From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, a young driver cum vlogger Shahnawaz Ahmad Bhat, who is popularly known as ‘Sethi Express’ is winning hearts on Internet for showing the truckers life and daily struggle.
Hailing from Pashpora village of Shopian district, Bhat dropped out of high school to support his family and worked for 5 months in a houseboat inside Dal Lake in Srinagar. There he was paid a meagre amount of 2,000 rupees on a monthly basis.
For him the life was not easy as there were challenges and hurdles that he faced at each stage. One has to move forward and never look back, he said.
“I worked as a conductor for my uncle’s bus and then as a salesman for several outlets in Srinagar. My dreams were big and these things were not helping my family as well,” he said.
Bhat says in 2014, he joined as a helper in bus and left early due to harsh weather conditions outside Kashmir. Later he joined as backup driver.
“Once I was traveling from Srinagar to Jammu, I made one of the random music video clip and postedon YouTube and at that time I had no interest in the platform,” he said.
Bhat said after several months, he saw that his clip had gone viral and got over 4 lakh views and earned him 3600 subscribers on Youtube.
“I was surprised after seeing so much response to my content and then in 2019 I started my professional journey and never looked back,” he said.
His YouTube channel Sethi Express has more than 173K subscribers. He has uploaded 100’s of videos till date, most of which focus on the ins and outs of his trade.
He has 156K followers on Facebook and 67 thousand followers on Instagram, Sethi is one of famous truck vloggers from Kashmir having such a huge fan base.
From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Bhat has filmed the unexpected events a driver encounters throughout his journey.
This year he also got Silver Button from YouTube for crossing one lakh subscribers. From endless conversations and to closed encounters along the highways, Bhat is sharing his journey each day.
On average, Bhat drives 12 to 14 hours a day, and is on the road for at least 20-22 days a month. From Kitchen to Bedroom, he shares every moment with his truck.
“From the earnings from Social Media, I renovated my house after 18 years and presently i am supporting my entire family. Thanks to God, I am earning good money out of my vlogs,” he said.
Bhat says from shooting to editing, he is doing it single handedly. He is currently driving a 12 wheeler truck (Bara Chakka).
He said social media is a platform that gives you various opportunities. Once the content gets uploaded, we learn, we develop and we sharpen our skills.
“My motive is to inspire and entertain people. Even if my small video can bring smiles to people’s faces, it will be my biggest contribution,” Bhat said.
