FaZe Apex: The Secret Muslim Behind a $2 Billion Empire

Description

Yousef "FaZe Apex" is a Palestinian-American YouTuber and entrepreneur and co-founder of FaZe Clan, one of the biggest gaming and entertainment brands in history. He joined at 14, grew his channel to over 6 million subscribers, and over 15 years helped build it into a cultural phenomenon that peaked at a $2 billion valuation. After the company collapsed, he walked away. Throughout his career, he kept his Muslim identity hidden - praying behind locked doors, never revealing his real name to his audience. ------------------- Join Alif Sessions: https://alif.build/sessions Use promo code "muslimfounder" in your application to get 20% off and a guaranteed spot. ------------------- Follow Yousef: https://www.youtube.com/@apex https://www.instagram.com/apex ------------------- 0:00 Introduction 1:07 Growing up Palestinian-American in Orange County 4:29 Visiting Palestine for the first time at 21 7:27 The story of his cousin who was killed 10:54 Studying Arabic and enrolling in Islamic studies 14:56 How 14-year-old Yousef discovered YouTube and gaming 16:58 Joining FaZe Clan 19:57 First $200 from YouTube 20:45 Why he hid his Muslim identity online 22:11 Getting hacked and swatted at his family home 24:03 Moving to New York at 18 and holding onto his faith 28:28 The moment a friend stopped him from smoking weed 30:10 FaZe Clan's explosive growth and business evolution 36:29 Learning business through experience vs education 39:49 The IPO, $2 billion peak, and the crash 44:55 Watching FaZe collapse and accepting Allah's decree 48:40 Why he deleted 1,200 YouTube videos after reading a Quran ayah 54:07 Advice to young Muslim creators on content 59:25 Khabib's influence and going public about being Muslim 1:04:29 Guilt over Palestine and trying to do enough 1:07:06 Building a new startup after FaZe 1:11:42 Why he paused content creation to focus on building 1:15:36 Applying to YC and learning the startup world 1:17:14 What legacy means to him 1:20:50 Stories of Abu Bakr and Omar that shaped his worldview _____________