Founder of Cokobar, Ropo Akin is celebrating 13 years in the Promotion/Entertainment Industry. Since making the announcement, he has been letting us into the world of International promotion, narrating the ugly side of the business. On Facebook, he narrated his first biggest event which was Psquare Olympicpic year concert 2012. How he lost not only his savings but also his wife’s. Read…
He wrote:
“I remember the Psquare UK Olympic year concert 2012 at the Hammersmith Apollo London which apparently looked amazing to the fans. Well it was not so amazing for me.
It was my nightmare, we didn’t sell enough tkts to cover half the event cost. I lost all my family savings at this event, my wife’s savings mainly along with my debts from the earlier shows piled together. This event defined me! I couldn’t go home and was worried about what I would tell the real Oga at home – wife. (Darling I have lost everything and can’t pay the mortgage… ). I stayed at the venue till 2am and sat on the stage looking at the emptied 5500 capacity venue thinking what I would do next and how I will be brave enough to go home. I drove to the westend in London and stayed in an unknown bar till 6am in the morning drinking my sorrows away and got home after everyone had left for work and just slept and turned off my phone for 5 days so no one could call me.
I didn’t and couldn’t pay the mortgage when due (disaster, I was bankrupt and all overdrafts and credit cards maxed out). Wonderful wife just watched me in anxiety of what I would do next. Eventually I switched on the phones and everyone had been looking for me wondering what had happened to me. At this point I would never forget a student promoter at the time called “Remu Ziregbe”. “He now runs cokobar London by the way (while I sleep at home browsing snapchat)”. He called me and was afraid of how I was completely down. He gave me his £3000 savings for his UNI up keep to see through the month and kept on doing everything to prop me up! Took over cokobar events and just called me to update me, I had enough already and really just wanted out. Remu my dear Remu, my small brother Remu pushed me to do the next show AYshow that year and pressured me not to give up on him just like that… I did the AYshow in the end with borrowed funds and believe it or not my MOJO came back, we made some money and at this time Remu had taken command of cokobar London weekly and profits week in week out helped reduced the debts that were drowning me. I didn’t understand the investment I had made and how many people just looked at me as a successful person and followed my actions and brand I had created.
We went on to have 3 yrs of #soldoutSaturdays at the cokobar 1 lovat lane. The weekly queues were like the exodus of Indian muslims moving to Pakistan just before the partitioning .
I started cokobar manchester and cokobar birmingham (too much confidence) Of course all debts payments ongoing and confidence back and delivered another 5yrs of comedy shows and concerts. We are now at the 12000 capacity Wembley SSE Arena with the Basketmouth shows every valentine (hint: next one is Sun 11th feb 2018 buy your early bird tkts now from cokobar.com).
It has really been 13years of Cokobar Magic and I really have to celebrate it oooo, London City Zebrano this Saturday 21st Oct . Pls and pls get glist tkts from my international website 
😬 Cokobar.com
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