If this is not the right section moderator kindly move it to the right one. In my opinion, i think this is a front page material. But if you deem it not fit , no wahala.

I was watching ONTV fashion show this afternoon ,one of the designer caught my eye because he looks Nigerian. I decide to google his name and it came out i was correct, not only correct but he has an interesting story. Below is the Interview he had with Vanguard Newspaper :

CHRIS AIRE: A Nigerian can succeed any where in the World
…How I introduced D’banj to Snoop Dogg
After weeks and months of trying to track him, an opportunity came last week. This is the story of Christopher Airemiokhai Iluobe, otherwise known as Chris Aire.

The adverts of his products that run on cable networks globally do not bear any linkage to the humility that of his persona. After leaving Nigeria at the age of 17years in 1983 for greener pastures abroad, Chris Aire has done well for himself. The jeweler and exotic watch maker, artist and designer, has as buddies some of the biggest names in American music, film, fashion, entertainment and sports industry.

“He is called the Iceman on account of his trading in diamonds and other precious stones with which he has bedecked many of his superstar friends. Aire will qualify as one of the early prophets of the bling bling culture, a hip hop inspired phenomenon referring to the wearing and accessorizing of flashy, dazzling, sometimes outrageous, often outlandish jewelry.
Chris-Aire

CHRIS

In a world where the bold, big, flashy, loud and even outrageous are a fashion statement, this Nigerian kid has created a niche for himself in the risky jewelry business and, in the process, made a fortune for himself. In music where he once tried his hands out in his early days in the US, his friends and clients include Rihana, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Jay Z, Nelly, Usher, Celine Dion and 50 Cents. In the film and TV world, his pals include Will Smith, Bruce Willis, Adrian Brody, Eva Longoria, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Clint Eastwood.

In this interview with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR , (icirnigeria.org ), Chris Aire speaks about his early struggles in America and how he switched from acting to exotic jewelry-making. Excerpts:

What does the Aire in your name mean? Is it Nigerian?
Yes it is Nigerian, a derivative of my Ishan name. The full name, Airemiokhai, is a derivative of two Ishan words, “Aire,” which means “drawing close” and “Okhai,” meaning “greatness.” So it means “drawing close to greatness.” I decided to adopt my middle name and cut of the second half first as a mark of my independence at that time and, since I was going abroad then, to make it easier for people to pronounce. I was born Christopher Airemiokhai Iluobe.

Growing up must have been tough; can we get to know more about you?
I was born and raised here. I left in December 1983 before I turned 18. I was born in Ivue – Uromi previously Agbazilo Local Government Area. It was Bendel State at that time but now Edo State. I grew up in the village and then attended Immaculate Conception College in Benin. After college, I went to work for my father. I graduated with distinction from high school so he figured that I would be able to run his business. My father had an oil business that I helped to run for about a year and a half before I traveled abroad.





You were so young and ran such a big company?
I was, but I was able to run the company efficiently. Our head office was on Sapele Road in Benin and we had haulage trucks all over the country. We had about 100 trucks that transported diesel and petrol all over the country.

My father (Pa Iluobe) was a very successful businessman. He was into oil and building materials. He had a factory that produced galvanized roofing sheets. He was also into farming, exporting cocoa and palm kernel. He actually gave me my first lessons in business.

If you were doing so well why did you decide to go abroad?
My dad and I were very close growing up and he challenged me several times. But there was this particular time he did that and I decided that it was time to take him up on the challenge which is why I took the decision to be far away from home and his assistance and to use my middle name as my surname.

The challenge was that I couldn’t make it without him and his name. And looking back if I had remained with him then, I believe that I would not have made it without him.

Was the America you arrived in what you expected it to be?
No it wasn’t as I had imagined when I arrived, partly because I went to Memphis in Tennessee, in the south, which was still pretty segregated. It was not what I expected and I told myself I would rather return home than stay there. So I left Tennessee and moved to California.

How did you survive?
It was hard. I started by flipping burgers to put myself through college. One of the things that was ingrained in me back in Nigeria was the need to be educated. So in America, I struggled to get a bachelor’s degree. That was my first goal.

I met other Nigerians there who told me that the best jobs a Nigerian could were guard jobs or fast food jobs. That was how I started working in a fast food restaurant. But I soon decided it was not for me and that I could do better.

You were also going to school at the same time you were working?
Yes. I would go to school from 9 am to about 4 pm or 5 pm, go home to rest and then go to work around 10 pm till 6 am. I did that until I graduated college. It was really tough. Here I was moving from running a major company to having to virtually work myself to death. But I am intractable and a very focused person. When I decide to do something I keep at it. But there was a time I really thought seriously of coming back home when it got unbearable. I thought of coming home for one summer but then it didn’t work out.

Read more http://www.supervtech..com or http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/chris-aire-a-nigerian-can-succeed-any-where-in-the-world/

Check out his website : http://www.chrisaire.com