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1- How did your journey with YouTube start?
My journey as a Youtuber started in 2011, I played lots of games at this time and I was a gamer, also I had a passion for video editing, so I thought to myself why don’t I record the games I play and upload it on youtube? I then made a gaming channel, no one was watching my videos back then, I only had like 10 viewers and they were mostly me refreshing the video, so it didn’t really succeed. However, I was also making videos with my friends when we were hanging out, but I didn’t think about uploading them, then I got the idea to make a youtube show, I wanted to make something professional with a script, and something more accessible for wider audiences. There were like 3 or 5 channels that I liked to watch, and I thought about mixing different aspects that I find interesting in those channels and combining them into my own original show, and that’s how wad3ana show was born.
2- What attracted you the most to youtube?
The idea of being a Youtuber was very attractive because I had my own personal space that I can express myself freely. All your life you were told what to do or what to say, and youtube giving me this freedom to be myself, despite the stress of deadlines and studying, it really was a way for me to do anything I want, even act like a child. In your normal everyday life, you have many responsibilities and chains that limit you, but on your YouTube channel, you are really free, the idea of youtube being a medium to communicate anything that happens to you without any restraints is a great idea, and that’s what I tell anyone that wants to be a content creator when they ask me I want to make a channel but I don’t know what to say. The idea is you don’t do a channel then find something to say, you have something to say therefore you make a channel and you start expressing your thoughts. In addition to that, you must determine your passion, and make a youtube channel that revolves around this passion.
3- Does worldwide changes in youtube policies also affect Egyptian youtube?
No, not at all, the youtube community service in Egypt is very weak, people can steal or insult each other, and if they reached out to youtube support, they are just not there. Recently, I have separated myself from the whole headache of copyrights, by limiting down commentary videos that depend on other people's content, and I started to take a different more original approach. I have made several videos from scratch that are 100% original, and I really like the result of those videos, the idea of making every little aspect of the video yourself is much more fulfilling and this is the new direction I want to follow in my content.
4- Tell us more about the evolution of the comedy genre on youtube?
The whole wave of memes, shitposting and dark comedy did not exist in Egypt for a long time, no one dared to joke about sensitive things, but now memes are present in tv ads, and are broadcasted on television, this genre of comedy is now normalized. I started making videos that have a lot of dark humor because I wanted to stand out as one of the first Youtubers in Egypt to do so, and when I started no one understood what I was doing, people asked me if I was stupid or something, but now it’s okay. Sometimes the dark humor gets kinda too much, but they are based on reality, those things really happen we did not create from the void. Also, I think people just got bored with the traditional clean comedy, and this evolution is normal. For instance, a few years ago you wouldn’t guess that our parents would be active on Facebook and have WhatsApp groups to share their thoughts, and maybe in the near future our mothers will start sharing dank memes, you never know.
5- Do you believe that comedy has its red lines that should not be crossed?
Dark humor is the red line that you should not cross, but as I said before it is based on reality, joking about coronavirus, racism, and bullying all these things are a reality, and making fun of it is a coping mechanism. If you make jokes about suicide, someone who is suicidal may actually get a laugh out of it and reach a sense that someone understands what’s he is going through that he is not alone. For me, the red line is making fun of someone's appearance or a factor that he can’t control, but making fun of someone's attitude, for me is not offensive.
6- How did the idea of Wad3ana show host evolve?
When I started to think about making a youtube show, I thought about being the host and it cringed me, I am that kind of person that doesn’t like to see himself in pictures or videos, therefore I started to create an alter-ego or a persona, I thought about wearing dark glasses and a Spongebob t-shirt so I won’t know that this is me. Also, I wanted to make a brand out of the show, I wanted my own trademark, that when people see they can instantly link it to Wad3ana show
7- Recently you have made several commentary videos about the hip-hop scene in Egypt, what are your thoughts about this wave of emerging artists?
I love this wave of hip-hop artists in Egypt, even though I make fun of it, I still admire them. At the start, I didn’t like their music as most people did, but when I gave them a real chance, I found that they are doing something really cool and fun, as I don’t really listen to Egyptian music, and those romantic songs, and I am more influenced by English language songs, so I thought about them getting this style from American culture and transform it within the Egyptian culture, is really an inspiring thing to do, so I found myself making videos about them and having fun, but I respect their work.
8- Can you see yourself as a fulltime Youtuber in the future?
Being a Youtuber is something I do at the side, it’s not my whole life. I know that many people who have a million subscribers treat YouTube as their fulltime job, but I just feel that this is not me. I just don’t see myself as someone who creates videos in a particular routine and schedule; I do it for the fun of it. In life, no one is satisfied by his work or education, therefore you must have somewhere to escape to , something that gives you a reason to exist, for me this something is YouTube, but I believe that the thing that makes you happy shouldn’t be your whole life. I am against the idea of YouTube being a fulltime job, because when YouTube becomes a business you really get lost and you may lose the artistic values of things, I am not saying I am an artist, but turning what you love into a business can make you lose your passion in it. I don’t really have a plan or a direction, but I don’t think I will stop making videos and I also don’t think I will take it as a fulltime job, I am here for the fun of it.
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