While most of us are barely able to navigate an exam paper at 13, Omari McQueen has built himself an entire empire as a vegan chef and influencer after starting a cooking account when he was just eight.
The young entrepreneur is earning a six-figure salary with his various ventures, having launched his very own vegan company Dipalicious, which sells plant-based meals, dips and juices.
But that’s not all, as he also runs his own YouTube channel Omari Goes Wild where he shares vegan tips and recipes, while his personal Instagram page has garnered a whopping 28.2k followers.
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It’s safe to say he’s flying and he’s barely even a teenager, and it’s all thanks to his hard work and dedication, not to mention his supportive mum Leah McQueen, who appeared on the latest episode of Good Morning Britain to discuss her son’s success.
While Leah’s opinion was up for debate in a segment considering whether child influencers should be allowed or not, she explained that Omari, who is home schooled at an online private school, enjoys what he does.
When GMB host Susanna Reid asked how much he makes from his various ventures, she paused before saying, “Enough.”
Richard Madeley then asked: “It's six figures isn't it? Well into six figures,” to which Leah replied: “Um… yeah.”
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Despite the awkward questions, Leah pointed out that Omari doesn’t run his various channels for the money.
“Omari is a vegan chef and his mission is to bring people together through food without harming animals,” she said.
“And by him cooking vegan meals and showing people what he can do, he's been given so many opportunities.
“He was able to meet Gordon Ramsay and be part of that show, he was able to go to Sweden at the palace and speak about dyslexia, which he's passionate about because he had severe difficulties in school because of his dyslexia.”
She continued: “He's not interested in getting pretty things and things like that, right now he's saving to open up a vegan chicken and chip shop.”
Author Gifty Enright appeared on the show alongside Leah to discuss her opposition to child influencers, saying: “If Omari had a passion for coal mining, we wouldn't be having this conversation.”
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She did, however, add: “Not every parent is like Leah, who is grounded and able to guide the child.”
After pointing out that Omari doesn’t work on his social media presence daily, host Richard Madeley made the following point: “It’s not mining, it’s social media basically.
“If these kids weren’t doing it for profit they’d probably be on social media for roughly that amount of time anyway just talking to their friends.”
Topics: Good Morning Britain, Instagram
Daisy Phillipson