With over 7,000 views and 500+ followers, @afeyam has established its presence on TikTok. The account’s creator, Madhi Hamade (11), showcases the students of White Station using his on-the-spot thinking to interview students throughout the day. 

“I love what I do … it’s fun, and a lot of people come to me, and they say ‘I love the videos, keep doing them,’ so there’s just more motivation to keep going,” Hamade said. 

Whether it be a drip check or a “What’s your type” question, students are asked multitudes of personal questions to be recorded and uploaded on TikTok. Videos can reach up to 5,000 views and students like Banjo Man and Sergio Reyes (12), the ‘hello world’ guy, find themselves gaining a reputation for their interviews. 

“I like how funny [the interviews] can be,” Izzy Williamson (11) said. “[While] some of the questions are actually serious, most of them are just fun.”  

Hamade has a special knack for interviewing that was put to use after gaining inspiration from YouTube accounts like Jidion and Lofe. @afeyam, which was also inspired by interview accounts from schools like Houston, in turn, desired to inspire other schools to create their own accounts.

“I like asking [people] personal questions really, something other people want to know,” Hamade said. “I want to be a funny content creator that can make people laugh.” 

The interviews are not always in school. Hamade brings his camera crew to school events like football games and even interviews players on the opposing teams. He likes to switch up the norms of interviewing to bring something new to the table. 

“He can do great things and interviewing was something he was really good at,” @afeyam interviewer, Brayan Villa (10) said. “He took that idea [for interviews] and ran with it, and that’s when he created the account.”

Originally named @mhainterviews, @afeyam was rebranded to represent what Hamade wishes to accomplish with the account: he does not want to limit himself to just White Station; rather, he plans for his account to follow him wherever he goes.

“If I go to college, we’re going to do [interviews] in college,” Hamade said. “We’ll do them wherever we go, not just school.” 

Although the account is appreciated by many students, members of the account face back-lash regarding their interviewing style. Some view them as aggressive and overbearing, even if they ask for consent. 

“[The videos] are kind of an awkward situational-type funny,” Griffin Campbell (10) said. “But if there’s a camera in front of you, and a big group of people, you’re going to be pressured into participating, but it’s good that they ask [for consent].”

Account members handle the criticism well — standing by their belief that they make the content purely for entertainment. Consent is always requested before they move forward with an interview, and if someone decides after the interview they do not want it uploaded, it is always deleted. 

“We’re just having fun and entertaining people,” Villa said. “Some people won’t like [the videos], I don’t really see why, but I hear them out … and so does [Hamade]. He knows people have mixed feelings about the account, but we’re not going to let that stop us.”