AYA Media is behind the popular YouTube web-series “AYA”, a show on self-improvement, fashion, beauty and entrepreneurship. It is now set to debut on television with a new reality show featuring a list of Arab influencers.
Entitled “Zeros To Heroes,” AYA Media is currently in the throes of production of the series that follows four young Arab women as they try their hardest to achieve their dream careers as influencers.
The young women are, Tala Beseisso from Palestine, Nour Almalky from Iraq, Sarah Issa from Lebanon, and Yasmine Zaid from Morocco, who will be put to the test in a number of challenges per episode, which also explore themes such as fitness, mindfulness, career development and more.
The winning aspiring influencer of “AYA” (As You Are), will take home a business start-up kit which should help them to launch their dream career within entertainment and the influencer marketing industry.
CEO of Middle East Youth Media, which AYA Media and “Zeros to Heroes” falls under, Andrew Maskall, spoke about the show and the selected candidates, “We chose four girls who are all starting out in this career path. We deliberately chose four diverse personalities; they are all very strong young women,” he said.
“Zeros To Heroes” will be hosted by Iraqi-Belgian vocalist, songwriter, and social media personality, Sandra Sahi, who has over half a million Instagram followers and almost 1 million YouTube subscribers – not only will she host the show, she will also play the role of a mentor to the four contestants.
Maskall said, “We chose Sandra because she is very relatable. She is very much on the same level with the contestants, although she is obviously a lot more experienced.” Sandra also added, “I’ve been an artist and a social media figure since I was 17 and the industry is still evolving. I’m much more than a mentor to the girls, I’m very much on a journey of self-discovery with them.”
Influencers are lauded in the Middle Eastern region and are idolized by many, and Andrew Maskall touched on their power within the GCC: “I think influencers are very, very powerful in this region. You see these impossibly beautiful women wearing impossibly expensive clothing and living a life which very few people can live,” he said.
“But I think that young people, particularly Generation Z – that’s the generation who have grown up with social media – are looking for something more relatable. They want to be on the same level as the influencers. This is a much more relatable approach. ‘As You Are’ is about being yourself rather than, let’s say, ‘look at my perfect life’ approach,” he added.
“Zeros To Heroes” is scheduled to hit TV screens in April 2021.
