Sijuade Taiwo Adeshina is a model you will love. he’s tall, well
built, not brawny but endowed with body type that fits into most clothes
that are normal for men. From his pictures, he keeps the fat off and
his abs will definitely earn him a shot. Very camera friendly Sijuade,
walks in a way that you cannot but notice him; flexible and fit to do
on the ramp. Though his modeling career started as a hubby in the US,
he’s fast on the professional lane. Sijuade who is a good example of a
model without muscles is currently in Nigeria and he spoke with UKEME ARCHIBONG
on his mission in the country. Excerpts
HOW AND WHEN DID YOU GET INTO MODELING?
I got into modeling in the United States of America. Actually, I started officially about six months ago, but prior to that I was asked by different agencies in my school which was in Alabama but I also did some shows with Ralph Lauren while I was in Alabama and then officially I started in April in New York with a couple of agencies.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR MODELING CAREER?
Actually, it’s just about growth, you know you can always grow and want to do different things. So I think that was what kind of led me to want to do modeling. At first, I was not really caught up with the whole modeling thing and really didn’t care for it at first, because I was playing basketball too.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT, EVENTUALLY?
One of my friends was having a class project which she needed to take photos for and she needed 10 guys to take their photos for the class magazine and she asked me for a whole month but I told her’ NO.’ Eventually, I actually said yes. Because time was running out on her to submit the project. So when she submitted the various pictures, the teacher actually chose my photo to be in the class magazine so that’s was kind of how everything started.
HOW HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEING LIKE?
It’s being good, the growth is about learning different things and working with agents in New York and doing different photo shoots, castings and experience the adventure of modeling itself, the entertainment business thing. It all goes with my character just very spontaneous, up and go and do what you have to do. So I think that’s where the interest lies in me the most.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU GOING?
Most apparently it is God, my parent and at the same time, me! I keep myself going, you have to be determined, you have to know what you want to do because a lot of things happen and it’s a very competitive world so you have to believe in yourself and know that you can do this.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU WON’T BE CAUGHT WEARING?
A girl’s outfit for starters, I won’t be caught wearing that at all but
I’m a very laid back person, I wear basketball shorts and singlet, we call it singlet here and I wear hats, flip flop slippers, sandals, I wear Nigerian linen pant trousers and T-shirts.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Edgy! I don’t like wearing what everyone wears, I’m a unique person so I’ll like to just have that sexy but edgy look, where people will be wondering that there is always a mystery to what you wear and who you are and I think part of what you wear kind of define who you are.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR SELLING POINT IS?
I will like to say everything because I lost about twenty pounds to actually take myself to be able to sell in all aspect. I even sell in high fashion and sport and as well as commercials, you know over there in America they use me for commercials a lot and high fashion artistic photo ,so I like to sell everything .
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE MODELING IN NIGERIA TO THAT OF AMERICA?
It’s very different; there is no comparison. It has its own identity as well as the one over there. It’s different over there, the guys are a lot slender that’s why I lost twenty to twenty five pounds, you know it’s good look, unique looks, you got a lot of people that are very handsome or you know a lot of girls that are very pretty. Like the United Kingdom, American and European modeling that’s the way it is but over here from what I have seen guys could be of any weight. They could be big, tall, and short, you know the girls could be any weight as well: tall, short and the likes. I just think that Nigeria has its own identity in modeling; it’s not that it’s bad or worse than America. I just think that they are two different worlds.
HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE NIGERIAN FASHION INDUSTRY?
Nigeria, we are into a lot of traditional wears. The fashion industry in Nigeria is unique and colourful. I know of a fashion show that they used the green white green. They used the lifestyle of the people and they used like enough of native wears to sell with the models here but over there, is a lot difference, we have all these big brands, Armani, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Polo, Ralph Lauren, so it’s more of the look in America and it’s more of the person that could wear the outfit unlike here which is a different world.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED BY YOUR FEMALE FANS?
(Laughs) In New York, yes, I mean it happens. I guess its part of the industry, it’s part of what I’m doing so I just have to take it the way it comes. I usually just laugh every time because it’s usually funny the way they approach me, so I just kind of laugh it off or at times I’ll just say a little something to them and walk away but most times I’m laughing.
WHAT DO YOU USUALLY SAY TO THEM?
I’ll say that they are playing around or just trying to get away from situation, It’s almost funny to me because when I was in New York I had a group of like four girls at one point coming up to me telling me to come to their house, it was just so funny to me because of how they approached me, so I usually say they are just playing around or they are not serious.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT TO TAKE OVER THE NIGERIA’S MODELING INDUSTRY?
Yes, definitely, it’s always been a kind of positive thing to me. Apart from the fact that I was born in Nigeria, I was blessed to go to the United States but at the same time this is my home. I understand that whatever I want to do I have to give back to my country.
WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH THE NIGERIAN MODEL INDUSTRY?
Here, it’s more like a competition, like the Next Super Model it’s more like a pageantry competition but over there, it’s more of the look, it’s what you wear and how you appear with different designs of designers, how they see you, the walking is different here compared to what happens over there, so here in Nigeria it’s more like a contest.
WHERE DO YOU ACTUALLY SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS TIME?
Doing everything, doing all the things I want to do like having my own agency, helping the younger ones that aspire to be great models. I see a lot of talents that are not put to best use here. When I drive or walk around, I see a lot of young guys and girls that have the body, talents but not the support so I want to explore that.
IS THAT ONE OF YOUR PROJECTS?
Yes it is. And one of my projects is the European Fashion Week and I’m working with different designers in the US. So, I just started like six months back with a couple of my friends.
Courtesy: E24-7 Magazine
HOW AND WHEN DID YOU GET INTO MODELING?
I got into modeling in the United States of America. Actually, I started officially about six months ago, but prior to that I was asked by different agencies in my school which was in Alabama but I also did some shows with Ralph Lauren while I was in Alabama and then officially I started in April in New York with a couple of agencies.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR MODELING CAREER?
Actually, it’s just about growth, you know you can always grow and want to do different things. So I think that was what kind of led me to want to do modeling. At first, I was not really caught up with the whole modeling thing and really didn’t care for it at first, because I was playing basketball too.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT, EVENTUALLY?
One of my friends was having a class project which she needed to take photos for and she needed 10 guys to take their photos for the class magazine and she asked me for a whole month but I told her’ NO.’ Eventually, I actually said yes. Because time was running out on her to submit the project. So when she submitted the various pictures, the teacher actually chose my photo to be in the class magazine so that’s was kind of how everything started.
HOW HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEING LIKE?
It’s being good, the growth is about learning different things and working with agents in New York and doing different photo shoots, castings and experience the adventure of modeling itself, the entertainment business thing. It all goes with my character just very spontaneous, up and go and do what you have to do. So I think that’s where the interest lies in me the most.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU GOING?
Most apparently it is God, my parent and at the same time, me! I keep myself going, you have to be determined, you have to know what you want to do because a lot of things happen and it’s a very competitive world so you have to believe in yourself and know that you can do this.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU WON’T BE CAUGHT WEARING?
A girl’s outfit for starters, I won’t be caught wearing that at all but
I’m a very laid back person, I wear basketball shorts and singlet, we call it singlet here and I wear hats, flip flop slippers, sandals, I wear Nigerian linen pant trousers and T-shirts.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Edgy! I don’t like wearing what everyone wears, I’m a unique person so I’ll like to just have that sexy but edgy look, where people will be wondering that there is always a mystery to what you wear and who you are and I think part of what you wear kind of define who you are.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR SELLING POINT IS?
I will like to say everything because I lost about twenty pounds to actually take myself to be able to sell in all aspect. I even sell in high fashion and sport and as well as commercials, you know over there in America they use me for commercials a lot and high fashion artistic photo ,so I like to sell everything .
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE MODELING IN NIGERIA TO THAT OF AMERICA?
It’s very different; there is no comparison. It has its own identity as well as the one over there. It’s different over there, the guys are a lot slender that’s why I lost twenty to twenty five pounds, you know it’s good look, unique looks, you got a lot of people that are very handsome or you know a lot of girls that are very pretty. Like the United Kingdom, American and European modeling that’s the way it is but over here from what I have seen guys could be of any weight. They could be big, tall, and short, you know the girls could be any weight as well: tall, short and the likes. I just think that Nigeria has its own identity in modeling; it’s not that it’s bad or worse than America. I just think that they are two different worlds.
HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE NIGERIAN FASHION INDUSTRY?
Nigeria, we are into a lot of traditional wears. The fashion industry in Nigeria is unique and colourful. I know of a fashion show that they used the green white green. They used the lifestyle of the people and they used like enough of native wears to sell with the models here but over there, is a lot difference, we have all these big brands, Armani, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Polo, Ralph Lauren, so it’s more of the look in America and it’s more of the person that could wear the outfit unlike here which is a different world.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED BY YOUR FEMALE FANS?
(Laughs) In New York, yes, I mean it happens. I guess its part of the industry, it’s part of what I’m doing so I just have to take it the way it comes. I usually just laugh every time because it’s usually funny the way they approach me, so I just kind of laugh it off or at times I’ll just say a little something to them and walk away but most times I’m laughing.
WHAT DO YOU USUALLY SAY TO THEM?
I’ll say that they are playing around or just trying to get away from situation, It’s almost funny to me because when I was in New York I had a group of like four girls at one point coming up to me telling me to come to their house, it was just so funny to me because of how they approached me, so I usually say they are just playing around or they are not serious.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT TO TAKE OVER THE NIGERIA’S MODELING INDUSTRY?
Yes, definitely, it’s always been a kind of positive thing to me. Apart from the fact that I was born in Nigeria, I was blessed to go to the United States but at the same time this is my home. I understand that whatever I want to do I have to give back to my country.
WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH THE NIGERIAN MODEL INDUSTRY?
Here, it’s more like a competition, like the Next Super Model it’s more like a pageantry competition but over there, it’s more of the look, it’s what you wear and how you appear with different designs of designers, how they see you, the walking is different here compared to what happens over there, so here in Nigeria it’s more like a contest.
WHERE DO YOU ACTUALLY SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS TIME?
Doing everything, doing all the things I want to do like having my own agency, helping the younger ones that aspire to be great models. I see a lot of talents that are not put to best use here. When I drive or walk around, I see a lot of young guys and girls that have the body, talents but not the support so I want to explore that.
IS THAT ONE OF YOUR PROJECTS?
Yes it is. And one of my projects is the European Fashion Week and I’m working with different designers in the US. So, I just started like six months back with a couple of my friends.
Courtesy: E24-7 Magazine
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