We recently connected with Muftiah Jokomba and have shared our conversation below.

Muftiah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have your typical childhood. Growing up in Nigeria, I had recently turned 7 when my dad passed away; with my mom having just moved to America. My siblings and I then spent the next few years shuffling between the houses of aunts and uncles, spent some time in a boarding school, and even lived alone for a while; with the oldest sibling being no older than 16-17. We later joined my mom, after which life got as easy as it could in a single-parent household, and even though she never mentioned it, things often got hard.

I say all of this, because even though my parents never directly did this, they taught me what it is to be resilient. Knowing when to lay low for a while, but also plan for better days; when to advocate for yourself, find resources in places you would never think of, and sometimes make things up as you go. I guess what I’m saying is my parents taught me that when life hands you lemons, you can make much more than lemonade

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve always wanted to help people and be a model, but could never quite figure out how. I hate blood, and needles, so MD or nursing wasn’t going to work, and I was just waiting to be discovered by a modeling agent while walking around minding my business. It wasn’t until after my mom needed Physical Therapy, while I was in high school and after I did my very first fashion show, freshman year of college, that I realized where and how I wanted to serve my purpose and pursue my dreams.

I am now a Model and travel Physical therapist, in a combination I like to call The ModelPT. In the modeling world, I do a bit of everything, from runway to editorials, commercials, and beauty; you name it, and if it has anything to do with modeling, chances are I probably do it.

Physical therapy-wise, I like to think of myself as a general practitioner. Especially as a travel PT, specializing in a specific type of care or wanting to only treat a type of diagnosis, in a certain place is setting yourself up for failure. It is possible to be lucky and always find an assignment within your desired parameters, but the amount of restrictions that’ll place on you is not one I particularly want to get involved in. Besides, the ability to treat patients of all ages and presentations, regardless of the environment, in my opinion, not only helps me constantly grow as a person but is what helps set me(and other travel PTs) apart from other clinicians

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Other people’s opinion matter. Now don’t get me wrong, there are people whose thoughts and opinions can not only be exactly what you need, but even more; however that doesn’t make it gospel. All a person can do, no matter who they are, is give you their perspective based on past personal experiences. There is no exact backstory I can think of at this moment, but as someone that used to let other’s opinions guide my actions, and then end up with results that might or might not be favorable. I have lost precious time and energy, which resulted in me learning to unlearn and reframe that through a few steps.

1. Listen entirely. Don’t just listen for the parts that you want to hear. You sought out this person for a reason. Listen
2. Don’t be quick to respond. Let whatever knowledge you just acquired sit with you for a bit. Even if its just a minute
3. Pick what you need. Not everything will be valuable, and even the valuable ones might not apply to you.

As long as you’re honest with yourself on a case by case basis, you do what feels right irrespective of what others might say, and you accept that things might not go your way; you gain a superpower. The power of accountability to oneself.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely! I became a DPT, because I wanted to help other people the way the profession helped my mom. It has been a little over 4 years now that I have been practicing both as a student and a licensed PT, and every time a patient tells me that their pain level has reduced or when an older patient is able to get out of bed on their own without any assistance, the feeling I get is unrivaled.

Besides, I can’t think of any other medical profession with as much hands-on, and patient progress monitoring that surpasses that of a physical therapist, and for that reason, I don’t see myself wanting to do anything else.

In terms of modeling, I’m not sure there’s anything to go back to. I have wanted to be a model for as long as I can remember, so the only thing I would do differently if given the chance, is to put myself out there sooner and stop living in my head or waiting for an opportunity to fall in my lap

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themodel_pt/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muftiah-jokomba-001819a3/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheModelPT

Image Credits
Chris Juengel Olamilekan Gbokiki Sani Me!