Whats your backstory?
I was born in a Canadian suburb in Toronto on the 1st of January as the first baby of the year. My parents both worked as diplomats so I spent the first few months of my life in Canada and soon relocated to the stunning city of Prague, Czech Republic along with my entire family.
Growing up, I was exposed to multitude of different cultures, backgrounds and languages. I am fortunate enough to have parents who strongly believe in being well-rounded and exposed to various aspects in life. From a young age, I was given the freedom to travel, have friends from varying unique backgrounds and most importantly was taught that the sky is limit when it comes to everything in life. Thankfully, this helped shape and mold me creatively into the person that I am today.
As I grew up- I lived with my family primarily in Europe, spending a few years of my life back home in Nigeria. These years were very important to me as it exposed me to another side of culture, fashion and an uncanny appreciation for animals which still fills my heart today.
I have always had a big spot in my heart for the arts and animals- although, I had the opportunity to study International Business through University- I have come back to combine my extensive knowledge in Business while incorporating these principles to grow my business.
As I go through life there are many things that continue to inspire me. The three major things are my passion for animals (I grew up on a farm for some of my life growing up and worked with all sorts of farm animals- chickens, goats, turkeys etc), my passion to help out children (my parents both grew up as orphans and were able to make it out the situations that they were born in to and the creating in fashion & beauty.
Growing up, I have had to face a number of challenges. One was living in Berlin, Germany alone at the age of 16. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. I learned the value lesson of choosing whether to sink or swim. I chose swim and always have my whole life. Being independent and moldable is something that I have learned overtime. This has also given me the confidence to know that I am capable of doing or achieving anything anytime.
Besides creating in the fashion and beauty realm, I focus heavily on animal advocacy- this includes rescuing animals. Shedding light on animals that people typically fear or do not have much knowledge about. I am an environmentalist. On the horizon, there are projects that I am currently working on with animal rescues in Africa. Also, I am using my platform to help with awareness.
I know this is not an easy job. What drives you?
There are multiple things that drive me. The most important thing is just being able to say I that I worked really hard and achieved my goals. No matter how crazy they initially may have sounded. Little by little, I got a step closer and closer. I have always been very self motivated. To be able to look back and see that my commitment gets me further is something that is very inspiring to me.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? What lesson did you learn from them?
Yes, there are several people in my life who I have to thank a lot for where I am today. As we all know, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. That is who I feel about the accomplishments that I have today. I know that it has taken time, dedication and me allowing other people to impact my life in remarkable ways. I definitely have to thank my parents, siblings and my partner- they have all been so amazing and supportive. Also, people who have come in and out of my life for brief moments but have impacted me in monumental ways. Every interaction I have had has brought me to this moment and I am grateful for it.
How do you push through your worst times?
I have such an amazing support system around me. They get to experience the stressed out side of me in the worst times. It is not always pretty. Luckily, they understand that life has it’s ebbs and flows, so it is always awesome to be able to lean on them for support.
I think everyone needs people who they can lean on, especially when you feel you are moving a mile a minute- it can be challenging.