Michael Zakar

Michael Zakar is an American author, model and performer, one half of the identical-twin duo known as the Zakar Twins. With his brother Zak, he wrote the 2017 memoir Pray the Gay Away, which the pair later adapted into a live comedy play staged in Royal Oak, Michigan. The twins have built a following across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, where the joint @zakartwins account has drawn roughly 103,000 Instagram followers and more than 1.7 million TikTok likes.

Their work centers on queer Arab-American identity, body-positive modeling and the friction between religious upbringing and sexuality. A second book, How to be F*cking Happy, arrived in 2021, and in 2024 they launched an underwear line. Michael and his brother are now based in New York City, where they continue to appear at queer cultural events and produce video series through Producer Entertainment Group. [edit]

Michael and his twin brother Zak were born on February 22, 1993, in Michigan, into a family of Iraqi descent. They grew up in metro Detroit, within the Arab-American community, where much of their early life played out against the expectations of a religious household. That tension between family faith and sexuality became the emotional core of their first book.

Before publishing, Michael studied at Wayne State University, according to his LinkedIn profile. The brothers worked as fashion models, taking runway and freelance assignments with brands including Steelcase and Henry Ford Health System. Their pivot from modeling to authorship came when they turned their coming-out story into a manuscript, a decision that would define the Zakar Twins brand. [edit]

The 2017 publication of Pray the Gay Away brought the twins social-media attention and established their public identity as writers and advocates. In 2018 they went public with allegations of sexual assault by photographer Rick Day, a story covered by The Advocate and an early example of the pair using their platform for advocacy.

In 2020 the memoir was adapted into a live LGBTQ comedy play, staged in Royal Oak, Michigan, and covered by Detroit outlets including Metro Times, WDET, WXYZ, the Detroit News and Pride Source. A second book, the self-help title How to be F*cking Happy, followed in 2021. The twins continued speaking and advocacy work, including a featured interview with The Trevor Project for Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month in April 2023. In 2024 they launched a sexy underwear line, covered by Pride Source, and in November 2025 they appeared at Grindr's Garden of Otherworldly Delights event in New York City. They also produce the Hoes Before Bros video series through Producer Entertainment Group and appeared in a BuzzFeedVideo piece, When My Twin And I Came Out As Gay. [edit]

Michael and his brother present themselves as writers, brothers and habibis, a persona that blends humor, body-positive modeling and queer Arab-American advocacy. Their social feeds mix shirtless modeling shots with comedy bits and earnest commentary on identity. The tone is irreverent but rooted in community, and they lean into their twinship as a visual and comic device. Media coverage tends to frame them as representatives of Middle Eastern queerness, a role they have embraced in interviews and on stage. [edit]

iFANN has not yet collected fame data for Michael Zakar, so no rank is available. He is not on the September 2026 iFAMOUS Rankings flagship list. Within queer social media, however, the Zakar Twins brand has a dedicated following. The joint @zakartwins Instagram account has roughly 103,000 followers, while Michael's personal @zakar.michael account has about 6,100. On TikTok, the @zakartwins account has passed 1.7 million likes. The audience is informal and has no documented fandom name; followers are simply supporters of the twins' writing, modeling and advocacy. They engage through comments and shares, and the brothers reciprocate by posting candid updates about their lives and work. [edit]

The most-retold story about the twins is that their mother discovering they were gay inspired Pray the Gay Away. A more serious chapter came in 2018, when the brothers publicly alleged sexual assault by photographer Rick Day, a story The Advocate covered. Their Iraqi heritage and Middle Eastern queer identity are central to how they are covered in the press. Michael and Zak are identical twins, a detail that shapes both their branding and their stage material. The pair were interviewed by Daniel Tosh for a CeWEBrity Profile segment on Tosh.0. [edit]

Michael was born in Michigan to a family of Iraqi descent, and he and his twin brother Zak grew up in metro Detroit within the Arab-American community. The family's religious expectations, and their mother's discovery that the twins were gay, became a defining part of their public story. Michael remains closely tied to Zak, his frequent collaborator and business partner. No spouse or children are publicly reported. [edit]

Michael's primary collaborator is his identical twin brother Zak Zakar, with whom he writes, performs and runs the Zakar Twins brand. The pair have worked with Producer Entertainment Group on the Hoes Before Bros series and were interviewed by Daniel Tosh for Tosh.0. They have partnered with The Trevor Project for advocacy work. [edit]

Michael is gay and has discussed his sexuality and dating life in his content, including a Boyfriend Rates My Skills video on the Hoes Before Bros channel. Beyond that, sources do not document any named, confirmed long-term romantic partner, engagement or marriage. As of 2026, his dating life is largely private and not publicly documented by name, and he is believed to be single. [edit]

No credible outlet publishes a net-worth figure for Michael Zakar specifically, so any number is an estimate. Based on available information, iFANN currently estimates his net worth at approximately $500,000. His income likely comes from book sales, live shows, modeling assignments, brand work, and the 2024 underwear line. He lists a role as a Brand Representative at C4 on LinkedIn. As of 2026, his earnings remain modest compared with mainstream celebrities, reflecting a career built on niche publishing, live performance and social-media influence rather than large-scale commercial deals. [edit]