‘So Real, So Saudi’ is a tribute to 23 influential voices reshaping Saudi Arabia. In anticipation of Saudi National Day, these inspiring stories illuminate the nation’s rich diversity, innovation, and true spirit. Join us in celebrating their remarkable journeys.
With 23 people, Saudi Arabia is home to countless talents, eager to share their stories and experiences to the rest of the world.
Khalid AlSherbi
A certified tour guide and a global educator passionately narrates the hidden and beautiful tales of Saudi Arabia. From traditions, hidden gems to noting his favorite experiences and pointing out his love for the Kingdom’s hospitality, Khalid is always keen on sharing all that he knows and admires about the Kingdom.
Instagram: khalidsherbi
Watch it here
Nadine Lingawi | Fulana
Nadine Lingawi, also known as, Fulana, has taken the Saudi music scene by a storm. Driven by her love for indie rock at the age of 14, her passion led her to become a music producer, songwriter and finally a singer. Fulana took note of the lack of female presence in the Indie Rock music industry and decided she wanted to be the first Saudi woman to do so.
Instagram: fulanawho
Watch it here
Rasha Alkhamis
Saudi Arabia’s first certified female boxer and Vice President of the Saudi Boxing Federation, Rasha Alkhamis has taken over the Saudi boxing scene. Her journey into boxing began in 2011 during her studies at the University of Southern California, Once Rasha took Boxing as more than a sport, she returned to Saudi Arabia, joined the Saudi Boxing Federation, and earned her coaching certification.
Instagram: rasha_alkhamis
Watch it here
Bandar Arab
An administrative expert and entrepreneur, Bandar Arab began his journey with working in the non-profit sector, and now he is the executive director of Savola Group’s non-profit organization. At the age of 49 he decided to take on his own business, his hobby, music. With a deep passion for singing, he now performs with the music group Choralla which sells out within a day.
Instagram: bandararab
Watch it here
Summer Shesha
Actress and screenwriter, Summer Shesha is known to be one of the first actresses in Saudi Arabia. She fell in love with the art of acting at a very young age, and the root of that love came from performing in various school plays. Once taking the decision to take acting classes in Los Angeles, California, her journey as an actress officially started in 2013 and made it onto screens in 2016 as a lead role in Jeddah after Midnight.
Instagram: summershesha
Watch it here
Samira Jan
Executive chef at Sam’s, Samira Jan is a distinguished French pastry chef and a visionary entrepreneur, where her love for culinary began at 6 and by 9 she had already achieved mastery in crafting Arabian sweets. Her restaurant aims to bring an international taste to everyone’s platters, in order to bring about an unforgettable dining experience to those visiting and anticipating her dishes.
Instagram: samira_jan
Watch it here
Hanady Oraif
A recent high school graduate now studying Medicine and Surgery at King Abdulaziz University, Hanady Oraif, has a remarkable story of her groundbreaking invention that was designed to assist older individuals in taking their medication with ease. In 2023, she proudly joined the ranks of Saudi Arabia’s talented members of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Instagram: hanadyoraif08
Watch it here
Watfa Hamidaddin
The co-founder and creative director of Shaddah Design Studio, Watfa Hamidaddin began her story in 2015, driven by a profound understanding of her country’s rich culture and a keen sense of the global creative industry’s demands. Shaddah Design Studio emerged from this vision, and it has since become a platform to showcase all local talents.
Instagram: shaddahstudio
Watch it here
Hakeem Jomaah
Actor and filmmaker, Hakeem Jomaah explores the many reasons he decided to shift his career from medicine to filmmaking. Once he saw the direction of the Kingdom that it was moving towards he felt like he had a chance to be a part of the great history and ended up writing and producing the horror film Madayen. He takes pride in his work and is keen to work on many more projects.
Instagram: hakeemjomah
Watch it here
Basma Bouzo
In love with storytelling and is deeply passionate about cultural narrative, Basma Bouzo is one of the founders and managing directors of &bouqu, a creative and cultural consultancy that showcases various different stories. With over a decade of experience, Basma has worked in many different fields including, project management, strategy building, retail and publishing, she takes pride in many of her accomplishments.
Instagram: basmabouzo
Watch it here
Abdullah Alghufaily
Psychiatrist by day, pastry chef by night, Abdullah Alghufaily is an individual who studied Psychology as a profession and decided that he also wanted to become a talented pastry chef. At the announcement of an international scholarship program of becoming a Pastry Chef, being awarded to 30 Saudi students. Abdullah was quick to seize the opportunity to attend the Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris granted by MISK. Once back in Saudi Arabia, he launched his own business and is now preparing to open his first shop in Riyadh.
Instagram: abodbinmoha
Watch it here
Nujood Alotaibi
A creative artist and designer, Nujood Al-Otaibi astonished many with her remarkable artistic skills from an early age. She is a Mixed Medium Collage artist, who cuts out different shapes and sizes of paper and pastes them beautifully onto the canvas to create a distinctive and eccentric masterpiece. Sunsets and nature as a whole being her main source of inspiration, she learned to create art in different forms, from hyper realistics, surrealism to finally, abstracts.
Instagram: nujoodalotaibi
Watch it here
Nada AlMojadedi
Actor, visionary director and founder of Tamtheel Community, Nada AlMojadedi is an inspiration empowering Saudi talents. With a dream of acting from a young age, she decided through her creativity, she has narrated the art of storytelling to create an academy for young talents looking to hone their skills whether it’s in acting, directing or storytelling. She considers it the most powerful tool to be able to share different stories resonating with the audience.
Instagram: thenada__
Watch it here
Mohammed AlGhazal
The Co-Founder and CEO of Noor Energies Group Ltd, Mohammed AlGhazal is someone strongly passionate about technologies, Ai and how they are impacting the world day by day. He started his journey as an operations supervisor at Saudi Aramco from 2016 to 2019, and since then he has received many awards for his diverse technology and energy expertise. His remarkable journey includes accolades like the Young Oil and Gas Professional of the Year Award and the prestigious Oil & Gas and Refining & Petrochemicals ME Award.
Watch it here
Muneera Altamimi
The founder of and visionary behind the Saudi footwear brand, Tamashee, Muneera Altamimi takes pride in her brand that celebrates and illustrates Saudi culture and traditions through its idiosyncratic and distinctive materials and patterns. Inspires by the Earth and the Kingdom itself, Muneera’s mission is to include the Saudi culture in all of her designs and works, which skillfully reveal all the cultures and traditions that resonate within the Kingdom.
Instagram: mmmatamimi
Watch it here
Reemaz Oqbi
Rermaz Oqbi, a musician, instrumentalist and manager at the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir, discovered her passion for music at the young age of 7. Learning how to play the flute when young, it all started off as a hobby and has now become a profession she takes pride in. She not only surprised and captured the Saudi audience, but with her team, she was able to perform in different cities internationally, including Paris, Mexico, New York and so many more.
Instagram: reemazsings
Watch it here
Dur Bali
A professional basketball player in the Ittihad team, Dur Bali’s story and love for basketball was inspired by her grandparents who were both athletes, her grandfather being a former basketball player and grandmother a former tennis player. A motivated individual with strong skills, Dur’s journey began at the age of 11 in Colorado, Denver and in 2016 she came back to Jeddah and joined the Jeddah United basketball team.
Instagram: dur8bali
Watch it here
Loulwa Alsharif
Singer, actor and performer, Loulwa Alsharif found love in specifically jazz music and she enjoys singing songs like, “What a Wonderful World”, “I’ll Be Seeing You”, and “Comes Love”. It was at the age of 5 that she found her love for being on stage blossomed, which led her to nurture her skills further into learning the complete art of singing. Finally, her biggest achievement, which she takes pride in, is being invited to perform at MDL Beast.
Instagram: loulwa_music
Watch it here
Saad Almunajem
A young sports enthusiast currently in the field of Go Karting and a stuttering advocate, Saad Abunajem got into Karting at the age of 10. Driving Go-Karts for 13 years, Saad’s story began with driving Go-Karts with his nephews in their farm which later turned into something he loved and enjoyed. Karting was something he never thought he’d be able to do professionally, but once he saw the support the Kingdom was giving to those in motorsports, it pushed him to do more.
Instagram: saadmunracing
Watch it here
Yara Ghouth
A determined entrepreneur with a strong vision, Yara Ghouth is the founder of Naseej market, an online platform that allows local designers, artists and talents to showcase and sell their work or products online and give them a space to start their own business. Yara is a person who strongly believes that the heritage, culture, experience and stories that lie behind each artwork is very important and should be told to the community. After winning in a MISK program, she took on being an entrepreneur full-time.
Instagram: naseej.market
Watch it here
Lama Alhamawi
With a passion for people and storytelling, Lama Alhamawi is an astounding journalist specializing in foreign affairs. She always knew from a young age, she wanted to get into a career that would make an impact and honor different individuals and their stories. Lama has forged her unique path, specializing in the sector of politics and international affairs, where she skillfully takes people’s stories and experiences and turns them into narratives that affect other individuals whether it is directly or indirectly.
Instagram: lama.lha
Watch it here
Sara AlZuhimeel
The Innovation Jr. Partner at OCEANX for Business Solutions, Sara AlZuhimeel is an inspiring individual who is set on achieving her goals, no matter how challenging they can be. Getting to know various extraordinary people and learning more about them and the way they think and generate ideas, shaped the way she thinks and changed her thought process as a whole. She is especially passionate about searching for solutions for different challenges.
Watch it here
Moath Alwhibi
A member of the Deaf Youth Group and the head of The Deaf Photographers Group, Moath Alwhibi explains the importance of the Authority of People with Disabilities and the major role it plays in facilitating growth for individuals with disabilities. His hobbies consist mainly of traveling and photography, where in 2013 he had the opportunity to take a photo of HRH Mohammed Bin Salman. In 2020, he participated in a Volleyball Tournament with Deaf Club in Riyadh, and with their hopes high, they won the championships.
Watch it here
Also Read
Decoding Arabic Calligraphy – Destination KSA
Eight Weeks of Gamers8 will Feature Eight International Artists – Destination KSA
Our Pick of Top 5 Musicians and Bands – Destination KSA
Musical Instruments from The Arab World – Destination KSA
Voice Lessons To Sing Arabic Songs And Sound Awesome – Destination KSA
Books To Read To Explore Different Cultures – Destination KSA
8 Saudi Artists You Should Know About – Destination KSA
History of Hijazi Music – Destination KSA
