To most people, the word “salami” means nothing more than the pork delicacy common at every deli. However, within Aggieland, the word becomes much more than a seasoned Italian sausage — it’s a name, one that Aggies tie to the campus influencer known as Salami the Aggie.

Salami The Aggie has amassed over 18,000 followers on Instagram with the username @salamitheaggie and more than 24,000 on the TikTok account @tamuproductionz. 

He covers and documents life at Texas A&M, ranging from the informative — such as restaurant and food reviews, football game livestreams and campus building showcases — to relatable entertainment, like ‘Game Night’ streams in the Engineering Commons Game Room, football ticket giveaways and even opinionated criticism on the campus’s shortcomings. He aims to keep his content unpredictable, leaving his fans constantly asking for more. 

Salami The Aggie, or as he prefers to go by, “Salami,” is a Class Of 2026 biomedical engineering major. Hailing from a small high school in Houston, Salami said he finds fulfillment in his voyage to A&M from his humble beginnings.

“A small high school to a big college is usually supposed to be a big transition … but I feel like I took the transition well,” Salami said. “[I] just started being more extroverted after being naturally introverted in high school. You’ve got to go out — put yourself out there.”

Salami said he hopes to use his biomedical engineering degree to advance prosthetics and cancer research — but he still hopes to have a place for his burgeoning social media presence, which he hopes to continue after graduation. 

“I like to just be — people call me — the Aggie guy,” Salami said. “I like to just be a guy.”

Though Salami’s significant reach through his social media accounts is an accomplishment, it goes without saying that he still faces criticism, like most online presences. Salami said he has learned to largely ignore the haters — except when he responds to controversial comments to increase engagement.

“And that’s what brings more engagement, anyway, because other people are going to argue with what you say,” Salami said. “Yeah — argue back.”

Salami said despite often commenting on the “blandness” of A&M’s campus buildings and posting satirical complaints on the length of restaurant food lines, he enjoys Aggieland and everything it offers. 

“A lot of people don’t know that like I actually do like the school,” Salami said. “I don’t just make hate videos. … I feel like some people think that I just make videos about the school, but I don’t go here. But I’m a student also.” 

When he’s not making his videos, Salami is always moving around the bustling, limitless campus of A&M.

“Mainly I like to go to the Rec,” Salami said. “[I] just play basketball, pickleball, ping-pong. I like to rotate, get a mix of sports.”

Salami said he always looks forward to opportunities to interact with his fans and that every exchange with a fan is memorable to him.

“I was doing a live on Instagram Live, and I was just leaving — and we’re about to go home because I already filmed,” Salami said. “I was sweating and everything, and a guy came up to me and he was like, ‘Salami!’”

Salami said he finds people are often unsure whether it’s really him at first glance, but this particular fan didn’t pose any hesitation. 

“He’s like, ‘No way,’ and he just ran up to me and gave me a big hug squeeze,” Salami said. “Just squeezed me and he gave me a big hug, and I said, ‘Dang.’ I said, ‘Calm down.’”

Salami said he wasn’t creeped out by the situation. 

“It was cool,” Salami said. “I understand, It’s like a lot of these people, especially the freshmen, they’ve been watching me since before they even came to the school. So it makes sense.”

Salami is open to fan and audience involvement. He often aims to include fans in his activities, such as playing table tennis in the Engineering Commons Game Room. His amicable view of his supporters stems from his ideology to inspire and inform his fans about A&M and build a sense of community. 

However, Salami noted that he sometimes feels people get intimidated when they see him on campus. 

“I feel like [people are nervous] probably because they think, ‘Oh, he’s famous,’ even though I’m not famous,” Salami said. “Maybe, in terms of the Aggie world, I’m famous or whatever. But even whatever, how many followers I have, I’m still just a regular student. I go to classes.”

Salami warmly welcomes fan interactions and enjoys the diversity of each interaction, be it for a photo, a food review request or simple small talk. 

He even enjoys simple comments on his videos, he said, as it lets him know what to continue doing and reinforces his aim to be a promoter of the campus.

“I love hearing [that] because the people watching are A&M students,” Salami said. “So I love hearing, ‘Oh, I like this video you did. You should do more of these.’ When people say, ‘I like your skits better because it shows your personality,’ I’m like, ‘OK, I want to do more of that.’”

Reflecting on his legacy and how he would like to be remembered, Salami voiced his calling towards promoting A&M as his role of the “Aggie guy.”

“[I want to be known] as that guy that put A&M on to the world,” Salami said.