Amazing! Meet Adam Maina….The 20-Year Old Social Media Expert Who Quit College And Went On To Become The King Of Twitter.

‘Or can we meet kesho? At TRM? Lunch on me. We can have a lunch meeting,’ Adam texts me. And he won’t be online on WhatsApp again till some five hours later.

Trying to strike up a meeting with the unassuming Adam Maina,the 20-year old conqueror of the digital space isn’t easy. After a series of botched meetings,I finally meet Adam. At TRM. He had set a 1pm meeting. And he’s there exactly at 1pm. With the accuracy of a driven businessman who understands the value of time and it’s implications on business.

I show up half an hour later to meet him half way through a delicious plate of roast chicken and fries,devouring the meal with the same intensity he applies to his work. I apologize profusely and pull a chair,sweating,dying for a cold drink.

Adam smiles and assures me that it’s alright. And that my lateness isn’t something he took to his heart. This is the second time I am meeting Adam. At the same place – Java,TRM.

‘It’s OK… Don’t worry… ‘ He says to me as I try to explain why I got late.

He isn’t impatient or finicky,he’s all relaxed,seems to love smiling, appears a little shy,is very modest and calculated-he’s a ruthless marketer and a brutal force on Twitter and yet very modest and chivalrous.

Twitter,Adam’s playground,seems to be the one thing he is most passionate about. As we have a chat,Adam constantly checks his Twitter,refreshing the feed,scrolling down the Timeline and keeping up with what’s Trending and why.

Twitter is a busy Avenue. Alot happens there. And it happens so fast you can easily miss it.

Vicious wars (known as Tweefs) go down on Twitter on a daily basis. Stuff trend almost immediately the news breaks. Celebrities spur epically on the social networking site. And brands are launched,harangued and boosted immensely through the mighty power of the 140 characters. There are funny moments,too. And the humorous trolls who keep us all going back for more of that unending Twitter laughfest.

‘Twitter is my life… ‘ Adam tells me,smiling,but still matter-of-factly.

Adam cleared High School in 2012. And while at Mururia Boys High School in Gatundu,Twitter – or social media as a whole-was still a very new novelty to Adam.

Social Media wasn’t even something you could confidently take up as a career post high school. But this is where Adam ended up. Some less than five years after high school,doing tremendous things and achieving incredible success.

In 2014,Adam enrolled in Kenyatta University to pursue a course on Marketing. But he quit half way. No,actually,after two months.

‘I wasn’t feeling it,’ Adam says. ‘I didn’t feel like I was up to it. It wasn’t my thing. I didn’t have the motivation for that course. Or for a college education at that particular point in time’.

And just like that,Adam quit K.U,to focus on launching a Twitter account. And a Facebook one.

‘It was a stupid thing to do.. I know… ‘ Adam says.’ But I quit KU to join Twitter. ‘

I laugh at how absurd that sounds. He laughs too. But Adam had a plan.

Within a couple months,the college dropout was now averaging 7,000 followers on Twitter.

‘That was fast! ‘I remark. ‘How did you do that? Where did you get these people!? ‘

Adam tells me he started by making funny tweets. Hilarious tweets. Silly tweets. Cocky tweets. And bam,he had them.

And together with some two other pals,Elijah Kiama and Davis Kinanga, Adam would start approaching Companies and public personalities asking them to contract them as their social media managers and marketers. Some paid attention,others saw them off,dejected.

‘Soon enough we broke up and everyone went their own way… ‘ Adam says,trying to piece together the genesis of his vicious Twitter dominance.

Slowly,and with his Twitter audience growing larger and larger,Adam would soon get big gigs – Get hired by Hero Radio for a six month contract as their social media marketer.

And as the year 2014 came to a close,Adam would find himself blessed beyond measure.

‘Heineken approached me for a one-month Twitter publicity job. It was during the Champions League Finals. Heineken were the official sponsors. And I was driving the conversation on Twitter. The results were amazing… ‘

I ask him how much he got for the deal. Adam laughs and agrees it was good money,money so good you could sleep in it.

2015 proved to be Adam’s year of bagging almost all Twitter marketing deals.

In a span of just 12 months,Adam had been approached by-and worked for-Infinix Mobile,Beat ya Keegah, Safaricom,Jumia,Sports Betting sites,Record Lables,Beer brands and many others.

His job was simple – create an interesting conversation around these products on Twitter,get people talking about them,make the hashtags trend and watch a product take off.

Adam did just that. To hundreds of companies achieving great success for them and making spectacular bank in the process.

2016 has opened with much promise and gusto for the Twitter King. He is already the face of a Telecommunications Company,has worked for Sauti Sol on a one-month contract for the promotion of Live and Die in Afrika album and it’s launch and has also ventured into radio – interning and hosting a radio show at the Runda-based Unverified Radio and also venturing deeper into podcasts.

Adam is not just content with being the King of Twitter Marketing,he also has plans to join Daystar University and further his skills on Communication.

As he chows down on the last bits of his chicken,Adam tells me that he was also the face behind the biggest hashtags you’ve seen so far on Twitter in 2016.

‘I was contracted by the Kisii County Government to push publicity for their Kisii Entrepreneurship Summit ‘.

He also is currently working on The Ameru Festival,driving the event’s conversation strongly across Twitter and Facebook.

As he sips his fresh orange juice,he does it like a man who has made a mark,achieved his dream,created a formidable brand and accomplished so much at such a terribly young age.

I ask if I can call him the King of Twitter. Modestly,he agrees unable to allow himself to be pompous or haughty yet aware of what a force he truly is on the Internet. And just what brilliance he possesses.

Welcome to Twitter where a 20-year old college dropout is driving markets wild,running corporates like a tsar and changing the way Kenyans look at companies and their products.

As for the Philippine Award he was nominated for last year,as Kenya’s Most Influential Twitter Personality,he prefers I don’t even bother with it. As it didn’t mean much to him. But he agrees to have been pleasantly surprised and flattered by the honor. From so far away a land.

‘I admire Charlamagne tha God…He’s my biggest role model,’ Adam tells me of the notorious Breakfast Show host at Power 105.1 FM in New York. ‘For his tenacity,boldness,massive reach,expertise at media,entrepreneurial spirit,ability to drive conversation and also controversy…’

And just like the famed New York Radio legend,Adam is all about business. One client at a time. And he’s making it. Fast.

And in case you’re wondering who is behind the currently trending Hashtag #UnconditionallyBae,about Sauti Sol’s new song with Ali Kiba,then wonder no more. It’s your boy Adam.

You can follow Adam on Twitter HERE. And never miss a moment in the young man’s greatness in the making.

Long live the King!