SANGHAR: Riaz Ali, 34, would stack brick over brick and bond them with mortar, a thick paste of cement, water and sand, as he built homes and did other manual labor work for years in the southern Pakistani district of Sanghar.

In 2022, he started making engaging video content that included throwing and catching mortar, targeting a tall pole with a motorbike tire and some prank videos, which have not only turned the daily wager into a millionaire but also a digital sensation.

Ali, better known as Riaz Jaan, initially posted videos on TikTok after which a friend advised him to post them on YouTube. He created his YouTube channel in April 2022 which was monetized only nine months later.

He now earns 20 times more than what he used to make two years ago.

“As a laborer, my wage was Rs1,500 [per day]. In a month, I used to earn Rs30,000 or Rs35,000 ($107-$125) as it was an inconsistent livelihood,” he told Arab News on Thursday.

“From YouTube, I earn more than Rs500,000 ($1,795) per month.”

Ali, who has 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube, 439,000 followers on TikTok and 359,000 on Facebook, says his content went viral through YouTube Shorts — vertical videos that have a duration of 60 seconds or less.

“My first earnings on YouTube were Rs800,000 ($2,872). I had never seen such a huge amount of money before. My family and I were so delighted that such a significant sum had come into my hands,” he said.

“After YouTube, my life changed. As they say, when Allah gives, He gives abundantly.”

Ali, who started working as a daily wager in 2010, has left his laboring job since becoming a digital sensation but still makes videos related to his former work.

He has also enabled the sharing of his viral videos on YouTube, helping several other content creators have engagement on their channels.

“There are people from various countries who repost my content and videos on their channels, and their channels have also been monetized,” he said. “I have granted them permission.”

This success has helped Ali buy two residential plots and two buffaloes, send his children to better schools, and take care of his family in a much better way. The 30-year-old has also bought a mobile phone worth Rs500,000, which he uses to create quality video content.

But Ali has not kept his success to himself and has passed his digital skills on to his family, friends and whoever he found willing to learn.

“Besides myself, my brother also has a YouTube channel where he posts labor-related videos. His channel has also been monetized,” he told Arab News.

“Additionally, I have two sons, Ali Ayan and Zeb Zohan, whose channel is also monetized.”

He says neither his brother’s nor his sons’ channels gained traction in the beginning and so, he began posting his content on their channels, which helped them gain momentum. Consequently, both channels were monetized.

The 30-year-old offers free, informal consultancy services to youth, who are interested in establishing their own YouTube channels, in his hometown of Jhol in Sanghar. He says he has around 50 to 60 youngsters, who either have monetized channels or are actively working toward them.

“I guide them all, and they follow my directions,” Ali said.

Ali Raza, a farmer and a friend of Ali, got inspired by seeing his friend earn through YouTube. Raza created his own account on the video-sharing website, where he posts funny videos.

“Since Riaz Jaan is teaching others, I also joined his group. It’s been four months since my YouTube channel has been monetized,” Ali Raza told Arab News.

“I earn between Rs25,000 and Rs30,000 ($89-$107) per month.”

KHAPLU, GILGIT BALTISTAN: Dubai-based mountaineer Naila Kiani has become the first woman from Pakistan to summit Mount Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world, the country’s leading non-governmental organization promoting mountaineering said on Sunday.

Mount Makalu is located in the Mahalangur range of the Nepal Himalayas, southeast of Mount Everest. The imposing mountain stands at 8,485 meters (27,838 feet) high. Kiani’s latest achievement makes her the first and only Pakistani woman to summit eleven peaks higher than 8,000 meters. 

She has previously summited Broad Peak (8,047 meters), Annapurna (8,091 meters), K2 (8,611 meters), Lhotse (8,516 meters), Gasherbrum 1 (8,068 meters), Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters), Nanga Parbat (8,125 meters), Mount Everest (8,849 meters), Manaslu (8,156 meters) and Cho Oyu (8,201 meters). 

“Congratulations, Nail Kiani has summited Makalu,” Karrar Haidri, the secretary general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told Arab News over the phone.

“So far out of 14 eight-thousanders, she has completed the 11th peak. She summited the peak at 8:50 am local time,” he added.

The Alpine Club said in a separate statement that Naila was grateful for all the prayers and wishes she had received from people, thanking Sherpa Gelgen Dai from Imagine Nepal, a company that promotes mountain trekking and peak climbing in Nepal. 

“This latest success highlights her exceptional endurance and determination,” the statement said. “She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani, both male and female, to have summited 11 of the 8,000-meter peaks, accomplished in under 3 years.” 

Kiani is a Pakistani banker living in Dubai and a mother of two. She garnered fame in 2018 after her wedding photos from K2 basecamp were widely shared on social media. The Pakistani climber received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s third-highest civilian award, in March this year for climbing Mount Everest. 

“We are proud of the inspiration created by Naila, not only for her daughters and wider family but across the nation from every household,” Khalid Raja, Kiani’s husband, told Arab News over the phone.

Supporting his wife’s expeditions, Raja said it gets challenging for him at times to look after their children when Kiani is away. 

“If Naila completes 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, then we hope she can reduce the levels of time that she is away from her family and we can build together from there,” he said. 

“Then who knows, maybe I can do a few expeditions of my own.”