YouTube Star AboFlah Made Streaming His Life. He Wants His Kids to Live Offline

AboFlah keeps looking straight into the camera. He can’t assistance it—the YouTuber has collected 50 cardinal subscribers and has spent astir of his beingness streaming. For astir people, a camera lens is intimidating and cold. For AboFlah, known arsenic Hassan Suleiman successful the fewer hours helium spends offline, it is much comforting to look into it than to disregard it.

We person our speech successful the workplace of 8Flamez, the institution helium cofounded alongside Eyad Siyam and Saad Sarwar to negociate creators and physique infrastructure for the creator economy. It’s a massive, white-walled abstraction scattered with props, furniture, and signaling equipment, acceptable to movie astatine immoderate moment. He arrives connected clip but somewhat annoyed astatine having missed an assignment earlier successful the day. He’s not 1 to miss an appointment; oregon adjacent an email, arsenic I aboriginal find out. His inbox has a measly 17 unread emails.

Online, helium is often compared to IShowSpeed and KSI, some of whom helium has collaborated with. But his defining infinitesimal goes beyond immoderate clickbait; his foundation livestream, wherever helium spent 12 days locked successful a solid container successful Dubai, raised $11 cardinal for refugees and broke 2 satellite records for the longest livestream video and the astir viewers for a livestream foundation donation event.

Seated connected a beanbag connected the level of his studio, helium talks the mode helium streams: accelerated and unfiltered, successful agelong unbroken runs that helium occasionally interrupts to apologize for. He does this before, during, and aft our conversation.

At 50 cardinal subscribers and with a company, a cartoon quality connected the way, and a people of 100 cardinal subscribers up of him, helium is reasoning astir what comes next.

He speaks successful Arabic, his code threaded with the expressions of faith—Alhamdulillah, Inshallah, Bi’ithnillah—that punctuate galore of his answers, and which I’ve kept intact.

CARLA SERTIN: Tell maine astir the cartoon you’re readying with Spacetoon, Slayman. Why spell with this concept?

HASSAN SULEIMAN: I emotion cartoons a lot. Spacetoon … I was calved and raised watching Spacetoon. So arsenic soon arsenic they projected the thought of maine being featured arsenic a character, I loved the idea. I mean, it’s a truly beauteous idea, truthful I took part. So present Slayman is coming out, Inshallah. I expect it volition merchandise connected Spacetoon astatine the opening of adjacent twelvemonth oregon astatine the extremity of this year. And I’m precise excited. I anticipation radical similar it, Inshallah.

TV is precise accepted media, and you’re a streamer–

Yeah, it volition beryllium a caller experience. But I expect, Inshallah, it volition beryllium a truly large experience.

Why? Because my assemblage is mostly young and loves entertainment. And Spacetoon—and the quality Slayman—will beryllium a beauteous communicative that conveys a beauteous and bully connection successful an entertaining mode for the young audience. So, Inshallah, they’ll emotion the idea.

Look, TV is not similar societal media; it’s different. That’s wherefore I refused to spell into acting, due to the fact that I don’t truly similar acting that much. I refused things like, for example, being a TV presenter oregon doing a circumstantial programme and pursuing the TV system. Because connected societal media, it’s overmuch much relaxed. More spontaneous. You’re much yourself. You tin bash immoderate idea. If I aftermath up contiguous with a weird idea, I tin bash it connected societal media. In TV, you request a batch of approvals, a batch of things; it’s complicated.

I got carried distant talking. I’m going to speech a lot. Forgive me, I volition speech excessively much. Stop maine if you privation to alteration this up.

It’s amended for you to speech excessively overmuch than excessively little. Looking much successful the societal media sphere—not everyone understands that it’s a existent job. You’ve said successful the past that astatine the start, your dada didn’t recognize it.

Oh, yeah.

What does helium deliberation astir your enactment now?

My dada is satisfied now, he’s astatine ease. If astatine the extremity of the period determination is wealth that comes in—that’s it, there’s wealth astatine the extremity of the month. He says, “OK. Oh, my kid is doing good. OK. You’re doing bully financially. You’re sending maine money. That’s enough.”

But he‘s satisfied. And helium truly loves it. I mean, honestly, helium truly loves what’s happening—the foundation work—he’s truly arrogant of it. He’s arrogant of these things—so Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

In the opening helium didn’t enactment me. But it’s the constituent you mentioned, awareness.

Many radical don’t cognize that societal media oregon YouTube is simply a job—that it tin beryllium better. It’s hard, high-risk, due to the fact that there’s a large accidental you mightiness not succeed. But I judge that if a idiosyncratic loves the happening they’re doing, Bi’ithnillah, they’ll endure, and tawfiq [success granted by God] volition come, and they’ll succeed. I mean, that’s the happening that made maine win and endure. The archetypal outgo that I took from YouTube was aft 4 years.

What’s kept maine going those 4 years? What made maine endure without money, with expenses and making content? Because I truly loved it, and the concern helped me. So it was tawfiq from Allah. And astatine the aforesaid time, I loved it and was assured that, Bi’ithnillah, I would succeed. Yeah.

Do you consciousness similar it’s harder present to win successful YouTube?

No, no, no, no, no, no. Much easier. Much easier. The much clip moves forward, the easier it gets. Right present the concern is overmuch easier.

With abbreviated content, scope is overmuch bigger than agelong content. So you person a accidental to dispersed widely—there’s an opportunity. But a idiosyncratic has to absorption and instrumentality the measurement and say, “I tin bash it.” And permission the remainder to Allah. That’s the happening that, Bi’ithnillah, a idiosyncratic needs. But yes, the concern present is overmuch easier, adjacent the concern parts. I've seen a batch of concern radical saying that if you privation to beryllium a millionaire successful this—if you privation to beryllium a idiosyncratic who has a cardinal oregon more—in this era, it’s overmuch easier than before. They each accidental that, and it’s the aforesaid connected societal media.

Now that you’re gathering a accumulation company, 8Flamez, and different projects, what’s the adjacent era? Is it AboFlah the CEO?

AboFlah the CEO.

[He laughs]

As a contented creator, becoming a CEO oregon becoming a concern proprietor is not casual astatine all. It’s a large difference. Even the thinking, the intelligence side, is different. Financially, I americium focusing connected being a leader, not a boss, being a person and knowing however to physique a team, a system. I’m a contented creator.

So Alhamdulillah. “أعط الخبز لخبازه” [“Give the breadstuff to its baker”, which means “leave things to the experts”]. Find palmy concern radical who person a beauteous idea, judge successful the thought and spouse with them. That’s what I’m doing. Alhamdulillah, I’m a spouse with Mr. Eyad [Siyam]—he’s a concern feline who has, Mashallah, knowledge, a wealthiness of expertise successful societal media and successful selling from the property of 25.

He made a precise beauteous concern successful the UK, and helium had an exit plan, made millions, truthful helium has the experience. The constituent is that I partnered with susceptible radical and joined hands with them, and, Mashallah, we are increasing the concern measurement by step. But I’m focusing connected the happening I’m bully at, which is making content.

I don’t privation to suffer absorption crossed much than 1 thing. You request to beryllium focused if you privation to win successful something. I’m focusing connected contented much than business, to beryllium honest. I don’t cognize thing astir business, by the way. I don’t cognize however overmuch I made past month.

I was with the accountant conscionable now, helium showed me: “Hassan, you made this overmuch money.”

“Oh, this wealth I made. OK, wow.”

So I don’t know, and that’s a bully and atrocious thing. The bully portion is that you’re focusing connected the things you know. That’s what the squad needs from you. And the atrocious thing, OK, you’re expected to person immoderate hint … [he trails off, laughing]

It sounds similar you’ve built a squad astir you that you trust.

Yes. And spot is the astir important thing. Yeah. And agreement.

[He pauses]

Penalties.

[He laughs]

And past going to charity, due to the fact that you did notation …

Oh, the charity. It is honestly the astir beauteous happening I’ve ever done. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen. “من يفعل الخير يكسب الدنيا والآخرة” [“Whoever does bully wins successful this beingness and the hereafter”]. Our religion teaches america that.

I privation to accidental thing astir charity. I didn’t marque thing financially from it. So Subhanallah, and this is impervious that whoever does bully wins successful this beingness and the hereafter. It gave maine a batch of opportunities. I mean, Alhamdulillah, I made a batch of wealth from the fame that came from the charity.

If we speech astir the financial, concern side, I made a batch of concern deals, sponsorships. I became much famous—from 10 to 100 percent, from 10-plus to 100-plus—after I did charity, Alhamdulillah. Inshallah, Allah accepted this.

That’s the happening that matters the most. Doing bully is very, precise beautiful. It gives you energy. It gives you a crushed to support going. Sometimes—OK, you made money, you got fame, what bash you want? That’s it. But doing foundation makes you consciousness like, OK, I person reasons to support going. I could marque this guy’s household concern better. I could bash something.

Is it besides dense arsenic a responsibility? There’s a batch of radical who spot you oregon who trust connected you.

In the beginning. But aft that, Alhamdulillah, I learnt however to woody with it. In the opening I didn’t cognize however to grip this responsibility. But successful the extremity I realized: No, Hassan, you’re human. You’re human, and pleasing everyone is an unattainable goal. I won’t beryllium capable to delight each people. Impossible.

And also, “من عاش على مدح الناس ما تبي ذمهم.” [“Whoever lives for people’s praise volition endure from their criticism.”]

In a 2024 interrogation with The National, you said you’d lone reached 30 percent of your goal. What’s the 70 percent that’s left?

I told you—it’s that I support going, marque radical blessed and marque myself happy. I mean, bask the journey. When you inquire someone—say, an worker who works 8 hours and has a family—when I inquire him, I say, for example, “What’s the caller happening you’re going to do? You person a family, you’re an worker getting a wage of, say, 20,000 AED [about $5,450]. What’s the caller happening you privation to do?” I expect helium would say, “I’ll bargain a house, bash this and that, and transportation connected with my life.”

What I’m doing present is I support making content. I support doing the happening that I love. I marque radical happy, I adhd much foundation enactment to my videos, I proceed with my concern and I support moving towards reaching a bigger fig of followers. Right present I’ve reached 50 cardinal [subscribers connected YouTube]. The extremity became, Subhanallah, the much a idiosyncratic achieves, the much their ambition grows. So the extremity present is 100 million. Bi’ithnillah, Bi’ithnillah.

I privation to beryllium the archetypal Arab successful the Middle East and North Africa—and each of Africa—to scope 100 million, Bi’ithnillah.

Inshallah.

More countries are banning societal media for kids. What are your thoughts arsenic a contented creator?

This is precise good, excellent.

The work is connected both: connected the contented creator, and adjacent much connected the family. The household has power to forestall the young kid from pursuing this oregon that. But erstwhile the household abandons its work and puts it connected contented creators, it's is unsafe and high-risk.

I don’t cognize wherever each contented creator comes from. How was helium raised? How does helium think? I’m acrophobic of sharing atrocious things with a child, but determination are galore others—I've seen them with my ain eyes, without naming names. For them, it’s normal. This is his life. This is his mode of doing things. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t attraction that helium shows this oregon that. The work has to spell backmost to the family.

If the household drops the responsibility, removes their work for the child, who’s going to rise the child? Me, a contented creator? Come on. I’m human—in the end, I volition marque mistakes. There volition travel a clip erstwhile I’ll station a atrocious video due to the fact that I made a mistake. But the effect connected the kid volition beryllium big, due to the fact that you handed implicit your responsibility.

So it’s connected both: The contented creator should beryllium respectful and contiguous contented that’s due for his audience, and if helium makes a mistake, helium should apologize, due to the fact that he’s quality successful the end. And the household shouldn’t enactment the work connected the contented creator. It should enactment it connected its ain parenting. The household has the power to forestall the kid from pursuing this oregon that. Or, look, don’t springiness him a phone, for example.

One of the things I deliberation about—I’m not joined yet, but if I person a son, Inshallah, oregon a daughter—I expect I won’t springiness her a telephone oregon fto her cognize thing astir societal media until later. I don’t cognize if that’s honestly correct, due parenting. I request to reappraisal it and beryllium good prepared for parenting. But I won’t fto her cognize astir societal media for a while. I’ll fto her live, acquisition life.

Ah, those were the days. We’d spell retired of the location and travel backmost astatine 9 pm, play football, autumn down, get scraped up, and person fun. Now it’s iPad, present that’s it. Allah y’een [God help] the caller generation. Allah y’een. It’s a affirmative for us, by the way—for america arsenic a business, it's much views. But from my presumption of humanity, it’s wrong.

For example, abbreviated contented is inexpensive dopamine. Short contented is engineered to instrumentality a person’s focus.

[He mimes idiosyncratic doomscrolling and drooling mindlessly]

That’s however I feel. Cheap dopamine, precise atrocious dopamine. Having said that, I’m doing galore shorts. [He laughs.] My latest abbreviated made 5 cardinal views successful 1 day. Alhamdulillah. So I’m taking vantage of that. But the idiosyncratic himself has to person the consciousness to power themselves.

I’m sorry, I speech excessively much.

But I mean, it’s conscionable similar the family’s work toward the kid is to marque him alert erstwhile helium grows up, truthful that helium says, “I don’t request to discarded my clip connected things that don’t payment maine oregon my family.”

OK, possibly entertainment—entertainment should person a acceptable time. Half an hour, an hour, Salam Alaykum [Goodbye]. Not 24 hours. Not the archetypal happening erstwhile I aftermath up—to aftermath up and drawback the phone.

This communicative was primitively published by WIRED Middle East.