Adam Mohsin Yehya Saleh (born June 4, 1993) is an American YouTuber.
| Adam Saleh | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Saleh in 2016 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Adam Mohsin Yehya Saleh June 4, 1993[1] New York City, U.S. | |||||||||
| Occupation | YouTuber | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2012–present (YouTuber) 2019–present (Boxer) | |||||||||
| Genre | Vlogs | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 4.69 million (Adam Saleh Vlogs) | |||||||||
| Total views | 262.19 million (Adam Saleh) 1.51 billion (Adam Saleh Vlogs) | |||||||||
| Associated acts | ||||||||||
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Last updated: August 3, 2023 | ||||||||||
Saleh gained prominence through his YouTube channels, where he posts vlogs, comedy sketches, and social experiments. He began his YouTube career in 2012 as part of the collaborative channel "TrueStoryASA" before transitioning to solo content creation.
Saleh's online presence has been marked by both popularity and controversy. He has amassed millions of followers across his social media platforms and has appeared on mainstream media, including "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". However, he has also faced criticism for staging social experiments and making false claims, such as the "Racial Profiling Experiment" video and the Tigerair smuggling hoax.
In addition to his online content, Saleh has ventured into music, releasing his debut album "Chapter II" in 2017, which featured collaborations with various artists. He has also pursued a career in boxing, participating in both amateur and professional bouts, including a professional debut against Landon McBroom in 2022.
Early life
editAdam Saleh was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on June 4, 1993, to Muslim Yemeni parents. He is the fifth out of six siblings.[2] He went to Manhattan Center For Science and Mathematics High School for three years, but transferred to Al-Madinah School after being expelled for hitting his dean's computer as a response to him allegedly making racist remarks towards his mother.[3]
His main career aspiration was to become a lawyer. Saleh's uncle had died from a car accident just a few days before his cousin's wedding. Saleh describes his uncle as a very happy person and was an important member of his family and when he died in such circumstances it left their family in grief. The way his uncle had died had left an emotional scar as Saleh's has stated in the past that it's one of the reasons why he refused to have a drivers license. He eventually received a drivers license later on.[4]
YouTube career
editTrueStoryASA
editSaleh started making YouTube videos in 2012 as a part of his YouTube channel "TrueStoryASA" with his high school friends Abdullah Ghuman and Sheikh Akbar.[2] His main career aspiration was to become a lawyer. He gained nationwide popularity when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for his dancing antics. The day his Ellen show appearance was to happen, he had a final test, but chose to go on Ellen; he later described this as the turning point in his career as a full-time YouTuber.[5] Saleh first released the single "Diamond Girl" on May 3, 2015, featuring Sheikh Akbar and Mumzy Stranger as a part of TrueStoryASA.[6] On August 16, 2015, he released his debut solo single, "Tears" featuring Zack Knight, as a tribute to his cousin and his uncle. After TrueStoryASA ended, Saleh took over both the main and vlog channels and renamed them "Adam Saleh" and "Adam Saleh Vlogs". There was controversy about why the groups had split up. Some rumors say the problem was between Saleh and Akbar, and many of Saleh's fans blame his manager for the split.[7] In September 2017, Saleh released his debut album called Chapter II featuring collaborations with many artists, including "Waynak" (with Faydee),"Tsunami", "All About Love", "The Motto" (with Kennyon Brown), and "All You Can Handle" (with Demarco). On February 18, 2018, he accepted the challenge to be KSI's next boxing opponent.[5]
3MH channel
editSaleh became part of another collaborative channel, "3MH" with Sheikh Akbar, Karim Metwaly, and Slim Albaher. 3MH split up in May 2015. Since then he has created many videos as a solo YouTuber.
Boxing career
editAmateur career
editSaleh vs Stephenson
editOn September 29, 2019, Saleh fought British amateur boxer Marcus Stephenson in a charity event for Yemen at the York Hall in London, England. Saleh won via unanimous decision. Saleh's then manager and Stephenson both later stated the fight was rigged and that Stephenson agreed to lose for a cash sum.[8][9]
Professional career
editSaleh vs. McBroom
editOn September 10, 2022, Saleh made his professional debut against American YouTuber Landon McBroom, younger brother of Austin McBroom, at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles California, U.S. for the ICB International middleweight belt. The bout ended in a unanimous draw.[10] Saleh made a purse of about $100,000 from the fight.[11]
Saleh vs Kellogg
editSaleh faced American TikToker Stuart Kellogg, also known as Evil Hero, on February 26, 2023, featured on the undercard of Jake Paul and Tommy Fury's long anticipated professional bout, at Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Saleh won via RTD due to Kellogg suffering an arm injury, putting Saleh's record at 1-0-1.
Exhibition bouts
editSaleh vs Sharks
editOn July 30, 2021, Saleh fought Iraqi TikToker Walid Sharks as the co-feature bout on the first Social Knockout event at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE. The bout ended in a majority draw. Controversies rose as many questioned how the bout ended as a draw including popular YouTuber FaZe Sensei who stated "it's mathematically impossible for the fight to end in a draw" seeing as the bout was only three rounds.[12]
Saleh vs Elshayib
editOn October 15, Saleh fought Jordanian Influencer Anas Elshayb on the second Social Knockout event at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE. Saleh won via unanimous decision.[13]
Controversies
editRacial profiling social experiment
editA staged video titled "Racial Profiling Experiment'" uploaded on Saleh's YouTube channel in October 2014 became popular around the world. In the video, Saleh and Sheikh Akbar argued with each other in front of a police officer wearing western outfits but the cop ignored them. Shortly thereafter, they fight again while dressed in traditional clothes but this time the cop stops them and behaves rudely with them. The video received more than 200,000 views on YouTube and it was also picked up by media. Public reaction to the video was against the police officer. Later Saleh said that the video was staged to recreate "previous events that occurred", and it was being shown as an example to others about how these things can happen to people on the streets only if they are dressed in a 'different' way.[14] The New York chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), which had previously tweeted out the video as an example of discrimination against Muslims, demanded an apology from Saleh and Akbar stating "Muslims are already under the microscope and to do this just to gain some cheap publicity is totally unacceptable. There should be no attempt to justify it; they should just apologize and ask people to forgive them for their irresponsible actions."[14]
Tigerair smuggling video
editIn another YouTube video, Saleh claimed to have flown inside a suitcase in the baggage hold on a Tigerair flight from Melbourne to Sydney.[15] However, Melbourne Airport security footage proved the incident was a hoax after they produced video showing Saleh boarding the plane with the airline noting that a bag of his weight would not be loaded on the plane without investigation nor would a passenger in the plane's unheated cargo hold emerge sweating.[16]
EduBird controversy
editIn 2018, Saleh, as well as other YouTubers, were involved in a BBC Trending investigation for promoting the website EduBirdie, which lets users buy essays (promoting cheating).[17]
Delta flight controversy
editIn December 2016, Saleh claimed he was removed from a Delta Air Lines flight at Heathrow Airport for speaking Arabic.[18] However, other passengers have spoken out, claiming that Saleh was disturbing other passengers,[19][20][21] and Delta's own statement said that Saleh was shouting and provoking others.[22] Saleh's manager also stated this, explaining that Saleh did not sue the airline.[8] Saleh's claim has caused a debate over the "Right to Fly".[23] He was able to return to the United States on a later Virgin Atlantic flight.
Boxing record
editProfessional
edit| 2 fights | 1 win | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Win | 1–0–1 | Stuart Kellogg | RTD | 1 (4), 3:00 | Feb 26, 2023 | Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia | |
| 1 | Draw | 0–0–1 | Landon McBroom | UD | 4 | Sep 10, 2022 | Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | For ICB International middleweight title |
Exhibition
edit| 2 fights | 1 win | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Win | 1–0–1 | Anas Elshayib | UD | 3 | Oct 15, 2021 | Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, UAE | |
| 1 | Draw | 0–0–1 | Walid Sharks | MD | 3 | July 30, 2021 | Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, UAE |
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Chapter II |
|
Singles
editAs lead artist
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Dimond Girl" (with Sheikh Akbar featuring Mumzy Stranger) |
2015 | Non-album singles |
| "Tears" (featuring Zack Knight) |
2015 | |
| "Tomorrow's Another Day" (featuring Mumzy Stranger) |
2015 | |
| "All You Can Handle" (featuring Demarco) |
2017 | |
| "Waynak" (featuring Faydee) |
2017 | |
| "Partner in Crime" (with Slim Albaher) |
2017 | |
| "Gimmie That" (featuring Zack Knight) |
2017 | |
| "The Motto" (featuring Kennyon Brown) |
2017 | |
| "Instagram Famous" (with Zack Knight) |
2018 | |
| "Ya Gaye" | 2020 | |
| "Crash & Burn" (with Zack Knight) |
2020 | |
| "Mashallah" (with Fousey) |
2021 |
As a featured artist
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "On My Way" (James Yammouni with Faydee featuring Adam Saleh) |
2017 | Non-album singles |
References
edit- ^ @omgAdamSaleh (June 4, 2018). "Tweet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Saeed, Saeed (August 16, 2014). "Adam Saleh: the rise of a Muslim YouTube star". The National. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ^ No Risk No Rizq (February 21, 2020). "Rizq Podcast #006 - Adam Saleh | Sheikh Akbar, Being Mobbed in London, Delta Airlines Controversy". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ Saeed Saaed (August 13, 2015). "Exclusive: Adam Saleh on his new hip-hop single and his UAE shows in December". The National. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Lindsay, Jessica (February 19, 2018). "Who is Adam Saleh and could he be the next YouTuber to fight KSI?". Metro. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Garratt, Rob (May 3, 2015). "True Story ASA's Adam Saleh and Sheikh Akbar release first single". The National. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ^ Khan, Noreen; Saleh, Adam; Akbar, Sheikh (May 15, 2015). "TrueStoryASA split". BBC Asian Network. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- ^ a b Trasha Paytas (March 18, 2021), "Naz izi EXPOSES Adam Saleh and talks Fousey, Slim, Karim and Sheikh Akbar FULL VIDEO", YouTube, retrieved April 25, 2022
- ^ Fight Lounge (March 16, 2021), "Marcus go on IG Live with Naz to confirm he was paid to lose to Adam Saleh", YouTube, retrieved April 25, 2022
- ^ "Social Gloves 2 Results: McBroom vs. Gib". MMA Fighting. September 10, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ "Landon McBroom vs. Adam Saleh, McBroom vs. Gib | Boxing Bout". Tapology. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ^ FaZe Sensei (August 2, 2021), "Reacting To Adam Saleh vs 17 YEAR OLD Walid Sharks.. Who Really WON??", YouTube, retrieved February 9, 2023
- ^ Makhlouf, Farah (October 16, 2021). "Social Knockout 2: The Full List Of Winners". Lovin Dubai. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Kuruvilla, Carol (October 20, 2014). "Muslim Vloggers Come Clean About Staged Stop-And-Frisk Video (UPDATE)". HuffPost. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Saleh, Adam. "I Smuggled Myself On A Plane to Another City and IT WORKED!!! (IN A SUITCASE)". Youtube. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Schwartz, Kirrily. "Tigerair slams YouTuber Adam Saleh over prank". news.au.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ Branwen Jeffreys; Main, Edward (May 1, 2018). "The YouTube stars being paid to sell cheating". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ McCarthy, Ciara (December 21, 2016). "YouTube star kicked off Delta Air Lines flight 'for speaking Arabic'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Schladebeck, Jessica (December 22, 2016). "Delta passengers dispute Adam Saleh's discrimination claims". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ Wang, Amy B. (December 21, 2016). "YouTube star known for pranks claims he was kicked off Delta flight for speaking Arabic". www.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ Beatrice Verhoeven (December 22, 2016). "6 Delta Passengers Dispute YouTube Star Adam Saleh's Story About Getting Kicked Off Flight". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ "Adam Saleh: YouTube star 'wasn't speaking Arabic on phone when kicked off Delta flight', passenger claims". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
Delta said in a statement: "...This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight. While one, according to media reports, is a known prankster who was video recorded and encouraged by his travelling companion, what is paramount to Delta is the safety and comfort of our passengers and employees".
- ^ Negroni, Christine. "In Any Language, Adam Saleh Doesn't Have A Right To Fly". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
External links
edit- Adam Saleh at IMDb
- Adam Saleh's channel on YouTube
- Adam Saleh's channel on YouTube – Vlogs
- Boxing record for Adam Saleh from BoxRec (registration required)
