The Salukie (YouTuber)

Ido Amiaz, or The Salukie (as he is known on YouTube), is a 26-year-old Israeli content creator.

I first interviewed The Salukie back in the summer of 2021, his playful personality on clear display as he sat in front of the camera shirtless, a way of paying homage to fellow YouTube sensation Kurt Caz, who also conducted our interview shirtless in order to combat the suffocating heat. 

In the years since, Salukie, much like Kurt Caz, has enjoyed a steady rise in popularity. 

Back in 2021, Salukie was struggling to gain traction on YouTube, his subscriber count lower than a maligned politician’s approval rating. 

But Salukie, like all great content creators, was undeterred. 

In the years since our first interaction, Salukie has slowly made his way into the algorithm of viewers who binge travel videos. 

Of course, rising from the depths of anonymity hasn’t been easy for Salukie, an Israeli native who has been to more countries than I can point out on a map.  

“I have found out that life is an everlasting journey of learning,” Salukie remarks, commenting on how the past few years have been both illuminating and exhausting. 

“The more I know, the more I realize that I know nothing. Philosophizing aside, I believe doing these outgoing and risky videos has been the best university I could have ever asked for.”

For context, Salukie is unconventional in his approach. 

Whether he’s trying to exchange currency in the frenetic streets of Buenos Aires, taking a red eye across a plethora of time zones, or walking through the forgotten neighborhoods of London, Salukie has a penchant for showing his viewers aspects of various cultures that otherwise would never be broadcast. 

And while his content charms his audience and attracts subscribers, the actual creation of said content often leaves the cerebral Salukie mentally and emotionally drained. 

“It may not seem like it in my videos, but in real life I am more of an introvert,” Salukie says.  

“Now, when life demands me to be outgoing, I just think to myself that if I can talk to random strangers and get them to take me in on-camera, then I can do that anywhere, anytime.”

Beyond the mental fortitude needed to curate content for a mass audience, Salukie also has to navigate the uncertainty of a ruthless online landscape that can elicit both exhilaration and demoralization. 

“One day you’re up, one day you’re down,” Salukie says of the algorithm, a YouTube manufactured piece of technology that can single handedly put money in a creator’s pocket, or make them culturally irrelevant.   

“This makes YouTubing as a full-time job remain a dream, but it has also taught me to be efficient with my time management,” the loquacious polyglot mentions. 

“In a week, I can film content for a couple of months, and I enjoy every moment of it.”

Yet, for as much as the overarching algorithm influences much of Salukie’s YouTube strategy, the worldly wanderer maintains that his approach to the internet isn’t purely capitalistic, adding that his innate intellectual curiosity is what drives him to swipe his credit card and jet off to new countries at a moment’s notice. 

“If I was doing this for money, I would have chosen a finance niche in lieu of travel,” Salukie acknowledges.  

“The travel niche is bloated and pays less, but as anyone who watches my videos would know, it’s about the message, and even when my channel reached its peak revenue month, which was north of $4,000, I decided to donate it to a good cause.” 

Adds Salukie, while injecting a dose of comedy into the proceedings:

“There are a lot of smarter, quicker, and more reliable ways to make your bread [money].”

Still, the reality is that in order to keep his camera on, Salukie needs to generate revenue, and like most creators who diversify their income streams by taking on outside ventures, Salukie doesn’t rely solely on the brass at YouTube to cut him a check every month.

“It used to be just the videos, but now I also design and sell merchandise, write books, and make rap music,” Salukie notes.  

“I see my channel as a place for me to express myself, and it is truly a joy to share my passions with the world video after video.”

In the coming years, there is little doubt that Salukie will continue to produce content, but after experiencing some highs and lows in recent months, the primary prerogative for one of YouTube’s most delightful creators remains the same:

Keep going, and enjoy life. 

“I just want to keep doing what I am doing, and if I remain healthy and sane, I don’t see myself stopping,” Salukie says. 

“I also plan to take up acting, and eventually directing. Who knows, you might see Salukie in Hollywood one of these days. The sky is the limit.” QS

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