How an Indonesian village became a home for YouTube stars

Subur Imam Hidayat was a man fairly down on his luck. Earning around £110 a month at his retail job, he was constantly looking for a new way to make money. Eventually, in 2017, he stumbled upon creating YouTube videos focused around Muslim prayers and herbal remedies.

For six months, there was no traction, until eventually he started getting views (and money) from the video-sharing platform. In 2019, this income was enough for Hidayat to become a full-time YouTuber. However, due to his success other people in his small village accused him of practising black magic.

Hidayat began to teach his neighbours and friends how to create content on YouTube, turning his garage into a workshop, where people from all across the village learned to be YouTubers. Over the years, across multiple channels Hidayat's YouTube empire has amassed millions of subscribers and inspired some of Indonesia's biggest channels.

Thanks, Wired.