It is important for everyone to express themselves and allow their true self to take the stage. From an early age, Chibuzo Obiefuna became familiar with expressing himself through theater and sports. Through this he developed skills that would later be crucial to him dazzling the modeling world.
“One thing I really appreciated when I visited a new place was culture and style. I always found myself in situations where I had to express myself, mostly through style, sports and public speaking.” says Chibuzo Obiefuna.
What began as forms of expression became the backbone to a career in modeling. Obiefuna has starred in ads for Starbucks, Snapchat, Head and Shoulders and many more. He has worked with the talents of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, and has even starred in a short film set to release in 2023.
Being born in New Jersey, but having parents native to Nigeria, Chibuzo Obiefuna spent a lot of time traveling between these two regions. The pursuits he would use to express himself became a constant in his ever changing life.
With a love for soccer and running track, he continued to pursue these athletics throughout his college years. It wasn’t until 2012 while visiting his sisters in England did he begin to develop an eye for fashion.
Thanks to his background in theater and being a confident public speaker, Obiefuna hosted multiple pageants with the African Student Association at his college, even participating in a few himself. This was Obiefuna’s first real taste of modeling.
Obiefuna had always seemed destined to pursue modeling. When he was 14 and visiting a shopping mall in Nigeria, Obiefuna was approached by an agent who spotted him in the crowd. The agent left him their card and tried to convince Obiefuna to consider modeling as a career path. After the encounter, Obiefuna didn’t give it much more thought.
It wouldn’t be until the COVID-19 pandemic that he would be reintroduced to modeling.
With a completed degree in environmental science and two years working in environmental health and safety, Chibuzo Obiefuna set his sights on the State of California.
Obiefuna managed to maintain a career in environmental health and safety but was left unemployed in 2020 due to COVID-19.
When one door closes, another one opens, and Obiefuna maintains hope.
Turning to his friends for support, Obiefuna was finally in a place to revisit his passion for fashion and fitness through a career in modeling. His friends had already established themselves in the entertainment industry so they provided Obiefuna with the necessary advice on how to get his start.
One of his friends, a photographer, generously provided Obiefuna with his first set of headshots.
Past forms of expression began to resurface, from fashion and style to soccer and fitness. The things that Obiefuna used to express himself while traveling across the ocean became the very things that would land him a spot with an agency.
“They showed me a world that I didn’t know existed, and it was a rebirth for me.”
