Young and In Charge: Audu Wushishi and Vidi Idiyang

I have never really been a drinker per say, and no its not because I'm a 'holy holy', when it comes to alcohol, I am not as tough as I look, I have a very light head, so I stay as far as possible from alcohol. But just a look at the magic these young men can whip up makes me reconsider this decision, so you can imagine my joy when I found out they made non-alcoholic cocktails too (mocktails). Am sure most of you already know the names I am about to mention, these young men are fast becoming the names to be reckoned with when a cocktail is mentioned. If you have been to the DMP, then you surely would have come across Audu Wushishi and Vidi Idiyang. Meet Audu and Vidi, who decided that the alcohol industry had taken enough out of their pockets and it was time for it to give back what belonged to them.

Tell us a little about yourself?

Audu: I'm just your regular fun loving Nigerian youth trying to make his way to the top.
 



Audu

 

 

Vidi: Well, there’s not much to tell. Just a simple guy hustling to make an independent living by any legal means necessary. People say I am controversial and quite unconventional. I take that as a compliment.

Vidi

 

What was growing up like?

Vidi: I've got just one brother (older) who is almost totally a nerd, no sister, thank God for that. Grew up with both parents in Lagos. Wasn't born with a silver spoon but the spoon wasn't made from clay either. We then moved to Abuja when I was about 14 years old.

Audu: Growing up was cool. I've got two brothers and our age gaps aren't long. A loving mother who took care of us, and provided everything we needed. I grew up in Lagos, the city that teaches everyone to fight for their place...

Tell us a little about your educational background?

Vidi: I switched schools a lot, I’ll say I went to about 9 different schools just from my primary to secondary education. I guess my folks just weren't satisfied. Went to Unilag for a couple of years but didn't finish. Got into University Of Abuja where I studied Sociology. Right now I'm studying to get my Masters degree in Marketing Management.

Audu: I never liked school... But I knew it was necessary, education is too important to be ignored  Went to Corona Ikoyi in Lagos, then King's College also in Lagos before we moved to Abuja. Studied Physics in University. Bleeh!!!

So what is La Vida Vodka all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?

Audu: La Vida Vodka means, 'The Vodka Life'... *laughs*. And no, we're not encouraging anyone to drink alcohol, we also make non alcoholic cocktails.

Vidi: You can say La Vida Vodka came about as a result of boredom. Nothing too serious, at first but we saw potential and right now we are giving it all we've got.

How did you get into it?

Vidi: Blame Audu… He is to blame for putting me in this mess. Haha!

Audu: *laughs* The alcohol industry has made a lotta money from us, so we decided to use it and make our money back...

What is your typical day like?

Vidi: Errm… I wake up, freshen up then brainstorm on more ways to collect people’s money. LOL

What do you love most about you what you do?

Audu: We actually do everything ourselves, from shopping, to setting up, to mixing, to serving. The thing I personally love the most about this is when I see the look of a satisfied customer after they have a drink... Money can't buy that.

Vidi: I am into a lot of things so I would say what I love most about what I do is the versatility and experience I gather from all my endeavours. With regard to La Vida Vodka, I just love the fact that we can be responsible for putting smiles on people’s faces.

What’s been your best work ever?

That would be the August edition of DMP [Designer's Market Place]. There was just something special about that day... Also the 5^th Edition of Play Pool Party. That was fun.

What are the difficulties involved?

Vidi: I could write up a whole lot of difficulties to discourage others but the truth is, nothing is easy, not even breathing and my dad says “difficulty is only defined by your personal inabilities.”

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

If we weren't doing this we’d be thinking of doing this...

Have you ever felt like giving up on La Vida Vodka?

Audu: Hell no!!!

Vidi: Like I said earlier, every endeavour has it’s own difficulties but I don’t think I can ever be pushed enough to even think of giving up on La Vida Vodka or on any other thing I try to do.

Who or what inspires you?

Audu: My mum, she's such a hard worker, and she taught me how to put in 100% in all I do.

Vidi: I get inspired by a variety of things & people. One of such would be hawkers on the streets, they make me recognize the never-ending hustle and appreciate the little I've got and how to work with that to achieve more.

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

Vidi: I wouldn't really call myself successful yet because we have barely scratched the surface. I am in my mid-twenties. Hope that’s good enough.

*YIC* in my mind you are, you took your dreams and decided to pursue them, that's the first step towards succes

Audu: I'm twenty four, some might think that's young, but I think I'm actually old... Young people are doing so much these days, it’s amazing.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

Vidi: Our work is fun but asides that, other ways of making money too can be fun. I’m not really the clubbing type (not saying you wont see me in one, just that it’s not my kind of place). I love to hangout with friends, chill and share ideas on how to avoid mediocrity and stagnancy and talk a whole lot of crap. LOL

Audu: I listen to music, a lot... If I'm not chilling with my friends, or working, I'm listening to music.

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

Well, if its to follow in our footsteps by setting up a cocktail company, I would say “ DON'T”… because you cant stand the competition we would put up…lol.

Also, school is very important, we're not saying if you don't go to college you won't make it... But we advice everyone to make sure they get properly educated.

Generally, anyone who wants to be self-employed should just stay focused and spare a time to pray and more time to work hard because “Action speaks louder then words”.

As always, we would let the pictures speak for them.

Chapman

Tequila Sunrise

Having a job like this must be fun.

 

Like what you see? Then dont forget to give them a shout the next time you have birthday to celebrate, a bachelor's eve to host, an event to manage, a company to launch or just a party for the fun of it.
You can reach La Vida Vodka on: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/La_Vida_Vodka

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/LaVidaVodka?v=feed&refid=17

 

Email: lavidavodka12@gmail.com

 

Mobile: 08107159906