Your favourite YouTube stars

Rikkie, Farhana Oberson, Nancie Mwai and Chris Muniu are some of the YouTubers on everyone's lips. PHOTOS| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Do you want to be part of the “Slay Squad”? Then Nancie Mwai is the vlogger that will show you how to slay (look dapper) through her weekly vlogs while you tag along to the many fancy events she attends.
  • If you are curious about her foundation routine, or want to watch her reviews on skin care products, watch videos on dessert tastings or see her getting laser hair removal, then her weekly vlogs will keep you updated on her seemingly interesting and elegant life.

Kenyan vloggers are drawing millions of people to their YouTube channels and making a pretty penny. Josephine Mosongo highlights a few of them

 

Rikkie

Vlogger Rikkie is the perfect example that you don’t have to be a celebrity, any sort of a super star or a huge public figure to have a successful YouTube channel. Rikkie describes herself as “a loner, fashion stylist and a nurse” as well as “a normal human being like you who loves life and people”.

Her channel has been active since 2014 and has amassed over one million views to date. Rikkie, like just about every lifestyle blogger, shares interesting facets of her life and takes her camera wherever she goes. From work meetings, shopping, swimming, manipedis and eyebrows, to hanging out with her friends. She even shows you how to pack for a trip. But it’s not always rainbows and roses. Rikkie also shares personal information with her more than 8,000 subscribers to try to educate and inform. For instance she shared her domestic abuse story for which she received a lot of support and views.

Farhana Oberson

Farhana Oberson is a travel vlogger who basically promotes Kenyan tourism through her adventures around Kenya and the world.

Like any travel vlogger worth her salt, she has already tested out the SGR Madaraka Express train, taken her fans (rafikiz as she calls them) to Mombasa, Nakuru, Naivasha and even Switzerland through the vlog.

Oberson is based in Mombasa and through her YouTube channel she showcases the various sights, sceneries and eat-out joints in the coastal town. She has been an active YouTuber since 2015 and uses her channel to “spread happiness” and publicise the little known sites in Mombasa. In 2017, Farhana received the award for the best YouTube Channel at the OLX Soma Awards which recognise individuals and brands using social media to transform lives. With 13,824 subscribers from Kenya and beyond, her videos have received close to 1 million views. Her success has seen her partner with prominent players in the hospitality industry such as the Serena Beach Resort among others.

Chris Muniu

If you need a social media/tech tutorial for dummies or any other advanced techy stuff, then YouTuber Chris Muniu is your guy. Muniu, an Information Technology graduate from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Technology (JKUAT) is the brains behind the YouTube channel WebPro Education where he teaches users everything from how to tag a person on Instagram, unblocking someone from Twitter to how to sign out of Google Chrome to tricky stuff like revealing passwords hidden behind asterisks.

Soon after graduation, Chris created his YouTube Channel and blog – WebPro Education through which he publishes tutorials on various tech elements. His focus is on tips on how to navigate various platforms such as web browsers, features and social media platforms (e.g. Facebook and Instagram) on the Android operating system. With over 24,000 subscribers, the platform has grown to become Chris’ primary source of income.

WebPro specifically caters to those in need of video tutorials on matters technology so if you are looking for anything tech, check out WebPro.

The Green Calabash (Shiko Nguru)

Well, with vlogger Shiko Nguru, there are two ways to look at it; you could be annoyed that she sort of overshares her life or love her for it. Her fans, and luckily for her are the majority, are happy that they get to share in almost every little single detail of her life. Nguru is, according to her Twitter page, an “unapologetic oversharer.”

Nguru created her channel The Green Calabash to share her pregnancy and motherhood experiences. A regular vlogger, she shares stories on pregnancy and parenthood experiences ranging from baby weight, morning sickness, infant vaccinations among others. Want to hear her thoughts about losing yourself in a relationship, making home made toys for kids or about her labour and delivery story? Then you know where to go. She has over 5,000 subscribers and more than 470,000 views.

Nguru, together with her fiancee, Rama, has created an online community where parents share individual experiences and parenthood hacks.

A mother of two, she started The Green Calabash in 2015 when she was expecting her second child and has been documenting and sharing her motherhood journey with other mothers through her channel.

Nancie Mwai

Do you want to be part of the “Slay Squad”? Then Nancie Mwai is the vlogger that will show you how to slay (look dapper) through her weekly vlogs while you tag along to the many fancy events she attends. If you are curious about her foundation routine, or want to watch her reviews on skin care products, watch videos on dessert tastings or see her getting laser hair removal, then her weekly vlogs will keep you updated on her seemingly interesting and elegant life.

Mwai began vlogging in 2010 and to date, has reached over 460,000 views with more than 8,000 subscribers. Her channel focuses on fashion, make up and beauty lifestyle and everything in between. You even get to meet her dog from time to time.

Sheila Ndinda

Vlogger Sheila Ndinda has over 26,000 subscribers and more than one million views. That means that thousands love to watch her bring conversations about natural hair to life. About three years ago, Ndinda was tired of spotting a head full of thin, unhealthy hair that continued to suffer extreme breakage. So she chopped her relaxed ends and began a natural hair journey that she documents on YouTube.

Ndinda’s vlogs are usually about showcasing her natural hair journey which includes tutorials like creating a faux bun, a simple flat updo, washing her hair to hair product reviews.

Her videos are always elaborate, with additional written information on her channel on whatever products she uses. If not for anything else, watching the pretty lass do her tutorials is well worth your time.

Ndinda is also obsessed with healthy skin, something she likes to talk about a lot.

Timeless Noel (Noel James Owidhi)

You probably know him as Timeless Noel and or seen him on television with the gospel crew Kubamba. Owidhi was a secular dancer in the Airforce Dance Crew from 2007 till 2012. But he got saved and later became a gospel dancer and hype man with Kubamba.

The channel doubles up as a platform to reach and inspire youth through dance videos. Now with more than 12,000 subscribers, Noel’s YouTube videos enjoy thousands of views in under a week clear evidence of their likeability to his audience. His Odi Dance challenge series is perhaps his most popular video attracting the attention of renowned personalities such as Embakasi MP Babu Owino, Citizen TV news anchor Willis Raburu, radio duo Jeff Koinange and Jalang’o and H_Art the band amongst others.

He is a Business Administration (BA) graduate from the University of Nairobi. Owidhi made his career debut at Riara Group of Schools where he was a dance instructor for several years. For two consecutive years, Timeless Noel has been nominated as the Talent to Watch in the annual Groove Awards that seek to recognise influential individuals in the gospel industry.

Over Twenty Channel

Hi guys, welcome to our chanooool (channel). If you are familiar with that sing song introduction then you are definitely a follower of the Over Twenty channel run by four ladies Shikie, Jules, Lorna and Ivy. The channel was started last year and has so far racked up over 9,000 subscribers, not forgetting over half a million views.

The Over Twenty Crew tackles every topic from what they think men hate, their life hacks, following your passion, love and money and any topic under the sun they can think of. It is a channel that is not afraid to be awkward, silly and at the same time serious and occasionally inspirational.

Jules, Shikie and Ivy have been friends since they were 13 in Form One. They later met Lorna in university at USIU. Their long-term friendships results into banter like conversations that make the episodes seem like they always have a blast during the recordings.

This YouTube channel is as girly as it gets; it’s like a hangout session with your girlfriends where you catch up on gossip and have a glass or two of wine (which they do on the vlog.)