Photo by Virginie Khateeb
Wilson Oryema, model and anti-consumerism activist shares his journey navigating through the fashion industry whilst speaking out for sustainability.
Life as I know it has always been a challenge in a few ways: From staying alive; To knowing myself better; and more. I’ve always been pushed to look at myself and the surroundings and ask “Are we conducive to each other’s health?” for both people and places. In my infancy, although I wanted to be a better person, it initially came from a self-centred space, as when one is still learning to identify themselves and setting appropriate boundaries, it can be quite the task to understand how to be better for those around you—which we all have to! My crash course came as a result of bad eating habits, and learning the effects with my body.
A lot of time by mid-teens was spent in dentists and doctors offices—more so than I care to remember. From there, my awareness of personal food choices and its impact on the environment only grew. I changed my diet, became vegetarian at 18. Then soon after became vegan. As a result, even started paying attention to where I was getting my clothes from, as well as, what type of jobs I worked in, such as, Youth charities, Tech education foundations, etc. Alongside that, a lot of my inspirations came from many family members working in spaces focused on helping others: from them working in charities, to mental health hospitals, and more. It could’ve been considered the norm for me to assume a role which serves society in the way of supporting those who may need support the most. However, I’m not going to say that was something I actively chose to employ in my life direction, but it surely had a subconscious impact which has influenced most of the things I do. So, at this point, a lot of the puzzle pieces were present coming together, however, there were still vital parts missing from the piece…