I did drastic changes to my videos and started making general gaming videos that would attract any gamer, while before I focused on one type of game only.”
Bashar Kayal
Bachar AlKayal – known as Basharkk on YouTube – has over 1 million subscribers on his channel uploading engaging and entertaining gaming content. A civil engineer by day and gamer by night, we interview Bashar about his success as an influencer and what’s coming up for him next.
- Tell us about your journey of how you became a gaming influencer?
“I started my YouTube channel 10 years ago with my first video published in 2012. Back then I was just a casual teen who was obsessed with gaming and my favourite video game was Call of Duty. I was too good at the game so I wanted to share some of my clips and videos of playing the game with my friends which is why I created a YouTube channel and started uploading videos just for that. I was surprised that my videos were getting higher views by day then expected, so I kept uploading more videos and started getting more views and subscribers in just a short period of time. I gained a large number of following so began taking YouTube more seriously – 10 years later, YouTube is my full-time job!”
- What is the secret to hitting over 1 million subscribers on YouTube? Do you have a strategy? If so, what is it?
“As I previously mentioned, I started YouTube back in 2021 and I gained 1 million followers in 2021. It took me 9 years while others could get it in a year or two! I gained 100,000 subscribers in 2016 and I was stuck with that same number till the beginning of 2020. Then from 2020 to 2021, I jumped from 100,000 to 1 million in less than a year. What did I do? I did drastic changes to my videos and started making general gaming videos that would attract any gamer, while before I focused on one type of game only.”
- What did you want to be when you were growing up? Did you always want to be a gamer?
“I was raised as a gamer as I started gaming when I was only 3-years-old. I had PlayStation 1 and I uploaded my first gaming YouTube video when I was just 14 years old, so yes, I always wanted to be a gamer.”
- What is your favourite video of all time that you have created and why?
“It’s better if I show you rather than tell you! (Unbelievable humanitarian work done by the gamer).”
“I did this video back in 2019 because many people think that gamers are bad people or that gaming is just a waste of time. In the video, I proved them wrong and showed 10 examples of gamers that have done amazing humanitarian work.”
- You have worked with Mazaj and PlayStation Arabia on various projects, why did you want to get involved with the brands?
“I worked with Mazaj to cover Dubai Expo 2020, especially the Syrian and Kuwaiti Pavillion. It was an amazing experience for me and it’s something that I have never done before. Usually, all of my videos are recorded from my room and I don’t go outside very often! So filming a YouTube video with Mazaj at Expo 2020 was incredible.”
“I was also so glad to have the opportunity to work with PlayStation Arabia since I am a PlayStation fan. From PlayStation 1 to PlayStation 5, I played every single device.”
- Which brand would you like to work with next?
“As a gamer, I’m also interested in technology in general, so I would like to work with brands like Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, and more.”
- What is coming up for you for the rest of 2022? Tell us some exclusive news!
“More gaming videos are coming, but I’m making a new gaming setup/studio and I’m almost done with it! Once it’s over, I will start filming in it and I’m sure my fans will like it too! The last time I changed my set-up was back in 2017, so bigger and better things are coming”