Khaby Lame became a TikTok sensation during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. After getting laid off as an industrial worker because of the contagion’s impact on businesses and the global economy, Lame, 24, turned to TikTok and spent several hours posting funny comedy clips showing him silently ridiculing “life hacks” that were too complicated.
The videos went viral, and the Italian-Senegalese star shot to superstardom. The 24-year-old has since amassed 162.4 million followers on TikTok, making him the most followed content creator on the social media platform.
During a recent interview with PEOPLE, Lame, who grew up in Chivasso, Italy, revealed the first major thing he bought after the cheques started flowing in.
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“The first thing I did with the money I’ve made is buy a bigger house for my family,” he said. “We’re a family of seven. It’s a big family. I don’t like to spend a lot of money, but for this, my family has always done so much for me.”
Lame in the interview also said he did not envision becoming a professional content creator as he was initially making the TikTok videos for fun.
“When I discovered TikTok during COVID, I was making videos for fun. It was a way for all of us to step outside of all the things that were going on in the world,” he stated. “I was just there trying to make people laugh. It wasn’t something that I expected to be my form of work in the future.”
Lame’s fame and influence have landed him deals with huge brands including Hugo Boss. He also landed a cameo in the box-office hit movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. “That was crazy,” Lame said about working with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
“Will Smith has been my idol for years, and when he called my team out of nowhere and asked if I could be in his movie, I said, ‘Don’t ask me twice. I’m coming right away.’”
READ ALSO: Khaby Lame is now the highest-paid Black content creator as his income rises
