From brick to click, Pakistani worker achieves fame and financial independence with YouTube videos
SANHAR: Riaz Ali, 34, spent years building houses and doing other manual labor in southern Pakistan’s Sanhar district, stacking bricks on bricks with a thick paste of cement, water and sand. It was glued together with some mortar.
In 2022, he started creating engaging video content such as throwing and catching mortars, aiming at high poles with bike tires, and making prank videos. These videos not only turned Nissen into a millionaire, but also turned him into a digital sensation.
Ali, better known as Riaz Jaan, initially posted videos on TikTok, but later she was advised by her friends to post them on YouTube. He created his YouTube channel in April 2022 and monetized it just nine months later.
He now earns 20 times more than he did two years ago.
“My wage as a laborer was 1,500 rupees.” [per day]. “My livelihood was unstable, so I was earning 30,000 or 35,000 rupees ($107 to $125) a month,” he told Arab News on Thursday.
“I earn over 500,000 rupees ($1,795) a month from YouTube.”
Ali, who has 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube, 439,000 on TikTok and 359,000 followers on Facebook, said his content spread through YouTube Shorts (vertical videos of 60 seconds or less in length). I’ll tell you.
“My first income on YouTube was 800,000 rupees ($2,872). I had never seen such a huge amount of money before. I was very happy about that,” he said.
“After YouTube, my life changed. As they say, when Allah gives, He gives abundantly.”
Ali, who started working as a day laborer in 2010, left the workforce after taking the digital world by storm, but still makes videos related to his old job.
He also made viral videos shareable on YouTube and helped several other content creators join their channels.
“People from different countries are reposting my content and videos on their channels, and their channels are also monetized,” he said. “I gave them permission.”
This success allowed Ali to buy two residential properties and two buffalo, send his children to a better school, and provide a better way to care for his family. The 30-year-old man also bought a mobile phone worth Rs 50 lakh, which he uses to create high-quality video content.
But Ali didn’t keep his success to himself, instead passing on his digital skills to family, friends, and anyone who wanted to learn.
“Besides me, my brother also has a YouTube channel where he posts labor-related videos. His channel is also monetized,” he told Arab News.
“Furthermore, I have two sons, Ali Ayan and Zeb Zohan, whose channels are also monetized.”
He said that initially neither his brother’s channel nor his son’s channel gained momentum, so he started posting his own content on their channels, which helped the channel gain momentum. As a result, both channels were monetized.
The 30-year-old offers free, informal consulting services to young people interested in starting their own YouTube channels in his hometown of Jor, Sanghar. He says there are 50-60 young people who either have monetized channels or are actively working towards it.
“I coach them all and they follow my instructions,” Ali said.
Ali’s friend, farmer Ali Raza, was inspired after seeing his friend earn money through YouTube. Raza has created his own account on his video-sharing website and posts funny videos there.
“As Riaz Jaan is teaching others, I also joined his group. It has been four months since my YouTube channel was monetized,” said Ali Raza in Arab told the news.
“Monthly income ranges from 25,000 to 30,000 rupees ($89 to $107).”
