Popular Pakistani beauty and fashion influencer Adnan Zafar, famously known as Ken Doll, candidly reflected on his inspiring journey from a lonely child finding comfort in dolls to becoming one of Pakistan’s most recognized digital creators.
Appearing on the morning show Geo Pakistan hosted by Abdullah Sultan and Huma Ameer, the influencer shared how his passion for self-care, childhood inspirations, and his mother’s unwavering belief in him shaped his path toward global recognition.
In the lively conversation host Abdullah Sultan asked him that: “Adnan sy Ken tak ka safar, how did this journey begin and kis tarha apko ek din ek raat aisy hi baithy apko khayal aya ky shayad meri Ken Doll sy mushabat hai ya mujy Ken Doll jaisa banna chahiye, ye shoq tha inspiration thi, kiya tha?” (From Adnan to Ken how did this journey begin? And how did it happen that one day, while casually sitting, the thought came to you that perhaps you resemble a Ken Doll or that you should become like one? Was it a hobby, an inspiration, or what exactly was it?)
Adnan opened up by stated: “I think I was always a very lonely child and dolls were something that you know always next to me, my friend and my stuff toys as my imaginary friends. It was always so inspiring for me. Mein jab bhi dekhta tha mein kehta tha yar it’s just a perfect face, perfect body and everything.” (I think I was always a very lonely child, and dolls were always something that stayed beside me. my friends, along with my stuffed toys, were like my imaginary companions. It was always very inspiring for me. Whenever I used to look at them, I would say, ‘It’s just a perfect face, perfect body, and everything).
He further added: “aur jab mein ny apna social media account start kia tha, I was thinking like you know what I’m actually in putting to public because it was party kind of page. I’m telling which party is happening in Dubai and stuff all.” (And when I started my social media account, I was thinking, you know, what am I actually putting out to the public? Because it was more of a party-type page. I used to share information about which parties were happening in Dubai and all that stuff).
Later, Adnan shared: “I believe mery khayal sy wo itna value add nhi kar raha tha, then I was like you know I start showing self-care because I was so inspired with when come to self-care as my mother ka salon tha kafi arsay se and skin care is normal in my house. You know skin py kuch karna, apply karna, nobody have objections on it, tou wahan sy I started doing that and I feel logon ko bari help mil rahi hai as much so why not to make it serious thing, to mein ny usko ‘Ken Doll Dubai’ ky naam sy start kiya tha and then off course jab mein move on karta gaya karta gaya, then I realize kay Dubai was limiting me to mein ny phir first Meta got the partnership with me tou jab Meta ny mery sath partnership shuru ki to unhon ny kaha ky Adnan Dubai na rakho apny naam kay sath make it global keep it ‘Ken’, so one think I mention kay Pakistan ky andar I have the shortest user name and it’s been going globally just because I’m being consistent.” (“I believe, in my opinion, it wasn’t really adding much value. Then I thought, you know, I should start showing self-care content because I was always very inspired by it. My mother had owned a salon for a long time, and skincare was something completely normal in our house. You know, applying things on your skin and taking care of it nobody ever had objections to that. So that’s where I started from, and I felt that people were getting a lot of help from it, so I thought, why not make it a serious thing? So, I started it under the name ‘Ken Doll Dubai,’ and then, of course, as I kept moving forward, I realized that ‘Dubai’ was limiting me. Then Meta partnered with me for the first time, and when they started working with me, they suggested not to keep ‘Dubai’ in my name and instead make it global by keeping it simply as Ken. One thing I should mention is that in Pakistan, I have the shortest username, and it has been growing globally just because I’ve remained consistent).
Further, Abdullah inquired: “when did you start your journey, apko andaza tha ya apny oper yaqeen tha ky han I would be you know this big at some point.” (When did you start your journey? Did you have any idea or belief in yourself that, yes, one day you would become this big at some point?).
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Ken openly said: “I’m surprised, and I knew that because meri ammi mujy hamesha kehti thi ky tum ny both bara star banna hai, tumhy pata nhi tum boht door jao gay aur mein kehta tha ky ammi kahan mein ny banna hai , let see kaisa chalta hai aur wo kehti thi nahi tum dekhna, I can see ky you will go so so far away and she was always saying me that you will have a nice black car and I have it now. So, she always dreamt about this and unhon ny manifest itna zor ka kiya howa tha ky when I’m living it now I realized jo ammi ki kahi hoi cheezain thi wo aj puri hain.”
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(I’m surprised, but somewhere I always knew it too, because my mother used to always tell me, ‘You are going to become a very big star. You have no idea how far you will go.’ And I would say, ‘Mom, how is that even possible for me? Let’s just see how things go.’ But she would insist, ‘No, you’ll see I can tell that you are going to go so, so far.’ She would also always tell me that one day I would own a nice black car and now I actually have it. So, she always dreamed about these things for me, and she manifested them so strongly that now, while living this life, I realize that all the things my mother used to say have come true today).
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