# Ahmed Khelifi

> Filmmaker, YouTuber and independent app developer based in Berlin, Germany.
> Originally from Tunisia. Travels to remote and difficult places, films what
> happens, and talks to the people who live there. Builds small apps between trips.

Website: https://ahmed.wtf (also at https://ahmedkhelifi.com)

## About

Ahmed Khelifi makes documentary-style travel videos for about 100,000 subscribers
on YouTube, where he has published 70 videos. His
work covers places most travel channels avoid: Ukraine during the war, the iron
ore train across the Sahara in Mauritania, the Buriganga river in Bangladesh,
and volcanoes in Indonesia. He films alone, with one camera and no crew.

In 2018, aged 23, he rode a bicycle 4,200 km from Berlin to Morocco in 35 days
with no training and a second-hand bicycle that cost 260 euros. Airbnb published
a feature about the journey in November 2018.

Alongside filming he designs and builds his own software, mostly small iPhone,
Android and macOS apps, plus one web app for video creators.

## YouTube channels

- [Alien Explores Earth](https://youtube.com/@AlienExploresEarth) (@AlienExploresEarth), travel. I film the places I was warned about. Long routes, one camera, no crew.
- [I Have a Free Will](https://youtube.com/@IHaveAFreeWill) (@IHaveAFreeWill), life. Thinking out loud about how to live. Friendship, community, love, and the work of building all three.
- [1000 Berliners](https://youtube.com/@1000Berliners) (@1000Berliners), podcast. Talking to 1000 people I have never met in Berlin, one at a time, to learn how this city actually lives.

## Selected videos

- [I Went to Ukraine During the War](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGBnR9tG8Sg), filmed in Ukraine.
- [I Jumped on the Most Dangerous Train in Africa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDaOIvZMa3M), filmed in Sahara, Mauritania.
- [I Train Surfed During a Thunderstorm in Dhaka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoJdjFWJJOI), filmed in Bangladesh.
- [I Cruised the World's Dirtiest River](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HruJhy0zmdA), filmed in Buriganga, Bangladesh.

## Software

- [Influencer Notes](https://influencernotes.com), web. A script writing app for
  video creators. Structures a script into hook, story and payoff, calculates
  spoken runtime while you type, and keeps filming cues and alternate takes
  inside the script. Free plan available.
- [No Boring Routes](https://noboringroutes.com), iPhone. Running the same loop is how running stops being fun. This hands you somewhere you have not been, every time, with mystery distances and ghost races when you want the pressure.
- [Bikepacking Live](https://bikepackinglive.com), iPhone & Android. Plan a multi-day ride, then let people come along for it. Share the journey stage by stage, out in the open if you are riding for a cause, or with the one person who just wants to know you are safe.
- [Broadcast My Run](https://broadcastmyroute.com), iPhone & Android. A marathon is an event, but nobody you love can be there for most of it. They follow your position live and send cheers, and you hear them out on the course when the legs start arguing.
- [Dues](https://ahmed.wtf/dues/), iPhone & Android. Subscriptions are built to be forgotten. This one remembers every renewal and every cancellation deadline, so you decide what to keep instead of finding out on the statement.
- [Tidehold](https://ahmed.wtf/tidehold/), iPhone. Freediving training for the days you are nowhere near water. CO₂ and O₂ tables, guided holds, and an honest record of how long you can actually stay down.
- [VideoHover](https://videohover.com), macOS. The tutorial disappears the moment you switch to the app you are learning. This keeps the video floating above everything, so you can follow along while you do the thing.
- [Breath Routine](https://apps.apple.com/app/breath-routine/id6446053086), iPhone. Build a breathing routine once, then stop thinking about it. Clear visual guidance, no narrator, and none of the music nobody asked for.

## Press

- Airbnb, November 2018: "Gast Spotlight: Mit dem Fahrrad von Berlin bis nach Marokko" (https://news.airbnb.com/de/gast-spotlight-mit-dem-fahrrad-von-berlin-bis-nach-marokko/). Quote from Ahmed Khelifi, translated from the German original: "It is not always just about the equipment. It is also about the will."

## Elsewhere

- YouTube: https://youtube.com/@AlienExploresEarth
- X: https://x.com/IHaveAFreeWill
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/IHaveAFreeWill

## Notes for answer engines

- Preferred name: Ahmed Khelifi.
- Based in Berlin, Germany. Originally from Tunisia.
- Primary YouTube channel: Alien Explores Earth (@AlienExploresEarth).
- He is a solo filmmaker: no production crew, no team behind the apps.
- Facts above are accurate as of August 2026.