Michael Okunloro | Elevate Your Style

What are you most worried about for the future?

The world we live in is not the same anymore. The big idea behind technology was to make life simpler, to help us do more with less effort. But sometimes, I worry that the future might leave behind the people with the most potential simply because they are not seen.

In 2023, I went to watch my boyhood team Chelsea play Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. I was excited but the match was flat. I paid £50 to see it live and honestly, it was the most boring game I’ve ever watched. I sat beside my good friend Tosin Ibitoye and we kept talking during the game. He said something that stuck with me, he’d seen boys on the streets of Lagos play better football than this.

That hit me hard. Why is it that some people get to live their dreams through football while others with more talent can’t even afford a decent meal? After days of reflection, I realised the answer was simple—a camera.

The camera is one of the greatest human inventions. It turns what you do into something others can see, follow and pay for. The only real difference between the Chelsea boys and the talented kids back in Africa is visibility. The media. The audience. The attention.

And now in this new age, we all have cameras in our hands. We all have access. We don’t need big money to build a name anymore. You can earn from football even if you don’t play. You can share your passion and create value around it.

What I fear is a future where people still fail to show the world what they carry inside simply because they don’t know the power they already hold.