Khaby Lame, now the world’s most-followed digital creator, began his content creation journey with little more than a smartphone and a dose of common sense.
His first viral TikTok video featured him imitating a man cutting a banana in an unusual way, and he also created a video of himself peeling it.
“I had come across this guy cutting a banana, and I just thought, ‘Why not simply peel it?’ So, while recording with my phone, it slipped and fell. Almost instinctively, I made that now-famous hand gesture and facial expression christened the ‘Khaby pose.’ I posted the video without even thinking to edit that part out, and funny enough, that unplanned moment became the magic touch. People loved that content, and so I kept producing life hack content,” he said.
Khaby Lame, 25-year-old content creator, when he attended the Creative Africa Nexus (Canex) 2025 fire side chat on September 7, 2025 in Algiers, Algeria.
Photo credit: Pool
Speaking to the Nation.Africa in Algiers, Algeria, at the Creative Africa Nexus (Canex), the creative wing of the Intra-African Trade Fair platform by Afreximbank, the Senegalese-Italian shared insights on how he transformed himself from a factory worker into one of the globe’s biggest influencers.
He now earns millions of dollars through brand partnerships with the likes of BOSS, MoneyGram, and Google Pixel, among others. As of 2025, Forbes Magazine ranked Lame, who has over 161 million TikTok followers and 79 million on Instagram, among the world’s top creator earners with a fortune of $20 million (Sh2.6 billion).
“It feels good making money from these kinds of things for someone like me who used to wash dishes in hotels, and even at some point [worked] as a foreman,” he told the Nation.
Khaby Lame, 25-year-old content creator, when he attended the Creative Africa Nexus (Canex) 2025 fire side chat on September 7, 2025 in Algiers, Algeria.
Photo credit: Pool
“It made me realise just how powerful silence is. It brings out a message with a connection; it’s a language that everybody can understand. So when I saw it working, I decided to keep it. Many people have now been challenging me to start speaking in my videos, but I think the only time I will break my silence is in the upcoming Hollywood movie that is currently under production,” he said.
Before he found fame and wealth on TikTok, he had been posting videos online for years.
“But hardly anyone was watching. Sometimes I’d get less than 10 views in an entire year, and most of those were from my mum and a few neighbours I practically begged to watch.
“I started making comedy skits on YouTube, but they never gained traction either. Still, I refused to give up because I had this burning desire to make people laugh. For three or four years, I just kept creating and posting, even when it felt like I was shouting into the void. Everything changed when I began making life hack videos, simplifying life tasks that looked complicated. I remember receiving 7 to 8 million followers’ requests in a single day. I was shocked,” he said.
Senegalese-born Italian YouTuber Khaby Lame on September 6, 2022 in Venice, Italy.
Photo credit: File | AFP
Then, superstars like American actors and film producers Tom Cruise and Will Smith started contacting him to collaborate.
“That’s when it hit me that maybe I was becoming somebody. I mean, why else would A-listers be looking for me? Soon after, brands began knocking too,” he said.
As a staunch Muslim, he says his faith has influenced the choice of brands he works with.
“I don’t work with alcohol or cigarette brands. That decision has cost me millions of dollars in potential endorsements, especially from alcohol companies whose offers I’ve had to turn down many times. But staying true to my beliefs matters more to me,” he said.
Khabane "Khaby" Lame, a Senegalese-born TikToker based in Italy.
Photo credit: Pool
While at the conference, he kept peeling off the brand stickers from the water bottles handed to him.
“I fear losing millions. If a photographer takes a picture of me holding a branded bottle and that image goes public, it could easily be seen as me endorsing that brand when I’m not. It’s also about protecting brand loyalty. Imagine if I have an endorsement deal with one water company, but then I’m photographed holding a rival brand, it could create a huge problem,” he said.
Some content creators have proper teams that manage them. However, Lame says that at the core of his team is his family.
Khabane "Khaby" Lame, a Senegalese-born TikToker based in Italy.
Photo credit: Pool
“My father is my main manager because I believe it’s important to keep people you can trust close when dealing with big brands. Your parents won’t steal from you. Of course, I also work with agencies across the world, but my dad is the one running the business, while I focus on being creative. But I always have the last word in any decision,” he said.
His advice to young people? “Don’t be in such a hurry to make money. Start by creating the kind of content you genuinely enjoy, stay consistent, and the money will follow.”
