A 19-year-old from Cambridge has opened up about the life-changing moment when an intensely personal video showing him coming out to his Muslim mother was viewed by millions across the globe, catapulting him virtually overnight from an obscure content creator into an internet phenomenon.
Long before the spotlight and the flood of online reactions, Jafer Karausta was just an ordinary teenager raised in a home steeped in traditional Muslim values, silently harbouring a secret he felt unable to reveal.
"I grew up in a Muslim household with fairly traditional values," he explained. "I've always been creative, ambitious and probably a little bit dramatic. Even when I was younger, I always wanted to do something big with my life."
But alongside that drive was a personal battle that influenced much of his formative years. When asked how being raised in that setting impacted his sense of self, having recognised he was gay from an early age, Jafer spoke openly.
"It made things complicated," he told Britannia Daily. "I knew from a young age that I was different, but I also knew it wasn't something that was openly talked about around me."
"For a long time I tried to push those feelings away because it felt easier than facing them. Growing up, there was always this battle between who I knew I was and who I thought I was supposed to be. It took years for me to realise that being honest about who I am isn't something I should feel guilty about."
Despite the challenges of that experience, Jafer is adamant that he harbours no bitterness towards his childhood. "I don't regret my upbringing because it's part of who I am, but it definitely made understanding and accepting myself a much longer journey."
When he chose to record a conversation with his mother - a conversation destined to be seen by millions - Jafer concedes he'd permitted himself to anticipate a certain outcome.
"If I'm being completely honest, I was hoping for one of those movie moments where everything works out perfectly, everyone cries, hugs happen and emotional music starts playing in the background."
Yet he acknowledges he remained grounded about the likelihood of such a scenario. "Realistically, I knew it probably wasn't going to be that simple, but keeping such a huge part of myself hidden for years was exhausting. Whatever happened afterwards, I knew I couldn't keep pretending forever."
The full hour-long video was uploaded to YouTube, with parts shared on his TikTok and Instagram, and shows the heart-breaking moment his mother refuses to support his sexuality.
"Promise me you will never be with another boy or live with them," she asks, to which Jafer sadly agrees to stay single for his entire life to keep her happy.
"I'm not gonna date another boy or get in a relationship or move in with anyone like that," he replies. "But I just felt like you deserved to know. I could have so easily went without telling anyone, and if it was you in my position, you would have probably kept it from your parents wouldn't you. But you shouldn't do that, that's not a healthy thing to do. You shouldn't live with something like that, which is why I told you."
At one point, Jafer's mother bursts into tears telling him she's "sorry" for his sexuality. "It would be nice [for you] to have a girl and to have a family," she says.
Once the video went live, Jafer discovered himself in circumstances virtually unprecedented for someone his age - millions of complete strangers suddenly witnessing one of the most private moments of his existence. "There were definitely moments where I thought, 'Oh wow, I've just shared this with the entire internet,'" he said. "When you're vulnerable online, you don't know how people will react. That can be scary."
Despite this, he maintains he's never had second thoughts. "I don't regret it. The response showed me how many people related to what I was going through. If sharing my story helped even one person feel less alone, then it was worth it."
The fallout has been a whirlwind beyond anything he could have anticipated. Amongst the thousands of comments and messages Jafer has received, one particular trend has caught his attention - and it's this, rather than the views or the publicity, that he says has impacted him most profoundly.
"I've had so many messages from people saying things like 'I thought I was the only one who felt this way' or that watching my videos gave them hope," he said. "Some of them were from people my age, but a lot were from older people too, people who said they'd never told anyone about their own experiences."
For Jafer, those messages completely altered the significance of the video. What began as a deeply personal moment, filmed almost spontaneously, had transformed into something he says others were drawing upon to feel less isolated. "It's strange to think that something so personal to me has ended up meaning something to people I've never met and probably never will," he said. "But that's also what makes it feel worth it."
Perhaps the most delicate aspect of Jafer's story is also the one he guards most carefully - his relationship with his mother since the video went live. "Things between me and my mum are complicated but loving," he said.
"We're still figuring things out, and I think that's normal for a lot of families. It's not perfect, but there's still love there, and that means everything to me."
Jafer avoided any suggestion of either a fairy-tale resolution or a complete falling out, describing instead something far more raw and human. "I think people want a clean ending, like everything's either perfect now or completely broken, but real life isn't like that. We're just taking it one day at a time."
Reflecting on why his video struck such a chord with so many viewers, Jafer believes its appeal stretches well beyond his sexuality - touching on something far more universal.
"I think people connected with it because, at the end of the day, it's not really just about being gay," he said. "It's about wanting to be accepted by the people you love. That's something almost everyone can relate to, no matter their background or what they're going through."
He hopes that viewers, whatever their personal situation, found something relatable that resonated with their own lives.
"Whether it's about your sexuality, your career, your beliefs or anything else, I think everyone knows what it feels like to be scared of how the people closest to you will react to who you really are. If even one person watched my video and felt a bit less alone, or felt like they could maybe have that conversation with their own family one day, then that means more to me than anything else," he said.
"I know what it's like to feel like you're the only one going through something, and if I can help even a few people feel less like that, I'll be happy."
For years, Jafer explains, his identity was something he kept private, meticulously controlled and concealed from others. Sharing the video transformed that instantly - bringing with it an unanticipated wave of liberation.
"For so long it felt like this massive secret that I had to protect," he said. "Then suddenly millions of people knew, and the world didn't end. If anything, I felt more free than I ever had before. It's hard to explain unless you've lived with something like that for years, but once it's out there, it loses a lot of its power over you."
If you would like to speak to an LGBT helpline please call Switchboard - they are open 7 days a week 10am - 10pm on 0800 0119 100. They also have an instant messaging service, which you can access through their website.
