Before 2019, Jamel and Jamil Neffati were two factory workers with dreams of becoming social media stars.
Now, the ‘Neffati Brothers’ are one of biggest UK creators on TikTok with over 17m followers on the video sharing platform.
The twins, who live near Wilpshire, have made television appearances and rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest celebrities in the world – and it’s all thanks to their social media presence.
Originally from a small town in Poland, the pair moved to Lancashire in 2013 where they hoped to get an education at Blackburn University Centre in Blackburn College.
However, after a year of studying the pair quit and wanted something different from their lives.
Jamel, 28, said: “It wasn’t something that we wanted to do in our lives."
Jamil said: “At every family event we are always the ones entertaining the group. We have always loved making people laugh.”
The twins went on to work in a factory as paint sprayers and often taking on other construction work.
After some encouragement from their brother, they finally made their TikTok account in 2019 and said they “blew up” straight away on the app, amassing 5,000 followers in just three days.
Jamel said: “We were amazed – we were checking every account because we couldn’t believe there were real people choosing to follow us.”
While working their regular jobs, the twins continued to pursue their TikTok careers, sacrificing sleep to achieve their goals.
Jamel said: “When we first started we were still working and trying to make it as social media creators. To achieve our goals, we were only sleeping for three or four hours a day.
“Our family couldn’t understand it, they just thought we were making silly videos.
“Now they have seen our commitment they respect everything we do and that we can take our career even further,” Jamil added.
@neffatibrothers We don’t want to be 30 🥲
♬ original sound - Sickickmusic
The twins, who regularly train at Combat Performance martial arts centre in Blackburn, are best known for their “relatable” comedy videos, some have which have amassed millions of views.
In total, their TikTok videos have received 415.4 million likes.
Jamel said: “We want to make people smile and make people happy, which is why we mainly create comedy videos.
“We also make a lot of relatable comedy that most people can understand.”
Many exciting opportunities have come off the back of their TikTok success, including Brit Award invites and celebrity collaborations.
Jamel said: “At the beginning it was hard to get used to this feeling and hanging around these famous people.
“It’s a cherry on top of what we have been doing and we have made priceless memories hanging around famous people.”
Earlier this year, the duo also made their first TV debut on E4’a Celebrity Coach trip.
Jamil said: “Celebrity Coach Trip was more fun than it looks on TV and we had so much fun.
“We just wanted to have fun and we met some amazing people. We didn’t know what to expect but these people were very welcoming.”
They hope to make other television appearances in the future.
Jamil said: “We hope to take part in more shows as it has always been our dream to star in a TV show.
“We would also love to have our very own show and we are going to try our best to do this.”
According to socialtracker.io, the twins are the third most popular Tik Tok influencers in the UK (based on follower count) – but they have their sights set higher.
Jamel said: “We want to be one of the biggest creators on the app – but we also want to stay true to ourselves and continue doing what we love.
“We are ambitious people and being on top of the list is something we want to achieve”.
However, they don’t expect success to land in their laps and “graft” each day to achieve their goals -and understand that their social media fame can disappear at any moment.
@neffatibrothers Got exposed 😅 @sabinitta @patik ♬ Know Yourself - Drake
Jamel said: “We are so focused. We wake up every day at 5.30am and we have a schedule so we can succeed in our life.
“We don’t just wake up and put two videos out. We have meetings, zoom calls and more."
Jamil said: “It’s graft all of the time but people only see what we post on social media – they don’t see behind the scenes.
“One moment you are big on Tik Tok but in one or two years people might not be interested in the app. This is why we are always focused and graft every single day.”
You can keep up-to-date with Jamil and Jamel Jamil Neffati over on their TikTok page or Instagram account by following @NeffatiBrothers.
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