Issue #22: Chatting with Ochuko Akpovbovbo of as seen on
A friend of the ‘stack and fellow brand baby shares her insights.
This week, I’m so excited to be talking to a friend of the ‘Stack and fellow brand baby, Ochuko Akpovbovbo. Ochuko writes as seen on , a brilliant newsletter all about business, culture, and gen z trends.
I instantly gravitated to Ochuko’s smart takes on trends, relatable voice, and stellar book recommendations (sooo happy to hear she’s starting a dedicated Sunday send solely for book picks!). We connected on LinkedIn and she officially became my very first Substack pal! If I haven’t mentioned it before, I am such a fan of the Substack community. In fact, many of you have found me through Ochuko’s recommendation on Substack, which is so appreciated.
I asked Ochuko to share her thoughts on how she started her newsletter, her favorite brands, and more. Enjoy!
CA: Ochuko, I’m such a fan of your newsletter and so excited to learn more about you! Let’s start with a little bit about your background. What has your career path looked like?
OA: Thank you!!! I'm not sure how far back you want me to go, so I'll go all the way back. I'm Nigerian; I was born and raised there and most of my family still lives there. I moved to Canada when I was 16 and to Portland, Oregon two years later for college. I was an Econ major but knew pretty early on I wanted to work as a brand marketer. I did a bunch of fun stuff while I was in college but my big girl career path has been pretty straightforward. I started working at adidas immediately after graduating, my first job was as an Assistant Category Manager for Originals Footwear, then not long after I moved to the Originals Brand Comms team. That all happened within my first year out of college. Now I'm in Germany, still working for adidas on the Global Membership team. So I'm a loyalty girl for now which is fun!
CA: What is it like living in Germany as a young person? (Side note, but from what I’ve seen on Substack, your apartment is so cute!)
OA: My apartment is my dream and my baby. I'm glad you like it too :) I already shared how I landed here; it's been almost 2 years and I like it a lot. I live in a smaller city so it's a completely different pace of life, and I've had to learn to have fun in different ways but once I accepted that, it's been wonderful. As a young person I definitely feel like making such a big move was amazing for me in pretty much every way- finances, independence, sense of self, all of it.
CA: Tell us more about as seen on! How did you decide to start it, and what do you write about?
OA: Like you, I'm a Brand Baby. I love this stuff. So much of culture is defined by brands – for better or for worse – and I find it so fascinating to connect the dots and tease out the meanings behind these really cool brand moments, which are also cultural moments. And that's what as seen on is, three days a week I'm telling you what's happening in culture, what's happening in business, what's happening with gen z trends, and most importantly I'm showing you how these things are connected; because they are!
CA: I’ve been seeing a lot more young people using Substack as a diary or journal of sorts. It’s also a much healthier community than other forms of social media. What’s been your experience with the Substack as a platform?
OA: It's great. The energy here is really cool and supportive and I'm glad to be here early enough to witness it. I love to see what people are thinking and doing and it's a much richer way to interact with people than social media, I think. That's still super fun though.
CA: How do you stay on top of brand trends and get ideas for as seen on?
OA: I guess I'm just doing what everyone else does, but more intentionally – listening to podcasts, reading the news, being on social media, talking to my friends...
CA: What are a few brands that you’ve been admiring recently, and why?
OA: Rhode (so fun and they know their audience), Tubi (I think they're a really interesting once to watch in the streaming wars), Topicals (what they're doing for and with black culture is simply outstanding, plus their products are just great).
CA: What’s something that you’ve purchased recently and loved?
OA: Hmmm my wales boner x adidas samba. They're just so cool.
Thank you so much for sharing, Ochuko!
Before I sign off, here are some of my favorite brand reads from the week:
Pinterest is one of the few social networks to ‘age down’ with time. / It’s a ‘Book Girl Summer’ and I’m on board. / Evident in The Cut’s event at The Ripped Bodice this weekend. (I’ll be moving, otherwise I would attend.) / Obsessed with this ad and now I want to go to Oslo.
Your apartment Ochuko 🥹 In which town in Germany are you?
love this!