you that kid from the internet?” Dunne asks Madden in the 12-second video.
“Yeah, I’m Baby Gronk,” Madden replies.
Dunne asks what Madden is doing there and he replies that he’s going to play at LSU.
“You have to come here. It’s awesome,” Dunne says in the video. She then tells him he’s “so cute” and gives him a hug. That video has been viewed more than 1 million times.
