About

Two cities, two languages, and a long habit of teaching myself things

I was born in London and moved to Saudi Arabia at eleven. This is the longer version of my story, from my father’s computer in London to live television in Riyadh and family wealth in London.

Muhammad aged three at his father’s computer

London, age 3 to 7

A kid and a keyboard

I started on my father’s computer when I was three. By six I was teaching myself graphic design in Photoshop, and at seven I wrote my first program: a small tool to clear out the forgotten files cluttering that same computer.

I also started making videos, from comedy and cooking to acting and gaming, and posting them on Instagram and YouTube. I spent hours recording and editing, and learned the basics of media and cinematography by doing it and working out what went wrong.

Muhammad aged five at an iMac

London, primary school

“Computer Boy”

At primary school in London my teachers called me “Computer Boy”, because I was always helping with the school’s computers and IT.

I won a short-story competition and had a story published in the British magazine Young Gifted, was nominated to move to a school for gifted children, and was awarded a scholarship to Harrow School.

Muhammad aged eleven giving a workshop on SMART goals

Riyadh, age 11

Moving home

At eleven I moved with my family to Saudi Arabia. I had to rebuild my Arabic, and I got to know my own culture and history properly for the first time. Growing up between the two countries is where my love of other cultures comes from.

I kept teaching myself. I ran workshops, including one on setting SMART goals, and went deeper into filmmaking, editing and reading.

Muhammad aged twelve signing with Energizer

Age 11 to 13

A first business

I borrowed a hundred pounds from my father to buy phone accessories in bulk, and paid him back within a week. The business grew into a website and an online shop, and then wholesale contracts with international brands including Anker and Energizer.

I sold it at thirteen. It taught me margins, suppliers and keeping promises.

Muhammad’s first television interview, aged eleven

Age 11

On air

A clip of my SMART goals workshop went viral on Twitter in Saudi Arabia, and one of the largest television networks in the Middle East invited me on to talk about it. That was my first television interview.

Other channels followed, including Al Jazeera, Saudia TV, Al Ekhbariya, Rotana Khalijia and Al Resalah.

Muhammad presenting his first television programme, aged thirteen

Age 13 to 18

Presenting

At thirteen I hosted my first live television programme, a show about technology in the Arab world, and it trended on Twitter. More programmes followed, the best known about Saudi Arabia, its culture and travelling the country.

From 2020 to 2022 I presented a weekly live programme on economics and markets on Almajd, to a national audience of more than 300,000.

Online

Short-form video, and Studio Alhayth

When short-form video took off, I moved my work onto TikTok and Instagram. My first videos reached millions of views, and I became one of the youngest Saudi creators focused on self-education and cultural exchange.

In 2021 I founded Studio Alhayth, a financial-education channel and production company. Across my platforms my videos have passed two billion views, with more than two million followers.

Muhammad interviewed by Al Jazeera at the 2022 World Cup

2022

The World Cup in Qatar

At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar I was an accredited business media ambassador, representing Saudi business culture and speaking to channels including Al Jazeera.

Muhammad in the mishlah, serving Saudi coffee

Ongoing

Ambassador of the Arabian Mishlah

Safeer Almishlah is a programme in which I travel to share Saudi culture through dialogue, language exchange and conversations about the economy. Its symbol is the mishlah, the black and gold cloak.

It has taken me to audiences in the UK, Europe, Switzerland, the Middle East, the US and Latin America. In January 2024, at seventeen, I spoke at TEDx.

A London Underground platform, shot on film by Muhammad

London again

The serious craft of money

I came back to London on the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Scholarship to study Finance at Queen Mary University of London, spent a semester at Bocconi in Milan, and founded the university’s Saudi Society, which grew to 500 members.

My summers now go to family wealth: PwC’s private wealth and family office practice in Riyadh, then the investment team of a single family office. The question I care about most is how families keep their wealth across generations, and how to prepare the next generation to look after it.

Muhammad on horseback in the desert, wearing a bisht

Today

Outside work

I read a lot (more than 200 books in four years), shoot film, ride as an award-winning equestrian, play tennis, swim, build my own iOS apps, and have travelled to more than thirty countries.

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