How to become a content creator
We spoke with Foued “JelyFish” el bEJI, a gaming content creator with more than 180K subscribers on YouTube to get a glimpse into the life of those who made a career out of their passion.
Introduction
Introduce yourself.
Foued el Beji, 28 yo, Technologiemanagement student, streamer, content creator, esports caster and co founder of jelycom, a digital advertisement company. I’m very passionate about gaming and fitness
Background
What is your background? How did you become a professional content creator? What were your motivations?
Back when youtube was banned, I used to use a VPN to watch videos about my favorite game, which was Metin2. At that time, I used to play on the french server, which was extremely bugged and missing a lot of features. I was watching people on YouTube from other servers; they had way better items and skills. Then one day, a friend of mine introduced me to private servers, in which the game was fully functional and had like 50x experience rate, so I was finally able to play the game like the guys I watched on YouTube. I even became one of the top 3 in the most popular french private servers. So I felt ready to post videos so I could flex on people—my first five videos were about that game.
Interest
Why did you choose to associate gaming and content creation?
My dad was very interested in computers; he introduced me to coding and flashing ROMs on old Windows phones. This made me extremely interested in Computers, and I started exploring other domains such as video editing. On the one hand, I was fascinated by gaming; on the other, I had good editing skills. So, naturally, the combination of these two lead me to start creating gaming content.
Impactful moment
Tell us about a moment that significantly impacted you and/or your career.
Back in 2019, I received an email from Luciano Rahal, the PR manager of riot games MENA. I was invited to attend the 10-year anniversary ceremony of League of Legends in London. It was the first time I was invited to an event where the flight and accommodation were fully paid for. It made me feel like a superstar. That email was one of the most important moments in my career because it meant that my viewers and the game publisher appreciated me.
Challenges
What is the most difficult part of being an influencer?
The hardest thing is that your self-esteem becomes highly correlated to your stats, likes, views, etc. It feels exactly like that episode from Black Mirror, where people are measured by their ratings on social media.
Inspiration
Did you have a role model when you started?
Videogamedunkey was my top inspiration when I started, I copied his style a lot until I slowly found my own.
Support system
Who’s been your biggest support?
My parents have always supported me; I tried karate, handball, guitar, fitness, and many other hobbies, but they never stopped me from finding my passion. My girlfriend Evelin also greatly supports me; she is always there for me in the most challenging moments.
Advice
What advice would you give to others wishing to break into content creation?
Be consistent, include your community in your content, seek collaborations, and most importantly, don’t fake it or force yourself to do something just because you think it will get you clicks. You will never be able to fake it forever; once the mask falls, so will your career.