Md. Khaled Saifullah, more popularly known among bike enthusiasts as SanyGiri, is a content creator, traveler and one of the finest motovloggers of Bangladesh. Making people fall in love with his travel diaries and storytelling. We, at TINDS, had the amazing opportunity to know more about his journey from the man himself.
Tell us something about yourself.
Sany: Well, I like to introduce myself as a content creator to people who values or understands the idea of being one. I graduated from Dhaka University under the subject International Business. I am also a teacher by profession, I teach kids in a coaching center as a side hustle.
How did you start your journey?
Sany: Many years back I read an article in a local newspaper with the title ‘Earn Money by selling private information’ which emphasized on bloggers abroad who were earning money through YouTube sharing their personal life and daily activities. I was intrigued and figured this is something that I could do as well. Out of curiosity, I started watching videos on YouTube of different bloggers and figured what they did and how they did it. Being a teacher, public speaking came very easily to me, however speaking Infront of a camera wasn’t as easy. Motovlogging came into the picture as bikes have always been a part of my life and can be defined as a necessity as well if you’re living in a city as congested as Dhaka.
When did you start?
Sany: I uploaded my first video in YouTube back in December 2018. Back then I had zero experience about camera, cinematography and story telling. However, I still went on with it. It was a learning experience and I knew I had a long way to go. I started posting videos regularly from April the following year when I bought my first GoPro camera and went on a trip then.
When COVID hit, how did you cope?
Sany: The lockdown was a disaster, my channel was just starting to grow and it was then only when COVID hit and everyone was bound to stay indoors. I tried making videos at home, even uploaded a few to keep the channel running. It wasn’t until the end of lockdown when things got back to normal and I started making and posting videos regularly again.
How did you get better at what you do?
Sany: Life is a process and you learn along the way. The more I try to do something, the more I have the opportunity to learn. I have always tried to work on how I made my videos and my storytelling. There is no end to learning. Once money started coming in, I invested in gears and got better. I am always eager to improve and explore and I believe there is an ocean out there for me to learn from.
Which platform do you think is more preferable? Facebook or YouTube?
Sany: YouTube is where I started my journey from so it will always have a special place in my heart. However, I would still prefer Youtube because it lets me track my audience. Facebook, I think, is a rather diverse platform where it lacks specificity. There are more views, however the content maker can never figure out the traits of the audience.
Tell us something about your journey so far?
Sany: Vlogging or motovlogging being a comparatively new thing in our country, the audience that we have were not present initially. People did not know this is something they they would enjoy watching. Even a few years ago, it was unimaginable for someone to make a living out of making videos and posting it online. Lifestyle vlogging is a rather new genre and I believe it clicked because people could relate to the kind of content we are making. The growth is gradual definitely, but present. The preference of audiences are changing everyday. People expect us to make videos on whatever that’s trending or they want to see us in. It is important to make the message clear about the kind of person I am behind the camera, which I am certain my audience are aware of.
How was your journey riding your bike outside Bangladesh when you visited Ladakh?
Sany: I had never travelled abroad before, but I never thought my first trip outside Bangladesh would be on a bike and it would turn out to be as phenomenal as it did. I was initially worried if I could reach Ladakh but I went on with the flow and it was a success and I was able to visit many parts of that region like Kashmir as well.
Is content making a sustainable source of income for you?
Sany: So far so good. By the grace of Almighty, I have been able to generate enough to live by and as the industry and genre both are growing I believe that there are several opportunities ahead provided I am able to maintain the quality of the content that I make.
What were your struggles getting to where you are right now?
Sany: The audience here in our country has a rather slow growth. It is very vital for any individual to have patience and try to grow. There is a very good potential for this industry to flourish and it wouldn’t be possible without people keeping at it.
What would your advice be to young content creators?
Sany: Everybody making content and publishing it on the internet has a set of responsibilities. Even if it’s just one person viewing the video, it is important to make sure that the right message is conveyed. It is the responsibility of the content creator to take care of that. However, often negative activities or remarks bring in more views so creators fall in the greed of it, because more views mean more money, obviously. When we talk about video creation, every creation I believe, may that be a video or anything else, should be from the heart. Subscribers and views are always going to come, but one shouldn’t be chasing after it.
Where do you see SanyGiri in the future?
Sany: Speaking solely from the social perspective of our country, it is important for an individual to have a profession like a doctor or engineer to be defined as successful. Not everybody has the courage or the opportunity to pursue something that they love and make a living out of it. I want to be a role model for people who have a passion that they can pursue and eventually turn it into a profession, even a source of income. People are happier when they are able to do something that they like and that is the kind of positivity that I want to spread.
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| Find Him
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SANYGiRiKHNI Youtube: youtube.com/c/SANYGiRi |
