Today on Man Around Nairobi we feature a famous (for many reasons) social media guy Brian Mbunde. Brian Mbunde says he is a very shy guy who loves to be called Brayo by his mum and brathe by his close friends. He is also the ambassador of Kenya representing Kikuyu town and started his career by being trolled to trolling people.
- Did you grow up in Nairobi?
I grew up in Nairobi. We moved around quite a lot. I definitely lost many of my pals because of that but I learnt to cope with it after some time. We moved from Kikuyu to Riara road to Karen then later on Suna Estate then back in Kikuyu.
I spent most of my youth i.e from Form 1 in Kikuyu though. Kikuyu was a crazy place. We would go on adventures in the hood to steal mangoes and sugarcane. We liked walking along the railway line, biking and football tournaments with other hoods.
- What do you love about Nairobi?
The unpredictable weather, the matatu culture and the fast life. I always miss this when I go out of town. I always feel the laziness creeping up on me. So much stuff happens in this city of ours.
I also love how people in Nairobi like holidays. Any opportunity for them to take a break and drink a bit as they wait to go back to their busy schedules.
The music and graffiti everywhere makes stuff interesting. We express our culture through the crazy images painted on matatus.
Nairobi is a random city. You can be using the same route for a year and then it gets closed and a mall is built on the land and traffic diverted to another route.
- What would you change about Nairobi?
Nairobi is very dirty. We need to stop littering plus the Nairobi County Government needs to get their act together.
This city has too much insecurity. There are too many thieves in this capital. You cannot walk in this city without passing a beggar or scared that someone will take your phone immediately you remove it from your pocket.
- As a professional how is it working in Nairobi? Is Nairobi open to what you do or what could be better?
Nairobi is interesting. So much competition plus people who love to copy paste other guys ideas so you must have passion because no one can steal that. Nairobi is open for social media guys but we need more leeway for photographers because for them, sharing content gets harder.
We have so many seminars happening around the city that target digital marketers so I would say Nairobi is the best city in Africa to grow a career. If your business idea has potential and is unique, the higher the chances someone will try it out and recommend to their friends. So many companies have grown so fast in the past 5 years due to social media.
5. If you had a tourist friend coming in from outside the country what three things would you say to sell them the idea that Nairobi is worth visiting.
1824 Lol. JK. The Nairobi Nightlife is worth it. So many clubs coming up all over the city so you will always be spoilt for choice.
Our matatus just make life interesting. Everyone has their good and bad stories about them.
The Nairobi National Park. Even if you don’t go, you’ll find a monkey chilling on your balcony if you live near there. We are the only city with a park… I think. No more lions doing rounds in the city though.
If you would like to interact or be trolled by Brian on social media you can find him on twitter – @BrianMbunde.
