Before now, we have always loved Dorothy and Olus B from afar. The humor and all the pure joy they effortlessly share. But after our interview with the couple, we discovered MORE and yes! Our love for these ones just grew ‘thicker.’
Join us on this special annual edition as Dorothy and Olus B share a truckload of inspiration filled with love, beauty and brilliance.
Here’s To An Annual Celebration of Inspiring Couples in The Creative Industry
Being a Creative is a lot in a world full of ‘noise.’ To find someone who can listen, relate with your words, your dreams, the happy tears, and even the challenging moments is one of the best gifts to have, not just for a moment, but for a lifetime. We understand that having the right partner can make life a lot more enjoyable and fulfilling. Having someone to support your creative journey in all sincerity and love all you do and all you are is a priceless gift.
Enjoy and Stay Inspired:
Hello ICON To Dorothy: You effortlessly carry a unique ray of sunshine and beautiful glow that can be seen and felt even from afar, can you share some highlights of how your husband has contributed to the growth of your journey as a Content Creator?
Dorothy: would say that my husband has really helped me in the sense of putting myself out there because there was a time when l was pretty shy and would create content and not want to put them out there because I was not sure of myself; but so far he has always being the one encouraging and telling me to put things out there; not to be shy and to speak up for myself and even blow my own trumpet. This is because as a woman sometimes it is hard to even put yourself out there for fear of being judged but my husband has been a great source of support and encouragement with constant reassurance that he has my back no matter what. Interestingly putting these videos out there have greatly boosted my confidence and help in my development. So, he has always been a great source of inspiration in that regard.
Hello ICON To Olus B: You and Dorothy are a perfect reflection of twin souls. You do not only look alike on the outside but also have this soothing energy together. What will you consider most fulfilling about having the right partner?
Olus B: First of all, it is just knowing that I have my person in my corner. There is the narrative that it is so hard to find love these days because streets are not smiling (laughs). Everyone wants to do their own thing and the self-sufficient narrative goes around. But for me, we found each other a long time ago and she is someone that I can really talk to and we have built our friendship so deep that I can tell her my fears, insecurities and challenges. We actually don’t only look alike but also think alike because of the bond we have built overtime; so imagine having two of yourself, it is just the most fulfilling thing ever. Our visions and life dreams are all alike so it is just effortless and reduces friction because of similar alignments in work, thought pattern and behaviour.
Hello ICON To Either Dorothy or Olus B: How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?
(Both Laugh) Olu B: There are probably two versions of that story but basically we met in church; we used to attend the same family church as kids but barely knew each other. We reconnected again as teenagers during a youth programme so I would not say it was love at first sight but I was attracted to her and wanted her in my life.
Dorathy: It was love at first sight for me and for him when I first saw him, I knew something was definitely going to go down and we are here now growing stronger.
Hello ICON To Dorothy: “You light up my world and bring joy into my soul.” These are some of your words about Olus B and these give a beautiful glimpse of how you see your husband. What was the first attraction to him for you? And that do you think has kept the love and connection strong?
Dorothy: First of all, he was really cute and I liked his physique as well. Getting to know him as well I discovered he has this electric personality that resonates with me and added to the fact that we think alike and almost always voice exact thoughts together. So having someone who completely understands and complements you is just a great experience and this is what keeps us going.
Another thing is God’s grace and divine factor. This is because our connection is unexplainable despite knowing each other for over ten years; the love has remained the same and keeps waxing stronger.
Hello ICON To Olus B: “An amazing friend, lover and teammate.” These are some of your words about Dorothy, you also call her your ‘sunshine’ and ‘happy place’ which we think is just as it should be. What was that one thing that made you know she is ‘the one’?
Olus B: For me, I would say the first thing that has kept us going is the friendship. We have built our relationship firmly on friendship and that was one of the indicators that she was the one for me. Another thing is the communication that comes with friendship; we have moved from different phases from friends to spouses and this has helped us remain transparent and vulnerable to each other. We share everything and no one is trying to lord over the other or be egotistic.
Also, there was a time when we were not together and I just knew something was missing so that was another thing that sealed the deal for me.
To Dorothy and Olus B: Social media somewhat makes the picture of love, marriage and relationships quite blurry sometimes. One moment we see love everywhere, the next moment we hear breakup stories. But these words below by X-Wam (one of our pioneer interviewees on the love series) makes the picture clearer: “Understand what you see is not the complete story, do not assume to know. Strength, power, independence, wisdom, love is just beneath the eye catching cover.”
To either Dorothy or Olus B: Can you please share some quick tips on how couples can better manage social media and its influence on their relationships?
Dorothy: Personally, having grown up with social media and gotten exposed to alot of what is prevalent on there; I groomed myself with the mentality that nothing is real on social media. We don’t post and share everything on social media. People only have access to what we share with them and it is usually the sweet parts of our relationship; social media plays different roles for different people be it entertainment, information and what have you but what becomes an error is when people start using other people’s standards to match against theirs.
As a couple, we try to do what is best for us and what works for us. There is so much you can learn from couples on social media but it is very important to set your own standards and walk by them because there is so much pressure that one can be exposed to that might lead them to start doing things that are out of their reach, so it is key to use social media wisely.
Olus B: Social media can be really misleading so we always try our best to be authentic. Good memories are what a lot of people share and I think this is what social media was created for so that people can share what they want so we encourage people not to be deceived by what they see on social media because a lot of them are unreal. There is the tendency to want to put yourself under unnecessary pressure because of what you see on social media. This is why I feel people need to be exposed to knowledge of how social media works so they can thrive better and know where to draw the line.
Hello ICON To Olus B: Who was the first person you told about Dorothy?
Olus B: Wow, this was a long time ago but I think it was either my friend Tobi, Abimbola or my brother. He knew and saw our chemistry at the time and so it was not news to him. But definitely I think it was probably my best man that I told about Dorathy.
Hello ICON To Dorothy: What song best describes your marriage?
Dorothy: The name of the song is called “For you I will” by Monica and it best describes our relationship in that it expresses the things we are willing to do for each other. It is even down to the weirdest and random things.
Hello ICON To Olus B: What does Art mean to you?
Olus B: To me, Art is anything that tells a story or expresses something. Whether it is something that can be seen, felt, or heard, being able to communicate and tell a story or sell an idea, art can be expressed in any and different forms. It is also something that is able to provoke a reaction.
My wife made her hair herself and I love how she was able to come up with it; that is Art. (laughs)
Hello ICON To Dorothy: As creatives, we understand the high tendencies of getting stressed out even while pursuing our passion. There are days when even depression may creep in or just that inexplicable feeling of overwhelmingness. Do you have any relatable experience to this? If so, how are you able to manage and thrive beyond phases like this? Any quick tips on ‘Mental Health for Creatives.’
Dorothy: Pursuing your passion and not getting the expected engagement that you desire can be really devastating but it is important to encourage and love yourself enough to keep your passion going. It is also important to create a workable schedule that you can stick to no matter what arises. Also, I think it is important to suspend all work on weekends, it should be a time for relaxation and enjoyment. Creatives experience what is called creative blocks and in times like this, it is important to find time to rejuvenate, refresh and recuperate. In terms of mental health, it is important that no one is an overnight success but as you build your passion and put in the work playing the long game, it will definitely pay off eventually.
Hello ICON To Olus B: Do you feel creatives in developed countries are at advantage than those in developing countries?
Olus B: Definitely, in fact a 100 and 10 percent. Using our example as Nigerians who now live in Canada; we have tested both waters and we totally understand the situation. When we were creating content in Nigeria; our living room was a makeshift studio and we struggled with having to wait to get power supply; that in itself is a big challenge. Access to constant power is unstable in Nigeria and is enough to frustrate a creative person. Imagine having to deal with different noise elements while shooting your content. Unconducive environment, lack of power supply and insecurity while shooting content is what a lot of creators have to deal with.
Monetization is another issue that creators in developing countries face. We learnt here that creators with as low as 200 followers can make money but this is not applicable for creators in developing countries as a lot of brands will not approach you if you do not have a large number of followers.
Another challenge is the unfairness of platforms. The way algorithms work is that it is not able to serve as many people your content as you desire; there are even features you are unable to access because you are not resident in a particular country.
We got more popularity when we moved to Canada because we worked on better documentation and storyline plus the environment which made creating content easier.
Hello ICON To Dorothy: We understand balancing work time and rest time is a struggle for many Creatives. Please share a few tips on how you try to balance work time, rest time and family time?
Dorothy: I am still trying my best to balance things but like I said earlier having a schedule really helps. You have an opportunity to compartmentalize and sort of know what time to spend with family, work and basically create a workable balance. Mental health and depression are real and I recall a time when I went through stress but we realized that we needed to learn how to prioritize and most importantly find time to refresh and draw inspiration.
Hello ICON To Dorothy and Olus B: What does success mean to you?
Olus B: ) I feel like the dynamics of success always change but right now, I will say success means peace of mind, living my purpose and doing what I love. It is also having money and having access to comfort, being able to provide for my family and being able to buy what I want and need. It basically means financial freedom. It is also for us being able to achieve our yearly goals; we set yearly goals and being able to achieve them is success to us. It is being happy.
Dorothy: ) It also means making positive impact; another way to measure success is the level of impact you are able to leave in any place that you find yourself.
Hello ICON To Dorothy and Olus B: Let’s go a little poetic: If poetry is a rainbow and you have a choice of one color in that pallette, what would that be and why?
Olus B: For me, I would pick blue because it depicts friendship and warmth so it sort of resonates with my personality.
Dorothy: I would pick red because it signifies heat, fire, spark and a readiness to take what life brings in all ramifications. I am a cool person but there is a side to me that is ready to show my fighting side for what I care about.
Massive Love Dorothy and Olus B!
The ICONIC Team.
