Kiko is Hot: from YouTube to the book “Icónico” and the DJ booth

Harriet L. Whitmore • August 28, 2026 17:01

Fifteen years ago, he got his start on YouTube - and since then he has steadily broadened his professional horizons. Kiko is Hot, the name under which Francisco Soares became known, has just made his debut as an author with Icónico, a book in which he turns his “chaotic ideas” into a portrait of the life he has lived so far.

Alongside the book, his CV includes the series Casa do Cais, where he was both lead actor and writer; a DJ career that began at Trumps, the historic Lisbon club; and the interview programme Terapia de Segunda, which he hosts on Cidade FM. He also has more than a million followers across social media, where he posts both humorous videos and messages with a more serious edge.

He stopped by Posto Emissor to talk about the stories he explores in the book and about his path as a DJ. This summer he plays MEO Marés in Matosinhos on 19 July, Côa Summer Fest in Vila Nova de Foz Côa on 7 August, and Sol da Caparica in Costa da Caparica on 14 August.

Great responsibility

“I’ve never liked being put in a box. Professionally, I don’t like it either,” Kiko says, explaining that Icónico came from a proposal by Porto Editora - one he nearly turned down. “I thought: ‘What do I know about writing? I feel like I’m not a writer’, but then I realised it made perfect sense. It’s just another way of communicating - and I’m a communicator.”

While he admits he does not particularly like the label influencer, he also argues that “influencing people” feels like a burden he does not want to carry. “What we can do is get people thinking about things they’d never thought about. That’s what I try to do in my more political videos,” he says.

After what he calls his YouTube ‘internship’, a few years passed before he managed to build the audience he has today: more than 630,000 on TikTok and 430,000 on Instagram. “YouTube was training for the life I have now. I’m much more comfortable these days,” he says, adding that the big shift came when he moved from “super-professional” Instagram videos to the more relaxed tone of TikTok. “TikTok brought that hunger people had for creators who feel more real. I’m always grateful to Gen Z, because they gave me a second life.”

On the weight of having so many eyes on him, he reflects: “I’m aware of my responsibility, but I see people who panic, thinking: ‘Should I post this?’. I don’t want to live like that, because it’s a prison.”

“I try to live truthfully and I tell people: ‘This is my opinion - I’m not saying you should think like this’,” says Kiko is Hot

He returns to the same point when he talks about how he tries to show up online: “I try to live truthfully and I tell people: ‘This is my opinion - I’m not saying you should think like this or that I’m right’. If I’m not saying something properly, teach me. I can learn. I’m not here to be perfect.”

From the internet to the DJ booth

His first experience behind the decks was at Trumps, a Lisbon nightclub closely associated with the LGBTQIA+ community. “Everything I do is about trying things out. There are things I’ve tried and never done again. With DJing, I thought, ‘OK - I think I’m enjoying this’. I don’t have any other musical talent, but I really love music,” he says, noting that he was the one who approached the club’s management.

“We did a test, it went really well, and they offered me a contract,” he recalls. “I stayed there until very recently, playing every week.”

Describing himself as “pretty eclectic” as a DJ, he adds: “I’m not elitist about music - I don’t play just one type. My main aim is for people to be able to forget their lives for a bit, dance, have fun, sing at the top of their lungs. I’m not there to feed my ego or to drop a beat nobody knows. That matters to other people, but it doesn’t to me.”

The step up to major festivals arrives this summer, and Kiko says the new challenge excites him. “I’ve always liked being in places where people aren’t there for me. Of course I love playing for fans, but I find this idea of going somewhere I’m not expected to be really interesting.”