Guest Lecture: Kareem Rahma
Why the creator of Subway Takes doesn't "hang out" or do unpaid work.
Good morning everyone. Hope you’re having a nice morning. I went to a Knicks game last night and was delighted by all of the blue and orange Christmas decorations at the Garden. Alec Baldwin was there. Between the New York Magazine cover and the recent rant about how Americans know nothing about the world, it’s clear that man got a new lease on life.
For the month of December, Feed Me will be featuring a daily holiday gift — usually suggested by Emily, sometimes suggested by someone else. In addition to this advent calendar-style gift guide, there will also be the occasional Christmas surprise.
Anyone can slap a “gift for the person who has everything” label on a gift guide, but most of those guides are written by people behind a desk somewhere (probably at home) who likely don’t have everything. At least monetarily. I always think that term can be interpreted as two things: hoarders, or people in the 0.1%. Today asked someone in the latter group, my friend
, what he would want for Christmas and his answer was magnifique.“I've used the site Cameo, where you have a celeb give a personalized greeting to someone. My kids got the one below for me — Brian Cox as Logan Roy — for a birthday a few years ago and I loved it.
Cameo was in the news lately because after his nomination was withdrawn, Goetz made himself available on the site.
I got one for my daughter of a relatively minor actress from the Saw franchise; she and my son-in-law are obsessed with horror movies. That one was relatively cheap.”
GUEST LECTURE: Kareem Rahma
This interview is part of a Feed Me feature called Guest Lecture. In this series, I introduce you all to an expert who I’m curious about, and give paid readers an opportunity to ask them anything they want.
Kareem Rahma is the creator of viral shows SubwayTakes (where he asks people on the subway for their hottest takes) and Keep The Meter Runnin (where he asks New York’s yellow cab drivers to take him to their favorite restaurants). These shows are the new late night, the new getting your tight five on Letterman — they’re competing with Hot Ones and Call Her Daddy in terms of virality.
I met Kareem earlier this year at a Feed Me party. Since then we’ve become friends and neighbors. I’m crazy about him, and this interview is exactly what I hoped for when I started the Guest Lecture series — everyone asked something I wouldn’t have thought of, but we all agree that he’s building a strange and wonderful business.
“What was a Subway Take that made you pause and really rethink a previous ‘stance’ you had? At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna, do you see this as a metaphor for larger tolerance and understanding? Thanks for all the great content you are creating.” - KV
This is a great question. I sort of approach the show like an anthropologist would. I’m not necessarily looking to have my opinion changed; I’m more interested in hearing what other people have to say. But in order to get them to say more, I have to say more. This is one of the reasons I either "100% agree" or "100% disagree" at the top of every episode. Most of the time, I don’t have such a strong opinion, and I think, generally speaking, it’s very difficult to 100% agree or disagree with something. I think most people are in the gray area, which is a comfort zone, so this pushes them out of it. I have had my mind changed on the show before—at least 2-3 times—but it is rare that a guest will get that out of me.
“I’d love to know about the financials of creating your content. What were the first things you spent money on/ hired help for (eg. DOP, assistant, editor), and how do the financials shake out now?”
The first thing I spent money on was my camera and audio equipment. I got an interest-free credit card and put $14,000 on it. My wife was very supportive and encouraged me to buy the equipment rather than rent it. I’m kind of conservative with big-ticket items (though I have no problem spending money on frivolous things, like nice dinners). But when it comes to major purchases, I tend to overthink it. In the end, I figured I had a year to pay off the credit card, and if I didn’t use the equipment, I could always just sell it.
“The first thing I spent money on was my camera and audio equipment. I got an interest-free credit card and put $14,000 on it. My wife was very supportive and encouraged me to buy the equipment rather than rent it.”
Everyone who works on the show gets paid good rates. It might not be what they’d get on a corporate commercial shoot, but I’ve heard that in terms of independent content productions, our rates are definitely above average. I have a roster of about four shooters—three of them can also edit—but right now I have one dedicated editor because it’s more streamlined that way. I also have an associate producer.
I also have a co-creator on SubwayTakes, Andrew Kuo, who is involved in the overall business and vision as we expand beyond short-form content into long-form, live, podcasting, and generally figuring out how to create a sustainable independent media platform, etc.
“If you were a social media manager at a big company, how would you articulate to higher ups the value of investing in both short form and long form content? For example, what’s the argument for being active on YouTube (full-length) and also YouTube Shorts?” - Nick
I believe it's important to focus on both for the sake of deeper engagement and overall world-building. We launched SubwayTakes initially as short-form only, as a strategic decision to prioritize reach, audience growth, brand building, and scalability. However, we are now developing various long-form versions of the show. In October, we hosted a sold-out live show at Joe’s Pub, which was incredibly fun, and we’re planning to do it again. Additionally, we’ve filmed some longer-form episodes of SubwayTakes—approximately 30 minutes each—that we haven’t published yet.
“When building an events or content-based platform in NYC, what's an essential yet perhaps under-appreciated component of establishing yourself?” - Joso
You’ve probably heard it before, but I’ll say it again: consistency is key. You can’t be in the right place at the right time without showing up consistently. You have to fail—and keep failing—until you succeed. People see Keep The Meter Running and SubwayTakes, but they don’t see the ten other failures that helped me get here.
“You seem like a really nice and normal dude. What keeps you balanced and kind?” - Hannah
I think part of it is being an immigrant, and the other part is being from the Midwest. I have very normal aspirations in life. I want a nice place to live, to afford the things I want to do, and to take care of my family. I want to travel when I feel like it, but I don’t really want much more than that.
I’m honest with people that I want a version of fame that’s cool and chill, but I have no desire to be a massive celebrity. I just like when people recognize me, say “I love your work,” and give me a high five. That makes me smile. But I’m a private person and prefer to focus on working and putting out good work. I don’t overshare about my life online.
“I want a nice place to live, to afford the things I want to do, and to take care of my family. I want to travel when I feel like it, but I don’t really want much more than that.”
I come from a working-class family and have been working since I was 14. My father passed away when I was 20.
Also, it’s possible that I didn’t consider myself successful until the age of 38. My business partner Andrew calls this “the Mark Ruffalo effect.” I’ve also been told I kind of look like him.