I Employed Friend Who Mocked Me For Making Skits – Comedian Mark Angel

Popular skit maker and content creator, Mark Angel, has revealed the obstacles he faced on his journey to success, including moments when he contemplated leaving the world of comedy due to daunting challenges and disheartening comments from peers.

During a recent interview with Teju Babyface, Mark Angel shared a poignant story of a friend who, at the time, was employed by Shell Nigeria and had mocked him during his early days as a struggling skit maker. This friend questioned whether Mark Angel could sustain his family by creating skits.

Mark Angel disclosed that his foray into the world of skit making began in 2013, but it wasn’t until 2015 that he began to gain significant recognition. Even then, he struggled to achieve financial stability until the following year.

Mark said, “I started skit-making in 2013 but hit the spotlight in 2015. In 2015, people started to know about me. I think my breakthrough was in 2016. That was when I decided to do comedy full-time.

“I was doing photography and videography part-time before then. So, I just decided to let that go. It took three years before I blew up in the skit-making business. There were so many times when I was discouraged. But the vision and belief I had were stronger than the discouragement.

“At a point, I started doubting myself because of what people were telling me. I had a friend called Alloy who nearly discouraged me from this life of skit-making.

“One day, I was coming back home from the location with my laptop and camera, and Alloy who was working with Shell Nigeria then stopped me to say, ‘Mark, you intend to provide for your family with skits? Really? This ‘foolishness’ is your plan to take care of family? Just wandering and trekking aimlessly with laptop? At least, pay for a ride on a commercial motorcycle!’

“As at that time, I was investing every money I was making into my craft. Because at that time the only way you could get ahead was to pay bloggers. I even put one of the bloggers on monthly payment. I paid the blogger N30,000 every month to promote my skits.

“Alloy who was discouraging me back then now works in my construction company. He works for me now. So everytime, I teased him about how he was mocking me during my days as a struggling skit maker.”