Meet Sherief Zakher | The Jungle SKipper

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sherief Zakher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sherief, what are you inspired by?
I am inspired by happiness, by smiles, by learning, and sharing! It’s so easy to look at something and tell someone it is “cool” or “epic”, but to look beyond that, and to figure out what makes it such, or how it has influenced other great things since it’s development really makes sharing things from my favorite place more special and more interesting and inspiring!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I create videos based on Fantasy Parks, primarily Disneyland, but I also cover other parks from around the globe! I teach people facts, history, secrets, and bring a new light to the way people see their favorite places! I love sharing how these innovations not just only had an effect on the park it is in, but on the world as well! It is surprising just how much a theme park can really affect the world and vice versa!

I am most proud of my recent trip to Europe to cover Disneyland Paris and the Efteling in the Netherlands! It was a major risk on myself and my channel because i didn’t know if my audience was going to be receptive about learning facts from different places. It turned out to be the most anxiety inducing thing I have done because I did it all by myself, but it was also the most rewarding experience I have had as a creator. The places, the people, and the cultures I got to experience were absolutely surreal! I never thought I would get to travel the globe to share my passions with others around the world!

I would say it wasn’t easy, but also, when you are passionate about something, you don’t exactly see challenges as something of an obstacle, you see them as chances to grow and learn! I have learned that as a person, with all the obstacles I have been through in life, from struggling to make rent and eat my next meal, to trying to just figure myself out and find my voice, I am stronger then I have ever imagined. The moments where you are most nervous and worried, when you push through them, they define you and make you even more amazing. I have learned that the most important thing is to love yourself and to really take risks on yourself because without those risks, you’ll never know how far you can go, and for me, that was a lot farther then i ever thought!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well I would take them to some historic sites that helped my favorite place become the amazing location it is today! I would take them to:

– The Griffith Park Merry Go Round, which is the location that inspired Walt to come up with the idea of Disneyland as he watched his daughters play on the attraction.

– The Carolwood Pacific Barn, which is the birthplace of Imagineering, also located in Griffith Park. This is where Walt started concocting all sorts of various projects that led to many of the developments we have seen over the years in the Disney Parks, it has tons of things Walt built and owned, as well as a few items from Lillian Disney and a couple of the “Nine Old Men” (Walt’s original team of Imagineers and Animators)

– Tam O’ Shanter’s Restaurant, on any given day during lunch, you would catch Walt and the Imagineers here! You can even grab a seat at Walt’s favorite table which has art that was made by Imagineering for this location!

-Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, tons of awesome Disney things to see here, from the epic Animation building to the home of the Walt Disney Archives, so much history and magic has taken place here!

-Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, The birthplace of some of our most favored attractions and shows at the Disney Parks!

-Disneyland Anaheim, this one is a given because it is literally the happiest place on earth!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my friends Ry & Skyla of the dynamic social media duo known as “Sometimes Castles”, they are some of the most kind hearted and passionate folks I have ever come across!

I would also like to dedicate this shoutout to those that have spent a lot of their life not realizing they deserve great things. A lot of times, we get so caught up in ourselves and the negative things in our lives that we feel at a loss and not deserving of good things, and that is just wrong. People may not see it in themselves just yet, but if people push forward with good intention, good things are not just deserving, but are bound to come to them. It may take a lot of time, it may take a little, but no matter what, everyone deserves good things and good opportunity, and those that have that mentality to push past their current circumstances and say “In spite of this, I’m coming back, and I’ll be better and stronger because of it” those are the real heroes that will find their own personal greatness within themselves.

Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejungleskipper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejungleskipper/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJungleSkipper/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thejungleskipper

Image Credits
PixiePopDesigns