TikTok As an Inside Joke Of an Entire Generation. Interview With Fahad Kaleem

by Alexandra Mansilla

TikTok As an Inside Joke Of an Entire Generation. Interview With Fahad Kaleem

11 Sept 2024

That guy burst into the world of TikTok unexpectedly (like probably everyone who has ever blown up on TikTok). In 2020, one of his videos hit millions of views in less than 24 hours — that was his big break. Now, he helps others rack up millions of views, too. And in his "Isn’t that concerning?" videos, he leaves his "guests" speechless with his offbeat questions — they just sit there, staring at him, totally stunned.

Meet Fahad Kaleem. In this story, he shares his journey — his childhood, being bullied in school, navigating toxic work environments, and his love for The Office. And, of course, TikTok: Why aren’t there any TikTok houses in the UAE? Where is TikTok now? And much more.

— Fahad, you are a Sharjah kid, right? Can you tell me more about your childhood?

— I grew up in Sharjah but spent most of my life in Dubai. I went to a private school here. Honestly, my parents gave me the best lifestyle a kid could dream of. They made sure I had everything I needed. I never felt like I was lacking compared to my friends. This was early on in my life, and it is just how my dad has always been. Even if he made a certain amount of money, he always prioritised giving us the best lifestyle. Our house in Sharjah was great, and as kids, you don’t notice much. It was just me and my brother at first, then my sister came along, and sharing a room didn’t seem like a big deal — it was fun, and that was all we needed.

As I grew older, I started to become more aware of our family’s financial situation. The neighbourhood was great; I had a good school, friends, and fun, so I never felt deprived. But around grade nine, my dad transitioned from being an employee to starting his own business after 20 years of working for someone else. Not everyone is meant to be a businessman, and I started noticing financial challenges at home, especially with university tuition fees on the horizon.

One moment that really stuck with me was when I asked my dad for a PlayStation 3 in grade 10. He hesitated but eventually got it for me, even though I could see on his face that it was a financial strain. That was a pivotal moment for me, realising I couldn’t just ask for things without understanding the cost.

Around the same time, my dad was either starting or about to start his business. I asked him for an internship at the company he was working for because I wanted to buy a Blackberry for myself. I was around 17 and wanted to earn my own money. He helped me get a month-long job handing out samples of rose syrup water outside supermarkets, and with that money, I bought my Blackberry. That is when I realised that if you work, you can buy what you want, and you don’t have to rely on anyone else.

After that, my mindset shifted. I started thinking about my next steps, and one summer, a friend told me about a part-time job at GITEX. It was an eight-day job, and I made 4,000 dirhams. It was intense, with long hours and commuting from Sharjah to Dubai, but it was worth it. That job was crucial for me; I even met my business partner there, with whom I later started my company. With that paycheck, I bought my first iPhone.

Looking back, I spent money on things I didn’t need, like an iPhone, instead of investing. But that experience shaped me, and once I realised I had to take control of my future, I never looked back. Since then, I have been on that path, always working to achieve my goals on my own.

— Also, you mentioned that during your career, you worked in different stages of your career in some really tough jobs and toxic environments. Could you share more about that?

— Yeah, I have worked in quite a few jobs where I first experienced toxic work environments, and I saw others go through the same thing. It is crazy how much work feels like school sometimes — it is like being in a classroom. In every class, you have got the cool kid, the teacher’s pet (or brown noser, whatever you want to call it), the kid who struggles, and the one with money. The same kind of politics applies at work. If you have an issue with someone, it can feel just like schoolyard drama.

— Sorry to interrupt, but which kid were you from that list?

— I was the clown. I was the lame kid in class and I got bullied a lot in my early stage.

— Oh, God! I am really sorry to hear that. We’ll talk about that later, if you don’t mind. For now, please go ahead and continue describing the working experience.

— I won’t name names, but I remember this one experience with a company — though I wasn’t working there, they were a client I was pitching to. The first time I visited, I didn’t manage to get through to the point of contact. The second time, I did, and the person I finally met ended up calling the first guy I spoke to and insulted him unnecessarily just because he hadn’t reported my earlier visit. It was so reminiscent of school days, like when a student would mess up and another student would tell the teacher, who would then humiliate the first student.

It is the same dynamic that follows into the workplace. If you want to navigate school without issues, you make sure you are on good terms with the teacher, your classmates, and the principal. And from what I have seen, work environments operate similarly. You make sure you are good with your managers and good with your colleagues — everyone’s got their own agenda. As long as you are doing what people expect, you’ll be fine. But the moment you start making suggestions or trying to implement change, you can quickly become a threat. Whether your ideas are positive for the company or not, if someone important feels threatened by you, it is seen as a negative.

I have witnessed this firsthand, and I don’t know if it is cultural or traditional, but I just feel like work environments should be about motivating and supporting each other, not tearing each other down. It is ugly — really ugly — and I have seen it up close. The sad part is that people are stuck in this for 15, 20, or 30 years because they have bills, rent, and families — they don’t have another option.

— And now, going back to your school days — what were you bullied for?

— I used to get bullied a lot for making jokes that I thought were funny but probably lame. The guys around me would always find a way to turn it around and make fun of me, almost to the point of insulting me. It got so bad once that I couldn’t handle it anymore. I am not a violent person at all — fighting is never my first option. I’d rather walk away than hit someone. So, I ended up crying and going to the washroom. Some of those guys even followed me, and honestly, I felt like crap.

The funny thing is, some of those same people are still in my friend circle today, and when they look back on it, they admit how wrong they were. I think I was bullied because I was different. What I found funny wasn’t what they found funny. But the thing is, I have never really cared much about what people thought of me, even from the beginning. Even if I was bullied or made fun of, it didn’t stop me from making jokes.

I was always in my own zone. Maybe it is being on the spectrum to some extent, but I was stubborn like that, even in school. If I enjoyed something, I didn’t care about the consequences or what people thought — I was going to do it anyway. That stubbornness has had both positive and negative effects on me, but it has also helped me. I have no regrets about the things I truly wanted to do.

I coped by just being myself. Time is really your ally in these situations. You can let bullying change you for the worse, but I just thought, “Let them make fun of me — so what?” In the end, it didn’t change who I was.

— Thank you for sharing. Now, let’s start with the turning point that led you to where you are today. You were working about an hour a day, thinking of it as your dream job, and then suddenly, one of your videos went viral and gained more than 7 million views in less than a day. Do you remember that video?

Yes, I’ll never forget that moment. That video changed everything in my life. It was a simple clip of a jacuzzi with bubbles coming out, just a satisfying, seven-second video. I filmed it purely because I thought it looked interesting, and I paired it with a trending song at the time. Overnight, that video hit 7.1 million views.

That was the moment I realised you don’t need to hire a production company, a social media management team, or pay influencers for strategy. The video itself was the strategy. If something that simple can get 7 million views, then there is a whole world out there that no one is really talking about.

When I realised that, I dropped everything else I had been thinking about or working on and focused on this idea. To me, it exposed a gap in the market, and I wanted to solve it for everyone. But over time, I learned that it is not as simple as solving the problem for everyone. Some people don’t care — they just want numbers. Some companies are willing to spend a hundred thousand on this or that just to show it to their management without really caring about the results.

— So, you started gaining millions of views, and different brands probably came — and still come — to you, expecting the same results. But it is unpredictable, isn’t it?

— It is extremely unpredictable. In every meeting I have with my clients, I tell them there is no guarantee you’ll even get 1,000 views — forget a million. You might end up with just 100 views if you are lucky, depending on your niche. All I can do is show them what we have done in the past as evidence that it works, but if it doesn’t, you can’t hold me accountable because, beyond a certain point, it is out of my hands.

It is almost like going into a casino with $100 — you might walk out with a million, or you might walk out with nothing. The difference is I have been doing this long enough that I know how to bet more strategically, but there are still no guarantees.

I know the story about how, while studying engineering, you always wanted to create a robot. Now, let’s just imagine — give your creativity and imagination full freedom. What kind of robot would it be?

Honestly, if I wanted to create a robot today, considering I am in the media and content creation space, I’d design one that understands content the way I do. It would essentially be a robot tripod that follows you around, not only capturing content but also using AI to suggest ideas — telling you what to do and how to do it. This robot would think like me, using my brain, my data, and my understanding of what works and what doesn’t. It could even suggest locations, saying, “Let’s film here.” It is like a moving, intelligent tripod. Who knows, maybe someone will actually build it one day.

— Sounds good! Now, let’s talk about TikTok houses. The big TikTok boom happened right before COVID, and during that time, a lot of TikTok houses popped up in the USA where teenagers gathered to create content. There were also a couple of big TikTok houses in Kazakhstan. But I didn’t really see that happening in the UAE. There weren’t any TikTok houses here, were there?

— I think there was an attempt to create something like that once, but it failed and never really took off. There is a big difference between content creation in the Middle East versus the West. The communities are just so different. In my experience, growing my account here, it feels like no one at the top wants to help someone at the bottom.

In the West, the culture seems more open — I have seen people just walk up to famous figures and receive their support. But over here, I don’t see that same level of support. Content creation itself isn’t as prominent here, either. Maybe now it is starting to grow, but very few people in this region actually understand content creation. I can probably count on one hand the number of people who I’d say are really making good content.

— Who?

— I don’t want to name anyone or start unnecessary drama, but you’d probably see them around on my page.

— Shawn Chidiac!

— Absolutely, 100% Shawn. Shawn and I met because I came across his content and thought, "This is the only guy I have ever seen in my life who is genuinely funny and lives within 30 kilometres of where I live — I need to create content with him!" From day one, he had the same energy. If you look at my page, you’ll see a pinned video of us dancing from about four years ago. When Shawn and I collaborate, it is never about how much we are going to make from it. It is all about, “How are we going to make this, and do we find it funny?” That is it.

— So, TikTok was incredibly popular in 2019 and 2020. It feels like it is still hard to surpass TikTok's level of popularity since it really kicked off the trend of short-form videos. I mean, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels followed after that. How do you feel about TikTok’s current stage?

— That is the million-dollar question everyone’s asking right now, and honestly, I don’t think TikTok is going anywhere. Just like Facebook never truly disappeared and YouTube is still thriving, these platforms are here to stay. TikTok has become a part of generational culture — an entire generation grew up with TikTok as their inside joke. Even if TikTok were to shut down, it would be remembered for years to come because it is now part of the cultural fabric.

TikTok is definitely more competitive now, with more people creating content, so it is harder to stand out. But for me, after about four years on the platform and finding some success in terms of views, engagement, and followers, the next step feels like a natural progression — exploring long-form content on YouTube. It is like moving up a level, from yellow belt to black belt, and now it is time to learn the next skill.

That said, all platforms are competing for attention. TikTok has introduced longer video lengths, up to 10 minutes, and platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and even Snapchat are fighting for the same audience. So, it is not about which platform is going to be the next big thing; it is about you and your ability to capture attention. If I pull off a stunt that goes viral, it’ll spread across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, the news, and beyond. It is not the platform that matters — it is the content and its value.

The key question isn’t "Where should I post?" but "What should I post?" Whether it is educational, entertaining, or informative, if the content is good, people will find it, no matter the platform. I could listen to a podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Instagram clips — if it is good, I will follow it. TikTok just had the first-mover advantage, but now YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and even Snapchat Spotlight are in the game.

For example, I have more than 52,000 followers on Snapchat Spotlight, and while views fluctuate — sometimes hitting 500,000 and other times dropping to 1,000 — it is the same content being watched by different audiences across platforms.

Think of every app on your phone as a free broadcasting channel. If you were making an announcement, you wouldn’t just shout it in one place — you’d post it everywhere, just like you’d spread the word to your neighbours, the local news or distribute flyers. Today, you have all these channels at your fingertips, so the real question isn’t where to post, but what are you posting?

— Once you have been asked how many hours you work, and you said you don’t count. And you work a lot. I feel like you are the kind of person whose brain is always running, even when you are supposed to be relaxing — thinking about new content ideas or ways to make money. So, my question is, how do you actually relax? Have you ever been on a real vacation? Do you ever find time to take a break?

— I’d say that out of the four years I have been running KNINE Unit, this year is the most time I have ever taken off from work. Since I started working at 17, I have always juggled work, school, and now KNINE Unit. But this year, especially in the last two months, I have finally been able to delegate a lot of my work to my team, which lightened the load significantly. For example, I would never have gone to the gym at 1 or 2 pm two years ago. In fact, I didn’t even go to the gym at all back then. Now, I can afford to go at 1 pm, and my work today doesn’t even start until 7 pm because that is when my shoot is scheduled.

As for taking time off, yeah, I have travelled every year with the boys to different countries. We usually go to places like Georgia or Azerbaijan because the visa process is easy for UAE residents, and the weather is nice and cold. This year, I have been to Georgia three times — once in January with friends, again with a group of content creators I met this year, and then a third time because my family was after me to go.

You could call that a vacation, but even when I am travelling, I am not really "switching off." I am always thinking, and for me, thinking is working. I have never really disconnected. It has been a challenge to draw the line between work and personal time because my work is what I enjoy — it feels like a vacation in itself. Honestly, if you ask me, I have been on "vacation" for four years since I started this business because I love what I do.

I get anxious if I am not working on something I enjoy. Sitting still, like in front of a mountain, doesn’t do it for me. I always want to be doing something, building something. That is just how I have always been — I can’t sit still.

— Another question for you, as someone passionate about what he does: Do you ever feel like you and your job are one and the same? Do you get the sense that your life and your work are completely intertwined?

— The first three years were intense — it was like me and KNINE Unit were the same thing. If I was breathing and existing, K9 was, too, because it was a completely new concept. You can’t just hire people who know how to make TikToks; we are talking about 19 to 21-year-olds here. There were so many challenges, like putting these kids in front of 30, 40, or even 50-year-old marketing managers and trying to explain TikTok to them. It was a complete disaster at times. I felt like a broker between these two generations, and it was incredibly stressful.

This year, I’d say about 60% of my time is tied to KNINE, compared to nearly 100% before. KNINE now operates without me in a lot of areas, which is a huge shift. That said, there are still some clients we have been working with for more than two years, which is remarkable. In this market, especially in the Middle East, if you are an agency working with a client for more than six months to a year, let alone two years, you have really achieved something. What I have seen here is that agencies come and go within three months, max. Boom, they are done, and another agency steps in.

But we have managed to maintain client relationships for years — one of my clients has been with us for four years now. That is a testament to the relationships we have built, the hard work, and the results we deliver.

— A fun question! If you have the superpower to read people's thoughts, whose thoughts would you like to read?

— Interesting question! If I could pick anyone’s mind, I think it would be incredibly useful when I am filming someone. Right now, I have to rely on their body language and facial expressions to gauge their energy and create content. I am reading them from the outside, but if I could read their thoughts, I think I could make them even more viral.

For example, when I am working with someone like Shawn, I have to guide him into this uncharted territory, hoping he’ll say something funny or impactful. Later, I piece it all together in the edit. But if I could read his mind, I could skip the guesswork and go straight to that moment, making the process even more efficient and probably much funnier.

— How did your "Isn’t that concerning?" format get started?

— There is definitely been an evolution in the kind of content I have created. In the first two years, I experimented with a lot of things, but I eventually narrowed it down to making fun of people like Gary Vee and motivational speakers. If you remember, during the COVID era, a lot of viral content was about entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial lifestyle — work from home, hustle culture, "you don’t need a job" type of stuff. Motivational speakers were everywhere, and I thought, "What if I started making fun of them?"

That is where the first version of "Isn’t That Concerning" came from. At the same time, I noticed a lot of people doing podcasts with, frankly, useless information, but they were going viral just because of how they delivered it. So I thought, "What if I did the same thing, but as satire?" I still don’t even have my own podcast to this day, but I made fun of those podcasts, and it started catching on.

In the beginning, I wasn’t even saying full sentences — it was just random words strung together. Then, one day, almost by accident, I said, "Isn’t that concerning?" at the end of a video, and people started commenting about it. That is when I realised I had something. I started using it more, and "Isn’t That Concerning" became a catchphrase. It just naturally evolved from there.

— Okay, and I am going on with fun questions. What is your guilty pleasure? I am sure you have a few.

I have a couple of go-tos! I love playing this old game called RuneScape — specifically Old School RuneScape. It is an online click game from like 2005 or 2007. I still play it every other day, or sometimes I’ll play Fortnite and get lost in it for an hour or so.

And if it is not games, lately, it is The Office. I just started watching it for the first time in my life. I have seen clips before, but I never really watched the whole show. Now, I’ll sit down and binge-watch it, even if I have a flight to catch! I’ll finish an episode first because, honestly, everything else can wait.

— Who is your favourite character?

— Michael Scott — the faces this guy makes, it is incredible. It is so much deeper than it seems. His ability to convey a thousand words with just his eyebrows and a smile is unreal. He has the perfect face for it, and honestly, I won’t rest until I create something either equal to or better than what he has done. That iss one of my life goals. I am on season 7 right now, and there hasn’t been a single episode that I didn’t enjoy.

by Alexandra Mansilla