Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chiedozie Iroh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Chiedozie, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Growing up as a kid, my whole life was deeply into basketball. Like any kid with hoop dreams, my goal was to play for the best university and make it to the NBA. I discovered my creative path as an athlete, model, and actor during childhood. The stories of my favorite athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Steph Curry were inspirational to me. I was inspired by the art of storytelling in sports documentaries, Marvel movies, and video games. I always wanted to be a film/TV actor in a Netflix series and a voice actor for a video game. Playing video games growing up like NBA 2K14 featuring Lebron James, and NBA 2K16 directed by Spike Lee influenced me to pursue voice acting. Watching my favorite athletes featured in brand commercials and advertisement campaigns motivated me to pursue acting and modeling professionally.
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.
My name is Chiedozie Iroh, and I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I came from humble beginnings as a first-generation American from Nigeria. I’m a model and actor represented by NaturallyFitAgency and I’m signed with a top modeling agency that represents pro athletes, Olympians, and influencers. The talent from my agency is featured in commercials, brand campaigns, and popular Netflix series. I’m also a former student-athlete currently with 1-year eligibility remaining. What introduced me to acting and modeling space, was seeing NBA athletes and basketball influencers on social media featured on big brands like Nike and popular video games like NBA2k. The inspiring stories told by an athlete through a commercial promoting a brand’s product or a video game storyline from the voice actors stood out to me. Seeing your favorite athletes for their endorsements inspired me as a kid growing up to be featured in one. My goal is to inspire others through my work as a working actor and model. Every day, I always seek to create and collaborate with other creatives. I met so many content creators, working actors, and pro athletes through this space that I couldn’t even imagine. Auditioning for big brands, attending events, and working with photographers have been a blessing. My motto is to always bet on yourself and create your own story. I’m thankful to have networked and built relationships with people in this industry. I have some great projects I’m excited to come out in the future, Stay tuned.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As an athlete, my journey was a rollercoaster of adversity, filled with many powerful life lessons. I can go back to when I went to basketball tryouts in middle school and received the news that I didn’t make the basketball team in 7th grade. I still had dreams of earning a scholarship and making it to the NBA, so I was determined to try again the following year. At the time, I also played football as my second passion outside of basketball. I tried again the next year in 8th grade after football season ended, and the same result happened again. I didn’t make the basketball team in my 8th-grade year. Now time has passed and I’m a freshman in high school. I’m not willing to give up on my aspirations, so I went to basketball tryouts again in high school during my 9th-grade year. A few days after tryouts, I went to the coaches’ offices to see the news on whether I made the basketball team. There was a sheet of all the names of those who made the basketball team in the coach’s office next to the locker rooms. The sheet was taped on the office door with all the names in bold and my name was not on the list. That crushed me at the time, and I remember that day like it was yesterday. That day, I was told to go to the training room in our school fieldhouse to pick up off-season gear to prepare for spring football workouts. While waiting in the training room, I was told by coaches and friends that I should stick with playing football and was constantly told that I wasn’t good enough to play basketball. I was ready to quit and give up on my basketball aspirations, but something in me couldn’t accept the result. On the bus drive home, there was this constant voice in my head telling me that I must keep trying and I can’t give up now. Anytime I would try to get away from basketball, the sport would always come back to me in many ways. When I turn on the TV, an NBA basketball game or a show like ESPN’s First Take would pop up showcasing Basketball content. Social media accounts of basketball training videos and NBA 2k videos would show on my recommendations. Apps like Instagram and YouTube would also promote big basketball mixtape accounts showcasing the best players in the country. Some accounts will feature the best AAU Basketball teams and high school Documentaries like Ballislife, Hometeamhoops, Hoopmixtape, and Takemytalent. These accounts were a big thing at the time and were well-known to hoopers who played basketball. I would binge-watch every basketball video I saw on their accounts. When open Twitter, my feed was always filled with some kid posting his offers and some scouting page showing the high school rankings of the best players in the country. I couldn’t stop thinking about basketball and It became an obsession that I don’t even know how to explain it. My passion for basketball grew even more and I made a commitment to myself that I not going to give up. A lot of athletes know this feeling and I can spot it on someone a mile away. You can see it from current athletes or former athletes who decided to hang up the jersey. You don’t even need to be an athlete to understand this feeling and I strongly believe that. That freshman year summer, I took my training to the next level and was on a mission to make the basketball team. I tried out again for the basketball team entering 10th grade. After basketball tryouts that sophomore year in late October, I finally got the news that I made the basketball team. Now things started to pick up in my basketball journey as I began to get better at the sport. I had the opportunity to play AAU basketball for a local team and then later play basketball for an Adidas Gauntlet team in my junior year of high school. After my senior year of high school, I was under-recruited and received a few D2 and D3 offers/looks. I went on to pursue my education at Sam Houston State University. I walked on at a Division 1 school, where I faced a setback when I was cut from the team to a practice player for SHSU. After completing my degree while working 2 jobs and playing basketball, I graduated from Sam Houston State University, and I’m now signed to a top model/talent agency. This opportunity is where I get to channel my love for the game of basketball through storytelling. My journey from the basketball court to the creative industry has been fueled by the same dedication and resilience I have to this day.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is to inspire others through my basketball journey and storytelling with my work. The challenges I faced taught me that perseverance is key when trying to achieve something others might perceive as impossible. I use my platform to tell authentic stories that resonate with others, encouraging them to embrace their journey, no matter how tough it gets. I want to thank the coaches who helped me during my journey playing basketball in AAU and high school. I’m glad to have met great people at Sam Houston whether it was people at work, the friends I made while attending school, or the basketball coaches I met during my time like Coach Hooten, Coach Mudge, Coach Justice, Coach Mason, Coach Archer, and Coach Simeon. Also, thankful to have worked with other coaches and athletes from other sports like football, Soccer, and volleyball. Want to also thank the people in the athletic department at Sam Houston State University for taking me in as I learned so much while working for them attending school.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/kingfitchez?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYDnOM8wGccuAtp9mca6f1Hqw87i9wZxB-fBXNUjal11kwCCnX9Viuw3nI_aem_dEcgdUizRqZLmNcSMfKf1g
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingfitchez?igsh=MTdqb2o3emkzNW85dg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingfitchez?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiedozieiroh
- Twitter: https://x.com/kingfitchez?s=21&t=pUopyRZk6O1c6F-gbM9sEg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChiedozieIroh
- Other: Agency:
https://www.naturallyfitagency.com/elite-texas/all/2455095/chiedozie-irohShop Merch on Sale
https://millions.co/chiedozie-iroh-basketball/merch/tshirt-chiedozie-iroh-t-shirt
Image Credits
Sean Thomas – @sean.htxphoto
Austin Sanchez – @asapshooterr
Jeremy Gillespie- @gillespievizualz
Joris Kingsby- @jaksvpreme