At just 22, New Zealand’s Uce Gang, real name Simeon Fiapule, has managed to become one of the most recognisable content creators in Australia and New Zealand. He’s been in the game since 2014, when he first began his YouTube channel. Nine years later, he’s surpassed 150k subscribers on the platform, garnered 1.3 million followers on TikTok, and collaborated with brands among the likes of Uber and McDonalds, as well as UFC star Israel Adesanya. Most recently, he’s the one of the stars in the final episode of GOAT Showdown S3, presented by JD Sports.
Most known for his comedy skits on TikTok and vlog-style videos on Youtube, 2023 has marked Uce Gang’s most successful year yet. A large part of his exponential online growth this year has been due to the 100-week weight loss journey he embarked upon in late 2022. It’s a journey he’s documented unfailingly each week on YouTube, candidly sharing the highs and lows of his weight loss, with the purpose of holding himself accountable and inspiring others to put their health first.
“I could be lying down right now, eating s***. But I’m out here going for a walk, trying to do better because I’m tired of feeling like s***, man. We’re gonna get there,” said Uce Gang in his first weight loss video uploaded on December 28 last year. Today, having surpassed the halfway mark, he’s almost unrecognisable compared to 52 weeks ago—the work is paying off.
While sharing his weight loss journey online has been a positive thing for both his personal and audience growth, make no mistake, comedy remains his main focus. Uce Gang’s videos, some skit-based and some trend-based, are mostly centered around real life situations that Polynesian and Kiwi youth experience growing up—littered with dry humour and funny jokes throughout.
While doubts about achieving his dreams are a thing of the past these days—success didn’t come to Uce Gang overnight, nor easily. It took working a 9 to 5, getting fired, and a substantial amount of courage to take action on his dreams all those years ago. This is part of the story he tells to Complex Australia. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
Talk to me about how you started out. Doing YouTube had always been a dream of yours, so how did you actually make the start?
When I was younger I used to watch a lot of Vine, and it made me want to make content to make people laugh. I used to have a 9 to 5 working at a garden nursery—thank God I don’t do that anymore, my back couldn’t handle it [laughs]. When I first wanted to take content seriously, it was because I got fired from my job. I told my dad I wanted to take content seriously and go all out. So far it’s been working, thank God.
What was his reaction when you told him that?
He just told me to make sure it was my passion. What’s the saying? Get rich or die trying.
What are the biggest challenges that come with being a full-time content creator? And how do you manage those challenges?
Coming up with content and trying to be creative is the hardest thing. For me, I like to write down all my ideas in my notes app when they come to my head—then when it’s time to shoot I’ll check my notes.
How many videos do you make, and how many of them actually get posted?
If I have 10 ideas that I’ve shot, I’ll probably only post two or three. Sometimes things seem funny in your head, but then when you watch them back, they're dry. So I just have to try and choose the right idea. Sometimes when I post the videos, the ones I think will do well don’t. But then the ones I think won’t do well end up popping off.
When I watch your videos it just feels like I’m just chilling with the boys. Is that what it feels like behind the camera?
It basically is just shooting with the boys. Like, that's what we do. One of us just says, “Yo boys you wanna come down we’ll shoot a quick TikTok,” and then boom, we're just chilling. If you go into a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. So chilling with the boys is basically my job.
It’s not a bad gig. What’s your work life balance like then? If you’re chilling with the boys on set, are there still stressful days?
I can’t complain to be honest. Luckily my job isn’t as hard as a lot of other people’s—there’s a lot of people working 9 to 5 jobs and working really, really hard. So yeah, I can’t really complain too much. When you’ve been through that 9 to 5 life, you know there’s people out there really hustling, so yeah all credit to them.
Looking from the outside, many people would probably assume that most content creators with your level of popularity and success would have a whole team: a big film crew and editors. Is that the case for you?
For my shoots, I just use my iPhone. I just stick to being simple—I’d rather go that route—nothing too crazy, but maybe one day it’ll be crazy. But so far what I’ve been doing has been working.
How do you deal with criticism and hate comments—or even the just side-eyes that come with being a content creator in New Zealand?
I just ignore it. I’ve had a few people commenting, “Get a life bro,” and a few other things—but to be honest, now that I’ve done the work, people don’t comment that stuff any more. If one comment makes you quit doing what you love, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Don’t let one comment or one person ruin your passion. Imagine if someone like Gordon Ramsey quit after being told he was s*** one time.
With all the success you’ve had in the last few years, how do you keep yourself grounded?
I just have to make sure I stay the same. I think it’s important to keep your day ones close and never let them go, because you should never switch up on your day ones. They’ve been there from the start, so they gotta stay. If you don’t have your day ones, I dunno, bro.
I’ve been watching your weight loss videos—congrats man. You’ve lost a ridiculous amount of weight so far. Throughout the journey you’ve opened up about struggling with discipline. Is there anything you’ve learnt from the weight loss journey that you now apply to making content?
It's taught me about self-improvement and how to stay disciplined. If I can go to the gym, then I can do anything. Every day is set—I can do anything now—because I’ve already done the hardest part which is getting up and going to the gym. The rest of it’s easy, once you can push through that, bro, you can do anything!
You’ve done some stand up comedy before—I think you’d kill it on stage. What’s in store going forward?
I’d love to do some acting, but stand up comedy is the goal one day.
Would you stop YouTube for it?
Yeah. When the opportunity comes one day, which I know it will, I’ll take that opportunity and run with it. I know a lot of people who do stand up, it’s all in the writing. I’m trying to get there as fast as I can, but when it comes it comes.
You can watch Uce Gang's GOAT Showdown episode here, presented by JD Sports.
