Sitting in the dressing room at Wintar Studios, Natse stills while the hairstylist manipulates his
full head of hair for the shoot. His persona comes off as super carefree, having light
conversations with his manager as I prepped my questions. However, as the interview
progresses, Natse takes us on an insightful journey, exploring his world as a multi-faceted
creative.
Natse Jemide grew up in a close-knit Nigerian family immersed in rich Nigerian culture. Growing
up, he had something a lot of young people didn’t have: a chance at expression and an
opportunity to question and find. The perk of searching and exploring without many boundaries
has played a pivotal role in how his life is shaping and how his interests were formed. He
recalls, "I was outside all the time; just trying things and getting hurt. It makes you kind of
fearless."
Speaking about his childhood, Natse says his experiences inspired his sense of adventure. "I
got into trouble all the time. Doing things I probably shouldn’t have been doing. I’ve always been
drawn to risk. I was always down to try something new, to learn as much as I could. In the
process of doing that you get good at things ." Naturally, Natse’s abilities gave him an edge and
set him up for a life full of choices. However, like many talented people, the challenge of making
choices wasn’t lost on him. "I didn’t believe I needed to pick one thing. So, when it was time to
choose a career path, I couldn’t decide.
Regardless of the obstacles he encountered, he has defied societal odds and expectations by
going ahead to pursue multiple successful creative careers simultaneously. But this only came
after what he describes as the most depressing time of his life. "I was studying law and I hated
it. Same classes, same people, same vibes. Nothing changed. Funnily enough this was one of
the times in my life where I tried to do the ‘sensible’ thing by getting a degree my Nigerian
parents could be proud of. At the time I wasn’t as in touch with my self. I just knew I couldn’t
avoid going to school so I picked something. Awful decision”
This propelled Natse to look outward and find something he felt more at peace with. "I had to
really ask myself what kind of life I wanted to live. When I wake up where am I going? I knew I
could be a good lawyer but did I want to suit up and drag myself to the office everyday? I
couldn’t picture it. But I always felt at home in the studio or on set, around designers and
filmmakers and artistes. People who looked and acted a little different and were trying to do
things that were a little crazy. I loved writing songs, and shooting videos and talking about which
RAF Simons collab was the hardest. Deep down that was the world I wanted to live in.”
This realization sent Natse down a new path of artistic self exploration. “I started modeling and
taking my music more seriously. It was one of my primary escapes. ” Shortly after finishing with
school, he got signed to one of the biggest modelling agencies in Africa, Beth Models, and he
has since had quite a fulfilling modelling career walking in New York and Milan for brands as big
as Giorgio Armani.
In 2020, the Lockdown struck, and everyone was forced to retire the idea of life as we all knew it
and usher in a new normal. Amidst all of the uncertainty, Natse landed his first acting role with
Far From Home, a Netflix Nigeria original series. The show was a first of its kind for Nigeria, and
along with Natse, received a rousing reception from fans. "After lockdown, I got a dm asking me
to come for some secret audition off the back of some campaigns I had shot early that year. For
some reason I had a feeling it was for Netflix. There were over 100 people there, it was crazy.
My first audition was terrible, so I had to beg for another chance. Luckily I did well that time and
after a couple of call backs I got the role. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my
life.”
Like every new path, pivoting into acting wasn’t without challenges. But the upcoming superstar
affirmed that he’s never scared of being the "new kid" in the room and never passes on
opportunities to learn something new.
“I’m just expressing. I have movies coming out, I have music coming out. I’ll be on a runway
somewhere. Might start a new company. Life is short”
Currently the Co-founder of Wintar Studios, a Creative Agency and Production studio in Lagos,
Natse has had his fair share of management. Running a business in today's Nigeria is a
rollercoaster that not even working at three other active careers has prepared the Far-from-
home star for. "Running Wintar Studios is the hardest thing I've done. Running a business in
Nigeria is difficult, and people look to me for answers here. I have to come up with plans and
oversee their execution too."
In all of Natse's multiple lives, he believes that he's on a path to building a hub of creativity and
a community for the next generation. "I want to have an impact on young people in the creative
industry because I believe it’s one of the things that’ll save us. We're building a community as
well as an incubator for the next generation."
