Jay On-air opens up on life struggles after quitting his corporate job and facing setbacks.
From selling okrika to TikTok fame, he shares how depression led him to creativity.
Media personality, Joseph Onaolapo, also known as Jay On-air, has shared how tough things got after he left his job in the corporate world.
During an interview with Chude Jideonwo, Jay disclosed that he felt devalued in the corporate world and things were so bad with him that he had to start selling secondhand clothes, “okrika” to survive.“
I want to roll with the big boys and big girls and all of that. I came to Lagos from Benin. In two seconds, they were employing me. I sent my CV to every radio station. Every radio station. Nothing happened,” he said.
He tried working with an online radio, but it didn’t work out. From there, he joined the corporate world and worked in different roles. But he said the job didn’t pay him well, and he didn’t feel valued.
“…Was owed salaries a lot. I was treated like I was not worth anything. That all just crippled me. And then, eventually, I left the job. And I started a business.”
That business was selling okrika, and it started to grow. He became popular for selling shorts and was known as the “shorts guy.”
“I was selling Okrika by the way. And it was becoming a thriving business. I was becoming the shorts guy. People would come to me to buy shorts. I tried. This one was actually starting to work. It was starting to work. I remember, I am a big fan of Waje. And I remember she was having a concert at the time. And I could afford it.”
But then COVID-19 came and ruined everything.
“And COVID-19 hit. I am like, oh my God. The business just, well, because it’s buying clothes.”
With no money and nothing to do, Jay turned to TikTok to stay busy and happy.
“And it just hit me because of N10,000. And COVID-19 hit. Yeah. And everything just. Silent. Became silent. I was home. I didn’t have a job. Nothing was working for me. And then people were on TikTok. And I was just like, what is happening here?”
He started creating fun videos and syncing sounds, and that gave him some joy during that hard time.
“And that is how I, you know, got on TikTok. Live syncing sounds. Just to have fun. And that’s why I love creating so much. Because when I was depressed. When I was sad. I wake up in the morning. I have my bath. I have my shower. I would be on TikTok. How many sounds can I create in one hour? How quickly can I live sync sounds.”
