--- description: Find out why Keith Lee is one of the 100 most influential digital voices of 2025. title: Keith Lee: TIME100 Creators 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta118b0bd5cb7c6a9/6998c8167323afa7ab2bcaa6/TIME100-Creators-2025-Keith-Lee-057.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 09, 2025 # Keith Lee @keith\_lee125 by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  Renee Dominguez—SXSW Conference & Festivals/Getty Images A ringing endorsement from social media [food critic Keith Lee](https://time.com/6548063/most-viral-moments-2023/ "undefined") can put a mom-and-pop shop on the map. Since 2021, the 28-year-old former MMA fighter has been reviewing small eateries (with a focus on Black- and family-owned establishments) across the U.S., offering commentary often from the front seat of his Sprinter van.Thanks to Lee’s following of more than 19 million across [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@keith%5Flee125?lang=en "undefined") and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/keith%5Flee125/?hl=en "undefined"), a rave can lead to a line around the block, boosting the profits of a struggling family-owned pizzeria in Las Vegas or a French-inspired rotisserie shop in Baltimore, to name a few. There’s even a [name](https://www.eater.com/24000059/who-is-keith-lee-food-critic-tiktok-explained "undefined") for this phenomenon: the “Keith Lee effect.” In the future, Lee aims to open his own restaurant, but for now, the Detroit native is committed to championing the food he loves. This year, he teamed up with the restaurant management software company Toast to give $150,000 to three independent eateries in need of a leg up. _Data and insights powered by #paid_ Keith Lee Is on the 2025 TIME100 Creators List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299145/keith-lee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299145/keith-lee/"},"headline":"Keith Lee","datePublished":"2025-07-09T11:34:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:50:53.859Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299145/keith-lee/","keywords":["Social Media","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta118b0bd5cb7c6a9/6998c8167323afa7ab2bcaa6/TIME100-Creators-2025-Keith-Lee-057.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta118b0bd5cb7c6a9/6998c8167323afa7ab2bcaa6/TIME100-Creators-2025-Keith-Lee-057.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299145/keith-lee/","name":"Keith Lee"}}]}] ```