We were lucky to catch up with Tobi Gbile recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tobi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

When I was an angsty, One Direction obsessed teenager whose biggest concern was getting selected to be cheer captain and getting into the best colleges, the last thing on my mind was what my parents were doing right. Looking back, the biggest thing they did right, that has had the biggest impact on my life and my career, was teaching me that bad moments don’t last forever.

I was fortunate enough that I didn’t have many bad moments as a child and into my teenage years, so hearing that message was great.

But it also means that I never put it to good use. That is, until sh*t hit the fan when I turned 25 years old.

I had just moved countries, became a resident of a completely new city, and had started a brand-new job. As if on cue, problems bigger than anything I had ever encountered started to arise in every avenue, nook, and cranny you could think of in my life.

Professionally, mentally, and physically, I was more depleted than I had ever been. Getting out of the rut that I was in felt nothing short of impossible.

Over those months in the valley, as I like to call it, my parents were adamant in reminding me that no bad moment would last forever, and that anything I was suffering through wouldn’t remain that way for eternity. As a self-proclaimed drama queen, perfectionist, and a recovering crybaby, whether you blame it on my astrological sign or not, I couldn’t imagine my life without the struggles I was facing. What would that even look like?

When it was clear that regardless of whether I cried about it or not, it wasn’t going to make time pass any faster, I decided to finally take their advice. And that advice was brought to life in different ways in every avenue, nook, and cranny.

In my career, I sought out opportunities to make the most of my role, give my best to my projects regardless of how challenging, and ensure that I took every moment as a learning experience so that I would be better equipped to face what was next, whatever that was. Looking at it more as a training camp or masterclass in personal growth, completely changed my perspective.

With my health, I decided to take my new diagnosis as an opportunity to use my platform(s) to educate people about the struggles that people with autoimmune conditions endure, and how we can be allies to one another as we aspire to live happy, healthy lives. Although it was hard bearing my soul, from the TEDxSan Diego stage to the University of Wisconsin Madison Business School, I truly had never felt more connected to others, and it was emotionally rewarding to turn my pain into a more positive purpose.

Mentally . . . the easiest way to explain it is that, rather than stowing in anxiety, tiptoeing through life afraid of what might be waiting for me around the corner, thanks to the hurdles I was overcoming, instead, I had to retrain myself to think of life more as a surprise party. Sure, I wouldn’t know what was waiting around the corner for me, ever, but attempting to move through life in an expectant way opened the door to unexpected blessings I might have marked as burdens before.

Today, I would be lying to you if I said that I was fully cured, and no longer felt the agony of bad moments in life. While that’s not the case, thanks to my parents instilling in me the belief that all bad moments are just that: a moment in time, I am getting better at navigating through those moments, and coming out on the other side better than I was before. (Even if just a little).

Tobi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

It’s simple — I want to inspire the youth through pop culture.

How am I getting there?

I’m an entertainment obsessed storyteller who combines her individuality with her experience in the fashion, TV, and music industries. I’m currently based in Los Angeles as the Senior Campaign Manager of fashion and lifestyle partnerships at one of the biggest media companies in the world, and Creative Director for rising multi-hyphenate artist TGBEAM.

Additionally, I’m a 2022 TEDxSanDiego speaker, published teen fiction novelist of the “The Stunnerz”, co-host of the pop culture podcast The Weekly Baecay, and the editor behind Girl With Purple Gucci’s. I was also featured on Season 2 of the MTV International show “Video Love”, analyzing today’s most iconic music videos.

Stay close to see what I add to my story next.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is getting to put your skills to use in different mediums. The special thing about being a creative is that your skills are not only use in standard ways, but there is so much opportunity to color outside of the lines and let your creativity run-wild in different areas that you might not have if you didn’t have that skill. I consider myself a creative wordsmith, so I enjoy being able to use my words to tell stories of my own through writing novels and sharing my opinion on pop culture in an exciting way, crafting speeches, writing compelling marketing narratives and pitches, or even knowing exactly what to say to comfort a friend or family member in need of some encouragement. Words are extremely versatile, so it allows my creativity to be as well.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey is to inspire diverse communities through pop culture. Growing up, I didn’t have many people who looked like me taking up space in the areas that inspired me the most, such as fashion, TV, and entertainment. It is what drove me to want to work within this industry in the first place. I couldn’t bear the thought of other dark-skinned black girls growing up in a culture where they had no one to look up to within pop culture who looked like them. We as humans are visual creatures. Unfortunately, if we can’t see it, it makes it hard for us to believe it. Due to that, it’s crucial that people from underrepresented backgrounds, like me, see themselves within positions of influence within pop culture so that we can bring in more voices that will only drive culture forward. Being a creative in this industry, in 2023, is not for the faint of heart. Knowing that one day, the work that I do will inspire other young black girls to chase their pop culture dreams, is what reminds me that this winding journey of a creative is worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tobigbile.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/princesstobig/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobigbile/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1gXbKsOFc0

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Jasmine Durhal https://jassieuo.com/ (tan background photo and purple cover photo) Xavier Bailey (speaker photo)