FaZe Apex: The Secret Muslim Behind a $2 Billion Empire

Yousef "FaZe Apex" is a Palestinian-American YouTuber and entrepreneur and co-founder of FaZe Clan, one of the biggest gaming and entertainment brands in history.

He joined at 14, grew his channel to over 6 million subscribers, and over 15 years helped build it into a cultural phenomenon that peaked at a $2 billion valuation. 

After the company collapsed, he walked away. Throughout his career, he kept his Muslim identity hidden - praying behind locked doors, never revealing his real name to his audience.

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0:00 Introduction

1:07 Growing up Palestinian-American in Orange County

4:29 Visiting Palestine for the first time at 21

7:27 The story of his cousin who was killed

10:54 Studying Arabic and enrolling in Islamic studies

14:56 How 14-year-old Yousef discovered YouTube and gaming

16:58 Joining FaZe Clan 

19:57 First $200 from YouTube 

20:45 Why he hid his Muslim identity online

22:11 Getting hacked and swatted at his family home

24:03 Moving to New York at 18 and holding onto his faith

28:28 The moment a friend stopped him from smoking weed

30:10 FaZe Clan's explosive growth and business evolution

36:29 Learning business through experience vs education

39:49 The IPO, $2 billion peak, and the crash

44:55 Watching FaZe collapse and accepting Allah's decree

48:40 Why he deleted 1,200 YouTube videos after reading a Quran ayah

54:07 Advice to young Muslim creators on content

59:25 Khabib's influence and going public about being Muslim

1:04:29 Guilt over Palestine and trying to do enough

1:07:06 Building a new startup after FaZe

1:11:42 Why he paused content creation to focus on building

1:15:36 Applying to YC and learning the startup world

1:17:14 What legacy means to him

1:20:50 Stories of Abu Bakr and Omar that shaped his worldview

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