Social media has transformed the lives of creatives in Kenya especially during this Covid period. It may take just one video or picture and one becomes an overnight celebrity. Thanks to viral videos so many people have been able to launch their careers, from comedians, musicians to bloggers.
One such person who became an online sensation thanks to a video is Charles Odongo. On 25th May 2021, social media was ablaze after a video of a man taking large chunks of ugali, moulding it ‘professionally’ then proceeding to eat. The size of the ugali and how he was eating fascinated so many people who ended up nicknaming him ugali Man. It was not until much later that people found out his name was Charles Odongo.
Family
Charles Odongo is married to a Ugandan woman and he is a father to two girls and a boy. The ugali man seems to be following in his father’s footsteps. Back in the 1960s, his father was a bodybuilder and a boxer, something he passed on to his generation.
Career
Charles hails from Ongata Rongai in Kajiado county where he works as a gym instructor and owns a gym as well. He often shares tips about working out and encourages people to join him at the gym. According to him, exercise should be an integral part of one’s life whether one is old or young. Without it, people are susceptible to illnesses.
The gym instructor was introduced to bodybuilding at the young age of 8 and has never stopped since then.
He seems to love making entertaining clips during his free time. Before the ugali video went viral, he had also done about one hundred videos, but it was the video shared by blogger Robert Alai that catapulted him to fame.
“I like doing videos that will leave people talking. I feel good when people are talking about me because it means that I am worthy. I’m also a person who likes making people happy and cracking their ribs as well,” he said.
Endorsement
When one becomes a sensation, brands take the opportunity and rush to use the person to promote their products. This seems to be the case with him as he recently got a chance to work with odibets as their ambassador.
