Sophia Chisom: Growing Up, I  Was More of a Solitary Child, Bullied Once in a While

Until last year July, the name  Realsophy didn’t ring a bell. With a 2.1million following on TikTok. Sophia Chisom has grown to become a big influencer on the TikTok and Instagram platforms. Today, she models for brands and does video skits. In this interview with Ugo Aliogo and Ijeoma Okonji, Chisom shares the story of her journey into stardom, managing the celebrity lifestyle and the desire to maintain a based personal life despite being the poster girl of some brands

Where did the name “Soso” come from?

My name is Sophia Chisom, but people call me Soso, my stage name is also Soso. The name Soso from Sophia Chisom.

What was your formative years like?

Yeah, so growing up, I was more of a solitary child. I was being bullied once in a while because I had a very small body frame. We were seven kids but two died. So presently, we are five. I am the only girl. I have four brothers and I am the first child. During my primary education, I was always on my own. For my secondary education, I schooled at an Anglican Convent, so I maintain my solitary lifestyle until SS2/3, when I began socializing with classmates.

There is a contrast between my personality in secondary school then and now, because a lot has changed and I have become embolden, not just to engage with people, but to bring out a part of me that I never knew I had. During secondary school days, I was the Social Prefect, I don’t even know how that happened. But I don’t think if someone had told me when I was much younger, ‘you are going to go into content creation when you grow up,’ I would have said it is a lie.  Although, I knew I wanted to go into entertainment, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I went into the university at the age of 16 and finished at the age of 19-20.

I studied Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Port Harcourt. I would not say I had many experiences in university because I was very much younger, so I wasn’t really willing to try so many things, I felt like I was still very naïve in that aspect, I couldn’t explore more of my life because of being a teenager. If I had gone to university now, things would have changed. It wasn’t like I was a churchy girl, but the fact that I loved my own space, as a result I didn’t know how to make friends, which affects me till date.

Despite not knowing how to make friends, I had my clique of friends in the university, but upon graduation and taking up content creation, there was a kind of resentment from these friends. 

They felt I wasn’t carrying them along in the things I did.  I believe everybody has their path to choose. I can tell you who my friends are from university, but I can’t call everyone my friend. I’m not really friendly, but I’m very big on loyalty.

You said you not a friendly. So, are an introvert?

Yeah, I know a lot of people, but it would be wrong for them to call me their friend when they don’t even know my last name. I can see someone I like physically and then I would want to be their friend, but when I get their phone number, I don’t know how to be more open to them. If you see someone that we are very close, it means they probably tried severally, and we had a very good vibe before I decided to bring such individual into my space. I can count my friends.

Was it growing up that shaped the person you are today?

I think growing up formed what I am today; because if I had many friends growing up maybe I would have been more of an extrovert. But because I didn’t have much friends and I was always on my own and the times when I decided to come out, they bullied me and I would just run back inside.

You talked about bullying. Where were you bullied and at what stage in your life?

Basically, it was in school I was bullied. They would hit my head, lock me in a box and drag me round school. Funny enough, I didn’t know those things were bullying until I grew up. I was very smallish in school, so, you would barely notice me. I mean, I was 10 years old when I entered secondary school and I seemed like the type of person they could mess with and do such a thing to.

Of course, we didn’t know that bullying was anything serious. It is funny thinking of it right now. Despite being small in my class, I still sat at the back seat which prevented me from seeing the board and I did that because I didn’t want anybody to talk to me or look for my trouble.

What would say is your new personality?

Even now that I am older, whenever I walk into a room, I wouldn’t want to sit in the front seat. I will still want to sit at the back, maybe it was because of my growing up, but if I walked into a room and it seemed like everybody is seated, I will feel so nervous, I don’t want anyone to notice me. Put content creation aside, I can be very shy. Even when I manage to finally bring myself out, I still sit on my own, pressing my phone, do my video and just try to leave early. I don’t want to wait for the event to finish and start greeting everybody, I just want to go.

Did your background contribute to shaping your life?

Honestly, I don’t know. I would say my secondary school did a little bit of moral shaping because I mean it was a single school (all-girls) and you know there were certain statutory rules that you cannot disobey. Unlike now, where you can just jump the fence, then in my school I never heard of anybody jumping fence. My school was very strict; if you do any rubbish, they suspend or expel you.

For my parents to take me away from Port Harcourt to Anambra State at the age of 10 meant so much. I had to learn how to grow up early like I didn’t need my parents even during holidays, I would stay in my aunt’s house in Anambra State. I wasn’t allowed to come back to Port Harcourt because of the short school holidays and I was usually all alone in the house and it was a very big house. It is a three-story building with five bedrooms in one floor because my aunt’s husband married more than one wife. I was always at home till evening, just once in a while, the house was lively because she had a maid who comes around once in a while, but then again it was mostly me in the house all day.

It was so bad that I had to join them in my aunt’s husband water factory because there was nobody at home and I can’t do anything. I go to the factory with them in the morning and no kids there for me to play with so I ended up learning how to pack sachet water, and tie it very well.

I also learnt the making process of bottle water, from corking of the bottle tops to labelling and packaging. I followed them to distribute the water to wholesalers because there was nothing else to do and I think that is what even made me keep to myself a lot, for something might be happening and I would not say anything because I’m used to not saying anything. 

Tell us about your journey into content creation?

Initially, I was taking pictures and posting on social media page. I became popular from taking pictures. I was taking pictures without makeup; it became a big thing and people actually loved those pictures. Suddenly, people started bombarding my social media page and I was fond of taking pictures on the road. Then one day, my manager told me that these pictures would not take me far in life. So, there is need to diversify. I didn’t want to do it at first because I could just relax, take pictures and post it without stress.  Then he accepted that we should try out some skits.

At that time, you already had a manager?

Yes, I already had a manager because I was getting jobs from taking pictures. I was already influencing for brands from taking pictures because they were really nice pictures.

You were already a face for some brands?

 Yes, I wasn’t doing skits, but my manager was like we should give it a try. Then he came up with a comic young girl character who sells sachet water. I decided to give it a try, I opened my wardrobe saw an ash top, took my mum skirts, cut it because it was long and told our last child to help me buy a bowl and flip flop, and we shot it that same day and posted it and I had mixed feelings because people we were shocked and others were surprised. The comments were good, I wasn’t sure I was able to pull it off at my first try, but it was really good.

After the first skirt, I told my manager that we need to do more contents, but the subsequent contents weren’t engaging as I thought it to be, I was almost quitting and going back to taking pictures. I felt people didn’t like my contents until I dropped another video and they engaged with it, and people started taking me seriously and I was recognised as the sachet water seller. People started engaging with the content, there was huge acceptance.  

Now I started seeing that I had more women starting to engage with my content and I wanted that acceptance badly because I didn’t want my personality to just be drawn to only men. I wanted a balanced audience of both male and female, I felt good to have women also appreciate the fact that this person is creating content, because I really needed that audience and not just the male audience, but I wanted a mixed audience.

I wanted a situation where if a woman discovers that her husband is following me on social media, she will not have an issue with it. I wanted a situation where women would follow me because women see themselves as their own competition, so the fact that they embrace the character which is not showing any beauty but looking tattered, you will want to sympathize with the character, you can relate with the character and if your husband sees me in public places, and he says take me a picture with Sophie and you will be comfortable doing it because you also like my skits.

 Let’s talk about the growth in content creation business in Nigeria. What do you think is responsible?

I think it is social media. People are now more on social media, than before when we just wait for NTA to air at 9pm. Social media was around but I think people were not aware of it, there was Facebook. Right now, social media is paying these content creators. Now, you can just stay in your house and upload it on your phone and people can watch it, you get paid for it, and brands meet you. So, it is a fact that it is lucrative.

 What influences the content that you create?

Most times my skits are very relatable because it is just things that have happened in this life. I want you to be able to watch it and be able to relate with it, it is just an everyday story.  Sometimes, if I am walking on the road and I see an incident, I try to see how I can make it into a content. Also, I look at trending issue and I try to think of how to point it out so that people can understand the message. It is also my way of passing my own message and I don’t have to come out in the open and start to advocate for certain things.

 But you have not done any skit on politicians?

I actually want to; I am trying not to be partisan. I want to put it in a way that nobody thinks I’m supporting a particular individual or political party. I will come up with content soon, though election is still far.

Beyond content creation, are you looking at getting into a career in acting?

Yes, I am. I’ve gotten quite a number of scripts but I mean I would love to do my own story but you will need sponsors for that. I want to feature in a movie, but the thing is that it is not about featuring in these movies, but I want to be in a movie where the story is beautiful because I am a sucker for good story like the saying goes, if you want to eat frog, eat a big one. Big one in the essence that it should likely be a blockbuster, Netflix or cinema movie. Africa Magic Epic is good, God bless them, but that is not the level I am looking at. I’m also looking at setting my own series which will be known as the Soso series. I don’t know when it’s going to be aired, but it is going to look like something like Jennifer’s diary.

 Can you give an insight into your modeling career?

Would I call it a modeling career? It’s just like a side hustle not really a career honestly. I’m not a professional model; it just comes once in a while when brand wants me to shoot for their products.

What are your past time activities?

Well, I like to travel a lot, loves to listen to music, watch movies, I like to sleep a lot I don’t like stress. And once in a while, I like to read. I also like to cook but lately I have not been cooking much because there is no time. Creating content and being a chef is not easy so I had to pipe down to be able to manage both of them but I can’t cook right now.

 You have a kitchen were people place others?

Yes, people do but when I started content creation, I had to pipe down. I needed to choose one to grow first and I wanted the content creation to grow first. The chef is still in me but people need to know that this girl creates beautiful content

Apart from your past time activities do you club or hang out on Friday night like other celebrities?

You know I’m not a clubbing type; if you see me in the club it is maybe I was paid to go the club or it is one of those days. I go to the beach once in a while.

 You keep yourself away from the socialite lifestyle of celebrities?

I do like my space but I also attend events. I don’t show up for parties I’m not invited to personally. If it’s my friends party, I will go obviously I just don’t like to be everywhere.

What’s the high point of your content creation business since your debut, What’s the blockbuster content you created that drove very much engagements?

There was a particular content that took me to 1 million followers on TikTok.  Currently, I have 30 million views on Facebook, 24 million on Tiktok and six million on Instagram. The content was about a guy trying to propose to his girlfriend, the ring dropped on the ground, then I picked up the ring and tried giving the guy the ring. I had other contents like Mama Bonboi which went viral surprisingly. So, I cannot really say which one went viral more than the other, but I know that particular one that engagement video was the one that went haywire. And then after that, there was another content I did which involved moving into a new house and then I saw catfish in the house. It also went viral. But as you keep growing, the video you consider as viral will be overtaken by another one. The one I did before my birthday where someone was giving me money and it was multiplying also went viral. So, it is difficult it is difficult to choose the one that went viral more. But I will say that the one with the most engagement is the engagement ring video.

 Between content creation and modeling which do you choose

 Content creation.

 Do you have any plans to improve on your content creation like something you want to do differently to improve?

Well I would probably go to an acting school oversees to improve because in as much as I know I’m good. I feel like if I want to do movies, I need to be able to interpret many roles beautifully. There are actors who embody their roles perfectly. I can be doing my own thing, but I have to still learn how to interpret roles, when they are giving to me and I won’t lie it’s difficult to interpret a certain role so I want to be able to interpret roles perfectly and be a better actress. I try and get into it, I need to able to perfect and become a better actress whenever I am told to interpret a role, I should be able to do it. I just want to grow that aspects, I didn’t go to school to do it, it just happened but I feel like I need to now actually go to a film school and learn, so that when I am told to do a particular content and I decided to do it in a different role, it will come out amazing.

You said you wanted to go into acting, at the same time, have your own series. Which one would come first?

 Obviously going into acting comes first because to have your own series, you need a lot of financial support, like sponsors. And if I have my own story now and I’ll need to get sponsors, probably will by the grace of God but I feel like I should try acting in other people movies first, see how well I do and then I will decide to set-up my series.