Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea – Swami Vivekananda

Eccentric 

Ideas rule the world, you’ve heard that many times. Ideas developed and put into action are more important than ideas that exist only as an idea. You’ve probably heard that too.

But what many often hear, but often fail to admit is that some ideas are dangerous and frankly, a tough sell whilst in ideation. However, with a bit of luck, you might stumble on a  quote like this one by Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde – “An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

Boom! That’s your cue to go kamikaze.

It wasn’t so long ago Dotun found the courage to bet on his ideas, and the rest they say is history.

From barely being allowed to showcase the essence of his now trademarked “Energy gAD”, to building the foundations of a now fully mainstream craft. From being an afterthought to being one of the first names at the biggest events and social gatherings. Dotun is fully activated. Hype is alive.

Energy gAD

This is the ascendency, this is the crest of a wave. Like many great acts, Dotun is in theatre mode, and while those countless stage performances have come with enormous perks, immense recognition and fulfilment, the performer has had to embrace a fair share of misconceptions. Ranging from his personality and who he is away from the spotlight, from questions about his lifestyle to conclusions about the social indulgences that enhance those stellar stage and television marathons, Dotun is living through the good, bad and not so ugly.

And though Dotun understands their inquisition, and frankly, chuckles at the idea that he indulges in alcohol and burnt trees, he also realises that as a torchbearer for the organisation’s hype, it is important to send the right message to a burgeoning generation of creatives and hype men.

Dotun found a God-given dynamic to channel his natural ability to bring life to the small rooms, developed it and has now perfected the art of jumpstarting the biggest events and social gatherings.

Everything you see here is an “Illusion”, is what he told me when I met him backstage earlier this year. I found the persona on stage to be markedly different to the person off it. In private, the now christened “Energy gAD” is quiet, accommodating and somewhat shy. And though the energy is real, he explained that perception is one of the cornerstones of his craft – the art of stage mastering, a skill he’s carefully honed for a decade. Before I left him, he joked about his similarities to the “incredible hulk”, a character in the Marvel comic dynasty and how he likens himself to the superhero on and off stage.

Evolution

Despite being on speed dial for show promoters and event organisers, Do2dtun sees “institutional hype” as an endangered craft. A thought that was made clearer when a show promoter who while in several event planning sessions observed that every time the necessity of a hype-man was pitched, many in the room only fully understood it when Dotun Energy gAD was referenced.

It is for reasons like this Dotun is primed for personal and institutional evolution on a greater scale. The burden to push the frontiers of the craft forward weighs on the shoulders of a pioneer. But after more than a decade, it is not yet time to look back, rather brave the journey ahead into new territories, because just like skyscrapers – the foundations never really take a break now, do they?

For Dotun, after all those early days, it all now makes sense. He is the gatekeeper for ‘Hype’, a responsibility he could never really decline.