Moto Zip, run by Arun Khatri, is already a big game in the motor driving space on YouTube. The videos are uncut and detailed. Can you believe that Arun is just 12th pass and took up a job with Delhi Police soon after. He has owned about 37 cars in the past 12 years or so! Only three of these have been. Rest all have been second-hand. Such diverse is his experience in pre-owned cars that his very first video on his channel Moto Zip (formerly known as Zip Of Life) was about this topic. He has a team of 15 people supporting the channel. He is mostly flooded with requests from requests from friends and relatives to help them find the right pre-owned car. Coincidentally, his future plans involve a few things around this. Arun has an amazing message for the youngsters in the interview below.
Before we go ahead, do take a look at Moto Zip’s highest-viewed video so far – Learn to drive a car in 17 minutes! The video has a staggering 26 million views.
He also does informative videos every now and then, like the one below:
Over to the interview now. Enjoy the read.
Arun Khatri a.k.a. Moto Zip Interview
Q1. You were working with Delhi Police earlier. Can you tell us why you left that job and at what point of time you felt to go full-time into YouTube?
I have been very fond of cars from the beginning. My father had Ambassador and as a child, it was very exciting. I got a job with Delhi Police in 2009. I wanted to buy a car then. I gathered money and bought a second-hand Maruti 800 worth Rs. 30,000 then. You won’t believe it, I had changed almost 26-27 cars by 2017. I have owned cars of almost all brands in India. In 2022 right now, I have a plan to buy a new car and this will be my 37th car. I used to own the car for 2-3 months and then get a new car and this cycle repeated. By the way, I used to drive a good 10,000-20,000 km before buying a new one. What happened in this process is that I learned a lot about buying a second-hand car.
Once in 2017-18, a friend of mine who was a sub-constable wanted to buy a car and he took me along. He also recommended me to share my knowledge on Facebook and other online channels. People get cheated by dealers in multiple ways and the initial few videos I uploaded were on this topic. I started the channel in 2018. So this is how the journey started.
Q2. You have over 26 lakh followers. The number would be potentially higher if we add unsubscribed viewers. Do your two kids know that their father is so famous and loved by so many?
Yes. They do realise this. In their school and in our society, a lot of people ask them if their father is a YouTuber. They also ask about new cars coming to our house every week. Companies keep sending cars for review so these are not necessarily cars owned by me. Kids are crazy about cars these days. My daughter who is in the fifth grade right now says that she aspires to be a YouTuber.
Q3. Do you think driving is a life skill, just like swimming, and you should know driving irrespective of whether you own a car or not?
Absolutely. Recently a friend of mine had taken my car for his personal use. There was one person along with him in the car when we was driving on a narrow stretch of road. He suddenly had a heart attack and fainted while in driver’s seat. The other person, his co-passenger, did not know how to drive. The car eventually crashed into a tree. Thankfully both of them survived the accident but had the other person known the basics of a car, he would have applied handbrake or controlled the steering to avoid the crash.
Hence, I feel whether you have a car or not, you should learn driving. Earlier in the 1990s, cars were still considered a luxury. But nowadays everyone has a car. Not all people who are watching my videos have a car but they are learning by watching, which is also good.
Q4. If you are made the Minister of Road Transport and Highways in India, what steps would you take from a safety point of view?
I would want to change some of the driving habits that are still prevalant in India:
1. Overtaking from the wrong side
2. Driving with folded ORVM (rear-view mirrors)
3. Not giving indicators
4. Driving with high beam
If you look at western countries, it is very difficult fo get a license. However, in India, it is very easy and you can get one by even bribing the officials. So, this should be avoided.
Q5. If you are made the chief of Motor Training schools of India, what would you do?
I would want them to also teach the following:
1. Engine oil level, and levels of other fluids. Most of the car breakdown happens because the driver doesn’t know the status of these
2. He should know how to change the tyres
3. Usage of ORVMs
4. Uphill and night driving
5. Meaning of various lights in the car (lights that appear in the car’s display)
Q6. Tell us 2 things no one knows about you.
1. I don’t make many friends. Yes, there is casual friendship but I just have 2-3 very close friends since the past 20-25 years
2. I sleep at 3-4 AM every day (like most of the other YouTube creators)
Q7. What are your goals/plans for the upcoming future on personal as well as professional front? I have seen other channels as well but none of them are even close to what you have as subscriber count.
See, there are other channels as well in this space but I feel they are way too professional. According to me, professionalism hides the facts instead of revealing them.
Talking about my channel, I want to do reviews of base variants of new cars that will be launched. Everyone talks about the top model but it is a fact that the highest-selling model is always the base model. This is simply because of its affordability.
Secondly, I may get into second-hand car certification services where we inspect the seller’s car amd provide a full review along with its expected price range. We will give full guarantee to the buyer of the parts examined. We will even list the details of this car on our website so that it is easier for sellers and buyers. Haven’t planned to take this service outside of Delhi-NCR yet but I think this service would be helpful.
Q8. If you were given Rs. 20 crore, what would you do with it?
Rs. 20 crores is a lot of money. Frankly speaking, I would just buy new cars, that’s it.
Q9. Apart from cars, what are your others hobbies and interests?
I love traveling a lot. I do not fancy the destination much but just enjoy the journey, i.e. road trip. I am mostly out of home for about 4 to 6 months a year. I love transforming my travels into personal experience.
Q10. What message would you give to 18-20-year olds who are in college right now?
I don’t see that fire to learn in today’s younger generation. Once you cross 20, you should stop taking pocket money from your parents. You should be able to meet those expenses at least on your own. You should do some part-time or full-time job to get a lot of experience and do many many experiments. This is the age where you have nothing to lose. I am 35, and an entire family is dependent on me. I cannot afford to do more experiments because if I fail, the whole family will collapse.
People do Mtech, MBA and then cry for jobs. In reality, to get a job, you have to do something extra that adds value. Do whatever you want but first reduce the dependency on your family at this age. You will learn lessons for life. It is not difficult to earn money.
Do something that you love. Since the beginning, I loved cars. Today, I am employing 15 people and playing them salaries.
People are stuck in rat race and always comparing with others. I have seen people in depression and cursing their job. I was earning a good Rs. 50-60K salary with perks when I was working with Delhi Police. But I did not enjoy it. Hence, I left the job. Today, I have turned my passion into my profession so I am enjoying it. It is okay to earn less but it is important to be happy.
Q11. Have you ever met with an accident?
Yes. In 2019, we were to test Nissan Micra on the Mumbai-Goa route. I had taken a train from Delhi and reached Mumbai in the evening. My team insisted that we leave for Goa the same night. So 5 of us left. I was driving. I was feeling very sleepy that day because of long travel in the train. In the middle of the night I accidentally took the car over the divider. All of us were safe but after that incident, I have never driven a car while feeling sleepy.
Closing Note
It was fun interacting with Arun Khatri of Moto Zip. Got to learn so many things talking to him. We are all grateful to him for the impact he has had on new drivers in our country. We wish him all the very best for all his future endeavours. Here are the links to his YouTube channel and Instagram handle. Do follow/subscribe to keep yourself updated.
Hope you enjoyed this interview. If you know any influencer or social media personality who would be interested in this series, please write to me at vishal@releasingnow.com or contactnow@releasingnow.com. Thank you!
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