20 Questions with Fauzi Aziz – Content Creator Interviews

Name: Fauzi Aziz
Age: 33

If you’ve ever watched TheSmartLocal on YouTube, the odds are good you’ll have seen and heard Fauzi Aziz’s iconic smile and voice. The 33-year-old “Golden Boy of TSL” with a personality that’s larger-than-life shares some tidbits about himself, his favourite TikTok trend, and his career highlights.

1. What are your hobbies?

Other than just staying home and binge-watching reality shows on Netflix or Thai “boys love” dramas, the one thing that I’ve really gotten into in the past year is Spin. So much so that I am aiming to be a Spin Instructor by the end of the year! 

2. What do you do in your day job?

I am currently the Marketing Lead at TSL and what that entails is overseeing the various social media platforms that my department manages like Instagram, Telegram and TikTok. I am also quite hands-on with mentoring the talents we have in our company. But on a day-to-day basis, if I’m not on set for a YouTube video, you will probably find me filming and editing TikTok videos for TSL’s official account. We’re almost at 100K followers so please follow us!

3. What is your favourite movie and why?

It depends on what mood I’m in. If I’m down for a psychological thriller, “Get Out”, which I love for the underlying message on race. And if I’m in the mood for a chick flick, it’ll have to be “Legally Blonde” or “Mean Girls”, two movies that are just fun and easy to watch. 

But a recent movie that is shaping up to be one of my favourite movies of all time is “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, which is equal parts action-packed, laugh out loud funny and tear-jerking. 

4. What is your favourite TikTok trend?

@thesamjordenyou‘re not gonna reach my telephone♬ telephone electrolightz remix – JP ?

One of the more recent trends I was obsessed with revolved around a remix of Lady Gaga’s song, Telephone. My favourite video from this trend is one by Sam Jorden, which I may or may not have contributed hundreds of views to his now 2.5m views. I’ve also been watching a lot of reunion videos of people who have been away from their home countries due to the pandemic, returning home to surprise their parents.  

5. Three words people use to describe you.

Scary – when I’m working at my desk in the office, I tend to have an RBF, OCD, Father. 

6. Three words you use to describe yourself.

Sassy, Inquisitive and Fearless.

7. What’s the last TV/Netflix show you watched?

Get Organized with The Home Edit on Netflix because I have a strange obsession with home transformations and the two ladies on the show, Joanna and Clea, really have a knack for organizing everything into such aesthetic spaces. 

8. Who are actual YouTubers or TikTokers that inspire you?

I’ve been a fan of Connor Franta for a very long time and even though he doesn’t do as many videos as he used to, I really enjoy how he is unabashedly himself. This is one of my favourite videos of him.

9. What’s the most memorable moment in your career?

Being one of the hosts for “The $100 Nomad” is something that I will never be able to get over. The experience filming for it was amazing but being able to see myself on TV was the icing on the cake, only because my parents could finally see what I’ve been doing for my job in a medium they could understand. 

10. How has being TSL’s “Golden Boy” been for you?

So much pressure! JK! What started out as a mean comment – someone commented that games on TSL Plays were always rigged in my favour because I was the “Golden Boy” of TSL – has become my unofficial title. Yes, I am the longest-serving employee of the company – 7 years as of March 2022 – but honestly, I don’t really care about the title because at the end of the day, I just continue being myself. 

11. What are some of your skincare must-haves?

TOO MANY! But if I had to choose it would be La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar Duo (+) to treat my acne-prone skin and their Anthelios Invisible Fluid Sunscreen so I can slow down my skin’s ageing process. 

The La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar Duo (+)

And to clarify, I have worked with them for a couple of years now but I genuinely love their products so much that I have bought them myself multiple times because I am too paiseh to ask for more.

12. How do you think your personality differs on-screen and off?

I don’t think they are different at all – I just display different parts of my personality for different situations. On-screen, I am usually very chatty and lively and it is something I can be off-screen as well when I’m with my best friends. And at work, I can be very serious as well because it is required of me when I have things to get done. And similarly, I can be serious on-screen as well when it’s appropriate. But they’re all still me. 

13. Do you have advice for those who aspire to be content creators?

It’s not an easy feat – it takes a lot of hard work and time. And if you’re not passionate about content creation or just want to be one for the “fame”, I suggest you consider a different path in life. 

But if you are genuinely interested in creating content, no matter how slow the numbers roll in, keep doing it and improving your craft – it will pay off one day. It may also be good to have a side hustle as well for a little bit of a safety net. 

14. How do you deal with haters?

I don’t – I just ignore them. While I used to be affected by them when I first started, I slowly realised that most hate comments were unwarranted and not constructive at all. So, I started focusing on the more positive comments that helped reaffirm the good things I’m doing. 

15. Has anyone ever confronted you / praised you / or come up to you IRL about your videos?

Thankfully nobody has confronted me about anything I’ve done before but once in a while, people do come up to me to say how much they love our videos. But the situations that always make me smile/laugh are when parents come up to us and ask for photos on behalf of their kids who watch our content. And this happens far more often than you’d expect. 

16. What is one fun fact your followers don’t know about you?

That the first-ever concert I went to was the American Idols Live! Tour in 2004 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. I was a huge fan of American Idol then so I begged my mum to buy me a ticket. And yes, I went alone. 

Fauzi with Xenia Tan, Annette Lee, and Oon Shu An.

17. Which content creator – one local and one international – do you want to collaborate with the most?

I would love to do something with Oon Shu An! Even though we’ve been friends for a while, we have never been able to work together, video-wise. Maybe an episode of Tried and Tested together? 

As for international, I don’t know if this counts but I would love to do something with Nadiya Hussain. Ever since I watched her shows on Netflix, I would absolutely love to (try) to bake with her or at the very least get to taste her bakes! 

18. Any interesting projects that you’re currently working on?

I can’t really say much but a couple of things have come my way recently and hopefully, the stars (and my schedule) align. 

19. What job do you think you’d be in if you weren’t a full-time content creator?

I would have probably already taken my CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) – which I still want to do! – and be teaching English in a foreign country. 

20. Any current social issues you think deserves a greater spotlight right now? (e.g. pandemic-related, politics-related)

I’ve been a firm supporter of equality for LGBTQ individuals. Even though society is becoming more accepting, I still think there’s still tons of work for us to do for me to be able to see absolute change within my lifetime.