2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

38 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM

SWANKYJERRY,28,NIGERIA

FOUNDER,CHIEFCREATIVE OFFICER, SWANKY SIGNATURES

INDUSTRY:FASHION

Redcarpets,glamor,lightsandcameras;thisis thelifeofJeremiah

OgbodoIke,knownas‘SwankyJerry’.

Featuringgoldshoesanda whiteandblackagbada(afour-piece

maleattire)resemblingtheVersaceprint,Ogbodo’sdresscodeis as

fittingashisnickname.

SwankyJerryis a Nigeriancelebrityfashionstylistwhohas

dressedthelikesofPearlThusi,Davido,Nyanda,YemiAlade,Tiwa

Savage,AKA,SarkodieandAfricanpresidentsandfirstladies.

It wasatthefirst-everGlobalCitizenFestivalinSouthAfrica

late 2018 whenFORBESAFRICAfirstmetwithhimaccompanying

D’Banj,whohestyled,andwhoperformedbeforethethousands

presentthatday.

SwankyJerry’sstylingcanbeseenthroughthesubtleblendof

coutureandAfricanAnkarafabrics.

Hisloveforfashionstartedata youngageasheandhisfamily

traveleda lotfromcitytocity.

“Wewouldusuallyhavetoweartheclothesofthelocalsofeach

citywevisited,toblendin,andI absolutelylovedit!Growingup

withinthislifestyle,I becamemoreinspiredbymysurroundings

andbegantoinvestinNigerianfashionmagazinesandpeople-

watchingatbigeventsduetotheelaboratefashionbeingparaded,”

hetellsFORBESAFRICA.

Afterthedeathofhisfather,Ogbodesocializeda lotasa coping

mechanism.

It wasnotlongbeforehebecameknownas“thatstylishguy”.

“Itwasa bittersweetjourneyformebecausealthoughI had

experiencedoneofthebiggestlossesinmylife,thedeathofmy

fatherhadpracticallypushedmeintotheamazingplaceI amtoday.

I found happiness and peace in creating and was virtually driven to

NIJELAMOS,26,BOTSWANA

TRACKANDFIELDATHLETE

INDUSTRY:SPORTS

NijelAmosisknownasBotswana’s800-meter

superstar.

Havingshockedthenationbygainingpodium

positionatthe 2012 SummerOlympicsatjust 18

yearsold,healsomadehistorybybecomingthefirst

Motswanatowina medalattheOlympics.

Sincethen,hehasbeenrunningswiftlyintomore

victories.

In2014,hewonnumerousgoldmedals:the800mand

4x400mrelayinMarrakech.

Thefollowingyear,hewentontoimpressatthe

GlasgowCommonwealthGameswherehewona gold

medalandlaterwongoldinthe800mattheAllAfrica

Games.

Inmorerecentyears,hehascontinuedtorunthe

goodraceforhiscountry,clockingsomeofhisbest

timesinthe 2019 IAAFseason.

Amoshasqualifiedforthe 2020 TokyoOlympics

andis a medalhopefulforBotswana,whichstillonly

boastsoneOlympicmedal.

Amoshasalsofoundeda foundationcalled

ChaseDreamEmpiretoempoweryouth,

particularlyex-convicts.

turnmypassionintoa careerinordertomakemoneyandfend

formyself.Andthiswasduringa verydifficulttimeasfashion

styling,especiallyforme,wasn’tverypopularorrespected

inNigeria.However,I tooktheriskandI’mverygratefulfor

whereit hasledmetotoday,”hesays.

Hethenlaunchedhisfashionandlifestylebrand,Swanky

SignaturesStyling,in2012,andit hassincegrowntobecome

oneofthemostpopularandinfluentialbrandsintheindustry.

Creativedirector,celebritystylist,wardrobestylist,

designer,socialinfluencerandconsultantarejusta fewtitles

underhisstylishbelt.

Heis alsopassionateaboutgivingbackandlending

hishandtodifferentcharitiesanddrawingattentionto

movementssuchas‘BreaktheSilence’and#WalkForLove.

He has also been featured internationallybyCNN.

AlthoughI hadexperiencedoneof the

biggestlossesin mylife,thedeathof

myfatherhadpracticallypushedme

into the amazing place I am today.

Photos supplied; Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images