He started posting to sell clothes because nobody with influence would help him do it. Four years on, the guy from the estate who used to dance at every party has found a voice, a purpose and a career he never planned. Zayz on how social media changed his life.
Zayz never set out to become an influencer. He had a clothing brand, no connections and a growing suspicion that waiting for someone else to give him a platform would get him nowhere, so he built one himself. What started as a way to shift product became a way to say something, whether that was a joke, a story about feeling lost or a video during Suicide Awareness Month that reached nearly 200,000 people. Here he talks about the highs, the lows and the strange experience of going from a big day out to his council estate in the same evening.
Before you started posting, what did an ordinary week look like?
Like any typical 18-year-old’s. I’d go to and from education, come home, play games and chill with my friends. I was ambitious, but I wasn’t doing anything to work towards it. That’s probably what pushed me to change and start trying to shape my future.
What made you post for the first time?
Having a business, and not getting support from people with influence. That didn’t upset me, because I understood it, and I understand it even more now that I’m in a position of some influence myself. It just made me want to become my own outlet so I didn’t have to rely on anybody. I realised I wouldn’t get far relying on connections or on people’s good faith when so many others were relying on the same thing. If I created the opportunity myself, it would be easier for the business to grow.
When did you first notice things changing?
February 2022, about nine months in. A few videos had done well before that, but none of them showed my character or set me apart. Funnily enough, the first one that did was me imitating somebody else. Instead of being “the guy who does TikTok”, I became the guy who made that video, so people knew who I was. The second phase was when people started recognising me by name. I’d had enough moments that they knew me as a character, not just for one clip.
How has your life actually changed?
Purpose, first of all. I feel like I’ve found mine, though it isn’t rooted only in posting or the business. It’s who I am, and I feel it across the different things I do. The other big change is opportunity. Whatever career I’d gone into before, there was a ceiling. Now there isn’t really one. I could wake up tomorrow to the biggest opportunity of my life.
Who noticed the change first?
My older brother. He saw the impact I was making online before I did, and before most people. Once I could see it too, he had the evidence to back up what he’d been telling me. He’s proud but not surprised, and the same goes for my family and the people I grew up around. The character people see online has always been me. Entertainment was never my plan, but I was always an entertainer.I’ve always wanted to be the centre of attention, dancing at parties, showing out, being the joker.
What has social media given you?
A voice. Some of my videos have done 100,000 views and some have done 1,000, but I’ve been able to affect people the way I’d want to be affected. My clothing brand, Chapter X, is built around the feeling of being lost or not knowing your story, and I’ve been able to tell people they’re not the only ones in that position. Last month was Suicide Awareness Month, and I made a video that got almost 200,000 views. People might have heard elsewhere that they weren’t alone, but I could add my voice to that and get it to far more than one person.
What’s been harder than people assume?
Motivating myself when nobody else is there to do it. There are highs, but there are lows too, and even in the high moments you can find yourself thinking about the next low. I’ve done something crazy in the day and come back to my council estate the same evening thinking, how did I go from that to this? When your views are low it feels like nothing you do is enough. When the opportunities don’t come after you’ve worked so hard, you start asking what the point is. But it’s my career, and it’s something I’m passionate about, so I keep going.
Is there a version of yourself you lost along the way?
The version of me that was genuinely happy and content, though I’ve recently found him again. I was spending so much energy online that I had nothing left offline and needed to recharge. I got it back by doing the things I used to do and not making my whole life about work. I do miss the innocent version of me with less responsibility, but that’s life and growing up.
What would your younger self make of all this?
He wouldn’t believe it. If I’d told him I was a professional footballer or a famous actor, because I used to love acting, he’d have believed me. This was never the plan. I started posting as an outlet to promote my own products, and becoming a creator who promotes other people’s things and has influence was something I could never have imagined. That’s the lesson for me: anything really is possible. There’s a lot I want now that I’m in this position, and that keeps me going, because once upon a time I didn’t think I’d be here at all.