Code and memes, the double world of Florido.

Florido is a Senior Technical Consultant in the Digital Experience Practice at Mashfrog. He joined as a front-end deve loper and now focuses on bid analysis and pre-sales, as well as managing and supervising development teams. In this interview, he explains how his professional growth, built through hands-on experience, has intertwined with a strong creative drive, leading him to found one of Italy’s most popular meme pages.

What path led you to Mashfrog?

Mashfrog was my first work experience. At the time, I was in my second year of Computer Engineering and going through a somewhat challenging phase in my academic journey. I had already passed the most demanding exams, but I got stuck on those I perceived as less useful and less stimulating.

Almost by chance, I decided to attend a Career Day at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, where I had the opportunity to meet Mashfrog. I didn’t know the company well, but I felt the need to understand whether there was a concrete alternative to the path I was following. After that first contact, I received an offer for a paid internship, which at the time represented a huge opportunity for me.

That’s how my journey began. I learned mostly by working on projects, getting directly involved in activities and engaging with different technologies. This allowed me to grow quickly and in a very practical way, building skills I likely wouldn’t have developed through academia alone.

What do you do, and what aspects of your work do you enjoy the most?

Over time, my role has evolved naturally. Today I’m a senior front-end developer, but recently I’ve been focusing mainly on analysis: I work on bids and pre-sales activities, starting from requirements all the way to defining solutions. I analyze needs, build proposals, estimate time and costs, and then follow the project through later stages, supporting the teams that develop it.

What I enjoy most about my job is problem-solving. Facing a complex situation, analyzing it, and figuring out how to tackle it is something I find very stimulating. It’s an approach that comes naturally to me and that I experience as a positive challenge.

I also really like working in a constantly evolving field. There’s no definitive endpoint, and that pushes you to stay up to date, question yourself, and keep learning. It’s a dynamic that keeps motivation high and makes the work always feel different.

You’re also the founder of one of Italy’s most followed meme pages: how and when did this passion begin?

“The Strange Side of the Internet” was born in 2016, during my university years. At first, it was a shared project with other people - a group aiming to collect and share unusual content found online. It wasn’t just memes, but also strange images, surreal or unconventional content.

Over time, the community itself shaped the project. Some types of content performed better than others, and memes in particular generated much stronger engagement. From there, it naturally evolved toward that form of communication.
For me, it wasn’t just a page, it was also an important personal experience. In a way, it became a sort of “mask” that allowed me to express myself more freely, overcome certain insecurities, and connect with many different people. A real community formed, based on exchange, discussion, and sharing. Memes were the medium, but there was much more behind them.

Today, that project mostly belongs to the past. Not because the interest has faded, but because priorities have changed over time. With entering the workforce and a more structured life, it became increasingly difficult to dedicate the same time and energy to the page. Moreover, the experience also revealed the limitations of platforms, where the work you do is never entirely “yours” and can be interrupted at any moment. For this reason, the project remains a meaningful experience that left a mark, but now lives on in a different and more personal form.

What else are you passionate about? How do you like to spend your free time?

I’m a very curious person, which leads me to have many different interests. One of the most important is definitely Dungeons & Dragons, a tabletop role-playing game where, together with others, you build a story: each person plays a character and, guided by a narrator, experiences an adventure full of choices, unexpected events, and often very fun moments. For me, it has become a weekly ritual - a way to completely disconnect from work and enter a totally different dimension. I like it because it combines creativity, imagination, and social interaction. Every session is different and shaped by what each person brings to the table.

Another great passion of mine is manga. I’m fascinated by how they can tell very deep stories, often with important allegorical meanings, using a language that effectively combines text and images. Over time, it has also become a small personal collection, as well as an interest I continue to cultivate with pleasure.

Looking ahead: what are your future prospects, both professionally and personally?

From a professional standpoint, I’d like to continue growing within Mashfrog. My goal is to build a solid path over time, continuously expanding my skills and taking on increasing responsibilities. I recognize that I have a certain inclination toward leadership, but I’m aware that it’s something that needs to be developed through experience. It’s a journey that takes time, and one I want to approach gradually, continuing to learn from the people I work with every day.

On a personal level, my goal is to maintain a good balance, keep nurturing my passions, travel, and build a daily life that allows me to feel fulfilled. Among the more concrete plans is my wedding, an important step that I’ve been planning for some time and that will soon become a reality.