Coach. Educator. Entrepreneur. Speaker. Professional Athlete.  He’s all these things and so much more. AK Ikwuakor, affectionately known as Coach AK, considers himself “Unbranded” not being bound to any title. His accomplishments span working with Fortune 500 companies, speaking engagements, and training for the 2008 Olympics. Writer Michelle Musoké caught up with him during Inbound 2019 to discuss his life experiences, marketing and authenticity. 

Michelle: You’re a featured speaker here at Inbound this year. What does Inbound mean to you? How has marketing helped your “Unbranded” platform?

Coach AK: I currently live in Boston and for me, I kind of fell into this conference. A friend encouraged me to apply to be a speaker. This past year has been tough for me, so it’s been a growth-filled year. My talk on “Finding Your Why” and what actually drives you is a way of spreading the message of the different layers that make us who we are, especially on digital platforms. Digital has caused us to be able to effectively communicate with people all over the world, and not only in terms of marketing but just communicating and working with people - that’s what Inbound means for me.

Michelle: You’re involved in so many industries from fashion to entertainment. You’re a former D1 athlete from the University of Oregon. How has your transition into these spaces been, given that Oregon is a less connected city than a New York or Boston?

Coach AK: My path hasn’t exactly been linear. I’m a first-generation Nigerian, my parents came to America in 1976. They expected me to be a lawyer, a doctor, or one of those particular fields. For me though, I wasn’t the best student because I always had trouble finding my place when I grew up. I grew up in Colorado, a place where people didn’t look like me, except for my twin brother and sister, I’m a triplet. It was just us. In my home, it was very Nigerian but the moment I stepped outside it was a completely different world. I wasn’t “Nigerian enough” or “Black enough”. I was always playing that little divide. So, I’ve always had to be able to navigate in different worlds and be flexible.

I got into the University of Oregon because of sports. It was a kind of my gateway to get school paid for. I was one of those weird kids. I was an athlete but I was also a thespian. I did acting and digital design. And people would ask, “Why are you doing all these weird voice classes?”

Michelle: Stereotypes of athletes are far from theatre kids.

(both laugh)

Coach AK: Yea, I was doing drama performances. It really contributed to my platform of feeling comfortable in my own skin. Fast forward 15 years later (I’m aging myself), those same skill sets allowed me to feel comfortable on a stage to speak. So you never really realize the things that you’re developing at an early age, that can actually transition to something later on. As an athlete, it was really good because of the network and it taught me about the life lessons you gain from high-level athletics – delayed gratification, having a vision, a mindset.

Michelle: Professional development is a hot topic and everybody wants to be competitive against their counterparts in the market, how do you stay centered, what are the motivators that keep you aligned to your goals and make power moves professionally across all these industries? 

Coach AK: What allowed me to be grounded is hitting rock bottom. I was doing this big project with the U.S. government and I actually ended up losing everything. I was homeless. Because of those moments, it makes you realize what’s really important and valuable. The problem is how we define success. We define success based on what we do between the hours of 9 to 5, what we do as a profession. But if you were to ask someone what was the most important thing to them, their job or profession, isn’t even a top 5 or top 10. So why is it that we identify success based on these metrics that are not even on your list? We need to change the narrative, because people are feeling lost. 

Michelle: Professional development is a hot topic and everybody wants to be competitive against their counterparts in the market, how do you stay centered, what are the motivators that keep you aligned to your goals and make power moves professionally across all these industries? 

Coach AK: What allowed me to be grounded is hitting rock bottom. I was doing this big project with the U.S. government and I actually ended up losing everything. I was homeless. Because of those moments, it makes you realize what’s really important and valuable. The problem is how we define success. We define success based on what we do between the hours of 9 to 5, what we do as a profession. But if you were to ask someone what was the most important thing to them, their job or profession, isn’t even a top 5 or top 10. So why is it that we identify success based on these metrics that are not even on your list? We need to change the narrative, because people are feeling lost. 

Michelle: People are fighting for authenticity. What advice can you give young professionals of color because we’re the minority in spaces such as marketing, tech? How do they achieve that genuine authenticity that you talk about?

Coach AK: First, be comfortable to be your authentic self - no matter what that is because that’s the only unique strength you have. My deepest gratitude in this world has come from this idea - the law of relativity. There is good because it is bad. There is light because there is darkness. So if you’re a person of color who has had to navigate the world with certain hardships, it becomes your strength. My mental fortitude is so much stronger because I have had to cope, be aware of my surroundings,  I’ve had to navigate spaces. People say “Everybody in the room doesn’t look like me”. That’s fine, walk into that room and be uncomfortable. You can’t always search for spaces where people look like you. Eventually, you will have to be around people who don’t and have to get uncomfortable before it becomes comfortable.

Michelle: Marketing is the cross-section between creativity and business strategy. The city of Boston is filled with people who use art as an outlet, personally and professionally. Yet, they find themselves more compartmentalized because they are artistic or overlooked because of the social landscape, we are in a city known for education and health care. If you could speak to the leaders and changemakers what would you say to them to shift their gaze to artists?

Coach AK: Be comfortable to LEAVE the city. If you know that your market will be received in NY or Atlanta, move to those cities. There’s so many opportunities around the world and cities that will embrace you. Maybe Boston is not the place for you. It’s all about about the ecosystem that you’re in. I know for my fashion company, when I’m in Boston I have to talk about our tech approach. In New York, I can talk about fashion and style. It’s really about how you communicate your message. Lastly, I don’t force people to change. What I would do is create a critical mass to force them to change. You have to get all the creatives together to show that there is value in the arts.

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