Amr Maskoun has always been the pride of the region and never fails to bring a smile to our faces. His latest and most prestigious win as Middle Eastern Social Media Star of 2021 at this year’s E! People’s Choice Awards is just another example that the Syrian content creator is a force to be reckoned with.
“Being recognized for making people laugh over the last five years is a very proud moment for me and I feel so lucky,” said Amr. “I think it proves that hard work pays off and pushes me to keep focusing on comedy and entertaining people which I love.”
From aspiring architect to content creator
ICYMI, Amr has a degree in architecture and turns out, his family inspired him to share his videos on social media.
“Well, I actually didn’t decide to become a content creator, I’d planned to be an architect, which is what I’ve studied for,” on his decision to become a content creator. “For me, comedy was something that got me through a challenging period of my life when my family were separated all over the world.”
He continued, “We weren’t able to see each other and during that time I used to share a lot of videos on our WhatsApp group to make my family laugh. They pushed me to share my content more widely and it all started with posting the funny sketches I do on Instagram.”
Amr’s content was an escapism for other refugees
Amr credits his rise to a coincidence of him deciding to make his account public after his family encourage him to share his content with the world. He began to share fun videos with his friends on his IG. “Suddenly things went crazy with more people than I could have ever imagined watching and engaging with my content,” said Amr.
He continued to upload videos before starting college. “I shared sketches of daily Arabic life and I think people could really relate to the content as they could see their mother, father, sister – the whole family in the videos,” he continued. “A lot of people were in the same situation as me, living a refugee life and being separated from their loved ones and I think my content was an escape. One of the greatest comments I have ever received was that my stories helped people remember their families – I’m very proud of that.”
On balancing two careers
Apart from making online content, he also recently graduated with a degree in architecture from Europe. “I’ve been balancing my education and content creation since day one in 2015. Architecture is a passion for me and something I fought to train in since my childhood,” said the social media star.
“To be honest, I don’t want to dedicate all my time to social media because I feel that there’s still a lot for me to discover in life. Creating content and managing my channels takes a lot of time but I do it because I love making people laugh – I just need to find the right balance so I can do it all!”
Three things you didn’t know about him
Amr Maskoun is one of us and here’s exactly why: “Number one – I cry a lot. Most of the time, I just find my peace when I start crying,” said Amr. “Number two, I’m not a social person. Number three, I’m a very shy person in real life.”
His favourite character is his comedy sketches is…
Spoiler alert: It’s just what we predict and love too. “I’m going to choose Um Suzan. I agree with my fans that everyone can relate to this character. We all have these fun vibes with our mom and I tried to bring this to life through the way Um Suzan dresses and the things she says and does. Of course, I added a touch of my own spice to exaggerate her character but I think my fans would also agree that Suzan is the best character that I’ve ever done.”
Kill em with kindness
On the topic of handling trolls and online hate, Amr Masksoun opens up on his struggle to get over the negativity. “I’m not going to lie, it really affects me. In the beginning, it was really hard and it upset me a lot, especially with me doing the mom character, as some people didn’t accept that I’m a boy that’s imitating moms.”
On a good note, he’s learned to overcome the social media pressure. “You’ll always find people that judge you based on what you do and the way you speak on social media but you also find a lot of people are very supportive about what you’re doing. Now I always tell myself to focus on the huge number of positive comments I receive,” he stated. “I love doing comedy and it has helped me through a difficult time so I’m going to continue producing content I love and ignore any negativity.”
Amr Maskoun’s favourite Middle Eastern content creator
“My favourite content creator is YouTube Joe Hattab. He’s super creative and I like the way he shows other countries and cultures,” said Amr.
“Because I’m so obsessed with languages, cultures and discovering the world, I really find him so unique. To me, he’s the best one out there on YouTube, especially because we have similar interests. I talk to him a lot and I always appreciate his work. We’re meeting very soon and hopefully in the future working on something together, so watch this space.” Ohh, we love an upcoming collab and can’t wait for this to happen.
Advice to aspiring content creators
If you’re looking to enter the world of content creation, then gather around bestie cause you don’t want to miss this advice. “Always be you. Always be the same person you’ve always been since day one. Never change no matter how many followers you’ve got. Try to be as humble as you can. I always keep telling myself even if I have a talent or passion for creating content, without the people who follow me, we are actually nothing on social media. Don’t play that ‘famous influencer role.’”
Amr on prioritising your mental health
When asked about the main takeaway he wants his viewers to take back from his content, Amr said, “To be honest, I just want them to be the best version of themselves. Maybe I’m not the right person to give advice, but the reason I always share my bad and good vibes is that I want them to know that even if you’re popular on social media, it’s super okay, to not be okay. It’s okay to feel bad, but it should not last forever – you have to get to know how to deal with these things in your life.”
“I’ve lately been focusing on raising awareness about mental health, about how it’s okay to take a break from everything and come back stronger. I try to focus on comedy most of the time because I want them to feel that they can laugh, they can be okay, they can go through bad things but they have to keep fighting for their dreams. Every single person has this sparkle inside – they just have to ignite this light and go on.”
So, what’s next for the all star?
“To be honest, it all started as a passion, but this passion actually grew up with me. So, my plan for the future is to improve myself more and explore the acting field. I would definitely love to be a part of a Netflix series maybe – hopefully, one day! I’m going to try and test the water with some travelling content soon in my own fun and beautiful way.”
BRB, patiently manifesting for a Netflix series with Amr to happen.
His go-to Middle Eastern country to travel to is..
“It’s a hard question, but if I had to choose one of the countries, I would definitely go for the UAE. I love the fact that this country offers and grants opportunities to everyone and I’ve recently moved to Dubai and am now settling into this wonderful city,” says Amr.
But wait there’s more, he might just be staying here in Dubai. “I love calling the UAE a ‘cocktail of culture’ because you can find everything here. I would also choose UAE because it’s about to be the new chapter of my life here in the Middle East. Let’s hope that I can add new achievements into my 2022 book with highlights from this country, specifically in Dubai.”
Lastly, a message for his fans
You might want to get your boxes of tissues ready. “I’m not going to be super dramatic, but I’m going to say thank you so much for supporting me and believing in me since the very first beginning, literally since day one. Thank you so much for voting for me for the E! People’s Choice Awards because it really means the world to me. When they filmed my reaction, I was like: “Is that for me?” So, I really thank my fans from the bottom of my heart for being with me through this journey.”