Doug Barnard may boast close to half a million subscribers on YouTube now, but before he decided to visit Saudi Arabia on a whim once it opened its borders two years ago, he was a nobody. Traveling around the Kingdom alone with his camera pointed at his face, Doug quickly started turning heads, both in person and online–and discovering what makes Saudi so remarkable.
Now a bonafide YouTube star who has made the Middle East his adopted home, we caught up with Barnard to talk about his journey.
Read our full interview below:
Esquire: What was your first impression of Riyadh?
Doug Barnard: I was fascinated by it. I did my research about Saudi Arabia, and I knew things like the shops closed during prayers times, and that shops had different entrances for families and singles, but not anymore!
My first impression when I arrived was that Saudi Arabia was much less intimidating and different than what we are led to believe in the West. The image of Saudi Arabia we have is that it is very conservative and traditional, and that people only dress in Thoub and Niqab, I think my vlogs help show how things really are, and that everything is much more relatable.
Your first Vlog was in Saudi Arabia. Why did you choose Riyadh to start your channel?
I have always been interested in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia because there is a mystery about it in the West. Saudi Arabia did not have tourism for so long, and then the Crown Prince announced that it would have tourism and open the country to the world. I eagerly waited to apply for a tourist visa, and wanted to come as soon as possible, which happened in January 2020.
What I found was a completely unique opportunity to visit a country that had been closed to tourists before, so I was one of the early foreign creators who came here and started making content, and it gave me a jump start.
Have you made friends with locals in Saudi Arabia?
When I first came to Saudi, I knew no one. I was filming in Al Masmak Fortress, and I was sitting with a shopkeeper having coffee. Then, out of a sudden, a guy asked me, where I was from. I said American, and we started to chat, and he invited me to come to his house for dinner. I ended up hanging out with him and his friends. The funny thing was that he told me that I am famous here in Saudi Arabia. He even showed me his Snapchat account, and it turned out that he is a Snapchat influencer.
Do you plan any collaboration with Saudi Influencers or YouTubers to produce content together?
Definitely, it is something I would like to do. And I have spoken to some Saudi influencers, so this will happen in the future.
What are the best story and the worst story that happened to you in Saudi Arabia?
One of the first people I met in Saudi was Sultan, completely by chance. Two hours later, I was at his place eating “Kabsah” with my hands. He was very generous because I was staying in a budget hotel outside the city, and he paid for me to move to a better place insisting that I stay in a fancy hotel in the centre of Riyadh. I had never experienced anything like this before. People here are generous and show lovely hospitality that I have never seen before in any place around the world. It might be cliché saying that, but it is true.
When it comes to your YouTube channel, where do most of your views come from?
I’ve traveled to different countries and made different series of vlogs, so I have a pretty large viewership from whichever countries I am featuring. Local people like to see my perspective on their country, especially when I go to countries that don’t have too much tourism, like Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Iraq. So it fluctuates. I also have a decent audience in Egypt.
What’s your main streaming platform in Saudi Arabia?
My main platform is definitely YouTube, it’s where I spend most effort and time. However, I know how big Snapchat is here in Saudi. I think it is the country with the number one usage in the world. I don’t really use it much in America.
Why you don’t produce content related to where you are from?
It is a personal preference for me. I am fascinated by other cultures and languages. And maybe down the line, I will explore more the US because it is a huge country. Personally, I am not doing what is best for YouTube, but I enjoy traveling so much, especially in this region.
What is your next destination?
Morocco. I’m going to take my mother.
Photography by Hessah Dahdouh