If the shoes we had then could speak, they would tell tales for days. Tales of every inch of the city’s roads. Oh, and speaking of shoes, remind us to tell you about a successful men’s luxury shoe business Augustine started much later in this series of stories. Sawa?
Where were we?
The city’s roads. We mapped the city like sentries. We understood every nook, every cranny, every cul-de-sac. And with every sunrise, every wide and busy road, every narrow and quiet road, every office, every bus stop, every market in the city, anywhere there was human footfall we saw the promise of success. We saw a chance to dress young Kenyans with t-shirts that could communicate an identity. A pride. A sense of community. With every t-shirt we sold, we understood that we were not just selling pieces of linen, we were broadcasting a sense of who we were as a people—creative, patriotic, and sometimes fanatic. We were showcasing to the world, the Kenyan Brand. Therefore, we were strict on quality. We sought the best quality t-shirts. Had the best designer east of Moi Avenue. Packaged those t-shirts the same way you would package a royal signet ring. We presented ourselves to the city, two young men with concrete ambitions. We had nothing to lose. And if we had anything to lose we were not afraid to lose it. And that is what chasing dreams will teach you. We were like debutants in a seniors’ tournament. If we didn’t make it past this idea, we would look back with pride and say, “Look, who would have thought we’d have come this far?” And if we made it past the idea, we would look ahead and say, “If we made it this far, we can make it even further.”
Sometimes, the thinkers, the builders the captains, those who steer ships to the shore, those who conduct the orchestra, and those with the unmatched privilege to commandeer dreams into realities seem possessed. Like something otherworldly gets into them and propels them to a place those watching cannot understand. But what is a dream if it is not bigger than the dreamer? What is a dream if it doesn’t seem a little crazy?
In our kujituma, we started believing more in the bigger dream which is Ad Media Communications. Our modelling gigs would still come from time to time and they kept our heads above water while also increasing our networks in the business of communication by a great deal. Jobi who was still in K.U. then, would plan and MC at those events. Augustine was employed at a photo studio in the Nairobi CBD. It is safe to say that even though we didn’t see it then, what we were doing was setting us on a stage, a pedestal to what we are currently doing.
2007 being an electioneering year, the country had a surge in both political and non-political campaigns centered around the youth agenda. Jobi got a chance to work with the Vijana Tugutuke ni Time Yetu civic education campaign. Here he worked with the likes of Kariuki Thige his then-personal hero in media circles, Big Ted—a very instrumental addition to our journey, Big Kev(R.I.P) of Tru Blaq, Isaac Mwaura, John Kiare, Walter Mong’are, and Tony Njuguna. The teachers kept appearing because the student was ready. And Jobi took his classes on those stages, standing on the shoulders of giants. Men and women who had been around the block for some time and had so much to teach willing learners. He was slowly building his acumen in events management. Flash forward, and this is not us bragging or anything—besides, they say, if it is the truth, it is not bragging—If you trust us with your event, we always guarantee you and your team a gourmet experience. We have an expansive list of top-of-the-range clients we have worked with across Africa to show. It has taken years to get here, but the reward for our efforts shows in the results.
Later on, Jobi auditioned for a show—Youth Dynamics—which aired on NTV. Jobi is quick to admit that working with the trailblazers and captains of industry was eye-opening. The show’s casting director, Bob Nyanja bestowed great confidence in him encouraging him to take on more opportunities. With his experience both at K.U. and the civic campaign, Jobi earned a place to organize the Global Peace concert, MC at the Orange (now Telkom) events headlined by Julius Owino whose artiste’s name is Juliani. Jobi would later become a brand ambassador for brands like Nokia and Pampers and this triggered a question in him. “How do I move from being a brand ambassador to building brands?” While this question lingered in his mind, he was learning how brands are built, and how proper corporate communication is done. What to look for in brand influencing, advertising, and marketing the whole shebang.
It is true what they say, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The stage was set and the birth of the second dream was nigh.
It wasn’t just the lesson that kept Jobi on the grind, the money was as attractive. Earning Ksh. 35,000 a day in 2007 was motivation enough for him to swear allegiance to a career path different from what K.U. was preparing himself. “I asked myself, if I can make this much money in a day in this industry, why would I think of any other place.” Our resident nurse and public health professional kissed goodbye to what had been an eventful career prep at Kenyatta University.
The end of that year witnessed one of the most devastating politically-fuelled skirmishes Kenya has ever experienced. Crossing over to 2008, meant going back to the drawing table and rethinking our strategies.
We chose the low-hanging fruits—events photography.
We understand that you want to read more, but good things happen in small doses. Catch the next part of this journey same time next week.
