In the second part of our exclusive interview with Ololade Ayelabola, she tells us more about her journey to breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest catwalk.
You mentioned that you and the other models on the runway had to change your clothes every 12 hours, right? Did you have designers make them?
Yes, we had designers but I wish we had more designers. When the event was ongoing, that was when they indicated interest in being a part of it and I was like “Oh we’ve been reaching out to you guys and you’re just coming now?”
But then we had designers, we had close to 100 designers that brought their outfits and their collections. Even UNILAG supplied their own collections as well, so we had designers.
There was a timetable for the fashion team and wardrobe so that once you wear this outfit you know the next time it’s coming out.
All of them had to work with time, they had to do their calculations properly so there wouldn’t be any mistakes. We had designers come on board.
So how many MCs did you have?
I think we had about 6 MCs. One of them did 24 hours, Amara John, I can’t forget. She did 24 hours, she had lost her voice but she kept on talking.
I am just really grateful for the gift of everybody that really worked on this team. I can’t seem to thank them enough because I saw the dedication, I saw sacrifice.
Their voices were gone but they were still talking because they knew that they couldn’t flaunt the role, they knew what was at stake. It was in the rule that if the MC doesn’t talk when they are supposed to talk, that walk will be disqualified. So they were talking despite the pain, despite being tired and they were all on point.
So do you want to give honourable mentions?
I don’t want to give honourable mentions so that some people will not feel left out. I had someone that was sleeping beside the generator, I had people who did that so the generator would not go off.
We had about 2 minutes to change over and all that. People did not sleep, others did not go to work just because they wanted to see this dream come to life and I’m really grateful to every single person.
People dropped their money, and at some point, I was broke and had no money left. People spent their money to pay for services and purchase the things we needed for the show to continue. I am so grateful, I am very grateful to them.
So how many days did it take to break the record?
Six days. We started on October 1 and ended at 3a.m on October 6. It took six days. The plan was 4 to 5 days but we had to extend it because my body was not recovering as fast as I thought it would. I had to rest more often and all of that.
How does it feel to finally break the record? I know that the feeling is different
It is! Sincerely I don’t have words. It feels like a dream, I can’t even get over those moments. At times I pick up my phone, look at some videos and be like, “this thing actually happened”.
It’s like a dream come true. Imagine saying something last year and it happened at the stipulated time you gave it. It’s really a dream, sincerely, and I’m really grateful to God. I’m grateful to every single person that made it happen, because I had a dream but people had to come together to make it happen and I’m very grateful to every single person that made it happen. I feel so good, I feel so great.
You need to see the way my friends talk to me, they go “My friend is a Guinness world record breaker! I have her contact!”.
One even posted on her status, “The world record breaker Ololade is my friend and I have her contact, if you want to talk to her, you can message me” (haha). It feels so good, really.
I can imagine. So, I know it’s been a little over a week since you broke the record but has it opened doors for more opportunities?
Yes it has, it doesn’t even have a choice. You know some things happen and they don’t have a choice but for things to fall in place.
I’ve gotten so many interviews that I have to reschedule a number of them because of my feet. I couldn’t move at all after the event and my nurse has instructed me not to step out. I have been getting endorsement deals from different brands, so yes, definitely, it has been bringing some opportunities and I’m grateful to God for that.
How did you feel in the final moments before you broke the record? I mean, what was it like?
So it happened twice, when I broke the previous record and when I set a new record. When I broke the record they did it in a very grand style -there were fireworks, the song, Stand Up (For the Champions), was played – it felt so good.
When the final walk was completed, I was pushing for us to continue till about 5a.m but the team refused saying they needed to handle over the venue for another event scheduled to take place there. It really felt great, I looked at all my models, I looked at everybody and I felt so honoured.
When I wanted to give my appreciation speech, I literally had no words and just kept repeating “thank you, thank you”. I didn’t plan for fireworks but they went ahead to plan for all of that without my knowledge. The final moments of the event were amazing, they did formation and pulled it off perfectly. It was really great.
Let’s talk about your parents, how do they feel about this?
My dad has become a supermodel himself (haha). He strikes a pose to take pictures with every chance he gets. My mum was not present at the venue because she is not in the country at the moment but she keeps sending her unwavering support and is very loud about it.
People even had to ask me if the person that keeps dropping unending comments on YouTube and Instagram is my mum (haha). My parents, aunties and cousins have never been more proud to see their daughter, niece and sister achieve something remarkable. They are so happy, I can tell you.
What part did social media play in motivating you on your way to break the record?
During that time, my phone was seized and I was not aware of what was going on on social media. When we had to make a video for social media, I obliged, still unaware of what was going on online.
It was towards day 5 that I pleaded to have access to my phone and what I did then was check my whatsapp messages, incase someone who wanted to send money to me had messaged me (haha).
It was after the event that I realized that a lot of people had even signed on my board outside and left beautiful messages for me. That being said, I cannot undermine the role social media plated in spreading the word across to people in different parts of the country and beyond.
We had a lot of people message us after the event, apologizing and regretting that they couldn’t be part of the event because they were not aware of it beforehand. There was another group of people we reached out to, but they didn’t come through for us. Only after the event was successfully held did they attempt to curry favor with us.
From this, I have learnt that no one should give up on their dreams because the people that refuse to support you on your way up are the same people that will want to associate with after you have attained success. Do not give up even when the path ahead is uncertain, keep forging ahead.
Can you mention your top 3 favourite outfits?
So I love Colony, I wouldn’t even lie. His designs, his materials, have good quality and are so good. The styles were not so dramatic but they spoke class, and elegance; they were really good.
Desired wears was also really cool. I like Modella’s outfit as well but they are not your ready-to-wear outfit, they are strictly fashion outfits for pageantry, gala. Emerald brand, he makes sports wears and I think they are really cool. I’ll stop there, I’ve mentioned four brands already.
You’ve done well. So what was your favourite moment during the catwalk. I know you were probably very tired but are there moments that you think about that make you smile?
I have two favourite moments. The first one was when I was walking on stage. I was wearing oversized shoes because of the injuries I sustained on my feet and they came off on stage; I just continued walking and it was so smooth.
Another favourite moment was when I laughed on stage when I was not supposed to. A man called out to me to look at him and when I did, I busted out laughing. I had to quickly comport myself because I didn’t want to risk the walk being disqualified.
The last moment was when the health professionals who were treating my legs called me a ‘witch’ because while they were attending to me, I was pushing for them to hurry up so I can return to stage despite being injured. Those were moments I really liked.
I’m so glad that despite everything, you had fun.
Oh yes I did. When they start recounting everything that happened during the event, things that happened behind the scenes, that I wasn’t aware of. I wish there’s a recording of behind the scenes of the event. In all, we had fun.
We have spoken about your favourite memories. So what were the challenges you faced during those 6 days?
One thing I didn’t like was the light issue we had. This is Nigeria, we cannot even lie. It was sad actually but I thank God for the kind of people we had.
When there was power outage and the sound system was off, we had people singing without the playback of the song and using improvised drums. The MCs were shouting on top of their voices and we kept walking.
So, you have just graduated from the university and are waiting to be enlisted for NYSC. Do you plan to contest for Miss NYSC when you get to camp?
No please. I feel like I’ll be cheating others. I’ll probably just go for Miss World or something but right now, I want to focus on my modeling agency. I have my company coming up, we have been registered for a while and I’m launching my modeling agency in December so I’m working towards that.
Tell us about your company. What’s the name, your motto, your idea behind it?
First, my company is a multi-faceted company. The name of the company is Lade’s Artistry (LA) and the modelling agency under it is LA Models.
It has a cosmetic brand and a fashion house as well. I’ll start with the modeling agency in December but I’m trying to prepare and till the ground for my models because I don’t want them to come in and find it difficult to get jobs.
So that is what I’m working on. As a computer science major, I’m working on a fashion app so watch out for it too.
The models for your agency, are they the same people who worked with you during the event?
I have not recruited anybody yet but I know for a fact that when I put it out there, all of them will like to work with me.
I was speaking to someone about this and one of them overheard me and indicated her interest in being my no.1 recruit (haha). I know they will definitely want to be part of the agency and I would love to have them too, they are resilient and such amazing people to work with.
As time goes on, people may have ideas to break world records. What would you say to those people?
You can do it. I have not said this to a lot of people, the first time I said it was on TVC on June 13th. I got 6 rejections from Guinness World Record; I made 6 applications, was rejected 6 times and I paid 5 pounds for every application.
I was applying for a record that had not existed before, so I created my own record. For the fifth application, we had a conversation about it but when it was supposed to get to the final stage, it was rejected again.
The sixth application was rejected as well but I did not stop. It was all about modelling and fashion. I went on to look for a record that had already existed that I could still work with, and that aligned with my dream, passion and vision.
I applied again and this time, I didn’t have to pay because I was applying to break an existing record. I’d love to say think it through, make your plans and go for it. Also, don’t forget that whatever record you’re planning to set or break, someone out there might be planning to do same so make sure you go all out to set a solid record.
For instance, if someone set a record of 48 hours, don’t plan to surpass it by 2 hours to make it 50 hours. Think ahead and leave a good gap so that your efforts will not be put to waste.
An additional piece of information I will give is, for any record you want to set or break, search for it using keywords on the Guiness World Record official website to get more information about it.
It might not be written with the exact words you typed in so get creative with keywords so you can get the exact records you are looking for. It may not be about a world record but maybe a business, whatever it is you hope to achieve, you can never know if something will be successful without giving it a try.
Push, give it a try, take a step of faith and trust God that it will work out.
Thank you for that. So I want to ask, what are your long or short-term goals?
Firstly, I can’t tell you what I will be doing ten years from now, I am someone who lives in the present. It is not that I do not plan for the future but whatever will happen then, is dependent on what I do in the present.
I think of this “Am I doing what God will have me do? Am I living in God’s will? Am I making good decisions now?” So I think the question should be about now. So now, I will set up my modelling agency and we will grow from there. I trust God that it will go well.
Which modelling agency do you want LA Models to be like?
There are a lot, actually. I have worked with KBS models and they are very good. I love Beth Models. LA Models is top on my list too (haha)
What are your final words to our audience out there?
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me, is still supporting me and will support me in the future.
I just want you to know that everybody’s dream is valid; it doesn’t have to be a dream to change the colours of the sky or something grand. No matter how small it is, your dream is valid so don’t let anyone stop you or tell you otherwise.
One challenge many people face is listening to negative comments from naysayers and allowing it to affect them to a point where they cannot pursue their goals.
Believe in yourself, trust God and just take that step. You can only see results by taking action; when you’re laid back, you won’t achieve anything. Whatever it is you want to do, do it now.