Kareem Afify looks intently at his iPhone as he scrolls down his personal Instagram page. The 26-year-old, who recently relocated from Bata, Egypt to Jersey City, has a feed comprised of countless pictures of himself — often shirtless and flexing off his muscular build.
He zooms in on a photo, prideful but evoking a sense of nostalgia. Instagram-photo Afify versus in-person Afify is strikingly not very similar.
“That was me, but now I’m not a trainer, I’m not anything,” said Afify, patting his abdomen and acknowledging his different appearance. “Just now I’m focused to make money first and I will come back to Egypt, to the gym, to the lifestyle,” he said.