- “my goal was never to go viral. my goal was to create entertainment — playing at the top of my intelligence” — the distinction between outcome-oriented content and quality-oriented content
- “develop a format 80% of the way and then go do it — the 20% will fill itself in” — shipping with momentum beats perfecting in isolation
- “momentum and creativity is one of the most important things in the world — as much time and space as you give between idea and making the thing, it continues to make less sense and you can convince yourself out of it” — the enemy of a good idea is time
kareem rahma, creator of subway takes and keep the meter running, broke down how both shows were born from the opposite of conventional wisdom — launching underdeveloped formats with maximum speed rather than waiting for perfection, and optimising for quality and honesty rather than virality. he reflects on four years wasted chasing a hollywood deal for keep the meter running, ultimately realising that independent distribution on youtube is not a consolation prize but the actual future of television. the deeper thread is about staying punk — trusting your gut, moving fast, and refusing to let the system’s approval become a prerequisite for making the work.
- the 80% rule — a clear premise plus a basic sense of how to shoot it is enough to go make the show; the missing 20% reveals itself in the doing, and waiting for 100% kills momentum
- virality is a byproduct, not a goal — shows built to go viral feel exploitative and forgettable; shows built to be honest and intelligent get remembered and quoted
- hollywood deals cost you the one thing independent creators have — momentum; the gap between idea and execution is where conviction dies
kareem wants to document and model a new kind of media career — one built on gut instinct, punk independence, and genuine curiosity about people — and to show that youtube-native television quality formats are the future, not a stepping stone to somewhere else.
- the 80% format rule — launch with premise, aesthetic, and distribution figured out; let the rest emerge
- redemptive vs exploitative content — shows that give platform vs shows that extract attention
- momentum as a creator’s competitive advantage over hollywood
- the new late night — fragmented, host-led, parasocial, distributed without time slots
- the great equaliser — the subway as a format device that levels celebrities and working-class creatives
- independent distribution as freedom, not compromise
- punk creative identity — doing whatever you want without needing institutional approval
- keep the meter running as a bourdain-style empathy format for exploring cultural diversity in new york
- define your show in one line that makes the format instantly visual
- shoot 80% of the format before you have all the answers — go make it and fill in the rest
- never book guests based on social following or clout — book who you genuinely want to spend time with
- don’t seek validation from people before making the thing — the world will tell you if it’s good
- publish with the energy it was made with — don’t let time erode the original excitement
- treat every guest with the dignity of a friend — it shows in the product
- when scaling a format to tv quality, add casting and production infrastructure but preserve spontaneity and your own ignorance of the subject going in
this hit hard in the context of fomties. the whole 80% rule is basically an indictment of how i’ve been approaching it — thinking i need the full concept locked before i start. kareem launched subway takes with just “subway + what’s your take” and the 100% agree/disagree thing came out of his mouth on episode one. that’s the part i keep missing: the format reveals itself when you go make it, not when you keep planning it. the other thing that landed was the distinction between redemptive vs exploitative content — fomties as a concept has always been about giving platform to people who don’t have it yet, which is exactly kareem’s framing for who he books. i think that’s the identity fomties needs to lean into more clearly.
- the 80% rule — subway takes launched with a premise and a vibe, not a finished format; the 100% agree/disagree mechanic didn’t exist until episode one; this is the gap between where fomties is and where it needs to be
- redemptive vs exploitative content — kareem’s frame for booking: is the show giving or taking? fomties as a format should be able to answer this in one sentence
- the show is the clip — subway takes has no long form; the clip is the show; fomties doesn’t need a podcast or a youtube video before it needs a format; start with the smallest distributable unit
- momentum and time kill ideas — kareem: “as much time and space as you give between idea and making the thing, it continues to make less sense”; the escalator kid story in yesterday’s scratchpad is already ageing; record it this weekend or it will convince itself out of existence
- parasocial host identity — the reason people follow a late night host isn’t the content, it’s the sense that this person is a guide to culture; @ryeones building this is the long game
the thing i keep coming back to is how kareem framed the moment subway takes was born: $7,000 left in the bank, the premium scripted podcast company was failing, and andrew asked if he had any hail mary ideas. and his answer was: do the complete opposite of what we’re doing. that’s not a creative insight, that’s a survival move that became a philosophy. it makes me wonder if fomties will only get real traction when there’s actual pressure to just go make something rather than keep shaping it. the other thing: kareem said he never set out to go viral, he set out to create entertainment at the top of his intelligence. that’s a much cleaner brief than “build a content brand.”
one of the better colin and samir episodes — kareem is a clear thinker who gives specific, useful answers rather than vibes. the format breakdown and the redemptive/exploitative distinction alone are worth the watch. ★★★★☆
- what is the fomties equivalent of “what’s your take?” — the one-line format premise that makes it instantly visual and instantly repeatable?
- if fomties had to launch with 80% of the format figured out this week, what would the remaining 20% be — and is that 20% actually the reason it hasn’t launched?
- kareem books guests based on who he genuinely wants to spend time with, not clout — who are the people in ryan’s orbit that fomties would genuinely want to platform right now?
- the “show is the clip” insight: is fomties trying to build the wrong unit first — planning a long form thing when the short-form vertical unit is the actual product?
- kareem grew a parasocial host identity reluctantly — is there a version of @ryeones that can do the same thing without needing to be on camera every time, or does the yapping content this weekend change that?
- steal like an artist — kareem’s punk independence maps directly to austin kleon’s framework; the “do whatever you want without needing institutional approval” line is basically the book’s thesis
- soffcopy — the copywork + swipe file angle; kareem’s format curation instinct (great booking = great curation) is the same muscle
- boron letters — mentioned in the sweat equity podcast, relevant to the same conversation about writing that entertains vs writing that converts
- copywork — the discipline of studying formats that work, then finding your own version; subway takes is a masterclass in format distillation
- did i move any fomties format idea from concept to first attempt today, or just kept planning it?
- write the fomties one-line format premise — the equivalent of “subway + what’s your take” — before end of this week
- record the escalator kid yapping content this weekend — it’s already sketched, 80% is there, the 20% is the shoot itself
- watch the keep the meter running pilot episode — kareem said ep 1 hit 2 million views; study the format before building fomties
- write down who you’d genuinely want to platform on fomties right now — 5 names from your actual orbit, not aspirational guests