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When Worldcharming Smart Courage decided to be a catwalk coach in Nigeria&#x27;s commercial capital Lagos, he knew he was up against stereotypes in a country that is largely conservative.But the Genetics and Bio Technology graduate was never deterred from pursuing his dream.Smart, as he is known in the industry, said he took interest in fashion while in school and was influenced by his mother who operates several fashion businesses.‘’She runs several businesses and majorly fashion business and that really…I would say influenced my choices when I was growing up because I see her look really exceptionally good and maybe that influenced me in wanting to work with women, see them look good and carry themselves well,’’ he told Reuters about his mother.He has since honed his skills and trained several women who have gone on to represent Nigeria on the global stage.He struts easily down the catwalk on platform stilettos with dozens of female trainees in awe.With over 15 years of experience in the catwalk industry, Smart says he has used his story telling abilities and keen eye for details to empower women to own the runway, fine tuning their strides while encouraging the models to embrace their uniqueness.‘’I am a storyteller. I help you understand that being beautiful and cat-walking shouldn&#x27;t be theatrics, it’s not something you go learn to impress. It should be a part of you. Like I always say, having good manners carrying yourself well, is not like a suit you wear to impress people and take off when you get home. It should be embedded in you,’’ he said.Despite having trained over 3,000 women to walk with a fashionable gait, Smart has faced a constant criticism for being a man in a ‘’woman’s industry.’’Nigeria is largely a conservative country and because of cultural or religious values, there are expectations around gender roles or even careers, and some believe that Smart is not on the right path, but he says he is able to maintain his mental health by focusing on his goals and not letting negative comments get to him.‘’I know my purpose I know my goal. I know what I&#x27;m looking for, but Nigerians do not understand once it does not go in line with what they think and their ideologies, you are the worst. Furthermore, if I go hungry, will they feed me? No they will not, they will still insult me so, that’s fine,’’ he says.And even within the fashion industry, people have doubted his ability to teach.Smart says his results have continued to earn him his place in the industry.‘’Most times you get to a situation whereby they introduce you as a coach and everybody&#x27;s like, why would a man be teaching me how to walk and all that, I keep quiet. I don&#x27;t reply. I don&#x27;t even answer. I go on and do my job and it is later they will come back and say yes. oh my God, you&#x27;re good at what you do. Exactly, that is how you reply them. There&#x27;s no need bantering words with people, let the job do the talking, that is all I do,’’ he tells Reuters.One of his breakthroughs was back in 2022 when he coached a Nigerian model – Tosin Adeduro, who went on to become the 4th runner up in Miss World Tourism.‘’Tosin came to me and said Mr. Smart are we ready to do this, I said let’s do it together. When she travelled people were not posting her, people were not talking about her, but as God could have it, she became the fifth runner up of Miss Tourism World, ever…for a very long time one of the first black girls to break through and that was beautiful. When she came back we were like yes, we did it. It was really refreshing to know that you only have limitations that you set for yourself.’’Joy Ebere-Ekekwu, a model and business owner is Nigeria’s 11th Miss Tourism who reached out to Smart via social media to train her.‘’I&#x27;ve always seen his videos, the way he carries himself, the people that he&#x27;s been training and the tremendous changes that he has actually like effected in people, and I wanted that for myself,’’ Ekekwu said.With a combined followership of almost 400,000 people on both his TikTok and Instagram accounts, Smart continues to expand his repertoire.‘’The transitioning from being a cat-walk coach to a stylist, initially I hated being called a stylist ... you finish training a girl and she goes out and she doesn’t look the part, your job is messed up already. So I wanted the people I work with to look exquisite,’’ he said. - Report from Reuters

When Worldcharming Smart Courage decided to be a catwalk coach in Nigeria's capital Lagos, he knew he was up against stereotypes in a country that is largely conservative.

When Worldcharming Smart Courage decided to be a catwalk coach in Nigeria's capital Lagos, he knew he was up against stereotypes in a country that is largely conservative.

Meet Nigeria's male catwalk coach

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Meet Nigeria's male catwalk coach

Reuters

Published Aug 02, 2024 12:38 AM PHT

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