1- Tell us a bit about yourself and 199X!
I’m the co-founder and managing partner of 199X digital. We are the youngest Digital Marketing and Communications agency in the region. I started the agency in Dubai in 2018 when I was only 21 with co-founders Ziad El-Kady and Omar Shaheen. I’m now 23 years old.

We started off as an agency that offers social media and management and content creation, with clients from the Middle East; in Egypt, Saudi, Kuwait, Dubai, and Oman. We’re currently also working with international clients and handling global accounts. Because we’ve built our credibility with our clients – we work with them as a team, they trust our vision. And our end goal is to help them develop their businesses and services.

2- What did you like the most about the idea of “Asrar El-Nafs”?
We’re all youth leaders in a sense and we want to empower youth – by all means. So when Aly first approached us, we thought that it could be a very beneficial opportunity from a business perspective, of course, and for awareness. But mainly, for the love of the youth and for the beauty of the collaboration, we wanted to give back somehow.

We want to set examples that youth can present something that we’re lacking in Egypt; awareness about the importance of mental health. We wanted to show people that collaboratively, we worked hand in hand to host such a podcast; bringing in big names from Egypt and the Middle East to actually give their advice and tell their personal stories about mental health.

3- The podcast and the fact that the discussed topic is mental health is proof that the youth of today are becoming more aware of crucial matters in the world. What do you think?
I’ve personally come across a lot of mental challenges in the past few years, being a 21-year-old still studying and starting my own business alongside my partners. We all had so many challenges that started to affect us mentally and so we began to educate ourselves about mental health. So now, we try to give back to the youth in need of a helping hand.

And to answer your question, youth, these days, are more aware of how you need to surround yourself with an environment and a culture that can respect your thoughts, values, vision, creativity, and help you reach your goals and become a better version of yourself. Which also goes back to your own mental health; and this is the idea behind the whole show. 

https://identity-mag.com/asrar-el-nafs-interview-the-team-behind-the-first-mental-health-podcast-in-egypt/