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His father, the late William A. Byrd, was 55 years old when Gino was born on November 29, 1985, and his mother, Brenda Faye Johnson, was 37 and on drugs. She checked herself into rehab and checked herself out one day and that was the last time anyone saw her. She abandoned him when he was just a year old. Yet he is still determined to be successful and live a fulfilled life despite these challenges. Gino is presently the ward of the state and lives in a (special home) for people who have special needs. He has been in the system ever since his father died of a heart attack at the age of 73 in 2007 and when his great aunt who helped raised him, was no longer able to care for him due to age and poor health.
Gino’s dad was his hero and the one who encouraged him to go into broadcasting. His talent was discovered at the very young age of four when he was discovered attempting to read the weather forecast while the family was watching a football game on Thanksgiving Day in 1990. When he displayed the knack for broadcasting, his father new he was a natural. Gino was still in high school, when he displayed and pursued his dream, then he attended George Washington Career Center. He took a course in broadcasting and began to host a high school show called “Street Smarts” in 2003 on WDTR. He was chosen out of three contenders, in which that show became the #1 high school show. His first show was on bullying and it aired on January15, 2003.
Although there were many achievements and he has been given so many accolades, Gino's life has not been
an easy one at all. There has been much pain, and headaches that he has endured starting with the death of his father which lead to him going on a downward spiral. He was accused of being responsible for his father’s death because his father was assaulted by his girlfriend’s brother who pistol whipped and robbed him on December 9, 2006. His father succumbed to the injuries on April 23, 2007 and Gino had a nervous breakdown the next day. In addition to his mother abandoning him at a year old and his father dying, Gino is partially blind due to glaucoma which was a birth defect due to his mother using drugs. He also had a severe bout with depression. His partial blindness and emotional struggles have caused him to experience rejection and loneliness.
What makes this young man so extraordinary is that he has many challenges to contend with physically, emotionally and mentally which are no fault of his own, but he still has faith that he will be able to find people to love and support him. Presently because he is a ward of the state and stays in an SDH facility (Self-determination Home), he is not given the same privileges as his
MC Gino in front of Kinki Salon