For Oyo State-born content creator, Kolawole Idris Abiola, also known as Dexcute Icons , it was never part of his plans to become a content creator as he aspired to work in a more traditional profession when he grew up.
But life threw him in another dimension and he decided to embrace his truth and build a career and brand out of it. Speaking about his journey from being a classroom jester to content creator, he said “I wanted to be an Engineer. This was what I told family members, friends, and anyone who cared to ask about my life ambition in my younger years,” he says.
He stated further that “It would only stop when I entered my late teens. That’s when the desire to be an engineer disappeared.”
Although Dexcute Icons is nowhere near the engineering field, he is currently engineering contents that make thousands of hearts merry. This counts for something. The journey to finding fulfillment in making people laugh for a living could be traced back to Dexcute’s days as a secondary school student, where he was famous for his jokes. Dexcute was the unofficial class jester, and his jokes and funny antics not just thrilled his classmates but drew the attention of other schoolmates.
“Students from other classes often trooped into my class to hear my jokes during lunch break. My seat was always crowded as my schoolmates stood or sat around to hear my funny stories,” he says with a smile.
“Unlike other boys, I didn’t have time to play football during lunch break. I barely had enough time to eat. But I am not going to lie; I enjoyed the attention because it came with perks such as popularity and freebies from other students.”
Dexcute’s penchant for telling funny jokes meant he always got to play the comedic characters in stage plays organized by the Drama Club. He had been scouted into the extracurricular club in his first year in secondary school after a senior student caught him imitating a teacher. The senior student, who was the president of the drama club at the time, had been impressed by Dexcute’s imitation that she wooed him into the club.
Dexcute Icons’ foray into the content creator market began in 2020 during the pandemic. He began to write comedy skits and shoot videos he posted online. This was the birth of the Dexcute Icons brand.
“It was like a dream. I woke up that morning to see that a skit I posted two weeks ago had gone viral on social media,” Dexcute Icons reveals. “That day was one of the best days of my life because my video was everywhere. I had close friends calling me to congratulate me. Why? Because they had seen my video on Tunde Ednut’s page. And you know what it means for Oga Tunde Ednut to post your content on his page. You don blow be that.” As expected, the viral video skyrocketed his followers on his social media channels. His fame didn’t end online and could also be felt on the streets as he had people recognizing him whenever he walked into public places.
“It’s been an amazing journey. From someone that was relatively unknown in my city, I now have strangers staring at me simply because they have seen one or more of my videos. Some even come over to greet me and get acquainted with me. I can’t even count the number of times some of my fans have offered to pay for things at restaurants and supermarkets. Don’t let anyone deceive you. Being famous has its own advantages.”
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