Chaud: The Magazine

Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got on to YouTube and it all started? 

Phew, well I was born and raised in bonny Glesga (Scotland ;p) My dad is from Nigeria and my mum is full ginger haired and freckle faced Scottish lady. I moved to London to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Because I’ve been in the entertainment industry for quite a few years I had so many ladies asking for advice on how they could get started in modeling, fashion, presenting etc. So really there was a gap for fusing business tips along with doing things like lookbooks, event coverage etc. It first started from me working with Mr X in photography and video, which lead to a partnership between us. Then that lead to my website www.mo-am.com. Finally there was everything in one place dealing with issue us women of colour deal with and are entertained by. Then I moved on and took it to a video format with Mr X doing all the video and editing and me dealing on the front end with tutorials and lookbooks etc

You wear many hats as a YouTube vlogger, graphic designer, television presenter, model etc more – how do you balance it all?I ask myself the same thing lol I believe the main thing is, even though I do a lot of things, everything works in conjunction with the other, its complimentary. I have a video series called girl in a multi tasking world explaining all the things I do and how I manage to make it work, have client work and how others can follow suit. You have to have many skills in this day and age but all things must be done to a good level. Each thing was done after I was good enough to move on to the next skill, its been years in the making, so don’t be fooled. Never try to do everything in one go or you wont really make good progress. Scheduling your work is also very important. I’m very blessed to work with Mr X who has taught me so much from a business prospect, how to prioritise, keep on top of work and keep developing my skills, so that’s another huge advantage of having such a  partnership. So many want to do everything by themselves, but there’s so much value in partnerships.

You shared a video on natural hair and the biblical reference – that sparked much debate in the comments section. How do you handle the YouTube ‘critics’ and negative comments and do they sometimes ever get to you? 

I was really happy with how much this video topic touched people. It was great to see people discuss The Most High so openly. Many people have very strong opinions when it comes to The Bible. My thing is if you have something constructive to say then I’m all ears and will check it out for myself and make my conclusion. So many people I have met actually thanked me and said how it opened their eyes and never knew there was anything like that in the bible and led them to ask even more questions. Critics, you will always have those, no matter what you do, you cant please everyone. I always try to look objectively and see if they have a point in what they are saying, but many especially on social networks are nameless and faceless and there is a culture of being spiteful just for the sake of it with no real constructive comments, I let that go over my head. Why focus on the hate when there is far more positive comments and people looking for genuine help and knowledge, not to mention the people who say thanks the videos really help them and that’s what its all about at the end of the day

Let’s talk hair for a minute – how long have you been natural and what sparked it all?
Well its been just over 2 years now, it sounds crazy for me to say that because its gone by soooo quickly. Im so happy that I actually did it, but I must stress that anyone who is going to go natural, you will know within yourself you are ready because you really have to be. It requires patience and re-educating yourself on how to deal with afro hair. Its completely different, but much more versatile and enjoyable in my opinion. I got really bored of bad hair experience, damaged hair through relaxing, weaving, colouring experiments gone wrong…gurl you name it its happened to my hair haha. I just wanted healthy hair and something within me was telling me its time to go back to my natural God given hair. I have never had  long afro hair at any point in my life so I was taking a leap. I prepared by looking at all the natural hair community videos on how to get started and pics of what is possible with natural hair and took the leap! From there I also decided to document my journey so others could learn and share what they new about afro hair, I now have a great community on my channel and website.

There’s a debate as what is ‘good hair’ what is your take on it all?
That answer is really unique to each individual. But from my view point I would say healthy hair should be the basis of what we all strive for, it can be as long as it wants to be, but if its unhealthy or frazzled then to me its no good, trust me Ive been there! Having a cut or style that’s complimentary to your face shape and helps you express your sense of style is what makes hair stand out on a person. Another thing I have learned as well is having knowledge about how your hair works and what products and styles will help you and what things are damaging. This is something so often over looked until were faced with a hair dilemma and have to start over. A little knowledge to what works for you will serve you well ladies, there is not one size fits all when it comes to hair, that’s the beauty, so find what’s right for you.

During your time on YouTube what valuable lessons have you learnt? What are the challenges of being a YouTube vlogger that you think most people watching videos do not appreciate?
There is defiantly a whole lot of work and planning that goes into making quality content consistently, that’s why I always tell people only do it if you can be committed to it for the long run, because it takes time to get results. Ive learned that as well as me giving advice, there are so many people who leave comments that also have helped me with topics that I talk about, because I’m also learning about things, so I think by taking time to answer questions as well as asking questions has helped build a great community valuable to both sides. Also I would advise if your investing a lot of time on doing videos, you should also be able to make do without youtube or still have it as an asset to what you do, Ive seen people destroyed by an account be shut down, so make sure your putting time into yourself and your business as well as the youtube platform.

What advice would you give some-one who is thinking to start sharing their videos on YouTube?
I would say make sure you are doing it because you genuinely want to help and give others tips, not just get cheap hits, or hope people will send you products lol. There is a lot of work that goes into doing a channel to a good standard, so make sure your offering quality. Come with your own unique format, speak clearly and be engaging with your viewers. Be consistent with putting out new content. It takes time to make in impact but just keep doing it, people will eventually find you and subscribe, yeeah.  You should also subscribe to Mr X channel, I say this because people always ask me how I do my filming but MR X is the one who does all the filming and editing work. He has so many great tips on how you can get started within the industry and technical side. His website is http://www.bro.mo-am.com

You have done very well to keep your private life, private and stick to the ethos of Mo-am Network – how have you done that because sometimes reading the comments I see people asking and requesting more from you and Mr X?
lol I think its great when people want to know more about you because it means they are invested in what you are doing, they almost see you as a friend and its only natural they begin to become more curious. So many vloggers show their partners because that’s what they share online, their private life. I’ve always been about showing my career stuff, because it’s the biggest part of what I do and so many people are looking for advice on how they can do the things I do. Showing more of my private life is something I’m not opposed to, in fact I now have a mo-am plus channel which is exclusive content only available on my website mo-am.com, where I’m doing a bit more intimate videos I film myself, so that’s your chance to see a more private side. 

What can we expect in the future from yourself and Mo-am Network?
Well I’m super excited as I have so many new video series coming, like a cooking show which I talked about doing for a while now so that’s in the pipeline, more advanced hair styling videos, more personal videos but that will be exclusive to my mo-am.com website, I will be teaming up with more brands and doing collaborative projects so there is plenty to keep everyone occupied. I’m also studying more on becoming more knowledgeable on my natural hair growth. So I hope you guys keep enjoying the journey. Thanks to you and your magazine for all the positive stories, congrats on your 1 Year milestone. Also thanks to everyone who supports The MO-AM Network. Whatever you’re doing in life, keep The Most High and Christ first and amazing things will happen mwah x

Social Butterfly

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PhotoCredits: Peeks – Moam Network