Today we’d like to introduce you to Sebastien Abou-Chakra.
Hi Sebastien, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Well, first of all… My name is Sebastien Abou-Chakra… my parents don’t want to admit this to my face but I’m pretty sure I was named after a dog in a French cartoon they used to watch back in the day… or maybe it’s the kid that owns the dog… I don’t know, anyways,
I am Lebanese but was raised my entire life in Nigeria! I have a little brother named Pio that I frikin love to death. Pio is patiently waiting for the day I finally become rich and famous in hopes that I’d give him an abundance of money allowing him to slack off and play video games for the rest of his life… which is not a bad idea ngl… the boy is smart.
My dad is on the same wavelength… he’s a hard worker tho, he’s done the IMPOSSIBLE to get me where I am today from absolutely NOTHING with the help of my mom of course… without her, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.. which is why I told her that when I get kids, I’m gonna drop them off at her place so that she can raise them for me, given how good of a job she’s done raising me… am I right? pfft…
My dad… is expecting a million dollars in his bank account from me in the next couple of years and my mom.. well my mom doesn’t want anything from me… in her own words “Sebastien, life… is nothing. No matter how successful you are or how much money you have, if you don’t pray, you will not become a Saint. Becoming a Saint is all that matters.” Or something like that.
And, well, I agree… I was raised as a Christian and let me tell you something… it’s hacks. Praying is hacks. God, is hacks… the amount of impossible events that lead to my existence and my accomplishments are just unfathomable and it’s all because of the OP Jesus Christ.
Speaking of impossibilities… high school is one of them. It was absolutely impossible for me to get a passing grade. I hated high school. I loved, the teachers, the friends, and I enjoyed going to school but not to learn. Like.. why is history compulsory? Why am I forced to sit in a classroom for the majority of my day to get educated on things that are of no use to me? You feel me? Welp, I didn’t want anything to do with school or my studies, so I simply didn’t. I didn’t study, I didn’t attend school regularly, and quite frankly, I didn’t pass. BUT! Like I said before, God lent me a helping hand throughout my entire life and still does, and helped me through high school, graduating with a GPA as low as 1.7, failing my IGCSEs and ignoring my SATs. Mainly because everyone around me believed that I someday will accomplish all my goals, without the help of something as trivial as a “high-school diploma” I was still given one though, even while not meeting any requirements, the same way I was accepted to SCAD without meeting any requirements. Like I said, hacks.
I had no idea what college was or what I wanted to study. All I knew is that I wanted to put my talents and gifts to use. A friend that enrolled I’m my high school in the 11th grade (Gabriel Ugbodaga) told me he was going to a college called SCAD. He said it was an art school and I said, quote “bruh”. I had no idea what an art school was but I know for a fact I didn’t want to go anywhere that even slightly resembled high school, so I said I’ll go there too, why not!? Everyone laughed at me. The teachers said it was impossible to get into there, especially since I didn’t have the skills for it, nor did I have the grades to get accepted. Well jokes on them, I spent a majority of my 11th and 12th grade working on all my skills ranging from 3D modeling to game design, from film to music. And I applied. And I got accepted.
And 3 years ago, I moved to the US for the first time, being the first from my family to come to the US. It was an adventure. I vlogged my entire trip going from Lebanon to the day I moved into my dorm. And ever since then, I only went up. My skills have improved, I’ve met amazing new people and it feels as if I’m moving closer and closer every day to my goal, fame, and fortune, Respectfully. My social media presence has also increased which makes me smile in the mornings, I developed a small community on Lebanese TikTok called the Potat Cult gaining up to a million views with the #potatcult hashtag on TikTok and over 10k followers. I also saw a dramatic increase with my music streams going over 2 million streams in total! We only going up from here.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Every single day of my life that I’ve not achieved my goals feels like an obstacle to me. But obstacles are good, Obstacles are what allow me to learn in order to overcome them. Which is why every day that passes is a step closer to my aspirations. I would say the biggest challenge though would be school, school before art school. Like I said previously, It was a useless hassle for me but I was able to push through and hack the system to get out as quick as possible. Another obstacle that probably outweighs school is time. I love making everything from music to art to films as well as making content on YouTube TikTok and Instagram. But creating content takes time and learning and improving skills in all these forms of art also takes a lot of time. That causes a lot of conflictions but I can’t help but focus on all these things at the same time. It feels like this way of working stops me from getting to my destination quicker but I know that God has a plan like he always has and that the time will come, which is why I never stress about it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Although I consider myself a jack of all trades, I feel like that fact is holding me back. But I love it, so I don’t think ill be focusing on one thing anytime soon. I think the first artistic skill I picked up was, well a very generic one, Drawing. I used to draw a lot but got bored of it quick and stopped at a young age, after that I picked up music, I started learning the guitar and piano, sadly, I also stopped that at a young age. I would also sing out loud whether I’m in my room or in the classroom. I feel like doing that over and over again gave me the voice I have today, which is why I tell everyone that anyone can sing, you just gotta train your voice muscles or whatever they’re called. I still make music now, I drop music videos from time to time and I’ve been seeing a steady growth as of this year!
Then I picked up film, I would shoot some skits and videos with childhood friends and always have the camera rolling capturing anything and everything that’s happening around me. I’ve started going more in-depth with film nowadays, producing my first major production a couple of months ago, I’m also currently producing, lead 3D environment artist as well as project manager on an animated short film which is turning out amazing. My friends in school used to ask me to make gaming content so id make videos playing games and give it to them on a USB stick. This inspired me to start off my very first youtube channel (Sebster1101) where I posted gaming videos.
A couple of years after that I created another youtube channel (Sebanese the Lebanese, now called SEBtheLEB) where id start posting everything from my films to music to regular YouTuber-styled videos. And although I don’t get a lot of views yet, I still get a lot of emails from entertainment companies that offer me work, whether it’s for my editing skills or just my personality. I’ve just recently developed a new interest in XR and Virtual Production after working with SCAD on multiple projects as a lead. I will be speaking at a panel at one of SCAD’s major events about Virtual Production and I can’t wait! Right now. I’d say my main goal is to land a good acting role. I feel like everything else I do is working out great except for my acting career. So it’s about time I start pushing for that.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’d say the most surprising thing that catches people off guard is the fact that I’m Lebanese but was raised my entire life in Nigeria. People would often ask me why I sound African when I speak and I have to start by explaining how I moved to Nigeria at age 0 and lived there ever since xD.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stlprodz1101.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sebanese.the.lebanese/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Seb_The_Leb
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sebanesethelebanese
- SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1e01BvTltHJpKLo31HIOzO?si=z8SvLKgUTuSlMiTSG_FGrA
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sebtheleb
