Popular Food Critic Keith Lee Reveals How MMA Career Struggles Led to Influencer Stardom
Most people know Keith Lee for his honest restaurant reviews on TikTok. But before he was a full-time influencer, Lee was an up-and-coming MMA fighter living in Las Vegas.
Lee looked back on his fighting career in a new interview with Rolling Stone. The parts of the job outside the octagon, such as speaking with press, started to become more difficult than the fights themselves. That led to him realizing that social media could be an easy transition out of the ring.
"I was so nervous. I was sweaty. It would mess up my entire day just to hear that I had to do an interview," Lee said. "You can’t be a super-successful professional fighter and not be good on the mic. So I took it upon myself to start doing TikTok. I just set up the camera, and I started recording myself and pretended that it was 1,000 people watching me and I would use that as an outlet to get better in front of the camera."
By the time his first daughter was born, Lee was struggling to stay afloat. He lost his fighting contract after a tough loss and was working as a food delivery driver trying to make ends meet for his family.
"I'm sitting in the bed with my one-and-a-half-year-old. My wife is pregnant," he recalled. "I don’t have a job. And I just got choked out on national TV."
It wasn't long before he spiraled into a depressive episode. Soon after, though, he started sharing videos online and found a way out.
"I’m in the bed in a fetal position, and my wife is standing over me and telling me everything’s gonna be OK," he continued. "Maybe like a week later, I pulled myself out. I sat in the car. And I just started recording. And I was like, 'No matter what it is that is supposed to happen, it’s gonna happen. And I’m here for the ride. I’m not OK now, but I will be.'"
Lee's faith paid off as his TikTok following grew exponentially by early 2023. Today he shares his reviews with nearly 20 million followers across all social media platforms. It seems like his calling always was outside the octagon.
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