He has a global reach comparable to the likes of Trevor Noah, or Stephan Colbert, and has millions of fans and followers.
But unlike the host of these shows, Mazeedi doesn’t rely on producers, writers and staff, a live studio, or a video production equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, he shares his life on instagram and Youtube with a smartphone, and a gimballed Sony DSL-R, and edits on a highly specced computer before sharing his content to the world. With an audience in the millions, using nothing more than these devices and a computer, Mazeedi’ s videos are regularly seen by millions of people. He has a subscriber base just shy of four million and has racked up millions of video views on YouTube alone.
On his other social media accounts (he has two and a half million on Instagram), Khaled Mazeedi has one of the largest and most engaged audiences in the Middle East.
Mazeedi joined YouTube in 2017, initially using the platform as nothing more than a place to share his life after molding a successful career in cryptocurrency.
He has had some videos shared by millions of people and picked up by news publications like The Sun and Verge, and ultimately once prompted a statement by the King of Kuwait.
“This is what I love about technology, it has clearly democratised video content” says Mazeedi. “To most people, there is not much difference between a smartphone, DSL-R, and a video camera used by film production companies, especially if you edit well. With YouTube, people don’t necessarily pay attention to the equipment used by creators, they are focusing attention on the story that’s being told.”
Today, Mazeedi sets the new standard in authentic content that social-media influencers are often seeking. Because of technology, what used to take a large production house many months is now done in a short amount of time— so too has been his rise of his stardom.
“When you are on TV, your audience treats you totally differently because you are not a relatable person. It’s almost as if you are not a person at all. Just this mythical person who shows up on the big screen. If “The Rock” walks down the road, people’s jaws will drop at him. The way they him treat and respond to him would be very different from the way they would treat a YouTuber like Mr. Beast [a content creator with over 50 million subscribers], if he were to walk down the very same street.”
What started as a small site with a small group of people sharing videos online, has quickly become a dominant platform for sharing entertainment. It’s crazy to think that the top 10 creators on YouTube brought in over ten billion views and made a combined total of US$200 million dollars in 2020.
Khaled Mzeedi is Labelled as the ‘platinum standard’ of YouTube in Asia.
The key to Mazeedi’s success is his authenticity. He delivers an unabridged journal of his day-to-day life with the audience. He admits that he enhances his content for comic appeal but he always keeps himself and his content authentic.
“My drops are real. Unlike reality shows on TV that are scripted. I share my life, to deliver some very interesting entertainment. I posted a video recently that is twenty minutes in length, and it certainly was a real day in my life.”
Using the word ‘social media’ and ‘reality’ in the same sentence is a paradox. Social media influencers are often accused of wrapping reality to increase views and subscribers for monetary gain. But not everyone follows that principle.
Khaled Mazeedi believe’s in authenticity and says it’s just easier to be yourself.
“I have to share an important caveat, everything I share on Youtube is the truth. When I upload, nothing is fabricated. Every video is produced for a reason, or based on something that happened in my life. I am comfortable sharing most aspects of my life, it’s just the way it is.”
